Producer’s Spotlight: Remot

At the beginning of this year, the hottest topic on this site and around the net was the American Gangster remixes. In case you were living in a box around December/January, Jay-Z released the acapellas to his latest album American Gangster. Much like the remix frenzy that started with The Black Album, DJs, producers, and beatmakers worked hard to remix their own version of Jay’s new classic. The phenomenon was so great, that HipHopDX started a contest for the best remix project. Out of 130 albums submitted, it came down to one winner…. and his name is Remot.

I recently had the opportunity to sit down and talk with this up and coming producer about the remix project, his back story, and life since the contest. After the interview, we will reveal an exclusive look at HipHopDx’s custom album cover for American Gangster Remoted.

Kevin: How’s it goin’ man? First of all, congratulations on winning the HipHopDX American Gangster remix contest. I know there were a lot of great remixes entered and it must feel great to have won that top spot. But before we get into that, let’s talk a little bit about you. Tell us who Remot is. Where are you from, how long have you been making beats, and how did you get into this game?

Remot: Thanks man I‘m good. The competition was definitely stacked, I’m just fortunate to have had so many people supporting me. I was going up against Von Pea of Tanya Morgan and Eye Am Productions and I’m fans of both their work so that was a trip for me just being involved. Back in December I’d literally be listening to “Moonlighting” one minute and remixing “Blue Magic” the next. But um I been making beats for about two years now, but it’s an interesting road that leads up to being a sample-based producer, so it’s really been a long time in the making. You can’t really just pick it up like a guitar. But I’ve been going steady at it for about two years. It became a little more than just a hobby after I started getting a good response from cats online. It’s a lot easier to spend 6-7 hours a day on music when you know people are feeling it. But specifically I got a lot of love from a Facebook group that I became a regular in and they really pushed me to do more with it.

Kevin: Wow, so you’re relatively new to the game! Tell us a little bit about your setup. What do you use to make beats?

Remot: My setup is pretty simple. A lot of people think you need $5,000 worth of equipment to make a beat but that’s not the case at all. That might have been true ten years ago but not anymore. I’m a laptop guy. Still on the same Dell Inspiron I got as a graduation gift. I use FL Studio 6.0 for all the arranging and whatnot and I chop samples with Goldwave. Other than that it’s like some old ass Technics turntables, speakers I got as a gift last year, and mad records. That’s definitely where the money goes. Probably 90% of the cash I spend on making beats is just the records. Oh and headphones. I run through like 8 pairs a year it’s ridiculous.

Kevin: Yeah, that seems to be the case nowadays. What sets a producer apart from one another is not the equipment, but the inspiration behind the beats. Who do you listen to now and who did you listen to growing up? Where do you draw your inspiration from and who do you admire in the game now?

Remot: I listen to everything. Not just because I’m looking for a sample or whatever, that’s just who I am. Before hip hop when I was younger I was definitely more into rock and even jazz. Charlie Brown was on the TV a lot so that was my informal introduction to jazz piano haha. As for what specifically inspires me, that’s kind of a loaded question cuz it varies so much. It could depend on my mood, the weather, what music I‘ve been listening to. A lot of the time just listening to something I find particularly creative inspires me. But all time for hip hop inspiration I’m gonna say the same names everyone else does, Pete Rock, Dilla and Premier, probably in that order. My inspirations are way beyond hip hop though. My father‘s a crazy, crazy guitarist and he‘s really one of my biggest influences. Right now though I’m really into Ta’Raach out of Detroit, I love Flying Lotus, and Damu the Fudgemunk from Y Society is just insane with the beats.

Kevin: So tell us about your process of putting together the American Gangster remixes. Did you have an initial concept in mind or specific samples that you wanted to use? How long did it take from start to finish? Did you create the remix album with the specific intention of entering it in the contest or was the contest just an afterthought?

Remot: I started it once I heard about the contest. Before that I didn’t have the accapellas to work with so it probably never would have happened otherwise. What I did was first I listened to the bare vocals to get an idea of how I wanted to play to Jay’s lyrics. Obviously you can’t just use any beat for any particular song, it has to compliment the emcee. And I did this before I had even heard like 90% of the actual album. Before I got to work on it I think I had only heard “Roc Boys” and “Blue Magic”. But I decided I already had like 5-6 beats in my stash that I thought would work. It was just down to whether the tempos were close enough to align, and I think 4 of them were so I used those. Otherwise I had to go diggin. I knew there were a couple samples I definitely wanted to mess with, for “Party Life” it was obvious, once I found the sample for “Say Hello” it was obvious. Some of them were killing me for a minute. I knew I wanted to keep with a 70’s vibe which I did, and I took a lot of time trying to make sure my music fit the theme of each individual song. Some people tell me that it sounds like I was in the studio with Jay, and that’s definitely the ultimate compliment for a remix project, because making it sound like a natural recording session is a real challenge. When it was all said and done it was like, “wow I just spent my December making music.” Because that’s honestly what it was. No days off because I didn’t have the time.

Kevin: How surprised were you when you learned you had come in first place for the HipHopDX contest? Have you ever won any other contests of that caliber before?

Remot: I wasn’t shocked because I was confident in the finished product. This is the biggest beat making contest I’ve won but I’ve been on a roll for a minute haha. Since like November I’ve entered a gang of contests and I haven’t lost any yet. Most have been online with HipHopDX. I’m in another one right now actually I’m tryna keep the streak alive haha

Kevin: Which remix are you most proud of off of American Gangster Remoted and which one was the most difficult to remix?

Remot: Hardest one to remix was definitely “Party Life”, simply cuz of how long it took to make that beat. The main sample I used for that, I’m not gonna say what it’s from but it’s not so rare that most people couldn’t find it, it’s from a song where I had to listen to the whole thing over and over and over to find the bits and pieces I wanted, cuz there’s a dude talking throughout the whole thing. I didn’t want to have clipped off pieces of his voice in the melody so it was really painstaking going back and finding everything I needed. And even then I couldn’t avoid having the voice in there at some parts. People think that beat uses a loop but nah. It took a long time to track every song on the album but Party Life took me probably a total of 9 hours all by itself, over a few days cuz that would have drove me insane in one sitting. I guess I’m most proud of that one but it’s not necessarily my favorite. They all took a lot out of me and I’m proud of all of them. Some more than others.

Kevin: Like I said before, there was some really mad talent to come out of those American Gangster remixes. You gotta give props to those who did their thing. If your remix wasn’t in the contest, who would your vote have gone to?

Remot: I would have probably given it to Von Pea. I don’t know how biased that is seeing I’m a fan of his but that’s what it is.

Kevin: It’s been at least a month since you were announced as the winner. Has this opened up any new doors for you as far as producing for artists. Have you been in contact with any major artists or labels? How do you plan to use this to your advantage?

Remot: It definitely changed everything haha. I’ve literally only had the Myspace page since like early February, you know what I’m saying, and since day one it’s been all love. In the first week I had people I’ve looked up to my whole life telling me they love my music. There’s nothing better than that. The only thing I could want more than that is working with those that I look up to and that’s finally becoming a reality. But for now it’s working to my advantage cuz it’s just another notch on the résumé. It’s only natural people are gonna check for you.

Kevin: Ok, so what’s next? Do you have any new music coming out this year? Any mixtapes or other remixes in the pipes?

Remot: Um I have lots of stuff in the works and it’s only March. Definitely a lot of remix work. People come to the Myspace and assume that’s all I‘m about, probably cuz that’s all I have up on the player is remixes. But I have more remixes coming out on a couple compilation albums. I’m supposed to be on Donny Goines’ EP. I have some shit coming out with a few cats out in Australia. There’s a lot of shit that isn’t 100% official yet but I’m definitely excited about a few potential collaborations. Look out for American Gangster Remoted officially in the streets soon. If you can get a copy of that do it cuz they’re not running too many of them.

Kevin: Alright, make sure I get my copy… thanks for taking the time to sit and talk with us and best of luck to you. Is there anything you want to add that we haven’t touched on?

Remot: Thanks to everyone who listens. Peace to my man Deez who helps me out a lot with everything. Peace to HHLD4L that’s my family. Thank you Kevin.

• Remot’s MySpace Page
• Download American Gangster Remoted
• Download Stat Quo’s “Grits (Remot Remix)”

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