Thirty-three year old super producer 88-Keys stepped outside the producer seat and into the role of artist in his album debut “The Death of Adam”, with a 14 track jewel. In the interview he talked about the balance of producing timeless captivating music and being a full time father and husband. 88-Keys comes across as peculiar intelligent and humble. Still a fan of music and more importantly life, we had a chance to talk about his decade long tenor in the music business and his many influences.
How did you come up with the concept for the album?
Basically I started working on an album for a company over seas and at the time it was just beats and rhymes. Then eventually I made a song which became the song on the album, “There’s Pleasure In It” That sparked the idea for The Death of Adam. Then I scrapped the previous body of work I was working on , and started The Death of Adam. The next record I touched to sample pertained to the same subject matter so that was my sign for The Death of Adam… I winded up not doing the album with the company overseas, because it started to become bigger than they were. Their vision was too small, to underground to back pack for me. So that’s how that happened.
On the album you had a lot of features; Kanye, Redman, KiD CuDi, J*DaVeY, Phonte… etc. Did you reach out to them or did them hear about the project and want to jump on it themselves?
All the features are done by people who are my friends. The minute I found out that I had the deal to do the album, Kanye was more excited about it that me, He told me he was going to be on it. Ye and I have been best friends since 2001. It was a cool thing for him to strongly volunteer himself on my album. Redman and I go back, but that was the labels call to put him on the album. They wanted him to be on song the Burning Bush. It was their call and I agreed with it. It was a genius idea. The label thought he could add the whole “Funk Docta Spot” vibe to it {Laughs}. Cudi jumped on the song “Hoe is Short for Hunni”. Initially that song was going to be an instrumental, but I felt that the song needed lyrics just to drive the point home. Initially I was going sing on the song my self but my home girl who’s a songwriter came through and I actually tried to sing the song with her, but it didn’t came out that hot. Then I went back to thinking it was going be in an instrumental. I had a few people in mind to do it but, Cudi, his talent was so unique and so raw at the time I chose him. We had already worked together on the “Wasting My Minutes” on my mix tape, so I knew he needed to jump on this. Cudi and I are also friends so it was a perfect match. Everyone on the album is a close friend, not just artists who were hot right now. They were all right for the project.
The song “Friend Zone” sonically is not a typical hip hop record. It has a very alternative feel. Is expanding into other genres something you want to do in the future?
As far as genres, alternative rock is one of my favorites. I listen to that as much if not more than Hip Hop. I didn’t make any calculated moves as far as club banger or rock record, I just made songs that were relevant to the subject matter and how ever they turned out is what I used. As long as they were dope I was keeping it. The original version had the group Shitake Monkey on it, but when Ye signed on as executive producer, he thought I should sing this record too like I did on “Morning Wood”. He was like, “Man, don’t question me I am Kanye West the God!!”{Laughs for bit} So that’s what I did and that’s what came out… to avoid confusion Shitake Monkey is a group, not just one guy. There’s Chuck Brody, Electric Pete, and Johnny Rodeo.
I read on your blog that you were heavy into the, “Jazz inflected beats of the 90’s” Do you think that there is a correlation between Hip Hop and Jazz music?
There’s a heavy correlation between Hip Hop and good music, from 80s New Wave to Jazz to B-Bop to Rock n Roll. Hip Hop is a genre that borrows from everything else through sampling. Every single song on my album is sampled. Those are my Hip Hop roots and I’m sticking to it.
Speaking of Jazz and Hip Hop fusions, what are your feelings on Blu out of L.A.? He’s said on occasion that he wants to be the Hip Hop Thelonious Monk, and has countless Jazz samples on his albums.
I like his stuff. That’s funny because I’m actually scheduled to work with him later this year.
There’s a lot of new talent out there now, do you have a favorite new comer?
I haven’t really tuned in to a lot of the new stuff as far as a favorite, but I do like Cudi a lot and I like what Charles Hamilton is doing. Other then that I don’t really know who’s out. I don’t really read blogs to tough. I try to once in a blue, but unless its super eye catching I don’t really tune in. I’m a producer before a rapper, and now I’m producing heavy so working on my projects , plus other projects that aren’t mine, plus being married and a father of two I’m pretty busy. I’m married, not a baby daddy, I don’t have my own crib and see my kids on weekends. I’m a 24 hour father and husband. Most of my time is going through old samples. I’m still yet to hear D.O.A. I’ve heard some of it, but not the whole record. That should give you a fair inclination of where I’m at.
Wow okay.
Over your career you seem to work with for lack of a better term “underground” artists. Is that a deliberate choice because of the message they put out?
It’s honestly what I fell into. For the most part what I do is for the sake of a check. I do Hip Hop music and produce because I love it. It’s my profession. I’m not that selective with who I work with. In the beginning I was just trying get on. Whoever wanted beats could get them. I was just so excited that people liked my shit. It just happened that Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Music Soulchild, were all incredible artists. I lucked out. It could have been Myspace rapper Joe Blow who was a terrible MC, but if that check was cut, I was rolling with it.
Does the music scene being online have the same affect on producers as it does artists?
We all see that the Industry is internet driven. You have to keep up with the Jones’s but I don’t go super out of my way to keep YouTube hits. I’m more concerned with crafting beats and making music that’s hot and memorable. Maybe that’s backwards but I want to stay true to the artistry of what I do. One of the biggest things I learned about myself making this album was at the end of the day I need to make music I feel, not something the public digs and I think is weak. I need to make something I can play over and over and over. Everything else is secondary. Which is a big reason why I still use samples instead of trying to save money on publishing and things like that. Samples just sound better to me. I’ve been cutting samples for half my life. I guess there are a lot of things I do for lack of a better phrase for the sake of hip hop.
Can you elaborate on the influence that A Tribe Called Quest had on your career?
It can all be summed up in what I say every time I get on stage, I would not be here if it wasn’t for Tribes People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythmor De la’s 3Feet High and Rising, the whole native tongue era… the 90s hip hop. Everything was sampled heavy, unique, sounded good, easy on the ears, you could dance to it, chill out vibe to it. It wasn’t all the same shit coming from the same area. They were very influential to who I am not only in music but who I am as a person. I really live eat breathe shit hip hop. When people say hip hop saved my life, hip hop truly saved my life and my family’s life. I haven’t had a 9-5 since 1995. I owe a lot to Hip Hop and Tribe for getting my open off of it. Q-tip is my hero till this day. And I have no inhibitions to refer to him as that. Also, my brother, Roger Linn for inventing the MCP 300, Ralph Lauren, these people made me the person I am today.
I read that your parents were doctors, what was it like convincing the family you weren’t with going to med school and wanted to do music?
Back then there was no convincing them. They couldn’t see how it was lucrative. They looked at it as “rappy rap”. Honestly I don’t blame them but I heard my calling early in life and went through the trials and tribulations and persevered. After Black and Both Sides popped off for me they were able to see the benefits of all that. I was able to stand on my own two and provide for my fam.
What was your favorite collab??
The most memorable was with Music Soul Child doing the song “Her”. Both of us are studio nuts, dancing throughout the whole session. We were both in tune with the beat and good vibes. Other than that everyone I work with is a pleasure. I remember working at Baseline Studios recording with Beanie Sigel and Jaystanding right there. Working with Ye before he blew up, being flown to Cali to work with Macy Gray. They were all a pleasure.
When you collab do u just mail out beats, or do u require it to be an in person thing?
Before the Death of Adam I’d say choice A, but since this album I won’t really work on it unless it’s choice B. With my album, now a lot of people know that I can actually make a song or whole album that has substance and makes sense. But now that I have the weight under my belt and Death of Adam being as successful as it was; now its like, I’m 88 Keys and I can work with you on the beat and give u an idea that’s cohesive with what you want to do on the album. I want to make a song with you now. As far as picking a beat off a CD, I’d rather not work with like that at all, it’s just not fun.
Is there someone that you haven’t worked with that you want to work with in the future?
Metronomy. Their not in the genre of Hip Hop, their in Electronica. I wish the late great J-Dilla was still here. I’d also love to work with him. Before that I’d say the Morning Benders but I’m slated to work with them anyway.
