Nottz

Benji B

We’re in for a special treat now. Please welcome the one they call Nottz.

[applause]

You don’t do too many interviews.

Nottz

No, I’m scared of it.

Benji B

I haven’t seen too many in print or on TV or the Internet or anything, but for someone with such an impressive track record and production history and discography, that’s rare. Is there any reason why you’re so on the low?

Nottz

When you do interviews, they can take it a whole different way. You say something and they’ll flip it around on you. So, I tend to stay away from it.

Benji B

Well, thanks so much for making the trip from Virginia and taking some time with us today. For those in the room who aren’t familiar with your production history, can you reel off some names you’ve worked with, just to put us in the picture?

Nottz

Busta Rhymes, Snoop, Rah Digga, Swizz Beats, Method Man, The Game, Dr Dre, J Dilla, Diamond D, Pete Rock, they go on, man, just go on.

Benji B

When did you start producing? What was your first big record that you put out?

Nottz

First record was DV Alias Khrist and Lord Have Mercy, a track called “Holy Water.” It was on the Lyricists Lounge Vol. 1, that was like ‘97/’98. That was the first. Then came Busta Rhymes and the E.L.E., “Everybody Rise” off Extinction Level Event, where we’re about to take it.

Benji B

Yeah, I think you should play that one before we go any further. Some of you may know this one.

(music: Busta Rhymes – “Everybody Rise” / applause)

Nottz

Thank you, thank you.

Benji B

That was the first cut on that record as well. How did that change things for you when it came out?

Nottz

Busta Rhymes has got a big mouth. When that came out and everyone was asking who did it, he told them, “Nottz, from Virginia.” It fell into place after that, we got a lot of calls. We did the first three songs on that record.

Benji B

You just mentioned Virginia, that’s your home town, right? Tell us about that and how that environment affected your approach to music growing up.

Nottz

There’s different types of music over there. Everybody had their own click, like Pharrell had his own click, Timbaland had his own clique. It’s hard to explain, because nobody wants to see you make it, so that keeps you pushing. If they don’t want to see me make it, then I’m going to do it on my own, you’ve got to grind hard to make it out there. There’s so much talent out there that nobody knows about. You think you’ve heard the hottest MC, when he’s not. So many people rap and make beats, it’s amazing. So many people out there do that. You’ve got to grind, grind, grind. It’s crazy, though.

Benji B

So even though there’s so many top hip-hop producers from Virginia, there’s not a lot of collaborating going on?

Nottz

No, there isn’t. I feel like everybody’s scared of each other. It shouldn’t be that way. If we all got together, it would be crazy – it would be the bomb, verified. I try to reach out to everybody but they just won’t come and play.

Benji B

But, I guess, that competitive element is something that pushes you on.

Nottz

It keeps me going. You don’t want to deal with me? Cool, I stay working anyway. I keep it moving. Don’t let anyone stop you, just do it. If the next man doesn’t like it, someone else might. I don’t have anything against DJs, but I don’t listen to much radio. You get hooked into that. You can’t get hooked into that radio shit. The majority of them play what’s out anyway, rather than what they know is hot, they have to play all these hit records, when there’s so much better than that out there. They feed into that. But it is what it is. It is what it is.

Benji B

So how did you first start getting into making beats?

Nottz

My father, he was a DJ and my oldest brother was a DJ. He would make beats when I was a little kid, him and three of my brothers. Every one of them was different. My oldest brother did some funk beats, the one under him did more like hip-hop shit, the brother older than me was into Miami-sounding beats. So I took all that in, and was, “OK, this is what I want to do.” They really made me see there was different types of music that you could do. They got out of it, I stayed in with my manager here. I had a little seven-second sampler, a little keyboard. Every time I pressed sample on it, have a little sample up there, press it again and go over it, so it’s like overdubbing. I’ve got all this shit running at one time. It sounded like shit but it was cool to me. He let me hold his SP-1200 one day, make some beats. He taught me a lot on the SP-12. That’s basically it, man.

Benji B

You’ve had the same people around you ever since you started.

Nottz

Hell, yeah. He kept me going, my manager kept me going. Darryl Sloan kept me going, my brothers got out of it, I stayed in it. If they’d stayed in it, we all would’ve been something. It bugs me a little bit, but it is what it is.

Benji B

And how long have you been in the production game?

Nottz

Probably making beats for about 14 or 15 years, but doing it for major artists, about ten. He didn’t even know I did beats, nobody knew I even did them. I tried them out on this little keyboard and it is what it is today.

Benji B

It seems from the outside looking in that people are hot for a minute. How do you stay relevant and keep getting those calls for such a long time?

Nottz

Staying away from those fads. You start doing this kind of beat and everybody starts hopping on it, “This is what I’ve got to do to sell.” Don’t follow that, be consistent with yourself. Do that and everything will fall into place.

Benji B

Talk me through the first few years after doing that Busta Rhymes album, some of the projects you worked on following that.

Nottz

We did a lot of Flipmode stuff, Xzibit, 50 Cent, the Biggie record.

Benji B

Which one was that?

Nottz

 “Dangerous MCs.”

(music: Notorious BIG – “Dangerous MCs” / applause_)

Benji B

What era was that, ’96?

Nottz

No, that was ’99. I’ll play some other stuff for you. I’m going to go back to the first record we put out, the DV Alias Khrist and Lord Have Mercy – the first record we did for a major artist, “Holy Water.”

(music: DV Alias Khrist & Lord Have Mercy - “Holy Water” / applause)

That right there led to “Everybody Rise” on Extinction Level Event and that Busta Rhymes shit. He was supposed to be on that song, but I guess, they didn’t want him on it. He said, “I want you do some stuff for my shit.” OK, gave him a cassette – we were working with cassettes then – and the first three beats on that cassette ended up being the first three joints on his album. We’ve been on at least three albums of his. He moved on to the “what’s hot” producers and left these [inaudible] out. But it’s come back into play. It’s going to work. He is what he is, he wants to be that next man, the next dude. He needs to come back to the real hip-hop where he belongs. If he does that, Busta’s going to work out. Right now, he’s exploring, he needs to come on back home. Come on back home, bro.

Benji B

Seems like working with Busta really opened a lot of doors for you, though.

Nottz

Yeah, it did. We’re underground cats. A lot of underground cats like to fuck with my sound, but we didn’t want to isolate ourselves to just the underground. I love the underground, that’s what I grew up on, sampling and all that shit, that’s me. But, of course, everyone wants to make money, everybody wants to be big. But it isn’t that with me, I’m not worried about the bigness. I’ve got kids to feed, we need money, but it’s going to take a lot of money to make that money. We need to figure out the easier ways to do it. Pharrell fucked it up for a lot of dudes, he was playing more. He didn’t really fuck it up for people, but he put you in that state where you’ve got to play, you’ve got to get away from those samples. I’m trying to do it gradually, but sampling is where I’m at. I love old records, I listen to them, so that’s me.

Benji B

Have you got a serious record collection habit? Is that a big thing for you, digging?

Nottz

It used to be, but now I don’t get as much, I stay in the studio every day, all day. Trying to make these million-dollar records.

Benji B

Seeing as your sound is so sample-based, do you want to do a little break to the beat excursion for us, play something original then a track we might know [that samples it]?

Nottz

This is a Commodores record. I sampled it for this Snoop record, which isn’t out yet. Here it is.

Nottz

This is what I did to it.

(music: R.Kelly feat Snoop Dogg – “Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy” / applause)

And then there’s this Blondie record, “Heart Of Glass.” I always loved this record.

Nottz

And this is what I did to it.

(music: Nottz – unknown / applause)

And this is a Curtis Mayfield record, “Don’t Worry…”

Nottz

And this is what I did to it right here.

(music: DMP – “Don’t Wanna Give That Up / applause)

Benji B

What kind of stuff are you using to make these beats?

Nottz

ASR-10, Motif. Trying to get a crash out of it or something? It isn’t anything big, you don’t need anything big to make stuff. A lot of producers think you need these big studios and million-dollar equipment to make things happen. It ain’t like that – we used what we had. When we were starting out we had a little four-track and that helped us for where we are now. When we’re in the studio, it’s easier for us to do what we want. The four-tracks helped, use what you got, you don’t need that big stuff, use what you’ve got. Don’t let anyone tell you you need this $30,000 board, you don’t need that. It’s just a $400 four-track, you’re cool. That’s basically it.

Benji B

And you’ve been using ASR-10 since the beginning – you haven’t changed?

Nottz

First, my homeboy had the EPS, I was messing with the EPS. He saw I was getting good on his EPS, he didn’t want me to come over no more. “OK, I’ll fix you, dude.” But he messed up by introducing me to this money-making dude. The dude was like, “I see you do beats, what do you do your beats on?” “I’m using his EPS.” “You don’t got your own?” “No.” So he came past the crib and said, “OK, come outside for a minute.” So I came outside. “You want a keyboard?” “Yeah.” Put me in his car, went and got a keyboard. Man, I’ve been banging out shit ever since. I don’t even go to that dude’s house no more, “I don’t need you no more, boy.” That’s how it came. Damn, dude [laughs]. It was bad. That’s fucked up.

[Laughter]

That’s all I’m thinking about it now, that’s fucked up.

[Laughter]

Benji B

And when it comes to engineering, have you been working with the same engineer all the time?

Nottz

It varies, man. We can go with all these engineers anyway, because half of them already know the sound. You don’t have to, like, robot these dudes, they already know what it is, they already know. We do a lot of things together anyway, me and Darryl. Half the tracks I send out, I EQ them before I send them out, so they don’t have to do too much to them.

Benji B

But just to get it straight, the time when it comes to having engineers and big studios is only when you come to track the record. Up until then you’re just doing it on what’s effectively a bedroom studio?

Nottz

Yeah, right, right. You don’t need all that big shit, man. Just use what you’ve got, you’re cool, you’re straight. You don’t need that big shit, it’s a waste of money.

Benji B

In terms of shopping beats, for people who would love to be in your position to be able to get beats to their favorite artists and end up producing them, what’s the process as a jobbing producer? Do you have a beat agent? Is it a direct relationship with the artist or is it up to your management?

Nottz

All three. You can have it any kind of way, just don’t be a stalker, don’t go around stalking people. That’s real! Don’t go around stalking motherfuckers. Just grind, don’t be afraid to talk to people, because you don’t know who the next man is. Don’t be afraid to talk to anybody. Don’t say you’ve got some hot shit, it speaks for itself.

Benji B

But once you’ve got the talent, what’s the process of getting the beats out there? Especially, in the age of the internet now, you’ve got to be careful about sending out beat CDs. What’s your approach to that?

Nottz

Getting off your ass, it ain’t going to come to you. You’ve got to go to these places. It’s no good sitting in your room with a million-dollar beat. They’re not going to come to you, you’ve got to travel. Watch the internet, because they’re intercepting that shit. They intercepted a couple of our things. A dude was saying to me, “I heard a track you did.” I’m playing it like I don’t know what he’s talking about. “I heard that ‘Godfather’ shit.” “What ‘Godfather’ shit?” “The ‘Godfather’ track.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But then he named tracks that came before that and tracks that came after it on my tracklist. Wow, how did he do that? So now, when we send them out, we change the name up, like I’ll throw some Madonna on that shit, Club Nouveau or Boy George and some crazy shit, throw them off. OK, you ain’t going to fuck with that.

[Laughter]

You’ve got to do it, especially when we’re sending out CDs. We change the name up, it’ll be some crazy dumb shit so they won’t check it. Assholes.

[Laughter]

You’ve got to watch all that. There’s nothing you can do. These dudes two-track that shit, go and get a deal with it, they don’t need you no more. They’ve got a deal already. Fuck it, go and get some $200 beat, dude. Punks.

[Laughter]

Benji B

And talking of two-tracking it, say, your beat gets bought and the artist is going into the studio, how much involvement do you have in that process there and then? Or do you just send it off and see how it comes back?

Nottz

A lot of times we’ll send it off and they’ll either send it back before, to check and see if the mix is right, but the majority of these people, they don’t even want to send that shit anyway because they’re afraid it’ll get leaked. Half of it, we won’t even hear it until it’s out. OK, the mix is fucked up, but it’s too late, or we don’t like the hook but it’s too late. It’s already out, already pressed it up, put it on the internet, done a video to it.

Benji B

But how often do you have the artist in the booth with you when you’re recording that stuff?

Nottz

When they’re indie artists and are in town with us. I feel better with them anyway. A major dude, they’ve got it all, they think they know it all, so they don’t need help. But indie artists listen, and whatever I don’t like, they’ll fix it. If they don’t like it, I’ll fix it. It’s cool, that’s how we work. I like working with indie artists anyway, because they’re up-and-coming, you never know what they’re going to do. They could be the next 50 Cent, Jay-Z.

Benji B

And how many people want them with hooks already on them or are you just sending out raw beats?

Nottz

Both. We send them with hooks, without hooks. To me, if he needs beats with hooks, I think that motherfucker’s lazy. He doesn’t want to work, it’s already there. That’s how I feel. Coming up with your own shit, I like that. You show me something you made versus something I sent out to you, I just don’t respect it. You’re a rapper. If someone’s writing stuff for you, you’re not a rapper to me. I can respect a dude who’s been doing beats for 10 or 12 years versus someone who’s been doing it since yesterday. He doesn’t know what grinding is, he just came up with a hi-hat and a snare and that’s a beat, and people accept that stuff, that’s cool. That’s not cool at all. Punks, punks.

Benji B

It seems like you resisted the production house route of being inducted into a well-known production house under the wing of a better-known producer in order to get on. You’ve always stuck with your own name instead of writing your beats off to someone else. Can you talk about that for a while, because a lot of people don’t know how that works?

Nottz

People accept that shit. You do a beat for a Dr Dre or whatever, it comes out and it says, “Produced by Dr Dre.” Your name ain’t on it. You’re too hungry for that shit. You’ve got to get in the way you get in, but I don’t work like that. We worked too hard to be another name, we are us. There’s no co-production, none of that. It’s produced by such-and-such and Nottz? “No, dog, you didn’t have anything to do with it. I did that.” We fight for all of that, man.

Benji B

Talking of Dr. Dre, I heard you’re involved in the hugely anticipated project The Detox. Is that correct?

Nottz

I don’t know about that album, it’s coming out. It’s overwhelming that they’d even come for me. The Dr, he fucked with my shit, I must have got something for him to say “I need this track.” There’s only a selected few that he fucks with. For him to say I’m one of his favorite producers, that’s crazy, that gets me right here [touches heart]. I’ve got something. So, he has his people in there doing 80 beats a week. That’s crazy. Out of all these beats your dudes make, you fuck with me? That’s crazy, man.

Benji B

That’s a good call to get.

Nottz

Yeah, man.

Benji B

Any idea when that’s coming out?

Nottz

Just like everybody else, I don’t know when that’s coming out. He’s been saying for years that it’s coming out. I guess, he’s trying to bring back the old Chronic sound. For me, it’s not going to happen. The Chronic is The Chronic, you can’t make another one like that, it’s impossible. Plus, he doesn’t have the same dudes he had before, so I don’t think it’s going to happen. It might come out, it might not come out. Who knows? Probably 30 years from now.

Benji B

And what’s the name of your track called?

Nottz

I don’t even know, it’s supposedly the first song on the album, but I don’t know. I’m in the dark, everybody’s in the dark.

Benji B

Well, we’ll look forward to that anyway.

Nottz

Me too.

Benji B

A lot of people don’t know that you also rhyme.

Nottz

I started out rapping before I did beats, then I needed beats to rap to, so I did my own shit. This is a joint I made here with Pete Rock, from some new shit I’m working on. It’s called “Turn It Up.”

(music: Nottz feat Pete Rock – “Turn It Up”)

Nottz

This is one of the joints I did for J Dilla before he passed. It’s called “Diamonds.”

(music: J Dilla – “Diamonds)

Benji B

You don’t how many years I was looking for that tune.

Nottz

That was the Dr. Dre of the kind of shit I do, that was my Dr. Dre – J Dilla. Man, I miss that dude right there, he was one of the greatest.

Benji B

Talk to me about working with Dilla, I know you had a couple of projects planned.

Nottz

Workaholic, man. Just as with Dr Dre, to see that he wanted something, since I knew the kind of background he had, that shit is overwhelming. Everything he did was crazy, he did so much, before I even started doing beats. My eyes got big when he said, “I’m coming out there, I’m working with you.” We got Diamond D on Dilla’s record.

Benji B

That was for the MCA project, right?

Nottz

Yeah, we got Diamond, called him up.

Benji B

What happened to that project?

Nottz

I’ve got no idea what happened to that project. I’ve got no idea. [Laughs] I guess, they tried to put it back out, but I don’t know. That one record, I would love to hear that on the radio everywhere, I would love to do that. His brother did the record over and he was acting like he was Dilla in that video. I would love to see his brother doing it over because he looks just like him. His brother looks like him, talks like him, acts like him.

Benji B

And you had a project planned before Dilla passed, you were going to do an album?

Nottz

Yeah, I sent him joints, he’d send me beats. I guess, the timing wasn’t right, I don’t know, man, timing. Then he did one with Madlib. Timing. I miss that dude though, I wish he was still alive so we could knock it out. I think it would be one of the greatest projects ever. His music will never die, he’s like James Brown.

Benji B

He obviously had a big influence on you.

Nottz

Yeah. And on a lot of underground cats, a big influence. Are you all familiar with Beat Society?

Benji B

For those who aren’t, do you want to explain what that is?

Nottz

Beat Society goes all over the States, they get four or five producers together, put them on stage and line them up; just showcase beats, a lot of big name producers, they showcase beats, then they have artists perform between the beats. They send you a sample and get everyone to do what they can with that sample, then at the end they play it. It’s not a competition but the crowd turns it into one. For one of those at the Atlanta joint, I made some Dilla t-shirts. I was repping them hard, every time I played something I’d hold the shirt up and at the end this little young kid, he was 18, 19, came up really teary-eyed and said, “I loved the way you repped Dilla.” He was from Detroit. I was like, “That was my nigga.” He shook my hand and he was crying, people really loved that dude, loved his work. His music speaks for itself, he put his heart into his music. I wish I was like that, I wish I was Dilla.

Benji B

Rest in peace, Dilla. So, you were talking about rhyming and played us a couple of bits off a project on iTunes just as Nottz, is that an indication you might be stepping out of the producer’s shadow and making an artist album, rhyming as well?

Nottz

It’s in the making, that shit’s been in the making for years, just like Detox. I don’t know, but I started out rapping anyway. It’s not a big deal, I’m doing good just doing music. But I don’t want everyone to look at me like I’m trying to be on some Kanye shit or some Havoc shit. No, it isn’t like that. I started out rapping and a lot of people don’t know that. I didn’t have beats, so I had to make my own shit. If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t be making beats.

Benji B

Talking of Kanye West, probably my favorite cut on the new album [Graduation] is produced by you, called “Barry Bonds,” featuring Lil’ Wayne. When did you get that call?

Nottz

[Gestures to manager] E sent him stuff, right? My manager Darryl Sloan sent him some tracks. He wanted tracks without hooks. I thought, “Cool. You don’t want any hooks, you want to work.” So I sent him a joint and it was the “Barry Bonds” beat. Got a couple of dudes, a guitar dude, who came over and played some shit on it. It is what it is, he wanted it, he got it. I’m getting a lot of calls from producers, “Why don’t you do a mixtape? You’re the producers’ favorite producer.” But I’m not coming like that, I don’t want to get on that. It is what it is, niggas know what it is. To get a call from Swizz Beatz, Kanye, Dr Dre, stuff like that, even Dilla – it’s crazy. But the “Barry Bonds” joint, people love that record, say it’s the best record on the album.

Benji B

No question.

Nottz

I’ll play it for you right quick.

(music: Kanye West – “Barry Bonds” / applause)

Benji B

For me, that’s definitely Kanye’s best record and that’s the best track on Kanye’s best record, so it must be a good feeling.

Nottz

It is what it is, man. I try to make records from the heart, myself, and I love Kanye’s album, it’s crazy, you can tell it came from the heart…

Benji B

And what’s cool is, as well as working with big artists you keep an eye out for underground cats, working with Kardinal Offishall and Royce. You still doing that kind of stuff?

Nottz

Yeah, I’ve got a couple of joints on Kardie’s album that’s coming out, he’s signed to Akon’s label. Royce, I’m trying to do an album with him, Bilal, Latoya Williams – for those who don’t know her, she was with Snoop a while back. There’s a lot of people, there’s so much shit out there that people don’t respect. I guess, you’ve got to have a hit before people will fuck with you. It shouldn’t be like that, if you’re hot, you’re hot. Who are you to tell someone he isn’t hot until you test the shit? There’s so much shit that needs to be tested. Bilal is underrated like a motherfucker, he’s one of the hottest people out there.

Benji B

What happened to that Bilal album?

Nottz

It got leaked, they leaked it. I don’t understand that whole leak thing. How can you not know? You know where you left your shit. You don’t hear about Busta Rhymes’ shit getting leaked, you don’t hear about A Tribe Called Quest being leaked. You don’t hear that. How can you not know about it? Then you get mad because it’s leaked. You already know about it, you know where you left your shit. I don’t understand it. “My whole album got leaked.” Dude, you know where you left your shit at. That shit is amazing [laughs]. Oh my God, you dumb motherfucker.

Benji B

It’s a shame because that record was hot and it’s not coming out now because of that.

Nottz

Yeah, but we’re working on some new shit for him.

Benji B

Have you got the track you did for that?

Nottz

 ”Something To Hold On To”?

(music: Bilal – “Something To Hold On To”)

Benji B

So what was the biggest record that really set it off you with for major recording artists a couple of years ago?

Nottz

Last year, the end of last year, the Snoop Dogg record with R.Kelly.

Benji B

That was the single, right? How did that change the calls you were getting and the way people in the industry viewed you?

Nottz

More major, radio-friendly artists are really checking for us now. It’s a whole different ball game now. It used to be more underground artists, now it’s off branching off into everybody. One thing these dudes forget, when they start running to New York and doing what New York is doing, we’re on a whole other coast, we’re on some other shit and once they catch onto that, we switch and do something else. That’s how we keep afloat, doing something the other dude isn’t doing.

Benji B

Even though you’re from Virginia, would it be fair to say your stuff has an East Coast feel?

Nottz

That’s what I grew up on, Beastie Boys and Public Enemy and all that. We were all listening to that; that reflected the way we acted. We acted like we were on some East Coast shit, even though we’re down South. We’re still country as hell“… It doesn’t matter how much money we get, we still do the same stuff. We’ve always been hip-hop heads. You see these dudes – not me – out there with these big chains on and big baggy pants hanging down to their knees and crazy dumb shit. Those boys just love hip-hop. You can’t put a dance record on and expect these dudes to dance. They’re not into that – they fuck with my old shit better than my new shit. Like, from ’96-’99, they fuck with that shit, some real, real underground hip-hop shit. I try to keep it underground and do the radio shit too. I’ve got to mix it up. It’s got to be done, if you want to make that money. You need that money.

Benji B

Talking of which, let’s hear that R.Kelly and Snoop tune.

(music: Snoop Dogg feat. R.Kelly – “That’s That” / applause)

Benji B

That record starts with a little skit from the film Coming To America. I heard you made a whole album based on the skits from that film.

Nottz:

It was like a little trilogy of beats I did. I went from the beginning to the end of the movie.

Benji B

Got to hear that.

(music: Nottz – unknown / applause)

Benji B

The Coming To America EP…

Nottz

[Speaking to audience] I did it, but it didn’t come out right. He came by with this shit on his phone, a beat that he made, and it made me not want to even fuck with it. Uuuuhhhh! I didn’t even want to fuck with it. He made an alright beat but he fucked that one up so I didn’t want to fuck with it after that. It’ll leave a taste in your mouth, like uuuuhhh!

Benji B

Talking of other producers, is there anyone up-and-coming that we should check out?

Nottz

Shit, there aren’t too many. That dude right there, man [points to audience member]. There aren’t too many because everyone’s doing it, no one’s coming up with something new. It’s easy to get into it, there are dudes starting yesterday who are getting big deals. All you need is a box of Q-Tips and a match pad and that’s all you need to make beats and it’s cool! Everybody’s sucking that shit up and it’s fucking it up for the real hip-hop heads.

Benji B

Is the cream still rising to the top?

Nottz

I don’t know. Everybody’s saying, “Bring hip-hop back, hip-hop ain’t dead.” OK, if it’s not dead, let’s do something about it. We can’t let any more of that shit in the gate. I can’t sit here and name names, but we’re too open-arms with this shit, we’re letting everybody in when it shouldn’t be like that. You should have to put in hard work to get that recognition you want. To me, people don’t deserve it like that, it’s not happening like that. It didn’t happen like that for me or Diamond D or J Dilla, it didn’t just happen overnight.

Benji B

But who is making those decisions? Is it the consumer, the A&R, the artist that’s buying the beats? Who is letting the weak shit through?

Nottz

I blame it on the consumer and the A&Rs. To me, A&Rs don’t know shit from shampoo, but a kid will tell you what it is for real. They’ll tell you, “I don’t like that shit.” Well, they probably won’t say shit, but they’ll say if they don’t like it.

I listen to my kids all the time. They say, “Daddy, I like that beat. I love that beat, can you play that beat again?” OK. If they like it, the world might like it. I don’t care what a dude on the street thinks about my track, my beat or my music. “OK, dude, that’s you, that’s your opinion.” Kids buy records all day, but you won’t see a kid buying a bootleg CD, buying no mixtapes, nothing like that, they don’t know about that shit. But they’re on the internet all day. I don’t know, I listen to my kids more than anything though.

Benji B

And what records do you buy outside of hip-hop?

Nottz

I’ve got a couple of Fall Out Boy CDs, the White Stripes. Damn, I mean that’s really it. I buy shit that the average dude around my studio isn’t going to buy. I like that kind of shit. I won’t play it around them, because I know they’re not going to fuck with it. That’s me though. We’ve got a lot of records, like rock & roll records, gospel records, country records… I fuck with it all. I don’t just single myself out to one kind of music, that’s never been me. It was like that before, but you’re not making money doing that kind of shit. If you stay like that, then you’ll always be like that. I moved away from that bullshit. So now I listen to everything and appreciate that shit even more. Right now, I see everyone really loves music in here. People really love music, ya’ll really love fucking music. I thought the people in here were going to be like, “No, I don’t like that shit.” But you all really love music. I love that shit, to be around people who really love music and appreciate it, that fucks with me, man. You’ve got people in the studio who are just “yes men,” people who tell you something’s hot when it isn’t. I hate that shit. But you all really love music and I respect that.

[Applause]

Benji B

Which is a perfect opportunity to offer the mic out to the floor, because I know there are going to be some questions.

Audience Member

My question is about the music industry and releases being really late. You’ve got some independent labels who deal with underground music, but they’re small labels so I can understand there might be some problems with distribution and money, but when you’ve got people like Dr Dre and Busta, why does it take so long for a record to come out?

Nottz

For them to come out?

Benji B

Well, like the Detox project, for example.

Nottz

He’s busy with other artists, so he’s really focused on that. Just like me, I’m not really worried about an album… I’m worried about doing other music.

Audience Member

Of course, but you’re a producer and sometimes producers hand something in and it takes forever to come out. What’s really responsible in those cases in general?

Nottz

That’s why I keep working. I’m immune to that shit, because you never know when it’s going to come out. I can give this dude a track now and that shit probably won’t come out until two or three years later. Keep working, keep working. I’m in the studio every day just working and working, trying to come up with that million-dollar hit. Nobody knows what’s going to be a hit until they test it. If people eat it up, they eat it up. If they don’t, they don’t. Nobody knows what a hit is.

People say, "I need a beat like this.” That’s not going to make you like that. You don’t know what a hit is, nobody does. I don’t believe these dudes when they say they hear a hit. Nobody knows what a hit is until they test it, you’ve got to test it. You never know, you never know. [Phone rings] Uh-oh! Let me turn this shit off. You never know what a hit is until you test it. There are so many people out here doing it now, it’s hard to get records out. My mama makes beats now. We’re too open-arms with everything, we can’t be like that. It’s cool to accept different kinds of shit, but you’ve got to do your background on these people. What have you done, besides what you did yesterday? It’s crazy, man.

Audience Member

Has there ever been any projects with people that you refused to work with?

Nottz

Has there what?

Audience Member

Has there ever been any artists you refused to work with, and if there has, what’s the one thing that made you say, “No, I can’t do it?”

Nottz

I work with everybody, anybody, but when you do work with certain people, you do see the way they act. There are people who we did work with, who, when they came down, they were completely different people, they were humble, they weren’t dressing with the flashy shit. Then the next time they come back when they’ve got a deal, they come back with glasses on, they’ve got to be in the studio with shades on, it’s bright as hell in the studio and they’ve got to be there with shades on and they’ve got a bottle. For what? You weren’t like that yesterday. Keep it real with people… don’t let money change you. We always do that, we’ve always been like this since day one. We’re probably the coolest people you can meet, man.

Audience Member

Have you regretted working with someone and feeling that vibe from them, and you’re like, “Damn, I shouldn’t have done that?”

Nottz

No, it’s always like that. Certain tracks you’ll think, I hear this person on it, but it goes to somebody else who wouldn’t do it the way the first person would do it. It’s always like that. Sometimes you’ve just got to roll with it, but you do regret some shit, things that you know in your heart you want this dude to take it, but he won’t. Then you give it to some other dude and the first dude comes back and says, “I want that track.” But it’s gone already. That fucks with you, because you know that could’ve been big, in your mind it could’ve been big. We go through that every day.

Benji B

Any more for any more?

Audience Member

Who do you want to work with the most, from the whole of hip-hop history, right up until now?

Nottz

Who do I want to work with?

Audience Member

Who do you want to work with most?

Nottz

You know what, I like working with that dude who just walked in (points), Kardinal Offishall, right over there.

[Applause]

Hell yeah, that’s one of the humblest cats in the world. I love working with that dude. Scarface is one of the realest dudes. There’s a lot of dudes, a lot of people. It’s hard, I don’t really think about it. You’ve got me nervous … I’m not used to speaking in front of a lot of people like this. I’m always in the dark, I shut down a lot of interviews. It’s cool doing interviews on the phone, I don’t have to see you, there aren’t any bright lights.

Benji B

Any more questions?

Audience Member

What do you think of this new hip-hop, the Dirty South and crunk stuff that’s taking place right now?

Nottz

Everybody gets their chance to shine. When I think of Dirty South, I think of TI and Luda, I don’t think of that new shit. I can’t respect that shit, that’s that yesterday rap, you just started yesterday. It’s winning right now, but it’s a fad and everyone’s going to go through it. It’ll come back around to the East. Everybody gets their run, Cali got its run, but it’s about to come back around.

Audience Member

My question is, how do you sample without getting a lawsuit?

Nottz

How do I sample without getting a lawsuit? [Laughs] Damn, you’ve got to get that shit cleared. If it doesn’t clear, then don’t use it.

Audience member

I just wanted to ask about the “Barry Bonds” song. Kanye’s got a co-production on it and I think some people might think he’s a bit of a control freak or something. I’m wondering what the process might’ve been like transferring from your music to his studio.

Nottz

I mean, with that co-production thing, man, that’s like anybody. You could put a hi-hat on anybody’s beat and they get a co-production on that shit. You know what I’m sayin’? That’s with anybody. He just threw a “yeah” in there and that was it. I mean, you know, it’s ’Ye.

Benji B

Alright, don’t forget the tutorial going on downstairs after this lecture. Don’t forget Kardinal tomorrow. But before that, please say a very big thank you to Nottz.

(Applause)