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1/9/2006 How are you doing Simon? I'm good. Just chilling. Everything's cool. We've heard a lot of your recent tracks, but we don't really know you. What can you tell everyone about Simon Vegas? I was born in Germany, but I live in Washington Heights, NYC. I've been doing beats forever. I was a graffiti writer first. I started in 1982, bombing trains. I did my first Hip Hop track in 1984. I had a drum machine from my dad, he is a musician. I redid the track "Haunted House of Rock." That was my first real production experience as a kid. That's when I really got into it. It's been on from there. I've had tape recorders and thousands of records from my dad. I formed a group with my homeboy from Philly, and we were doing tracks and supporting artists overseas. That's how we got into it until we got a deal. That's how it all started. You've done a lot of work with Poetic from the Gravediggaz, how was that? That was one of my best experiences as a producer. I was going to school and doing some beats on the side. He came over to my house and he was working on my SP-12. He said to me, "If you want to be a serious producer, you need to look at it as a job. You have to set time aside and just work like it's a regular job." That helped me a lot. That really shaped me as a producer. He had a lot of influence on me. What did you guys record together? We did a couple of tracks. He was teaching me. He did some tracks on my drum machine. The tracks were never released, but I still have all the acapellas and everything. That was not too long before he passed away. Rest in peace to Poetic. How hard did his death hit you? It was just unbelievable because it came so sudden. I didn't know about it. I was shocked. Not too long ago, he was at my crib doing tracks. The next thing I hear is that he passed away. He had such an impact on me because he was such a cool, humble person. You've also done some work with Nate Dogg, how was that? Nate was cool. I always wanted to work with him because he knows how to write hooks. He can make that difference from a beat to a song. We recorded a track in LA and it came out so dope that we recorded more. It was really great to have worked with the best "hook-man" in the game. You've also done a lot of international remixes. How did those come about? That started because I was doing tracks for local artists. Somehow they got into the hands of major labels. They would stay in touch with me and have me do official remixes for international audiences. I can not even remember what the first one was. I've done Brandy, Outkast, Angie Martinez, Lil' Cease, Lil' Kim…those were all official remixes and were the main versions in other countries. Nobody knew it was me. How frustrating is it when they don't take out the original producer's name in the remixed track? It was frustrating. I wanted to put my name in there for promotion, but they said they couldn't do that. It was frustrating, but you have to pay your dues. I made some money off it and had some hits. I was more about getting my name out there. To this day, most people don't know I did those tracks. Do you feel that you get the respect you deserve overseas? Yes. Things were great while I was in Germany but it was just time for me to move on. I know everybody knows me over there. I had to start from scratch over here in New York, and I look at that as a new challenge, so I can't complain. How did your perspective on music change going from Germany to New York? It's pretty much the same. In Europe, music is a little more poppy. The States' music is very commercialized too. It's all about the radio and BET over here. They have more underground artists in the States. It's basically the same. Do you feel that you listen to music differently than native-born Americans? No. I was down with Hip Hop since '82. I was always traveling to New York when I was a kid. I had all the latest records. All the artists have come to Germany as well. Redman said we were like a little New York. I don't think it's too different. Maybe outside of Hip Hop, I have different musical influences. It's not too different. What's been the hardest part about being looked at as a new producer today? You have to get your name out there. That's what it's about. Most people that have heard my beats know what's going on. I do everything. I sample, I play keys, and I engineer. All of this is to get my name out there and to connect with the right people. How important is it to have that versatility in today's game? If you can do it, it's real good. Some can just sample, and that's good. But if people come to you and ask you do a sample-free beat for Brandy…you can't just use a sample for Brandy because you have to find the right harmony. I would find the right harmony and play it exactly how I would want to hear it myself. That's a blessing. How do you build the beat around an acapella? The first thing I do is build the beat in my head. I ask myself what kind of direction it should go. I add the drums that I want to hear. Then I add the keys and maybe a sample. Wherever it takes me, that's where it takes me. Do you feel that producers' lack of musical knowledge is hurting the Hip Hop production game? Yeah. I meet a lot of people like that. Sometimes, it doesn't matter. If you have a good sample and know how to flip it and add drums, then it's ok. If it's dope, it's dope. But if you want to play music without sampling, that's good too. I hate when I hear the wrong chords and keys. I really appreciate hearing beats by someone that knows what they're doing. But even with Wu-Tang, that was so lo-fi but it was so dope. It all varies. What are your favorite beats to make? That varies. I might do a different beat every two hours. I might do a sample with some strings, and at night I might do a sample-free club beat that's crazy and totally left-field. I'm doing everything. My favorite tracks to make are the dirty, grimy Hip Hop shit. How would you say your style has grown from '84 to '06? Aw man! My first beat sounded like "Rock Box." I still have a lot of songs with rock samples. I know the whole package now. I know how to pick the right kick drum and what it should sound like. Some should have that knock and some should sound muffled. The knowledge is what's changed the most. What equipment do you use today? I have all the classic stuff like the MPC and SP-12. I also have a laptop with Logic and Pro Tools. I'm traveling a lot, so that's convenient. What are the drawbacks to using computers to make beats? There aren't actually any. It's convenient. You can go wherever you want, take your laptop with you, and just make beats.. It's really more about what you prefer. You can do the beat and record. You can make it sound good, clean it up…I also know people that are so quick with the MPC. It doesn't really matter. Who were your influences that got you started producing? When I first started, I was sampling, so I would look to Marley Marl, Pete Rock, and Primo. Marley Marl was really the first one that showed me that this sampling shit is serious. What are your goals for the new year? To get out there and work with some good cats. I really just want people to hear my stuff and know what I can do. When I listen to big albums, it's disappointing. I ask myself, "Why did he choose this beat?" I'm thinking, "This album could have been so much better if this person would have chosen better beats." I just want to get out there and show people what I can do. What are you working on right now? Besides making beats, I have another remix for a big R&B artist and some new tracks for artists that you'll be hearing soon. I have to make some money and survive too. I'm just trying to make some beats that will blow people away. What do you think about the production game today and the beats artists are choosing? It's disappointing to me because that's not how it used to be. Older albums were really the shit. The whole package was just so dope. Nowadays, it's more like compilations. I don't get it sometimes. They'll pay $80,000 for a beat and it sounds like someone shit out the beat in 10 minutes. It has no feeling and it has no vibe. It sounds like they just did it for the money. It sounds like the labels just want to copy each other because it's on the radio. That doesn't mean it's a good record to me. There's a lack of quality right now. You've been working with a lot of new artists, who's your favorite to work with? I love Joell Ortiz. He's such an incredible MC. St. Laz is dope, so is Tom Gist. There are a lot of cats that are really hungry. Everything I'm hearing from Joell Ortiz shows that he's an MC and he can definitely rap. You've been around Hip Hop for so long, so you must have a pretty good idea of what to look for when you scout artists to work with. Yeah. I look for skills and the ability to write hooks. Sometimes you have a beat and someone just rapped on it. Some people have the ability to write a song to it and know how to flow on it. Jay-Z says that his voice is like an instrument. That's very important to me. Some rappers sound dope over a beat that another rapper won't sound dope over because they don't know how to flow over it. What advice do you have for kids that want to get into the production game? Be honest and do whatever you want to do. Don't have any barriers in your head and feel like you have to make certain songs. Do what you feel and be creative, and bring new shit to the game. Keep producing. If you have one wack beat, make some more. Look at it as a job and do what you can. What do you want to say to everyone out there? I want to say "good lookin'" and keep supporting this website because they're supporting a lot of artists that are on their grind. Keep doing your thing. Peace to everybody. Contact Simon Vegas at svbeats@aol.com

By Brian Kayser

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