Growing up in South Side Queens, NY, music was everywhere. You had cats with boom boxs, cars with bumpin systems and dudes spittin in the school yard. I just soaked that all in and set my mind that producing music was gonna be my thing. Then my mentor, Supa Dav West came along and put me on the path to production.

What equipment did you start with?

MPC 2000XL and my grandmother's turntable (laughs.)


What did your first beats sound like?

I don't think they were too bad, maybe that's because I was raping records,lol. Man, I was taking big samples and just throwing a drum,snare and a bass line to them. The people I would play them for could see the potential in them, so they weren't that bad.

How has your sound changed?

There is a big change in my sound now ,because I do a lot of piece work now, which is chopping a record to its fullest.. A lot of people think most of my sampled beats are original beats. I chop samples like piano keys and play it out. I am also producing a lot of original tracks now

What equipment do you use now?

MPC 2000XL, Proteus 2000, Yamaha y55 and Numark turntable

How long does it take you to make a beat?

Any where from a 1/2 hour to 3 hours. I never look at how fast I can bang out a track, but I do look for the quality in it.

How do you know when you're done with a beat?

I know i'm done when I'm marinating on my main sequence that has all sounds in it. From there, I start creating other sequences from the main sequence and then it's a wrap.

How and what sounds do you look for in a sample?

I look for those mesmerizing sounds, more preferably a hard guitar, piano, strings etc; im more into sampling old school groups like, Joni Mitchell, Seals & Croft, Private Audition and that's all the groups I m gonna' say because every producer knows what could happen if I keep naming groups.

What's the best sample you've ever found?

Man. I got a lot but for now I would have to say the record I did with Grafh ft. Shalone called "Fire It Up IT". It was the type of sample I always wanted to flip. It has a rock type feel to it but yet, still full filling the hip hop chemistry. Sorry, but if you want the name of the group I sampled from, you got wait till Grafh's album drops. Sorry dogs..

You're trying to bring Craig Mack back, how's that going?

I'm not gonna lie, it's tough because Mack has been quiet for a minute but I love the challenge given to record a couple records with him to get him poppin' again. I had the opportunity of producing a song for him called "Mack World", which is the name of his label. Its poppin' in Canada and over seas in places like Japan, Germany , England etc. Its crazy because HMV picked up the single over in those countries.

Do you think Hip Hop Heads will be receptive to Craig Mack now?

I think the fans who knew Bad Boy records from the very begin will be more receptive to him than any one else.

What's it like being in the studio with Mack?

Mack works fast and knows what he wants. He's a "one take" type dude. He's not really into dubbling his voice or anything like that. He's real energetic. It crazy because I m sitting in the studio thinking to myself, this is the dude who made me stay up late just to record his new songs from the radio show "Future Flavors".

You've worked with Grafh, what's that like?

Grafh is an animal in the booth. He usually never wants anything changed on a beat. He takes it as is which is a treat for any producer. He's also not just a rapper either. He's business man. Believe him when he says "I got a white collar under this hoody". lol.

How do your beats complement his style?

Grafh is into those "Hip Rock" tracks with heavy guitars and samples and that's what I bring. I can keep his songs hood but yet still radio play.

What's the situation with Shalone and Grafh now?

Them dudes are still tight. Ain't nothing really change even though Shalone has ventured off to other things. They still banging out tracks together. As a matter of fact, I produced 2 joints with them on it. One of the songs, "Ryders" is on HipHopGame.com. I'm also producing a couple joints on there mixtape they are doing together.

Shalone sounds a lot like Nelly in terms of voice, do you see that being a problem until people get used to his voice?

It's always going to be a problem until people except Shalone for Shalone. Look at Fabolous. When he got in the game people were saying that he sounded like Mase and the same thing goes for Shyne sounding like BIG .However, the songs I did with Shalone is blowing A/R;s minds right now. Labels are definitely hollerin' just off the strength of the " Around The Way Gurl " which was on Hiphopgame.com and getting airplay on a couple stations in NY.

What's your favorite Grafh song?

Its definitely "Fire it Up". It's not out yet but my favorite song that's out right now from him is "Damage is Done". That song is out of here, shout to Develop.

What MC's are you working with now?

Right now it's Miri Ben -Ari (Hip Hop Violinist who just won a Grammy) ,Shalone, Phife Dog, Infa Red & Cross (Ruff Ryders), Tash(Alkaholics), Rakaa(Dilated Peoples), GodWon, J.L. Cotter

You just got back from overseas, where did you go and what did you do over there?

I was over in Germany with my man DJ Riz. He was playin' some gigs out there and I was shopping tracks out there. Hip hop is big out there!.They are big on studying rappers lyrics, line for line. Underground Hip Hop is big out there.

You produced a Broadway charity for the cast of "Wicked" now, can you talk about what it is and how you're going about making it?

Yeah it's crazy because my man Marty, from the cast of the Broadway musical "Wicked", approached me on this project and I jumped on it. "Wicked" was nominated for 10 Tony Awards and is in the top 10 of the current Broadway musicals. I produced a parody version of "Wicked" in which it makes fun of Britany Spears. This charity raises millions of dollars a year for AIDS so its pretty ill to be apart of something like this. Working with the cast is incredible because these actors/actresses come straight to the studio after all day of rehearsing the play and then doing a 2 1/2 hour performance in the evening. They are just a different type of "animal". Producing for a Broadway play is very different from recording a song. Its all about timing when comes to scoring a play. A lot of changes to the beat come about if the choreography is not in sync with the beat . I was loving it though because we are aiming for perfection. Hopefully this project will open a lot more doors to producing beats for video games, movie scores and more Broadway plays. Steve Schnur holla at me!.lol

Who would you like to work with next?

John Mayer, R. Kelly, Amerie, Fleetwood Mack Mobb Deep, Nas, Nature, Styles P, G-Unit and anybody with a budget. lol


What's the last beat you've heard by another producer that amazed you?

Common ft. Kanye-" Go" produced by Kanye..The elements are perfect in the track. Feel good music

What's coming up for you?

Right now the team is finishing up recording Grafh and Shalone's Mixtape, My Partners (Hate, Young Depp) and I have a 4 issues of our comic book called "Fantasm" in comic book stores across the country, working with Miri Ben-Ari, Shalone's Album and getting my film productions "Ink Still Wet" going.
How can Heads reach out to you?
You can holla at my manager, Hate: Q9Faculty@aol.com516 852 4932 and definitely hit up the site @ Q9PRODUCTIONS.COM, where you can listen to beats.

Check out q9productions.com/

By Brian Kayser