Tell me about your studio, where is it?
The location is not allowed to be told, but the name is Jerusalem. The studio is blessed because we recorded the hit record “Lean Back” in there, as well as the whole Terror Squad album. Jerusalem is the spot. It’s still early in the game, and it’s already making crazy big hits.
So it’s like a top-secret location?
Top-secret. The only way to get to Jerusalem is if you have a serious connect to the family.
Is it a house, or just a studio?
There are places where you can rest your head, but Jerusalem is Jerusalem.
Who else has worked at Jerusalem?
Wyclef, Bounty Killer, and Timbaland’s artist John Doe, but mainly it’s just a Terror Squad studio. That’s where I make my beats. It just so happened that [Fat] Joe came through when I was recording my beats and he wanted to record the whole album there. Really, I just use it to smoke out and make crazy beats.
So what’s the advantage of recording there?
It’s private, I get more work done, and there’s just a vibe there. Instead of spending money at a studio, I’ll just come from the club or something and start making music. That’s how it was when we recorded the Terror Squad album. We’d just come home from the club, recording. It was just vibes.
How long have you been doing production?
I’ve actually been doing production since I lived in Orlando, back in the Hitmen days. It’s been a long time. I stopped for a little while.
Why did you stop?
I was so heavy into my DJ game, I wanted to make sure my DJ game was right in Miami in the clubs and on the radio. Since I’ve got that stable, I’m back to producing music. What really made me get back into it was [Fat] Joe, cause he was on his grind recording the Terror Squad album. I heard a lot of the beats people were giving him, and they didn’t impress me. So I knew it was time for me to get back in the studio and make these fire joints. I know what Joe wants.
How many tracks did you do on the Terror Squad album?
I did the intro, “Nothing’s Gonna Stop,” and a song with me and Joe, “Yes Them to Death.”
How do you think your DJ experience has helped you as a producer?
It helped me a lot. DJs know how records start and break, and know about tempos. If you’re a DJ and you’re a producer, if a track doesn’t come out hot from your drum machine, you have to ask yourself if you would play it. DJs don’t like whack records. So as a DJ, being a producer, you know you’ve gotta make hot records. Not every DJ is a good producer, but I know one thing: I’m gonna be crazy in the game. I’m the Beat Novocain.
Do you feel like it’s caused you to scale back on DJing at all?
No, I could never scale back on the DJing aspect at all. I could say that it’s a great connection, though. Being a DJ and producer is the best way for me to expand my career in the game and make sure that I’ll have longevity.
Do you plan on ever scaling back as a DJ and focusing on production?
I love radio too much. I’ll probably be 80 years old still doing radio.
What’s your club and radio schedule right now?
I’m in the clubs Friday through Sunday, on the radio Monday through Friday, and then I’m in the studio whenever I’m not at the club. I’m traveling a lot more, too. I just produced a record for Fabolous, it’s crazy. Me and DJ Nasty did Camron’s song, “Lord I Know.” I did two songs on the Terror Squad album. I did a joint for Smitty. He’s signed to J Records, he’s gonna be really big. Remember that name. I did a joint on Pitbull’s album featuring Trick Daddy, and a joint with Ja Rule and Ashanti.
Since you started out in the game DJing with DJ Nasty, are you two going to do any more production collabos?
Definitely. Nasty’s my man. Whatever he wants to do, I’m down. When it comes to music, me and Nasty have this vibe. I’ll be in town or he’ll be in town and we’ll just knock it out. We don’t ever stop working.
Do you feel like the production quality of your beats has gotten better since you’ve been working at it?
Yeah, because I made myself step my game up. The more I progressed, I was like, damn. I’m the Beat Novocain.
Where did you come up with that name, the Beat Novocain?
When you hear the Terror Squad album, there’s a line where Joe says, “I picked up a few producers and with Khaled, dammit man, we did it again, the Beat Novocain.”
Since you’re so well-known as a DJ, do you think people have a hard time taking you seriously as a producer?
No. A lot of the artists know me because I’m a DJ. When I tell them I have beats, they don’t say anything until they’ve heard it. Then they be like, damn, I didn’t expect that. I can’t read their minds, but I know it messes their head up to hear that I’m making dope beats.
Where do you get your ideas from? Do you sample?
Yeah, I am a sampling guy. Most of my songs use samples. I just add a keyboard here and there to beef up the track. My motivation comes from Joe, and me wanting to stay in the game. I love making music and being in the studio. If it was my choice, I’d be in the studio every day. I love it.
Do you want to break down the technical aspects of the studio, like what type of equipment do you have?
I use an MPC 3000, the black limited edition. I use other models, but basically I just use my creativity. I make them street bangers. I use my creativity to make them hard-core joints. Like Nas’ “New York State of Mind,” I make those type of records. You won’t hear it on the radio, but everyone likes it anyway.
You don’t make radio singles?
I want to make radio singles too, but my specialty is that street, hard-core shit. The Beat Novocain.
Last time I saw you in the studio, you were working on a compilation.
Yeah, I did a song for Violator’s compilation album. I was featured on there. Me and Kay Slay will be doing an album together on TVT Records.
Is it going to be a North meets South vibe?
Yeah, like the best of both worlds, from a DJ standpoint.
So is it a mixtape or an album?
Nah, it’s gonna be all original tracks. We haven’t really sat down and combined all our ideas yet. This album is going to be crazy: New York and Miami connecting on another level. This is going to be the biggest DJ album in the game.
What’s the advantage of being a part of the Big Dawg Pitbulls? Or any DJ clique, for that matter, what’s the purpose?
The biggest advantage of being a Big Dawg Pitbull is Funkmaster Flex. He took the DJ game to another level. When I go to New York, I get embraced like I’m at home. I go to Hot 97 and get on the radio. Even when I’m not there, I still get love. New York is one of the biggest markets, and Flex helps me out there 100% since I’m a Big Dawg Pitbull. If there’s a road block, my affiliation gets me through.
There are a lot of DJ cliques, so how did you choose to go with Big Dawg Pitbulls?
Flex stepped to Joe and was asking questions about me, and then he called me and asked if I wanted to get down. It wasn’t about choosing a team, because I’ve always been on my own team. When Flex asked me, I was honored. A man with status like that, asking me to be down? That’s love.
What other projects are you working on?
Well, there’s the Kay Slay and DJ Khaled album, Fat Joe’s album, the Terror Squad album which is dropping in July, the intro to Tony Sunshine’s album, and Remy Martin’s album.
Do you think there’s any conflict of interest with you serving as both a producer and a DJ? Like, you can produce a record and automatically get it on the radio?
I see what you’re saying. But if everyone around me feels like it ain’t hot, then it ain’t hot. If it’s hot, it’s hot. I don’t care. If I make a record and it’s a hit, I’m gonna go crazy with it.
What if you made a record that you feel is hot and another DJ isn’t feeling it, do you think you’d second-guess yourself?
You can’t give up until the song is buried. That’s just one DJ’s opinion.
Anything else you wanna say?
OZONE’s the #1 magazine in the world. Don’t get it fucked up.
- Interview and photo by Julia Beverly, jb@ozonemag.com
