Life’s still not easy for European producers. Even though we are living in the Myspace era and the beats don’t have to hide, the production contributions from Euro beat-smiths are still rare on American major LP’s.
Same thing happening in Germany. Producers are working with German heavyweights, having hits, while they still slightly known in the US. Unlike Crada.
The Frankfurt based producer/songwriter is responsible for the latest D-Block single “Get That Paper” and most recently landed a beat on Kid Cudi’s major debut album Man On The Moon: The End Of Day. Crada has the German rap media going nuts, reason enough to invite the shooting star to a little interview.
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469 views | Posted in Interviews, Producer Spotlight
If neo-soul had a grandchild, its name would be Slakah the Beatchild. I say a grandchild because, while he remembers all the core values, beliefs, and systems of the once-upon-a-time in style genre, he also takes the important elements of neo-soul and elevates it into a sound of his own. While he is compared to the likes of Raphael Saadiq, Dilla, and Q-Tip, Slakah (also an emcee and director when not producing) stays loyal to the craft by forever changing it. Working with no-slouch artists like the current “it” kid, Drake, amongst well respected emcees, Shad and Tona, as well as high profile singers such as Nelly Furtado, Ray Robinson, and Melanie Durant, this Sarnia born, Scarborough raised, multi-talent musical and visual jack-of-all-trades is also one half of duo, Art of Fresh (with MC, D.O). Talking about everything from his hometown, to his worldwide tours, to the big names he’s met in studios, to why we should all give a damn about Slakah the Beatchild, KevinNottingham.com gets this sensational interview with an up-and-coming hip hop gem.
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642 views | Posted in Interviews, Producer Spotlight
Somebody hand me a late pass… I just recently heard of M. Will when we posted his Father’s Day tribute video two months ago. His remake of Marly Marl’s “Set It Off” was spot on and had me checking out M. Will the Shogun’s previous work. If M. Will inherited anything from his father, it’s his talent. At only 16 years of age, he has a bright future ahead of him.
I’ve gotten the opportunity to build with M.Will lately, as we will be exclusively hosting his new instrumental mixtape dropping tomorrow. M. Will was also a part of our Michael Jackson Beat It contest and has a few joints on the tribute tape, which we dropped this past Saturday. Hit the jump to learn a little more about M.Will the Shogun…
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865 views | Posted in Get To Know, Interviews, Producer Spotlight
New York producer Hannibal King has a new project set to drop tomorrow, Eating Cornbread on the Millenium Falcon. Obviously inspired by the movie, Star Wars, the free EP features emcees from the likes of Donny Goines, El Prez, Jabee, Brown Bag AllStars, Cambatta, Nero, K. Sparks and others. We recently had the opportunity to catch up with Hannibal King to talk about his music and inspirations. Get to know Hannibal after the cut…
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485 views | Posted in Get To Know, Interviews, Producer Spotlight
Probably best known for his work on the timeless classic, Reasonable Doubt, Ski has remained a fan favourite when it comes to production in hip hop. When his name is mentioned, ears are raised and interest peaks. His remarkable intuition for “great sound” is amongst some of the best ever in hip hop because that’s what he has simply done since the days of Original Flavour; make great sounding music. Once known as “MC Will-Ski,” the now known as Ski (or Ski Beatz) has become known for his affiliation with Sporty Thievz and more so, his classic production for Camp Lo’s Uptown Saturday Night. We got to chat with Ski and snap out a quick interview (Thanks Jonathan!). We touched on a variety of topics from Jigga’s work ethic circa Reasonable Doubt and even some unreleased tracks, Camp Lo’s most recent (and classic) stuff including a Back Uptown album (Uptown Saturday Night throwback sound), Blueprint 3 news, New York’s hip hop state, his relationship with Clark Kent, the Sporty Theivz, and a possible Ski/Mos Def track in the works? Plenty of goodies after the cut.
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1,065 views | Posted in Interviews, Producer Spotlight
Coming out of L.A. by way of the ATL, Nobody Famous is about to embark on a journey to stardom. With two volumes of his Order Up! series under his belt and countless other productions locked away in his vault, he is about to release his best work to date — Order Up! Vol 3: Chicken & Waffles. Though promoted as an artist, Nobody Famous is a producer first and foremost. Producing all of his own material, as well as tracks for Dasha, Wax, Jarell Perry, Justin Figueroa, Chris Young and many others, Nobody Famous is on his way to building a small empire. He has built his own unique sound from scratch as his latest album is totally sample-free, which is virtually unheard of in today’s hip hop and R&B.
Most of you may be hearing of Nobody Famous for the first time with our recent campaign for the new album. So allow me to introduce Nobody Famous to you via the following free mixtape, which collects some of his best productions prior to the release of the new album. If you’re digging the mixtape, I guarantee you’ll love the new material.
Order Up! Vol 3: Chicken & Waffles will be available on iTunes and Amazon.com July 28th on HiPNOTT Records.
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750 views | Posted in Hot Download, Mixtapes, Producer Spotlight
Nastee is a man that has been around the game for almost 20 years. He started out as a DJ then made the smooth transition into producing. In the mid 90’s he was mixing classic albums by Big Pun, Mobb Deep, and Dead Prez. Hit the cut to Get To Know Nastee…
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639 views | Posted in Get To Know, Interviews, Producer Spotlight
Serving up as the production half of the DMV duo Panacea, K-Murdock grew up during the 88-97 Golden Era of hip hop, being inspired by the jazz and soul samples ATCQ frontman Q-Tip and producers like DJ Premier and Pete Rock were flipping in the 90s. K-Murdock has producing as Panacea for roughly 5 1/2 years yet his production credits also range from neo-soul, jazz-funk, electronica and even progressive rock.
We had the chance to catch up with K-Murdock recently. K-Murdock sat down with us and well as gave us the exclusive on a yet unreleased track that he produced for Raheem DeVaughn. You can listen to that after you Get To Know K-Murdock…
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475 views | Posted in Get To Know, Interviews, Producer Spotlight
Hip Hop is international, baby. When a Canadian (DJ Chong Wizard) hooks up with an Italian (Roc Beatz) to remix some of New York’s Boot Camp Clik’s best tracks, you know it’s gone global. Producer Roc Beatz is definitely on the come up after the much talked about Tonz of Gunz (Boot Camp Clik Remixes) mixtape [listen here] hit the Net a couple of weeks ago. We had the chance to catch up with Roc and learn what he’s all about. Check it out…
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779 views | Posted in Get To Know, Interviews, Producer Spotlight
Since the announcement of my new label (HiPNOTT Records), I want to introduce you all to my most recently signed artist, Speek Greene. Speeke and I go way back… 25 years to be exact. And though we had lost touch over the years, it’s funny how hip hop recently brought us back together. After a the following words and a quick Q&A, make sure you check out a few of the tracks Speeke just recently finished for his album, The Long Look, which is executively produced by Kev Brown and will be released this October on HiPNOTT Records.
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609 views | Posted in Get To Know, Interviews, Producer Spotlight
Gearing up for the release of his latest mixtape-album tomorrow, The Foundation, Shuko is a name that you should start to get familiar with. The Foundation, being released tomorrow via Coalmine Records includes heat from Heltah Skeltah, Skyzoo, Talib Kweli, and Canibus among others. Hit the jump to get to know Shuko…
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968 views | Posted in Get To Know, Interviews, Producer Spotlight
It’s been a minute since we’ve done a showcase on an up and coming producer. And since Small Pro recently dropped two great remix albums, I thought it would be a good idea to fill you all in on the man behind the beats. I’ve personally been a fan of the Small Professor since I heard his American Gangster remix album, Crooklyn Gangster. So I got my man Beads to sit down and chat it up with Pro. Here’s what went down… and if you’re just now hearing of SP, we got links to all his work at the end of the interview!
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1,079 views | Posted in Producer Spotlight
Being a part of underground juggernauts Blue Scholars wasn’t enough for producer/DJ Sabzi. Instead of slowing down, he just picked up the pace even more as he linked up with Ra Scion to form Common Market. This talented cat out of Seattle and co-founder of Massline Records has created his own little forte of production; blending a variety of sounds to create a moist, tasty dish more times than not. As his popularity within the underground scene rises, people are starting to take notice of his intriguing style and keeping an ear to the streets for a Sabzi production. KevinNottingham.com got a chance to chat with Sabzi regarding various topics such as his connection with Ra and Geologic, his label, beat battles, sampling, and of course, his latest project, Tobacco Road.
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1,040 views | Posted in Interviews, Producer Spotlight
One look at his Wikipedia page and it states that Domingo Padilla’s large build often gets him confused for Danny DeVito. Why is that relevant you ask? No reason really. Hopefully, it got you to click the link and notice his criminally slept on and undoubtedly impressive resume. Since 1992, he’s been banging out beats for artists like Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, Big Punisher, Kool G Rap, KRS One, and Masta Ace, and like his apparently look-a-like, Domingo packs a heavy punch when you least see him coming. He brings a unique blend of New York grit, with unique soul, and will even bring his Latin routes to a track. Rarely do producers come around that can beat you in a variety of ways, Domingo is one of those rare producers. KevinNottingham.com got a chance to catch up with Domingo to discuss some of his most memorable past work, some of the great emcees he has worked with, the difficult NY production scene, being in the game for nearly 20 years, and of course, and sampling!
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1,534 views | Posted in Interviews, Producer Spotlight
Hailing from Lawrence, Massachussets, Statik Selektah (born Patrick Baril) is the product of hard work. Putting in time since 1995, Statik has recently achieved back-to-back years of success, heavily attributed to his debut (Spell My Name Right) and sophomore (Stick 2 the Script) LPs. No longer messing with mixtapes and frequently stepping up his production, Statik can’t help but taste success. Working with an endless list of A-list emcees from every level, a radio show on Shade 45, touring, producing, and of course, running his self-made Showoff Records are all in a days work for Mr. Selektah. The Showoff founder delivered some great responses including talk about his recent 24 hour LP with Saigon, DJ Premier, mixtape trash, and a desire to work with Nas and Kanye. A big thank you goes to our man J Master for hooking up a This Is Hip Hop exclusive interview with the one and only Statik, who was actually in Japan while doing this interview. The whole TIHH crew jumped in a served up some really great questions. Here’s how it went down…
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1,557 views | Posted in Interviews, Producer Spotlight
