|
GETTING REAL LIVE WITH K-DEF
Ask any 90’s hip-hop-fan ‘Who’s
your favorite producer?’ and he’ll probably
say DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Diamond D, Large Pro or Marley
Marl. Chances will be slim that you hear the name K-Def.
However he’s the mind behind essential productions
such as Lords Of The Underground’s ‘Chief
Rocka’, Da Youngstaz’ ‘Mad Props’,
Intelligent Hoodlum’s ‘Grand Groove’
ànd he was one half of the group Real Live, who
released their critically acclaimed album ‘The
Turnaround: A Long Awaited Drama’ in 1996. In
2005, K-Def keeps doin his thing regardless; he produced
a joint for ODB’s tribute album ànd he’s
got a track on El Da Sensei’s new album, but before
we come back on that matter, we start this interview
with takin a plunge in time and lookin back at…
Your earlier productions… how do you
recall workin with Monie Love and Positive K?
Working with Monie Love was okay, she is a cool person.
She thought it was all about her, but I guess it was
okay for her to have an attitude because she was one
of the few females with a record deal. Positive K and
I hooked up at Calliope Studios. I did the remix, and
he accepted it the next day. I didn’t get the
chance to spend a lot of time with him. I was also asked
to DJ for him, but I was still in high school at the
time.
There was a lot of ghostwriting goin on Monie
Love's album 'In A Word Or 2'. Mainly by Marley Marl,
did you write any rhymes?
I did not write any rhymes, just production.
How did you hook up with Marley Marl?
By a friend of mine, World Renown member John Doe;
he was Marley’s cousin.
How close were you with the Juice Crew? Did
you see a lot of the members?
The only Juice Crew members I knew were Tragedy, TJ
Swan, Biz Markie, and Big Daddy Kane. I would see them
when they came upstate to the studio.
You were a 'ghost producer' for Marley Marl.
Which tracks are credited for Marley Marl but were actually
made by you?
The Microphone Prince’s ‘Trunk Of Funk’,
Marley Marl Remix, for Next Plateau was done by yours
truly. ‘Funkaldelic Relic’ of LL Cool J’s
‘14 Shots To The Dome’ should have been
credited to me. I did two hot joints with LL, but they
never came out.
What have you learned from Marley as for production/DJ'ing?
From who else did you learn?
Marley and a cool dude named Frank Heller taught me
a lot about the SSL board and engineering. I was already
the master at the MPC 3000 and the MPC 60. For the ‘Pirate
Radio’ show, Marley showed me how to splice tape.
If there was no Marley Marl would you have
had/have the same opportunities?
Eventually yes, I knew a lot of other people. I DJ’ed
for a lot of New York City parties. I ran into everybody,
even Russell Simmons. The Awesome Two got me plenty
of gigs, so staying in the mix at that time was not
a problem. After Marley heard my demo tape, he heard
something he wanted to be a part of. Maybe my career
would have been larger in that era, if I had stayed
independent as a producer. After I left Marley, I started
to run into other MC’s who were interested in
working with me, but Marley was charging too much. My
catalog could have been larger.
Is there a lot you still owe for production
duties?
There’s still a lot of money owed to me!
You went to California for Heavy D’s
‘Nuthin But Love’ album (1994). How was
it like, workin with Heavster?
I just met Heavy D, he had mad love for me and he respected
my game.
So did you meet any of the other producers
of that album like Pete Rock, Erick Sermon, Easy Mo
Bee or Teddy Riley?
Nah, I didn’t meet any of the other producers,
but I already knew Pete Rock.
How did the Artifacts single, 'It's Gettin
Hot RMX' come together? You connected through El da
Sensai?
Yeah, we were label mates. I like working with El Da
Sensei, he gets it. I have a new track on his upcoming
album ‘The Unusual’. We plan on working
on a full length LP together.
Dope. By the way, the ‘It’s Getting
Hot RMX’ is a Japanese only release right?
Yeah, it’s only on Japanese release, but you
will be able to cop it soon at www.kdef.biz
Of all the remixes you've made, which one is
your favourite?
The ‘What I’m After’ remix with Keith
Murray.
Are you still down with Intelligent Hoodlum?
I have not seen him in a couple of years, but he’s
my peoples for life. I hope we can re-connect in the
future.
Which one do you think is his best album? 'Intelligent
Hoodlum' or 'Saga of A Hoodlum'?
‘Intelligent Hoodlum’ is the best of course.
He's now about to release 'Thug Matrix'. Do
you check up on a lot of producers/artists you've worked
for?
I check for the real stuff, a lot of albums are trash,
but there is promise out there. Shame to say, but most
artists I have worked with have decided to become producers
themselves and do it all, they forgot what got them
their names, it’s a simple thing called ‘chemistry’.
You connected with Da Youngstaz as well, them
being from Philly, how did you hook up?
I met the Da Youngstaz through Lawrence Goodman, he
worked a deal out with Marley and they picked the tracks.
So how was it like to work with Lawrence Goodman?
I’m still waiting to receive publishing and royalties
from that shit, till this day!
You were not on Da Youngstaz' 'The Aftermath',
although Marley already produced some cuts on that album.
How did you end up on 'No Mercy'?
Well actually, ‘Mad Props’ (from the ‘No
Mercy’ album, red.) was a beat intended for the
‘Illmatic’ album, however the money could
not be worked out. I never knew why it wasn't placed
by Nas...
Tell us more about Word Renown... How long
have you been down?
I knew Seven Shawn since the 80’s, he is from
my hometown Passaic. Myself and John Doe worked on a
ten-song demo, Marley wasn’t feeling the rhymes
but clicked with the beats. So John hooked up with Seven
Shawn and they formed World Renown.
World Renown had an LP coming, but it was never
released. How come?
Marley did the first song ‘Come Take A Ride’
and the second song was ‘How Nice I AM’.
We were forced to make the album in two weeks, and when
it was finally done, World Renown was dropped including
the entire black music division from Warner. Shortly
after that, John Doe was on the run from federal marshals
and it was over for World Renown.
Are you workin with Seven Shawn at the moment?
I have always worked with Seven Shawn. A song we worked
on became ‘It’s Over’ on Ghostface’s
‘The Pretty Toney Album’. You can hear him
singing the hook on that track, a small clip can be
heard on the play list of my website. We are putting
together his debut album, which will be available soon
at www.kdef.biz.
Plenty of artists from the early 90s are findin
their way back to the game, X-Clan is back, Special
Ed, Donald D is on some new material, Percee P is about
to release his debut album... what do you think is the
reason for that? Real hip-hop is not dead yet?
Some dudes get caught up in what’s going on today,
and realize it’s not them, and then go back to
the basics, which are the building blocks of hip-hop.
Real HIP-HOP never died, it’s still in their hearts.
I’m very happy for Percee P, he never had a release
of his own but he stuck with it. He should have not
had to leave New York to have something happen for him.
You had some hits on the underground ('Chief
Rocka' eg.) but do you never want to make it big time
on a mainstream level? Make a number one hit like 45
King had with 'Hard Knock Life' and 'Stan'?
I want to have 150 ‘Hard knock Life’’s,
with 150 different artists. I don’t look at it
as mainstream, I look at the work.
Speaking of ‘Chief Rocka’, how
did you hook up with Lords Of The Underground? You produced
on all their albums.
They heard the demo I gave to Marley. The ‘Funky
Child’ beat was on there and ‘Here Comes
the Lords’.
The two first LOTUG albums are critically acclaimed,
but their last album from 1999 wasn’t that cheered
about; how come?
I only produced one track. The reaction was 'nobody
liked it'.
Do you still see them a lot? Are they gonna
release a new album, and if yes, have you been contacted
yet?
I did some tracks with DoItAll but he had other plans,
I talk to Lord Jazz online sometimes, I’m not
in contact with Funkee. I wish them the best.
Is it true that Lord Finesse dissed the crew
sayin they jacked 'Lord' and 'Funkyman' from him or
was that over exaggerated?
(laughs) Yeah, I heard about that a couple of times
too.
You also produced Sah-B's 'Some Ol Sah-B Shit'...,
she was also down with LOTUG...
Me and Sha B are cool, I don’t see her anymore
though.
She rhymed on De 1's 'True Homies' 12",
that was produced by you right?
No, I did ‘Rather Unique’ on the B-side.
One of your biggest, long-lasting projects
was the group Real Live. How long did you and Larry-O
work together? It seemed like KRS-One was involved with
the first break-up?
Real Live was rockin’ from 1988 to 1996. We were
down with BDP, did a couple of songs with KRS-One. Larry-O
had more of the relationship with the ‘Blast Master’,
but we are still cool though. Larry-O had his own agenda
when we broke up the first time, and so did I.
You were about to get signed to Def Jam. What
happened eventually?
There was a lot of ‘hate’ in the game.
So we signed with Big Beat. We had two singles with
three videos, which was amazing for artists back then…,
until Larry-O decided to go to the Big Beat offices
and performed a violent act...
So is there any chance on a Real Live release
in the future?
Maybe.
How did you end up doin a song for West Coast
rapper Jayo Felony? It was kinda controversial right?
Jay-Z tried to keep the single from being put out. What
was the deal exactly?
I was working out of Sugar Hill Studios in Englewood
at the time. They had a relationship with Motown and
I was working with a lot of their artists at that time.
‘Bullet Proof Love’ (compilation on which
Jayo Felony featured, red.) was a project on the plate.
That nigga came to my studio at like 3 AM in the morning
from California, I didn’t know who he was really.
He gets in the booth and he’s rhyming like he
has a problem with somebody. Well, he eventually laid
it out on me, he was dissing Jay-Z. We blazed up, I
laid the track and it was done by 5 AM, so he could
fly back to California. A lot of people don’t
understand him. I also didn’t hear any ‘answer
back’-records to that track.
Would you work with Jay-Z if you had the chance?
I would love to work with him!
What's the biggest difference between producing
now and fifteen years ago?
It’s a lot more of strategic music listening
involved, listening for hours, just putting on a jazz
record to listen to it right through. Also the computer
of course.
Is this sample clearing issue a bad thing for
hip-hop?
I can’t understand how the publishers of records
that didn’t sell shit when it was out, can come
in and take 50 - 100% of your publishing. You only took
a couple seconds of their song. The artists and producers
are paying for the promotion and advertising of the
new work, which will put a spotlight on their past works
and generate new monies. Hip-hop has been sampling,
looping, scratching and recording samples since day
one. They should have a share but are too fucking greedy
when it’s the producers that create something
new and creative, with their bullshit 3 seconds.
Do you still sample a lot?
Yes I do.
Let's talk about your production material.
What do you use?
Currently I’m using a G5, Cubase, SX3, Logic
Audio Pro, CDX, Reason 3.
What did you use when you started in hip-hop?
At the beginning I was using the MPC 60, S-3000, then
a MPC 3000.
What music did you grow up on?
‘Say it Loud. I’m Black And I’m Proud’
(James Brown, red.), JB’s, Rolling Stones, Steel
Pulse, Bob Marley, Isaac Hayes, Jazz Crusaders and Isley
Brothers. I met Isaac Hayes at Marley’s studio,
he wanted to meet the people responsible for ‘Grand
Groove’.
Since when did you start lookin for breaks?
1978.
How many records do you have now?
70,000 records. I lost 45,000 records in a flood but
thank God the others were recorded already.
What were the first hip-hop records you bought?
‘Good Times’ by Chic, ‘Rapper’s
Delight’ and Kurtis Blow’s ‘The Breaks’
What other producers do you like very much?
From the past?
Marley Marl, 45 King, Premo, Pete Rock, Extra P, Q-Tip,
DITC, RZA, Dr. Dre and Hitmen.
Today, which producer(s) do you like?
Just Blaze, Kanye West, they keep the art of sampling
alive.
if you had the chance to work with any MC,
who would you chose?
Jay-Z. I could make a smash for him.
Which of the following productions do you like
the most? 'Chief Rocka', 'Funky Child' or 'Real Live
Shit'?
‘Real Live Shit’.
Here’s some names, tell us more…
Special K and Teddy Ted
Old School veterans that should be handling big business
in this hip-hop arena. They’re hip-hop pioneers.
Redman
12 years already, and I still can’t get a joint
with that nigga, that’s my man. Can somebody hook
that up.
Nonchalant
I met her once, she loved the remix. And those were
the days when I wasn’t supposed to be hot, and
I still came through.
Return Of The Boom Bap
I made a track for that KRS-ONE classic, Marley nixed
that one.
Yo MTV Raps
I loved it, I don’t know why they didn’t
keep Fab Five Freddy. That was a great vehicle for hip-hop.
Any shout outs?
Ghettoman Beats, 45 King, richdirection, Seven Shawn,
John Doe ‘Free John Doe’, El da Sensei,
Lambda, Bse, Onfire Entertainment, Beatdawg, DJ Power,
Riggs at Shady, D Prosper at G-Unit, Clark Kent at DDMG,
Geno at Bad Boy, DJ Riz and DJ Eclipse.
Thanks a lot for the interview!
©pf 2005
Useful links:
www.kdef.biz
|
