What was it like growing up in Detroit? What part of the city are you from?
In the early-mid eighties I grew up on the East side. When I was there, the neighborhood was a lot more peaceful. You could go outside and not have to worry about getting shot or getting ran over by some speeding car coming down the street. There was a sense of community amongst the people living in the neighborhood.
When did you start making music? How influential was "the Detroit sound"?
I started actually making music in 2001, but when I was growing up I used to hang out with my cousin and she use to always beatbox and make crazy sounds with her mouth. So me hearing her make these crazy sounds made me want to try and make the same type of noises. And still to this day I still beatbox to create ideas for beats I want to make. As far as the "Detroit" sound, I really never considered myself to have it.
What brought you to the UK? How's life treating you out there?
My wife is from the UK, We didn't have anything or any obligations going on in the states so we said "what the heck"? lets go for it. Living out here has been pretty cool. To me, a better quality of life considering that we came from the East side of Detroit.
You defiantly know how to flip a sample, can you describe your process?
Mostly, what I look for in a sample is harmonies and melodies. Usually, I chop the sample first and then I try to replay the chop on the keyboard. Then from there I might use 3-5 other samples and layer those over the top. In a session of making a beats, I might make 5 beats and keep 1 and erase all the others, even with doing that, I still let the beat rest for a day or two and then see if I can do something else different. Sometimes I might take 2-5 days to complete one track.
