Fade
The Beat Strangler
Hailing from Greenup, KY., producer Bucky Ruckus is certain to have rappers putting their own green up to get their hands on one of his beats. Containing the rare mixture of being able to flip samples and compose original bangers, Bucky is a diverse craftsman capable of sculpting an entire album of providing a much needed certified hit for emcee's from all regions. Dropping his first ever beat tape "Wild Style", Bucky takes a time out to let us know all about his latest release.
Sup Bucky, tell us a bit about yourself.
I've been producing for a minute, around 7 or 8 years. I started out wanting to be a rapper, I used to get on the old mp3.com and download beats to flow to. Then I decided to do my own album, which never happened haha, so I researched how to make beats, got a copy of Fruity Loops, and went from there. My beats were terrible for a while, but I fell in love with producing and that's been my main focus since.
Where's Greenup, Kentucky? LOL, where's Kentucky?!!?
Greenup, Kentucky is my home town! Ha don't act like you never heard of Nappy Roots, you know where KY is son. We're about 3 hours from Louisville, hour and a half from Lexington and 20 minutes from Huntington, WV.
How has your music been influenced by living in Greenup?
Livin in a small town definitly makes me work a lot harder on my production, because it's alot harder to network and get my material out like that. I travel a lot though and I've been to a lot of major cities, and I can tell you there's no place like home haha.
What's the music scene like in Kentucky?
We don't have a real big hip hop scene in the area, but the acts we do have definitly get their grind on, no doubt, I dig working with local talent.
It's dope that you're putting your town on the map, how do you go about getting your name out in your own town?
Whatever I can. Put out as many beats as I can, produce for as many local cats as I can, and just letting everyone know what I can bring to the table.
The internet is a huge resource for anyone in music, how much has it helped you?
MAJORLY! It's basically one of the only ways I get to network with folks across the country because of my location and every time I have new music I post it online as soon as I can.
How was it working with T-Bo on "Once A Thug"? How did you hookup?
GREAT. He's a real cool dude and he is always putting new music out. We actually hooked up through MySpace. See I used to bump a lot of South Coast Coalition back in the day when I heard them on mp3.com and he is like brothers with them dudes. So I used to get on their forum all the time and post up beats and just anything I could to get my name out, and Bo heard some of my material and got at my through MySpace, we exchanged numbers, and the rest is history. I also produced "You Do You" for him.
What other artists have you worked with?
I produced, "Champion" for St.Laz, who is a great lyricist, and is a hard East Coast banger. A lot of local cats, White Tee, Sprinks, Trey J, YG, The Cartel, etc. I also did a few tracks for Fabo of D4L and Lil Eazy E that hopefully get released soon.
Tell us about Ruckus Management Group.
Well RMG started out as a producer management company, but I came to figure out that is too hard to shop other peoples tracks around over your own haha, so it's now evolving into my own label which will be taking off very soon.
How would you describe your sound? Coming out of Kentucky it must be a mix of everything!
For sure, it is a mix of everything. My sound can change all the time, I'm very versatile. Depending on what kinda mood I'm in I may come out with some Hard East Coast street bangers, some southern heat, and every once in a while you might get something with a West Coast feel.
What can you tell us about your latest beat tape, "Wild Style"?
"Wild Style" is actually my very first beat tape I've put out. It's just another way for me to get my name out there and to help some rappers out with some not only free beats, but shit that BUMPS! It's also out there to showcase my versatility. If you check it out, you can hear a range of different styles and each track leaves you wanting more.
What made you want to release a beat tape?
It's just something I've wanted to do, but never really had the time to do. But I finally done it and I will definitely be releasing a ton more of them, so be on the lookout for sure.
What equipment do you have in your studio?
Right now I'm using a CME UF60 keyboard controller, FL Studio, a ton of soft synths, and definitely can't forget the samples I dig up all the time.
What's the easiest and hardest parts of recording an emcee?
It really just depends on the emcee. But the majority of the time I enjoy every part of the recording process, I love vibing off other cats in the studio and I love hearing a final mix of a track, so the hardest part of it all is probably making sure I don't rush through everything because I'm anticipating the final master haha. And the easiest part is just being in the studio with creativity flowing.
When you're creating music, where do you get your inspiration?
Man, I get inspiration from anything and everything, from hearing new music from other artists, to hearing an old track that I'm like, "Damn... I'd love to sample that!", or from just hearing a unique sound and even just being in a good mood. I'm on the road a lot, so a lot of my production is done sitting in a hotel room.
How long have you been producing? Do you also emcee or DJ?
Been producing for around 7 or 8 years, and keep your ears peeled, I'm known to drop a verse or two on a track. You will actually be able to hear me flow on my first artist's under RMG, SPRINKS, a new album we are currently working on.
Do you have any advice for other producers and beatmakers out there?
Yea, man, just keep doing what your doing, create anything that makes you feel good, and do everything possible to get that name out. That's the key right there, just getting your name out. I do as much as possible to do that, just Google me and you'll see haha.
Any upcoming projects you'd like to tell us about?
Yea, my boy SPRINKS, is currently in the studio working on his debut album entirely produced by me. Dude has a different flow, and the beats on this will be outrageous, all types of different shit flying around on this one, definitely a must have when it drops. You can actually check a low quality snippet of a track out called, "Something About Us", produced by yours truly. Download it here.
Thanks for doing this interview, Bucky, any shoutouts you'd like to give?
Of course, thanks for having me. And yea, I'd like to shoutout T-Bo for sure for putting my name on the map. My artist SPRINKS, untitled album coming very soon, entirely produced by BUCKY RUCKUS, joint's gonna be crazy. My boy White Tee, he's currently working on his debut album, sorry to say I have no credits on this album haha, but it's all good, he's a good emcee from the area. My boy Trey J, who is getting ready to start on his album. AND EVERYBODY SHOW YOUR SUPPORT AND GO GET YOUR FREEEEEE COPY OF MY BEAT TAPE, "WILD STYLE"!
Sup Bucky, tell us a bit about yourself.
I've been producing for a minute, around 7 or 8 years. I started out wanting to be a rapper, I used to get on the old mp3.com and download beats to flow to. Then I decided to do my own album, which never happened haha, so I researched how to make beats, got a copy of Fruity Loops, and went from there. My beats were terrible for a while, but I fell in love with producing and that's been my main focus since.
Where's Greenup, Kentucky? LOL, where's Kentucky?!!?
Greenup, Kentucky is my home town! Ha don't act like you never heard of Nappy Roots, you know where KY is son. We're about 3 hours from Louisville, hour and a half from Lexington and 20 minutes from Huntington, WV.
How has your music been influenced by living in Greenup?
Livin in a small town definitly makes me work a lot harder on my production, because it's alot harder to network and get my material out like that. I travel a lot though and I've been to a lot of major cities, and I can tell you there's no place like home haha.
What's the music scene like in Kentucky?
We don't have a real big hip hop scene in the area, but the acts we do have definitly get their grind on, no doubt, I dig working with local talent.
It's dope that you're putting your town on the map, how do you go about getting your name out in your own town?
Whatever I can. Put out as many beats as I can, produce for as many local cats as I can, and just letting everyone know what I can bring to the table.
The internet is a huge resource for anyone in music, how much has it helped you?
MAJORLY! It's basically one of the only ways I get to network with folks across the country because of my location and every time I have new music I post it online as soon as I can.
How was it working with T-Bo on "Once A Thug"? How did you hookup?
GREAT. He's a real cool dude and he is always putting new music out. We actually hooked up through MySpace. See I used to bump a lot of South Coast Coalition back in the day when I heard them on mp3.com and he is like brothers with them dudes. So I used to get on their forum all the time and post up beats and just anything I could to get my name out, and Bo heard some of my material and got at my through MySpace, we exchanged numbers, and the rest is history. I also produced "You Do You" for him.
What other artists have you worked with?
I produced, "Champion" for St.Laz, who is a great lyricist, and is a hard East Coast banger. A lot of local cats, White Tee, Sprinks, Trey J, YG, The Cartel, etc. I also did a few tracks for Fabo of D4L and Lil Eazy E that hopefully get released soon.
Tell us about Ruckus Management Group.
Well RMG started out as a producer management company, but I came to figure out that is too hard to shop other peoples tracks around over your own haha, so it's now evolving into my own label which will be taking off very soon.
How would you describe your sound? Coming out of Kentucky it must be a mix of everything!
For sure, it is a mix of everything. My sound can change all the time, I'm very versatile. Depending on what kinda mood I'm in I may come out with some Hard East Coast street bangers, some southern heat, and every once in a while you might get something with a West Coast feel.
What can you tell us about your latest beat tape, "Wild Style"?
"Wild Style" is actually my very first beat tape I've put out. It's just another way for me to get my name out there and to help some rappers out with some not only free beats, but shit that BUMPS! It's also out there to showcase my versatility. If you check it out, you can hear a range of different styles and each track leaves you wanting more.
What made you want to release a beat tape?
It's just something I've wanted to do, but never really had the time to do. But I finally done it and I will definitely be releasing a ton more of them, so be on the lookout for sure.
What equipment do you have in your studio?
Right now I'm using a CME UF60 keyboard controller, FL Studio, a ton of soft synths, and definitely can't forget the samples I dig up all the time.
What's the easiest and hardest parts of recording an emcee?
It really just depends on the emcee. But the majority of the time I enjoy every part of the recording process, I love vibing off other cats in the studio and I love hearing a final mix of a track, so the hardest part of it all is probably making sure I don't rush through everything because I'm anticipating the final master haha. And the easiest part is just being in the studio with creativity flowing.
When you're creating music, where do you get your inspiration?
Man, I get inspiration from anything and everything, from hearing new music from other artists, to hearing an old track that I'm like, "Damn... I'd love to sample that!", or from just hearing a unique sound and even just being in a good mood. I'm on the road a lot, so a lot of my production is done sitting in a hotel room.
How long have you been producing? Do you also emcee or DJ?
Been producing for around 7 or 8 years, and keep your ears peeled, I'm known to drop a verse or two on a track. You will actually be able to hear me flow on my first artist's under RMG, SPRINKS, a new album we are currently working on.
Do you have any advice for other producers and beatmakers out there?
Yea, man, just keep doing what your doing, create anything that makes you feel good, and do everything possible to get that name out. That's the key right there, just getting your name out. I do as much as possible to do that, just Google me and you'll see haha.
Any upcoming projects you'd like to tell us about?
Yea, my boy SPRINKS, is currently in the studio working on his debut album entirely produced by me. Dude has a different flow, and the beats on this will be outrageous, all types of different shit flying around on this one, definitely a must have when it drops. You can actually check a low quality snippet of a track out called, "Something About Us", produced by yours truly. Download it here.
Thanks for doing this interview, Bucky, any shoutouts you'd like to give?
Of course, thanks for having me. And yea, I'd like to shoutout T-Bo for sure for putting my name on the map. My artist SPRINKS, untitled album coming very soon, entirely produced by BUCKY RUCKUS, joint's gonna be crazy. My boy White Tee, he's currently working on his debut album, sorry to say I have no credits on this album haha, but it's all good, he's a good emcee from the area. My boy Trey J, who is getting ready to start on his album. AND EVERYBODY SHOW YOUR SUPPORT AND GO GET YOUR FREEEEEE COPY OF MY BEAT TAPE, "WILD STYLE"!