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2/6/2006 How are you doing? I'm great. We just finished getting Akir's "Legacy" out the door for mastering. It should be out in late February. I'm looking forward to getting that out. How did "Legacy" come out? It's fire. It's everything we wanted it to be. It's prolific and it's running the gamut. It's got singers, Hasan Salaam, Abiodun from The Last Poets, Immortal Technique, Poison Pen, Jean Grae, The Heatmakerz, and The Fyre Department…it's hot. It's real hot. What did you do for the album? I did about a third of the production, all of the recording, and all of the engineering. It's almost as much as my baby as it is his. How do you help dudes like Akir in the studio as far as direction and technical things? First of all, I'm not an MC. I do about everything else. It's nice to have someone around that does different things and has a different perspective. I worked at Daddy's House for awhile, so I've seen the commercial side of things. I can bring a marriage between the commercial and underground. How do you think Akir's album will do? I think it's going to do very well. The difference between Akir and Tech [Immortal Technique] is that Tech is a niche artist because of the things he speaks about and his stage show. We have to do more strategic marketing with Akir. We just have to get his music out. Once people hear him, he'll take off. You've been working with Akir since he started. How have you seen him grow? We've known each other since we were 16. I was writing rhymes and he was just a fan. Then he started writing rhymes and he started blowing me out the box! We had a radio show at our boarding school in Massachusetts. His freestyles are crazy. The way he can take anything and make it flow is beyond me. He's grown exponentially. One of the most anticipated albums right now is Immortal Technique's. How's "The Middle Passage" coming? We've been working on it. There is so much demand for him right now that every time we start to work on it, he gets booked for a show or something comes up. We're really into it right now. He's got most of the writing completed. He has some guest appearances that I'm not allowed to speak on yet. The production is absurd. I have a couple joints on there. He has some real high-caliber production right now. We renovated the studio too so the sound quality will be phenomenal. How is it recording Immortal Technique? He works in a way that makes me enjoy working with him. He comes in with no distractions. There is nobody in there except me and him unless they're supposed to be there. He knocks out most of his verses in one take. He must practice a lot because he knocks just about everything out in one take. He's very meticulous about the recording and mixing process, which I really appreciate. He sits there with me and pays attention to what's going on and gives me his ear and input. At the end of the day, we come out with a product that we love and everyone else will be satisfied with as well. You've been with Tech from the beginning as well, how have you seen him grow? It's phenomenal to me. My sister remembers when we were 15 causing trouble. Nobody was trying to be a rapper or producer. We were just in high school. Now, she's like, "My friend from New Mexico loves Immortal Technique." It's crazy. He's exploded. He's built for this. He was made to do this. And for the record, his main criticism had been his breath control. He's been on the gym and it's definitely evident that he stepped up his flow, his lyrics, everything. The whole album is next-level. You worked with The Longshots on "Hunger Music," as well. How did you help them? I had a lot of the same duties I have with Akir and Tech. I gave them direction. They came with some ideas and all that, and I helped them with that. Out of all the cats I worked with, I've seen them grow the most. Rock is a real energetic cat and Crayon was a more laid-back and cool cat, and they came to me and we were just working. Their flows got tighter and their lyrics got a lot tighter. I engineered all of their work and I did the song "Game of Love." We're supposed to start working on some new music. I can't wait to see what they have in store. Where do you see The Longshots going? They're very New York-minded. They're working on a more universal sound. I heard "Hunger Music" didn't do so well, but they'll definitely be back with some new heat. Out of all the work you've done, what are you most proud of right now? It's like a three-way tie between completing "Revolutionary: Volume Two," which we banged out and said, "Let's put it out and see what happens. Also completing "Legacy" and leaving Bad Boy and starting this whole shit. Those are my three accomplishments that I'm most proud of. How did you start working at Bad Boy? I had finished college and I was familiar with making beats. I was familiar with computers because I worked in computers at college to put some money in my pocket. I was referred to the director of the studio. She brought me in and gave me a try as a librarian. I kept everything straight with the Biggie DAT's and the Black Rob reels and the 112 stuff. That was before everything went digital. I was more familiar with the computers than anyone else. All these engineers had 20 years under their belts but didn't understand computers like I did. I was in that environment for 16 or 17 hours a day. I learned a lot. I assisted the in-house engineer, Jimmy Lee, who taught me most of what I know. Jimmy got fired on some bullshit. I ended up taking over his position. In a couple of months, I left. The money was not right. Cats were getting abused, motherfuckers were getting fired…I had to be out. I quit. At the same time, Tech and I were talking about getting "Revolutionary: Volume Two" done. That's where I went from there. What made you want to leave Bad Boy? I'm not going to trash-talk anybody. People know Puffy. He can be a dick at times, but you have to be a dick to make the kind of money he has. The problem is that a lot of the people around him don't have his resources, but they have his attitude. Lower-level cats don't make a lot of money and are considered expendable. I was practically making McDonald's money. I was sleeping in the studio three nights a week. I tried to move up the ladder but the nepotism is crazy. I can say, though, that I left on my own volition. I left when I saw it was time to go. It's been said there are a lot of "yes-men" at Bad Boy." There's a lot of "yes-men" and there's a lot of sexual harassment that goes on over there. I know cats at Atlantic and it doesn't seem to be the same environment. Bad Boy was the worst of the worst to me. What equipment are you using today? Oh man, I have a lot. The hardware I use is the Apple G5, AMD 3200, Digi002 Interface, Yamaha MotifRack, Yamaha DX7, Oxygen 8, Yamaha RBX260 bass, the MPC-1000, MPD-16, the Avalon-737 SP, two Technics, a Stanton SMC-201 mixer, the Lexicon MPX-200 Effects Processor. For mics, I use a Neumann-U87, TLM103, Blue Mics' "Blueberry" and a Shure Beta 57A . For software, I use Pro Tools 7.0, Reason 3.0, Acid, Recycle, and Sound Forge 8.0. The plug-ins I use are, among others, Waves Diamond Bundle, T-Racks, Synchronic, Pultec EQ, and Amplitude. I've been making beats for the past eight years on software. I started playing piano when I was a kid. I've made just about everything you've heard from me on Reason. Now, I'm combining the MPC with Reason and Acid. With that, you can get the best of both worlds. How has your production grown in the past eight years? There's a lot more range to what I do now. I've always been a more musical cat than a boom-bap cat. I'm working a lot more on my drums and EQ'ing them on the computer. Tech just said that my new beats don't even sound like my older ones. I do R&B joints too, but no one's heard those yet. I'm all over the place. How important is it to have a musical background to being a producer? It depends on what you're doing. Look at Premier. He doesn't have to do anything except what he does, and he makes heat. Some cats are simple but I like to get more complex. I like to get deep into it. I want to be able to add strings to a hook. I want to be able to do more than chop and add drums. I have an ear and I understand notation. It definitely helps as far as orchestration and making a beat livelier. Ayatollah and Jay Dee are doing instrumental albums… That's funny! We were just talking about that. Akir and I might throw one together. We might try and get Metaphysic involved, too. Tech will come to me with ideas, too. He'll bring me a song and ask me to chop it. He'll sit there with me while I do it. You may see beats produced by Immortal Technique soon! We're just trying to keep our hands in as many things as possible. What's coming up for you? Right now, the main focus is "The Middle Passage." That's really it for the next few months. We're talking about expanding the label a little bit. We've got this singer whose voice is crazy! We're thinking about working on a project with her. Tech and I are talking about working with a couple of other artists. Right now, it's "The Middle Passage." What are your goals for 2006? Get "The Middle Passage" on its feet. New Year's came and I didn't have my resolutions set. Akir and I are going to work on a compilation for ONE Enterprises. That's going to have a lot of artists on there that Akir wanted to work with. I really want to get an R&B artist because I'm sitting on a shit-load of R&B beats. That's what I want to do to spread my wings more. That's a pretty full 2006 to me. I've also been doing more on engineering and sound design. I just won an award from the National Black Theater for sound design. What advice do you have for up-and-coming producers? Be a producer. A lot of cats don't understand what production is really about. It's not just about turning on your favorite software and playing some shit and sampling some shit. It's not about being a beat-maker. Be a real producer. Get involved with your artist and really understand the song and help them craft the song the way you see it. That's what producing is really about. That will get you experience. That's how you move up in the game, by knowing how to do things. Get connected and exploit your connects. Get your beats out. Don't complain about how cats aren't buying your shit. I know that feeling. Just constantly stay on people and don't give up. Don't be afraid to try new things. Don't stay on that 4/4 with the same kick and snare. Go out to Tower Records and get a CD from a country you never heard of and make some shit! Just play with it. What do you want to say to everyone? Definitely cop that "Legacy" album. Be on the lookout for Akir in early March/late February. Watch out for "The Middle Passage." Much success in 2006.

By Brian Kayser

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