Legion Music & Media: Ludacris

LEGION OF BEATS MEDIA bring you this special presentation to introduce you to the POWER OF 3 SERIES and the launch of THE PRODUCER'S MANUAL.

Enjoy the interviews with PRODUCERS: Gamshooter, NazCor, and Boi 1da...

Me and Gamshooter have been sparring online for awhile now. We both seem to have similar senses of humor (sometimes, lol) and can both take friendly insults pretty well. Plus, we seem to have a mutual respect when it comes to our craft. He finally agreed to do this interview with Legion Of Beats Media, and it goes a l'il something like this...

Legion of Beats Media : So.... tell us about yourself, who introduced you to this production game?

Gamshooter : Hmmm... I am Gamshooter aka Gambit. Caught some midi from a music creating class in high school. Learned the basics about bar and song structure from my man Bone Killa... kinda took me under his wing and showed me stuff when I used to rap on his beats.

Legion of Beats Media : WHO IS BONE KILLA?

Gamshooter : My homie from Melrose in B Town, dope producer, released 2 cds, the affiliates 1 and 2

Legion of Beats Media : WHAT INSTRUMENT DID U FIRST LEARN ON?

Gamshooter : Just fucked around on a old ass Roland keyboard, I didn't know shit about key or harmonizing until years later.

Legion of Beats Media : TAKE US THROUGH THE INSTRUMENTS YOU USED FOR YOUR PRODUCTION ALL THE WAY UP TO MODERN DAY

Gamshooter : Well as in the music class we had the old ass Roland, a computer with a program called trax on it to sequence kinda like a shitty Cubase.
Then I bought a casio ctk611 for my house a few years later but the sounds were shit of course, so I copped a AWE32 soundblaster card and it has a sampler kind of thing on it... and thus i learned to sample.
Used that for all the old ass B town chronical albums, up until I got my hands on FL 3.0. Been using pretty much FL since.

Legion of Beats Media : WHAT IS/WAS THE B TOWN CHRONICAL ALBUMS?

Gamshooter : Haha the B town chronical albums were a bunch of songs we recorded in my partner in crime and rhyme prototypes basement on a porta 02 tascman 4 track.
They featured me and prototype heavy and other members of the crew, bone killa, Mecca J. and anyone who was around C.G and rapped.

Legion of Beats Media : C.G?

Gamshooter : C.G stands for Club Garage,my homie Rana, we used to chill in his garbage, drinking, listening to music, hollering at girls w/e...was just the spot we chilled at

Legion of Beats Media : WHAT OTHER CREWS WHERE HAPPENING IN THEM TIMES?

Gamshooter : Well being the type of person I was, I was all over the map. C.G took me in and made me family, I originally only knew prototype and J
from high school...

Legion of Beats Media : COOL, WHAT DID YOU GO BY BACK THEN?

Gamshooter : Gambit is my "street" name

Legion of Beats Media : COOL COOL

Gamshooter : Or Gotti, but I hated Gotti

Legion of Beats Media : YEAH THAT'S ON SOME RACIAL MAFIA SHIT, EH. SO WHAT MADE YOU STICK WITH FL STUDIO?

Gamshooter : I learned it until I could get the results I wanted from it, and I can move with it very quick and easy and get the sound i want like second nature, so i just stick to it.

Legion of Beats Media : aight, so after the C.G. days, where did your production lead u to?

Gamshooter : Fuckin' with my North Carolina Fam heavy, (Bricks, Vice Raw and Foog), bangin' tracks with Praverb wyze from VA, messin' with Phact in Boisey and of course my bro Koba in NYC.

Legion of Beats Media : How so? You moved to the states for a bit?

Gamshooter : No, most of it was done via mail or IM, phone, etc.

Legion of Beats Media : So how'd you hook up with dem cats?

Gamshooter : Bricks is like my bro and he intro'd me to foog that's was his fam, Vice Raw we linked up on some he heard my beats shit, same with praverb. And Koba, that's my bro too, he made fun of me and we built a friendship, lol.

Legion of Beats Media : You fine that's important in this dog eat dog game, building friendships?

Gamshooter : Nah, lemme tell you something dude...I built friendships with those dudes from the gate and because we talked to each other about personal stuff.
Most of these other cats wanna holla for a beat, yadda yadda at you and then they don't give 2 shits about what happens to you, they leave you in the dust if they could.
Koba, Bricks, that's like my family, when shit was fucked up for me or them, we supported each other. No fake shit! No fake pretend friend shit.

Legion of Beats Media : Seen!

Gamshooter : All you music people out there, understand its 90% fake. Stick with the fam that's true.

Legion of Beats Media : Has it always been like this, or do you find its just getting progressively worse?

Gamshooter : Man honestly...back in those times, it really was about music and building friendships. Now everyone's a business man with no business or money.

Legion of Beats Media : So true.

Gamshooter : Dudes wanna ask you for shit like your old friends...dont trust that shit. Canada is bad for it. Everyone's ready to ask, no one is ready to give in return.

Legion of Beats Media : HOW MUCH DID A GAMSHOOTER BEAT GO FOR THEN, AND HOW MUCH DO THEY GO FOR NOW?

Gamshooter : Haha....back in those times, if the MC was hot I was always willing to build. Now, its NO FREE BEATS! Hit me up for prices, each beat is different.

Legion of Beats Media : I HEAR YOU, SO THE PRICE RANGES BASED ON WHAT?

Gamshooter : Well, what the person is working with and how much I like the beat. If I hear a sick ass rapper and he says yo, lets work something out, I might be inclined to do so
know what i mean? But its still NO FREE BEATS!

Legion of Beats Media : YOUR FAVOURITE OR MOST IMPRESSIVE RAPPERS THAT YOU'VE WORKED WITH?

Gamshooter : Vice fucking Raw, Koba, Diabolic and Bishop Brigante.
Vice Raw, because he ATE everything fucking thing, dude was poised to be one of the illest, I think.
Koba,

is perhaps the deepest writer I've ever come across, but not science deep like where you are saying wtf is this guy talkin about, more poetic.
Diabolic,

the best punchline rapper ever and just gully.
Bishop Brigante,

great swagger, dude can write and record quick if/when he wants, delivery is strong and confident and just overall he brings an A game to the track.

Legion of Beats Media : UHM, WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO WORK WITH-WISH LIST?

Gamshooter : Canadian, shit I like Mista Bourne's CD a lot, he surprised me with that shit, Drake I'd fuck with him maybe give him something smooth like he likes but a l'il edgier, Eternia, and shit man that's about all I can think of at the moment... Oh, and Spade from CK but I dont even know if dude raps anymore.

Legion of Beats Media : CK?

Gamshooter : Same with kry2nite from Redlife...CK, Citizine Kane. I worked with pretty much everyone I wanted to from Canada... Maybe add Kardi to that list.

Legion of Beats Media : YOU LOVE CANCON (Canadian Content), EH?

Gamshooter : Americans? Shit to be honest, besides the typical cats, Nas, Cormega, etc. Evidence and Alchemist, Joel Ortiz, Termonology, Cashemere...thats about it.

Legion of Beats Media : COOL, YOU DO ANY OTHER PRODUCTION OUTSIDE OF HIP HOP?

Gamshooter : I scored a short film some years ago most of it was beats tho, but i did some straight music for it, thats about it.

Legion of Beats Media : WHAT FILM?

Gamshooter : Fish'n'chicks

Legion of Beats Media : Fish'n'chicks?

Gamshooter : Ya man, prototype's brother in law wrote/directed it.

Legion of Beats Media : COOL COOL, WHAT WAS IT ABOUT?

Gamshooter : ...ummm without giving away the end, its about this fucked up dude and his friend on a fishing boat and chicks, lol.

Legion of Beats Media : LOL. WOULD YOU DO SOME MORE SCORING IF THE OPPORTUNITY PRESENTED ITSELF?

Gamshooter : Ya, but I cant play or write sheet music so, it would be hard but I'd just wing it. First rule in business, if someone asks if you can do something ALWAYS say YES! Even if you cant.

Legion of Beats Media : WHAT PRODUCERS DO YOU LOOK UP TO/ADMIRE AND WHY?

Gamshooter : Evidence, Alchemist, DJ Muggz, Blunt, Engineer, Rich Kidd, Vet, Premo... Sid Roams...Havoc.

Legion of Beats Media : COMMON THING ABOUT THOSE PRODUCERS/DIFFERENCES?

Gamshooter : lol. Shit well Alchemist came up under Muggz in a lot of ways, but Muggz is a lot darker, havoc is dark as well. Evidence is on his own shit, Blunt's got the soul.

Legion of Beats Media : THAT NEW YORK SOUND?

Gamshooter : None of those dudes are from NY. lol, except Havoc.

Legion of Beats Media : HAVOC...?

Gamshooter : Oh and, Muggz was born there...

Legion of Beats Media : AL IS FROM CALI, I THINK.

Gamshooter : Ya, same as Ev.

Legion of Beats Media : YOU'RE LIKE A SCHOOL ON PRODUCERS... WHAT DO YOU LIKE?

Gamshooter : I like dark music in general... slice your wrist shit.

Legion of Beats Media : OK, NOW WHO WOULD YOU WANT TO SPEND A WEEK OR TWO IN THE LAB WITH? JUST ONE PRODUCER...

Gamshooter : Shit to learn from...

Legion of Beats Media : YEAH AND TO VIBE WITH.

Gamshooter : Pharell! ...Imma go with Pharell although I ain't a huge Neptunes fan.

Legion of Beats Media : FA REAL!?!? WHY PHARELL? THAT ONE SURPRISED ME!

Gamshooter : The man puts a lot of sounds together that are nuts and his melodies are outta this world.

Legion of Beats Media : HMMMM, NEVER THOUGHT OF IT THAT WAY...

Gamshooter : He/they (Neptunes) are unique. They can teach a lot about structuring melody. Pharell is the best in the biz, as far as just knowing what works...
See what i admire about him is he was influenced by everything and learned how to use it in his music...marching band, indie rock, rap, techno, house...

Legion of Beats Media : GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE OF A TRACK OF HIS THAT ILLUSTRATES WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT.

Gamshooter : Man just listen to fucking "Super Thug." Drums and a clavi!

Legion of Beats Media : FROM NORE'S ALBUM?

Gamshooter : Yeah..."what what what what what what!" Shit dont even change (Drums and clav) really...but it don't get old. Then listen to fuckin' "Rock Star" and that Clipse tune, the last single they had, "Mr. Me Too."

Legion of Beats Media : AIGHT...

Gamshooter : Dude used a fucking paper thin, old ass sound blaster 8 bit, snare and made it work! Those 2 dudes are brilliant beyond belief...but just not my taste in music per say (Neptunes)...

Legion of Beats Media : OK, YOUR MOST RECENT PROJECTS, TELL US A L'IL ABOUT THEM

Gamshooter : Angerville-Rebellion out now, da corner, play de and other spots in the city... Obligatory rap music for kids in XXXXL t shirts

coming out this week (April '08).
Oh and, Koba's Culture War drops July 11th.

Legion of Beats Media : WHUTS THIS, "Obligatory rap music for kids in XXXXL t shirts" ABOUT?

Gamshooter : Its my last mixtape...

I was gonna do just an album, straight up compilation album... but wanted to get some older stuff on there and a few remixes.

Legion of Beats Media : WHAT CAN WE EXPECT TO HEAR ON IT?

Gamshooter : New stuff, older stuff, stuff you prolly never heard and some remixes.

Legion of Beats Media : FAVOURITE TRACKS ON IT?

Gamshooter : Shit...

Legion of Beats Media : OR ONES THAT STAND OUT, PRODUCTION AND LYRICAL WIZE?

Gamshooter : Sun zoo - music, Koba and miles soley - where I go, Bricks - korrupted seeds, Bishop Brigante - time after time

Legion of Beats Media : AIGHT. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME KOBA PUT SOMETING OUT?

Gamshooter : He was in a group called Kontrast with Sketch and they dropped an album called pencils in 2006. Koba and modelminority

Legion of Beats Media : COOL, AND WHY IS...XXXL T SHIRTS YOUR LAST MIXTAPE?

Gamshooter : Nothing left for me in this shit.

Legion of Beats Media : WHAT U MEAN, GAMMY?

Gamshooter : I mean, I'll always do music for myself and maybe drop on something occasionally and sell some beats I got laying around but
as far as like making a career out of it, nah that's a pipe dream. Time to move on.

Legion of Beats Media : HMMMM... EVER HAVE ANY BEEF WITH A FELLOW PRODUCER?

Gamshooter : lol

Legion of Beats Media : LOL

Gamshooter : That's a loaded question.

Legion of Beats Media : FEEL FREE TO UNLOAD (NO HOMO)

Gamshooter : Beef is when you need to feed your kids and cant. I think mos def said that shit, but that's beef...Lemme just say some people are trapped in fantasy music world

Legion of Beats Media : I HEARD SOMEWHERE THERE WAS SOME KINDA OF CONTROVERSY WITH ANOTHER PRODUCER OVER A BEAT

Gamshooter : That's not even worth talkin' about at this point, just lemme say this to the kids coming up... Some people are like real. I do my work and do it well and whatever comes of it, comes of it. (shrugs) Some people take other peoples work, and don't mind taking credit for it. It makes 'em feel good I guess, but deep down, they truly know whats what.

Legion of Beats Media : THIS IS BETTER THAN NAMING NAMES

Gamshooter : Dude likes to hear his own name to much as it is.. One thing about me is, I was raised to be real. To be a man of my word.

Legion of Beats Media : Anything else you wanna say? And oh yeah, what's your take on the Canadian Hip Hop scene?

Gamshooter : Yeah! Shout outs to Prototype, E Bizz, Rana, buck-fidy, craig max, koba, bricks, dj boo, J, Pigeon, The Dude, E Scars, Angerville, K Dot, Arks, PMM, Dj Sham, Philly, Chris Ansari and Ansari designs, Yardy, the rest of C.G and P.V, my nephew and Diddy. And oh yeah, good luck to the kids out there.
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I've Known Nazcor for a couple years now... Actually got to know his skills during a 3 way beat battle we were in... It got stopped early for reasons beyond our control... It was tied at 1-1 between Nazcor and Boss Legion after the second round... then it was stopped.

Legion of Beats : You ready to do this, I'll just go "off the dome."

NAZCOR : Off the dome ?...lol..what does that mean?...easy bro I am French.

Legion of Beats : Oh uhm freestyle like, not written... like a rapper.

NAZCOR : I am understanding you bro, you want to interview me right now?

Legion of Beats : Yea

NAZCOR : Sure go ahead

Legion of Beats : OK, lets go...
So I see in your avatars

you have the map of Africa, tell the people the meaning of that?

NAZCOR : One of the creator of " Mafia K'1 Fry " ( Legendary French Band ) is Manu Key, the one I make most of my tracks for, by respect and also to show my loyalty and admiration, I use their Logo.

Legion of Beats : Oh, so you are the official producer for Manu Key?

NAZCOR : Yes, an honor.

Legion of Beats : Nice, how did you hook up with him?

NAZCOR : Via internet. French Artists are much more approachable in general for me.

Legion of Beats : So you are French? Tell us a bit about your background?

NAZCOR : My Dad was born in Algeria and My Mom in France, I was born and raised in France before moving to Toronto.

Legion of Beats : Great! How do you find the entertainment/music industry in France compared to Canada?

NAZCOR : I don't know much about the Canadian industry to be honest. In France rap is really social, therefore relate and cover a lot of what people go thru and what the government don't talk about, or do not want to hear... unfortunately the American Industry, what they call the " DIRTY " in reference to the Dirty South is influencing a lot of upcoming rappers.

Legion of Beats : Is it a vibrant industry over there? for example Canada is about 4-5% of the world music buying population.

NAZCOR : For sure! France is close behind the US in terms of HIP HOP culture.

Legion of Beats : Nice, so it's a big market there, with a lot of African cultural influence? Or is the hip hop culture influenced more by the U.S.?

NAZCOR : Most of the rappers have African origins or background, so it's truly who they are. But the American culture is everywhere and really strong in terms of hip hop also in France so it's a bit of both.

Legion of Beats : Cool, which side did you grow up on and/or enjoy/relate to more?

NAZCOR : I grew listening to both but I could not relate to the American Hip Hop like I previously French Hip Hop is much more "social," so it's what people could go true everyday.

Legion of Beats : I hear you! So when did you start producing hip hop beats?

NAZCOR : Beginning of 2006, really.

Legion of Beats : Really!?!?

NAZCOR : lol

Legion of Beats : What lead you into it?

NAZCOR : I had a rap band in France we were doing it because we love Hip Hop so much and I used to write a lot and my DJ, use to produce those amazing tracks and I always wanted to be able to do it, so I decided to try.

Legion of Beats : So what equipment/programs did u start with?

NAZCOR : I Started with Cubase SX .

Legion of Beats : That is, your tool of choice?

NAZCOR : Yes, I really like because you can really do everything internally, sample, plug-ins etc, etc...

Legion of Beats : Have you tried other equipment/programs?

NAZCOR : Yes, the Triton Extreme, I really enjoyed (and often miss) it, lol. But I felt that the sounds were to "synthetique" for what I was trying to achieve.

Legion of Beats : Hmmmmm... and what are you trying to achieve?

NAZCOR : I really like the feel (and sound) of real instruments, and the best for me was to go with virtual libraries... so powerful!

Legion of Beats : I hear you. What kind of instrument sounds are you partial to these day?

NAZCOR : Strings! I always loved strings, that's probably why I needed virtual instruments, you get that Orchestral feeling even though the MIDI Orchestration takes time to master.

Legion of Beats : Oh, ok. I see you incorporate playing by using a keyboard/controller in your production?

NAZCOR : Yes, however my computer mouse is my main controller.

Legion of Beats : Ok, where can we hear some of your latest productions?

NAZCOR : Unfortunately, I have nothing new to showcase now. I have a couple of projects I am working on and all the newer material are tied up with these projects. But I do have a couple of joints I did on the Triton before I got rid of it.

Legion of Beats : Aiiight, so tell us what projects you have been working on lately?

NAZCOR : I have been working on the next Manu Key Project, OGB and other artist from Mafia K'1 Fry (for his second album), and I release beats here and there to different French rap artists... a real honor for me.

Legion of Beats : Nice, so they have alot of French and international fans... Do they have major distribution?

NAZCOR : Most of them are independent, but their popularity works to their advantage. But to me, like I was saying, it's really an honor because I used to go to school (much younger) listening to them ... and now I work with them.

Legion of Beats : Nice bro, you're like a real "head..." for the love of it all. What other French artist have/would you like to work with, at home (France) and internationally?

NAZCOR : Well too many of them, I have a lots of respect for the old school rappers of course, but feel not yet ready for them.... I need to step up, maybe two years would be a good time to approach them... if I even have an opportunity to do so.

Legion of Beats : Who are these artist you speak of?

NAZCOR : Any Members of Mafia K'1 Fry of course, IAM, Kery James, Seth Gueko, Booba,....etc etc..... U.S., Kool G Rap, Rakim, Nas, ...etc ...lo...but those sound more like dreams to me...

Legion of Beats : Never stop dreaming... look who you are working with now. What is the scheduled release dates for Manu and OGB?

NAZCOR : I do not know yet, also as they are independent they will look for a publishing deal till last minute. So I will know as well, last minute....

Legion of Beats : Cool cool. Is there any local artist you would like to work with?

NAZCOR : For sure, but more people of our surroundings...

Legion of Beats : Surroundings?

NAZCOR : People close to us.....we hope to release a couple of tracks, all this will be posted on the Myspace and a video in September.

Legion of Beats : Lets talk about these artists...or the artists in your surroundings?

NAZCOR : First, KANEL aka SPECIAL K.

Legion of Beats : How long have you known Kanel?

NAZCOR : About 8 years now... he was battling at the age of 14 when I met him, he is amazing; we are working on some material right now.

Legion of Beats : Nice, how did you guys meet?

NAZCOR : He was in a rap battle a the age of 14 at the YMCA.

Legion of Beats : Oh, where abouts?

NAZCOR : A lot of people know him for his battles in Scarborough.

Legion of Beats : Has he always been known as Kanel?

NAZCOR : No, he was also known as K BUCKS.

Legion of Beats : Oh, K Bucks. Yes I've heard some of his stuff, he's pretty nice wid it.

NAZCOR : lol.

Legion of Beats : So, is their any other artist that you want to work with locally or are working with locally?

NAZCOR : Yes I am working with a French artist based in Toronto... his name his Kanu, he is from Congo and used to live in the south of France, Marseille, He is fire, we are half way done his album

Legion of Beats : Niiiiiiiice homie, so this album will be a strictly French album?

NAZCOR : Yes with some English gospel, African influence and English chorus.

Legion of Beats : Nice. Where do you see the market for this album?

NAZCOR : Montreal for sure.

Legion of Beats : France, Congo?

NAZCOR : Eventually, after... but for now our focus is Montreal.

Legion of Beats : Ok, where did you meet this artist?

NAZCOR : In Scarborough as well, when I first moved

Legion of Beats : Thru friends or.. .?

NAZCOR : Thru friends... he opened his door for me in the bad times, like a brother.

Legion of Beats : Its nice to have family in this cold, cold GTA. Where are the English gospel and African influences coming from,? Does Kanu play any instruments or are you producing everything on the album?

NAZCOR : Yes he his a bass and guitar player, but also a person who dedicates a lot of time to GOD.

Legion of Beats : Homie, its good to have some multi talented people in the camp.

NAZCOR : I agree!

Legion of Beats : So when is the estimated release date for him? And you guys are co-producing his album?

NAZCOR : It should be spring 2009, yes we are co-producing.

Legion of Beats : What about KANEL's album, drop date?

NAZCOR : Not sure yet. Hopefully next year ?....lol

Legion of Beats : You planning to work on any other projects in the near future, or is your plate pretty full?

NAZCOR : Actually we have a team of producers. ARMETIS is the name we are composite of three people, two other beatmakers and myself, they are both in France working on a double album for " LE CELEBRE BAUZA "

Legion of Beats : Wow! first of all what does ARMETIS mean/signify? 2nd, Who is "Le Celbre Bauza?"

NAZCOR : It's like a blend of art, a mix of origins; its a bit hard to explain in English... LE CELEBRE BAUZA is the right arms of OXMO PUCCINO a legendary French rap artist,
www.myspace.com/lecelebrebauza For ARMETIS we don't have a page I will update you with that. Right now they (the other 2) are behind the scene working in the studio in Paris.

Legion of Beats : Cool cool. So you land in Toronto and still end up doing business in France and in Toronto with both French and English speaking artist, that's quite an accomplishment. Who do you attribute this burning desire to succeed? Where do you get your motivation from?

NAZCOR : It was always in my nature, it's not something specific. I like to make good music, if I am satisfied with what I do, it's a success to me. I am usually never satisfied with my last piece, that makes me go back, and motivates myself for better. But as any other person that's involve in art, you always want to learn, it's big source of motivation.

Legion of Beats : What have you learned with production just being around the Canadian hip hop scene?

NAZCOR : Canadian Hip Hop..... the competition aspect in general, in music, regardless the country really, it made me look at my work and analyse it much better. You will find so many talented people that you will constantly rethink what you are doing or how you are doing it.

Legion of Beats : I agree, homie. Thanks for your time, bro. Anything else you'd like to say?

NAZCOR : Oui, I came back to Canada because I met this beautiful lady on a trip to this wonderful country... I finally saved up enough to come back here and make her my wife. All that I do, my passion, my music, my love I dedicate to her, my wife.
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Legion Of Beats Media tracks down one of the busiest and sought after producers from the dot (actually Pickering). After many attempts we finally sit down to conduct this interview:

Boi 1da, the producer that started out banging out beats for his (then) group, Straight Grimes to bangin' out hits for Drake, G-unit, and the upcoming Ludacris album. Tell us how you started out.

1da~ I started out in highschool, rapping with my crew, SG. I eventually figured I had no business being a rapper (lol), but wanted to still be involved with my crew...

You mean, you wanted to get into managing the group, marketing, promo?

1da~ Nah, I still wanted to be involved musically and we were tired of spittin' over industry beats, so I tried a hand at producing.

Oh, what was your initial weapon of choice?

1da~ Fruity Loops, now known as Fl Studio.

So where did you meet your crew members from Straight Grime?

1da~ Oh we all went to school together and met up in Grade 10 at Pickering High School.

When did you start to get noticed as a producer?

1da- I entered the first Battle of the Beat makers in Toronto

and surprisingly won.

And that's when people started recognizing the talent?

1da~ Yeah actually, Aristo was hosting and we linked up after the show. I didn't know who he was before, but saw what he was working with. I ended up producing two tracks for him, "East Meets West" and "Right Now." They got airplay, which helped me out as well.

What did you learn from that experience that you can share with other producers?

1da~ Well besides the exposure...DONT TRUST RAPPERS!

LOL! So, what was the next step in your career? What did you do next to keep it moving?

1da~Yeah, had to keep it moving. I went on and started a "camp" with D-10 and Voyce Alexander. The camp eventually fell apart over some management issues and Voyce ended doing his own thing. We dropped the management and created a new camp which includes, Drake. The new camp is known as, ATF. Since then we have been with , Keshia Chante, Devine Brown, Adreena Millz, Big Sauks, and working on Drakes album.

So ATF, All Things Fresh is You, D-10, and Drake? What a team!

1da~ Yes Siiiiiiir! And we have other "contributors" to the team as well.

And how did you end up meeting up with the other artist you've worked with?

1da-~ Directly, either thru D-10, Drake, and from other artist recommending us.

By the way, I recently heard that "Red light Green light" track on the G-Unit mixtape, "Elephant in the sand." How did you guys get on that?

1da~ We got that thru Esco, who is known for his beat/production placements. He got mixtape placements in the past for peeps like Soundsmith.

Is that Esco from Beat Traffiker?

1da~ Yeah, he manages peeps like me and Megaman for placements.

Nice! So how did Red light Green light come about? Take us thru the creative process on that one.

1da~ Aight, it was me and Tony2Tone, the Beat Juggernaut on the set of The Incredible Hulk. Some scenes were shot down town Toronto, you'll see the popular down town scenery when it comes out...

Seen!

1da~ ...So 2Tone and I were tryna get our Drake on (lol) by being extras in the movie... Tony walked with his lap top and had this crazy synth loop he was working on...

And the rest they say, is history. So tell us about Boi 1da, the producer. Your influences and where you want to take your creative skills?

1da~ Well...my influences mainly come from producers like, Swizz Beats, Timbaland, Dr. Dre. I also listened to and grew up with a lot of dance hall music thru my parents, relatives, and friends.

You were born in Jamaica, right?

1da~ Yah mon. lol.

And now that we see your past influences, where do you want to go from here musically?

1da~ I want to keep my mind opened musically. Like, I not only produce Hip Hop, I produce R 'n B, Pop, and anything that I can make work. I want to continue on with the open mindedness...it can't hurt and is definitely a plus. For example, I attended Ole Song Camp...

Like "Band Camp," as in American Pie? lol!

1da~ LOL! Not exactly (still laughing). It was a cool production and songwriting camp held by Phase One Studios... I would say, I came out of there with some great insight and knowledge. I created a country song while there as part of a project. I like things like this that keeps my mind expanding.

Do we see Boi 1nda on a country album in the future?

1da~ lol. you never know, anything is possible... lol lol lol.

What other people or circumstances in the industry has been an influence and inspiration to you?

1da~ I gotta say peeps like Sauks, who like to teach me about the (industry) game, how it works, etc. and Noah Shabib aka 40/40, who is the best vocal engineer and mixer in the game. Big shout outs to those two.

Nice. What artist would you like to work with?

1da~ Oh man, there's this dude named Lacrae. He's this sick Christian rapper outta Atlanta. I tried to holla at him, but nothing yet.

Cool, cool. Which of your productions got you the most spins to your knowledge?

1da~ I would say, probably Drake's, "Replacement Girl" which was co-produced by T.Williams and Rochester's, "Pull Up."

The Replacement Girl video

should have done more...but we won't get into that.

Aight. When you are producing for different types of mc's, different type of artist, how do you go about it with the artist in mind.

1da~ I learn the style of the artist. For example, Drake or someone like Bishop, I go at it grimy, with something "catchy" in mind. For someone like Saukrates, it has to be different, crazy shit!

Thats (some) crazy, ill insight right there! You mentioned earlier to me that you are on an upcoming Luda album. How did you manage to get thru to Ludacris?

1da~ That was my boy T-Williams who's manager at Lavish Live Management got the beat out to the man himself. I think we'll have 1 or two on there...

And on the Kid Famous album? Kardinal Offishial's?

1da~ I think around 7 or 8.. and two on Kardi's album, who incidentally is the artist I enjoyed working with most. Shout outs To Kardi!

You rackin' em up, Boi! You gettin' em! Its nice to see the local scene getting the attention it well deserves with cats like you, Kardi, Famous, and Sauks to name a few.

1da~ Yeaah, the local scene is growing and striving like no other time. I think peeps are starting to organize and support one another for the common cause....finally!

I noticed that your beats for radio play and the ones you brought to the battle of the beats are different. Why is that?

1da~ When you go to a battle, you gotta bring heat, sick beats. And I gotta say the experience at the BBM's helped to improve my skill. When it comes to radio play, we gotta bring it differently... for obvious reasons.

Yep, well said. I understand their was recent controversy at the last Battle of the Beat Makers surrounding you and another producer. Your thoughts on it?

1da~ Oh yeah, that was between Arthur McArthur and myself. Let me start off by saying that Arthur is my boy, he's good people. There is and never was any beef between him and I. But I do gotta say, when people have their crew cheering and hollering for them, the perception in these contest can be jaded. The first beats from McArthur and myself were both good, both banging, and the judges scored it a tie. In my opinion, it was my second beat that wiped him out. His was real good, but the judges scored in my favour. Once again, this is nothing against Arthur. He's dope and he is my boi!

Any more BBM appearances?

1da~ Naaaah, I think I'll leave that alone. Too much politics.

Whats your take on Sampled vs. Played production?

1da~ I was on the heavily sampled tip, but now I favour the played shit heavily. I prefer to make non-sampled beats for the lack of sample clearance and all the other nonsense that goes along with it. lol.

Its funny, I first heard of you a few years back thru a friend of mine. He was bragging about his nephew, Mathew, the next big thing in Canadian production. Its funny cause what he said back then, is holding true now.

1da~ Ya Raj (Diamond Tusk from Secret Society), thats my fam. His sister married my uncle. Its nice when your family biggs you up, it's like a stamp of approval from the fam.

Its nice to see a West Indian (Caribbean) born Canadian doing it for the country. We got you fam! Any final words?

1da~ Yes, GOD BLESS EVERYONE!

Boi 1da production credits include the following artists:
Kardinal Offishall, Drake, Deuce-Deuce, Rochester aka Juice, Tru Life, Andreena Millz, Bishop Brigante, Saukrates, Point Blank, JD Era, Darryl Riley, KRS-One, Devine Brown, Trey Songz, Snoop Dogg, Keshia Chante, Jim jones, Stack Bundles, 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Young Buck, Tony Yayo, Ludacris, Clipse, Massari, Fabolous, Young Jeezy, Jadakiss, and Sheek Louch.

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