Fade
The Beat Strangler
Administrator
illest o.g.
Kil, a producer from Philadelphia, has been putting it down since the 80's and has been keeping busy by working with many artists, including MOP, which carries a very interesting story along with it.
Sup Kil, tell us a bit about yourself.
Well... I'm a music producer from Philly but I'm living in Maryland right now. Been married for 10 years and have a beautiful daughter named Naomi. I went to Morgan State in Baltimore, Maryland and while I was there I hosted WEAA 88.9's hip hop show Strictly Hip Hop for 7 years which was a REAL dope experience. Right now I work for a nonprofit outta Washington DC called LifeSTARTS Youth and Family Services. We put together programs for youth and their families in Washington DC.
So you started writing rhymes in '84?!!?
LOL... I TRIED to start rhyming back in '84 when I was 10, after seeing Beat Street I knew I wanted in this hip hop game somehow so rhyming was the only thing you didn't need any money to do, so I tried my hand at that first but I wasn't too good at it. Maybe at the time I was nice but as rhyming began to get more lyrical, I knew rhyming wasn't my calling... LOL.
You were also a DJ back in the day, were you more into mixing, scratching, or just whatever?
I can remember seeing Run DMC performing "Rock Box" on one of those UNCF telethons and seeing Jam Master Jay DJing and was just amazed. And back in the day it was always me and my man Cool DJ Frank following behind his older brother Kev who was a DJ, so I think those 2 things are how I got the DJ bug. Philly's always been known for our DJ's (Jazzy Jeff, Cash Money, Tat Money) so in 85' for Christmas I asked my peoples for the two turntables and a mixer and from that point forward, me and Frank were ALWAYS at my crib DJing. I was more of the just making mixtapes type DJ, I wasn't REAL nice at scratching and the tricks so I left that up to Frank who's still doing his thing to this day in Philly and to this day I'm still making mixtapes; but I'm still not nice at scratching... LOL.
I was thinking about trying to get back into DJing but now EVERYBODY is DJing and for the most part cats are just throwing on records and fading them in and out and no dis, but that's not DJing to me. Like I said, I'm from Philly... DJing to me is what Jeff, Cash, Roc Raida (RIP), etc. do. Those cats just don't play records, they DJ... a lot of cats now just "play records".
Why did you get into producing rather than just sticking to the MC and DJ aspect?
One day my man Frank and Marv came on my block and told me they just recorded a demo. I'm thinking they were just rhyming off a 12" instrumental like we always did but they actually had a real beat! And I was AMAZED! These cats had an actual song that was dope! So from that point on I was always tagging along with them to my man Hollis' (their producer) house watching how he made the beats and that's when I caught the beat buzz. Seeing all the equipment, the S950, the mixer, everything just had me hooked. To this day I can just sit and look at drum machines and samplers and studio equipment ALL DAY! As far as why did I stop DJing and MCing, for me, some cats want to be a jack of all trades, where as with me I'd rather be DOPE at one thing, then just to be aiight in 5 things... so I decided to put all of my time and energy into becoming a dope producer.
What was your first production setup and what do you have now?
My first production set up was courtesy of my moms. My mother is a jazz musician, so she got me having the whole hip hop and music addiction. She copped me a 4 track and my man Frank let me borrow his mixer that had a sampler in it and I put the two together and that was my first production set up. I got the idea from my man Osei who had a similar set up at his crib. After messing with that for a couple of years, I realized that all of the stuff I made on the 4 track couldn't be used in a real studio so again, my moms invested in me and copped me an ASR-10 sampling keyboard. And after rocking with that for 10 years, I stepped up to the MPC2000XL and that's my main piece right now.
What are some of the most notable artists you've worked with, and what was it like?
I've had the pleasure of working with A LOT of dope artist throughout the years I've been producing. When I first started producing I was working with an ill group outta Philly back in the day called the Nomads aka Daga Manifesto and my man Circus. Those cats were the first cats to be like "you got some heat" and let me start producing for them so I gotta shout them out for that. Right now I'm working with my man Classic who I just did a jawn for, my man Khalil Byrd who we're putting the finishing touches on his debut album, my man Etc. who I just laced with an ill jawn called "Park Jam". Me and my man Osei Moreland are putting the final touches on his debut album. I just finished up my homegirl Kyana's sophomore album "I Am Beauty" where I'm producing the entire album (http://www.beauty-inc.org/Artist). I've produced 3 jawns for my man Sekani's (the writer behind the MTV movie Carmen) sophomore album and we're finishing up a project we're doing together that's gonna be REAL ill... the best way to explain it is "Love Jones on wax". I produced 4 jawns for my homegirl C. Clear's debut album "A Soldier Story" (http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/cclear).
I produced an entire album for my man Lunchboxx called "The Discipline". I also just finished doing a project with my man Vegas who's an ill MC outta BK called "The Grey Area" which will be available for free download this spring/summer (http://vegasworldinc.bandcamp.com/). I'm also working on my wife's (who's an ill singer) project which is also gonna be ill cause she's actually singing about topics that people can relate to, plus she's singing over straight hip hop tracks... I mean tracks that Rae and Ghost could be spitting over! A lot of cats may not know a lot of these artists, but I'm giving cats a sneak peak into the future, 'cause trust me ALL of these are artists are about to be the future of hip hop and R&B... for real!
Your production on "Rude Bastards" is sick! How would you describe your style?
First things first, good looking for the props on "Rude Bastards". It's definitely one of my fav tracks and to have Fame and Bill spit over it, that was just the icing on the cake. Even though I wasn't able to be in the studio with them, the fact that they spit over one of my tracks and actually used it on their album meant a lot to me. I would describe my style as just "Philly music" aka music you can feel. When I make a beat, it starts with the feel of the sample. I could hear a sample that sounds good but if it's not a certain feeling behind it, I won't use it. I just wanna make beats and music that people FEEL! It seems like nowadays there's so much anticipation before an album drops, then it drops and 2 weeks later, you don't hear anything about it anymore. I wanna make music that has staying power, that when you're going through a certain situation you can pop it in to be the soundtrack of your day.
How did you hook up with MOP?
Truth be told, I didn't hook up with MOP. I hit them with a beat CD at a show they did in B'more in September 09 and because of a mix up with credits and label hoopla I didn't get credit for the track when "Foundation" dropped. When I heard my track on their album, I went to the internet and posted my story on a couple of websites and it just caught on like wildfire! People were getting at me from Switzerland, Italy, London showing love and I was just shocked that SO many people knew about it. One website said they got so much traffic because of the story, their server went down! Right after everything went down my wife Google'd "Kil and MOP" and about 3 pages from different websites came up! Again, I'm shocked cause before this situation I only used the internet for email and downloading music so I never realized you TRULY are connected with the world! Before I knew it I was on the phone with Fame and Laze working everything out. Which bugged me out cause, I really didn't expect anybody to really care and I definitely didn't think MOP would get at me directly! I just posted my story in case people liked the track, they could know who really did it.
Philly's BIG on haircuts, so it would be like me giving someone an ill haircut and then that person being stopped in the street by someone saying "Yo...who cut you?" And instead of saying Kil they say someone else cut them. Everything from beats to haircuts, it's all about your clientele and getting your name and your talent out there. So like I said, I just wanted people to know who did the track. A lot cats on message boards and forums were saying it was one of their favorite tracks, so that mos def felt good. When I think about the story catching on like it did, I always think of Jay Z's line "but all the hustler's love it just to see one of us make it". I feel like my story was A LOT of other people's story. I'm sure there are 1,000's of producers who have had their music used without permission who never got their story out there and if they did the situation wasn't worked out. So I think a lot of people just related to what was going down. After I updated the post on how MOP was cool and how we worked out the situation I got MAD love from people saying how happy they were for me!
How hard is it to make industry connections?
Fam... probably one of the hardest things in this world to do. I mean, I've been making beats for over 10 years, and I can honestly say that I feel like my music has been on "that" level for the past 5-6 years, but it's just crazy to get your stuff heard. That's why I need a manager. Someone who's in the mix of action who's outgoing and wants to be in those industry settings. Right now I'm a homebody. I'm not in NYC, not out in the underground hip hop spots, not really in the mood to be begging people to listen to my stuff but if you wanna get it heard, that's what you have to do. Truth be told I just leave it in God's hands. I mean, for me to get my 1st placement, I basically had to get jacked for it! I totally believe in everything happening for a reason. Take the MOP situation for example, I gave them that beat CD in September 2009 and a year later I hear it on their album... once I found out how everything went down and it wasn't anything shadey behind it, I was amazed that my beat CD stayed in their camp THAT long.
Another time my homegirl got Idris Elba (from the Wire) a beat CD, and he got at me after 6 months! Again I'm just shocked the CD wasn't thrown away or lost or whatever after 6 months. My man gave me a CD 2 weeks ago and I've lost it already cause I have CD's all over my car and in my studio! And I could only imagine how many CD's these industry dudes get. A month ago, DJ Dead Eye (Termanolgy's DJ) got at me like "I don't know who this is but I got my hand on your beat CD and you got some heat!" Fam... I left a beat CD on Termanolgy's windshield of his promo van last September at the same MOP show, and somehow it got in his DJ's hands 16 months later?!?!?!? I don't believe in coincidences, I believe in God. That's why I TRULY believe this will be a good year for me. Following cats on Twitter helps too, cause a lot of cats will give you emails where you can send tracks to, so I've actually made some contacts that way too. Anytime anyone says anything about wanting beats on Twitter my man Vegas always gets their info to me.
Some of your tracks have an R&B feel to it, how is that different than making straight up hip hop music?
It's not really different at all. If I come across a dope sample that's got an R&B feel to it... I just run with it. There aren't many times that I set out to make a particular kind of track, it usually just happens. Sometimes when someone comes at me like they want a track with a certain feel to it, I'll try to keep diggin 'til I come across the vibe I think will fit what they want. I like tailor making tracks for people... I got that from Primo. If I send you out a beat CD and you feel something that's dope, but I'd rather an MC give me a concept or for them to allow me to give them a concept and let me cook up something for them personally. Most of the time, I'm making a straight hip hop beat and my wife comes in the studio singing to it, so that's REALLY how most of my R&B stuff happens.
Philadelphia has produced some huge artists over the years; what's the scene like today?
Truth be told, I don't get back to Philly as much as I would love to since I live in Maryland now but through my people Classic, Etc. and Khalil, I hear there are A LOT of dope MC's coming outta Philly now. I know my man Khalil has taken a young dude named Chill who's REAL ill under his wing. My man Cassidy is STILL holding Philly down, but one of my fav's outta Philly right now is the dude Joey Jihad.
What's the one piece of advice you could give other producers/beatmakers?
Just don't give up. I don't care if NO ONE believes in you, if you believe in yourself and your music just don't give up!
Any shoutouts you'd like to give?
No doubt... God for blessing me with my talent and putting wonderful, supportive and Godly people in my life, to my wife Tanya who holds me down everyday, all day, my daughter Naomi, who's my mini me who's getting nice on the MPC, my moms for all the support, ALL of these years, to all the dope artist who I've been blessed to work with and mos def IllMuzik.com for giving me an opportunity to shine. You can check me out and new beats I post at www.myspace.com/kil889, follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kil889 and check out my blog www.willmakebeatsforfood.blogspot.com. Also, please check out a great organization that I work for called LifeSTARTS Youth and Family Services. We put together In and After school programs in Wards 7 and 8 in Washington DC trying to help our youth and their families in those communities at www.lifestarts.org.
Sup Kil, tell us a bit about yourself.
Well... I'm a music producer from Philly but I'm living in Maryland right now. Been married for 10 years and have a beautiful daughter named Naomi. I went to Morgan State in Baltimore, Maryland and while I was there I hosted WEAA 88.9's hip hop show Strictly Hip Hop for 7 years which was a REAL dope experience. Right now I work for a nonprofit outta Washington DC called LifeSTARTS Youth and Family Services. We put together programs for youth and their families in Washington DC.
So you started writing rhymes in '84?!!?
LOL... I TRIED to start rhyming back in '84 when I was 10, after seeing Beat Street I knew I wanted in this hip hop game somehow so rhyming was the only thing you didn't need any money to do, so I tried my hand at that first but I wasn't too good at it. Maybe at the time I was nice but as rhyming began to get more lyrical, I knew rhyming wasn't my calling... LOL.
You were also a DJ back in the day, were you more into mixing, scratching, or just whatever?
I can remember seeing Run DMC performing "Rock Box" on one of those UNCF telethons and seeing Jam Master Jay DJing and was just amazed. And back in the day it was always me and my man Cool DJ Frank following behind his older brother Kev who was a DJ, so I think those 2 things are how I got the DJ bug. Philly's always been known for our DJ's (Jazzy Jeff, Cash Money, Tat Money) so in 85' for Christmas I asked my peoples for the two turntables and a mixer and from that point forward, me and Frank were ALWAYS at my crib DJing. I was more of the just making mixtapes type DJ, I wasn't REAL nice at scratching and the tricks so I left that up to Frank who's still doing his thing to this day in Philly and to this day I'm still making mixtapes; but I'm still not nice at scratching... LOL.
I was thinking about trying to get back into DJing but now EVERYBODY is DJing and for the most part cats are just throwing on records and fading them in and out and no dis, but that's not DJing to me. Like I said, I'm from Philly... DJing to me is what Jeff, Cash, Roc Raida (RIP), etc. do. Those cats just don't play records, they DJ... a lot of cats now just "play records".
Why did you get into producing rather than just sticking to the MC and DJ aspect?
One day my man Frank and Marv came on my block and told me they just recorded a demo. I'm thinking they were just rhyming off a 12" instrumental like we always did but they actually had a real beat! And I was AMAZED! These cats had an actual song that was dope! So from that point on I was always tagging along with them to my man Hollis' (their producer) house watching how he made the beats and that's when I caught the beat buzz. Seeing all the equipment, the S950, the mixer, everything just had me hooked. To this day I can just sit and look at drum machines and samplers and studio equipment ALL DAY! As far as why did I stop DJing and MCing, for me, some cats want to be a jack of all trades, where as with me I'd rather be DOPE at one thing, then just to be aiight in 5 things... so I decided to put all of my time and energy into becoming a dope producer.
What was your first production setup and what do you have now?
My first production set up was courtesy of my moms. My mother is a jazz musician, so she got me having the whole hip hop and music addiction. She copped me a 4 track and my man Frank let me borrow his mixer that had a sampler in it and I put the two together and that was my first production set up. I got the idea from my man Osei who had a similar set up at his crib. After messing with that for a couple of years, I realized that all of the stuff I made on the 4 track couldn't be used in a real studio so again, my moms invested in me and copped me an ASR-10 sampling keyboard. And after rocking with that for 10 years, I stepped up to the MPC2000XL and that's my main piece right now.
What are some of the most notable artists you've worked with, and what was it like?
I've had the pleasure of working with A LOT of dope artist throughout the years I've been producing. When I first started producing I was working with an ill group outta Philly back in the day called the Nomads aka Daga Manifesto and my man Circus. Those cats were the first cats to be like "you got some heat" and let me start producing for them so I gotta shout them out for that. Right now I'm working with my man Classic who I just did a jawn for, my man Khalil Byrd who we're putting the finishing touches on his debut album, my man Etc. who I just laced with an ill jawn called "Park Jam". Me and my man Osei Moreland are putting the final touches on his debut album. I just finished up my homegirl Kyana's sophomore album "I Am Beauty" where I'm producing the entire album (http://www.beauty-inc.org/Artist). I've produced 3 jawns for my man Sekani's (the writer behind the MTV movie Carmen) sophomore album and we're finishing up a project we're doing together that's gonna be REAL ill... the best way to explain it is "Love Jones on wax". I produced 4 jawns for my homegirl C. Clear's debut album "A Soldier Story" (http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/cclear).
I produced an entire album for my man Lunchboxx called "The Discipline". I also just finished doing a project with my man Vegas who's an ill MC outta BK called "The Grey Area" which will be available for free download this spring/summer (http://vegasworldinc.bandcamp.com/). I'm also working on my wife's (who's an ill singer) project which is also gonna be ill cause she's actually singing about topics that people can relate to, plus she's singing over straight hip hop tracks... I mean tracks that Rae and Ghost could be spitting over! A lot of cats may not know a lot of these artists, but I'm giving cats a sneak peak into the future, 'cause trust me ALL of these are artists are about to be the future of hip hop and R&B... for real!
Your production on "Rude Bastards" is sick! How would you describe your style?
First things first, good looking for the props on "Rude Bastards". It's definitely one of my fav tracks and to have Fame and Bill spit over it, that was just the icing on the cake. Even though I wasn't able to be in the studio with them, the fact that they spit over one of my tracks and actually used it on their album meant a lot to me. I would describe my style as just "Philly music" aka music you can feel. When I make a beat, it starts with the feel of the sample. I could hear a sample that sounds good but if it's not a certain feeling behind it, I won't use it. I just wanna make beats and music that people FEEL! It seems like nowadays there's so much anticipation before an album drops, then it drops and 2 weeks later, you don't hear anything about it anymore. I wanna make music that has staying power, that when you're going through a certain situation you can pop it in to be the soundtrack of your day.
How did you hook up with MOP?
Truth be told, I didn't hook up with MOP. I hit them with a beat CD at a show they did in B'more in September 09 and because of a mix up with credits and label hoopla I didn't get credit for the track when "Foundation" dropped. When I heard my track on their album, I went to the internet and posted my story on a couple of websites and it just caught on like wildfire! People were getting at me from Switzerland, Italy, London showing love and I was just shocked that SO many people knew about it. One website said they got so much traffic because of the story, their server went down! Right after everything went down my wife Google'd "Kil and MOP" and about 3 pages from different websites came up! Again, I'm shocked cause before this situation I only used the internet for email and downloading music so I never realized you TRULY are connected with the world! Before I knew it I was on the phone with Fame and Laze working everything out. Which bugged me out cause, I really didn't expect anybody to really care and I definitely didn't think MOP would get at me directly! I just posted my story in case people liked the track, they could know who really did it.
Philly's BIG on haircuts, so it would be like me giving someone an ill haircut and then that person being stopped in the street by someone saying "Yo...who cut you?" And instead of saying Kil they say someone else cut them. Everything from beats to haircuts, it's all about your clientele and getting your name and your talent out there. So like I said, I just wanted people to know who did the track. A lot cats on message boards and forums were saying it was one of their favorite tracks, so that mos def felt good. When I think about the story catching on like it did, I always think of Jay Z's line "but all the hustler's love it just to see one of us make it". I feel like my story was A LOT of other people's story. I'm sure there are 1,000's of producers who have had their music used without permission who never got their story out there and if they did the situation wasn't worked out. So I think a lot of people just related to what was going down. After I updated the post on how MOP was cool and how we worked out the situation I got MAD love from people saying how happy they were for me!
How hard is it to make industry connections?
Fam... probably one of the hardest things in this world to do. I mean, I've been making beats for over 10 years, and I can honestly say that I feel like my music has been on "that" level for the past 5-6 years, but it's just crazy to get your stuff heard. That's why I need a manager. Someone who's in the mix of action who's outgoing and wants to be in those industry settings. Right now I'm a homebody. I'm not in NYC, not out in the underground hip hop spots, not really in the mood to be begging people to listen to my stuff but if you wanna get it heard, that's what you have to do. Truth be told I just leave it in God's hands. I mean, for me to get my 1st placement, I basically had to get jacked for it! I totally believe in everything happening for a reason. Take the MOP situation for example, I gave them that beat CD in September 2009 and a year later I hear it on their album... once I found out how everything went down and it wasn't anything shadey behind it, I was amazed that my beat CD stayed in their camp THAT long.
Another time my homegirl got Idris Elba (from the Wire) a beat CD, and he got at me after 6 months! Again I'm just shocked the CD wasn't thrown away or lost or whatever after 6 months. My man gave me a CD 2 weeks ago and I've lost it already cause I have CD's all over my car and in my studio! And I could only imagine how many CD's these industry dudes get. A month ago, DJ Dead Eye (Termanolgy's DJ) got at me like "I don't know who this is but I got my hand on your beat CD and you got some heat!" Fam... I left a beat CD on Termanolgy's windshield of his promo van last September at the same MOP show, and somehow it got in his DJ's hands 16 months later?!?!?!? I don't believe in coincidences, I believe in God. That's why I TRULY believe this will be a good year for me. Following cats on Twitter helps too, cause a lot of cats will give you emails where you can send tracks to, so I've actually made some contacts that way too. Anytime anyone says anything about wanting beats on Twitter my man Vegas always gets their info to me.
Some of your tracks have an R&B feel to it, how is that different than making straight up hip hop music?
It's not really different at all. If I come across a dope sample that's got an R&B feel to it... I just run with it. There aren't many times that I set out to make a particular kind of track, it usually just happens. Sometimes when someone comes at me like they want a track with a certain feel to it, I'll try to keep diggin 'til I come across the vibe I think will fit what they want. I like tailor making tracks for people... I got that from Primo. If I send you out a beat CD and you feel something that's dope, but I'd rather an MC give me a concept or for them to allow me to give them a concept and let me cook up something for them personally. Most of the time, I'm making a straight hip hop beat and my wife comes in the studio singing to it, so that's REALLY how most of my R&B stuff happens.
Philadelphia has produced some huge artists over the years; what's the scene like today?
Truth be told, I don't get back to Philly as much as I would love to since I live in Maryland now but through my people Classic, Etc. and Khalil, I hear there are A LOT of dope MC's coming outta Philly now. I know my man Khalil has taken a young dude named Chill who's REAL ill under his wing. My man Cassidy is STILL holding Philly down, but one of my fav's outta Philly right now is the dude Joey Jihad.
What's the one piece of advice you could give other producers/beatmakers?
Just don't give up. I don't care if NO ONE believes in you, if you believe in yourself and your music just don't give up!
Any shoutouts you'd like to give?
No doubt... God for blessing me with my talent and putting wonderful, supportive and Godly people in my life, to my wife Tanya who holds me down everyday, all day, my daughter Naomi, who's my mini me who's getting nice on the MPC, my moms for all the support, ALL of these years, to all the dope artist who I've been blessed to work with and mos def IllMuzik.com for giving me an opportunity to shine. You can check me out and new beats I post at www.myspace.com/kil889, follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kil889 and check out my blog www.willmakebeatsforfood.blogspot.com. Also, please check out a great organization that I work for called LifeSTARTS Youth and Family Services. We put together In and After school programs in Wards 7 and 8 in Washington DC trying to help our youth and their families in those communities at www.lifestarts.org.
