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Two longtime music pros (Sensei & Fatboi) go deep on what makes music great. A podcast for music producers, artists, and fans.
Fatboi is a Multi-platinum, Grammy nominated, award winning producer whose credits include: Camoflauge, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Gucci Mane, Young Jeezy, Rocko, Shawty Redd, Flo Rida, Bow Wow, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Juvenile, Yung Joc, Gorilla Zoe, OJ Da Juiceman, 8Ball & MJG, Jeremih, 2 Chainz, Nicki Minaj, Bobby V, Ludacris and Yo Gotti, Monica, Zay Smith, TK Kravitz, Future.
Sensei Hollywood (a.k.a. Dan Marshall) formerly an instructor and chair of the Audio Production program at the Art Institute of Atlanta, is an accomplished musician, producer, engineer who's performed on and engineered multi--platinum records with Big Boi, Outkast, Killer Mike, Chamillionaire, Carlos Santana, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Ron Isley, Lil Wayne, Trillville, Monica, and more...
Speaker 3 (00:00.128)
It went diamond, right? That's a short list of records that have gone diamond.
I want to say about a hundred records that went down. It was number one on the charts for ten weeks. That's what that is. We were doing like tours in Germany. You know, we introduced all that music over there from our mixtapes.
10 weeks.
Speaker 1 (00:22.414)
I had mixtapes with Selling So Big over there and we introduced like the crime mob, the Trill. After we went, they started not too long going over there. Kurt Rashida was going over there because it's like... in Germany. You gotta remember, it wasn't no social media. It wasn't no DSPs. It wasn't none of that. So it was like straight up mixtapes that got out. Especially coming from the south, it's like our shit made it all the way over to Germany.
listening to the show from Music Industry Pro's Sensei and Fatboy. Go deep on what makes music great. This week on It's Levels to This, we talk to DJ Monte, hit making producer behind Flowrider's Lo, Future, Migos, many more. We'll explore his journey from DJ to producer and how Ulk Camp shaped Atlanta's music scene. Get ready, cause it's Levels to This.
Speaker 3 (01:20.46)
Hey, what's good? It's levels to this. I am Sensei. I got Fat Boy over here. we have our special guest, DJ Monte.
Yes sir!
Speaker 1 (01:33.742)
Let's start with it.
I gotta say, you're in our credit roll. One of our pictures of me and Fatboy and you in the studio. That's how we know we're legit.
Yeah, man, that's probably that that had to be around 2014 1314 14 I remember I remember the day that that's the day Monte put me on uh on Ableton live DJ DJing through Ableton live
Patchwork days.
Speaker 1 (01:56.396)
something like that. Yeah, that's wild.
Speaker 1 (02:09.675)
Yeah, I'll be on that thing here.
Hey, what's alive, You know, I caught on late, but yeah, I see what you're saying about it now.
I be on that thing heavy boy
I was just telling Dan that you, you know, you a gear geek like us, so. You know, so, I mean, we rolling, man. We might as start it like that.
yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (02:31.596)
Yeah, yeah.
What puts you onto Ableton Live? Because I know a lot of guys from like EDM world are using it. It kind of is it's more DJ friendly the way it's organized. What's going on with Ableton?
So the way I got introduced to Ableton was I was on the road with Tadashi and one of the somebody other band members, JR, he played a bass for, what's his name, Crowder. And so he was sitting there doing mixes. I was like, man, I can't do that, man. He was like, yeah, I did this on my computer. I was like.
Man, nah, I can't use that. I I was just so, I'm like fat boy. was like, nah, I can't do that. I can't use that at all. Then I kept seeing him putting the mixes together. He had made like a 30 minute mix and stuff like that, just using Ableton. I was like,
Fuck it, you gotta show me. Like what in the hell did you do to do that and you remix it like me? And so he was like, yeah, I'll show you. And then he showed me a little breakdown. Then I went and just started learning on my own, like with YouTube and everything else like that. So that's what made me get into it. Now I just do everything in Ableton.
Speaker 3 (03:42.168)
Are you using like the push controller or just doing computer itself?
man. That's on the computer, right there in the box. Yeah. okay. He just...
Like, my take good at finding workarounds for stuff too. You know what I'm saying? Like, if somebody say they can't do it, he'll find a way to do it. It's like, don't tell me I can't do it, cause I can do it. Like, for real, like, how did that start for you? Cause me and you took similar paths where we started as DJs, transitioned over into production off of DJing. You more on the DJing than me. I'm just really getting back into it.
sure.
Speaker 2 (04:19.34)
But how did it all start for you?
Man I got introduced to a mix tape DJ jelly MCS out mix tape like and I Forgot what year was but it was called 187 and so I was like man shit I want to do what they doing and so I went and took lessons DJ will was the first DJ to actually show me lessons and show me how to use turntables But that was like one or two sessions, so I really didn't learn within that time. So it was like
went home, started doing like the tape deck on my wall and shit. was blending tape decks. I had a whole set up. Wow, Plastic full of tape decks and then I just started doing, like Fat Boy said, I found a workaround. I was slowing it down. Like it was a button on there, I could slow it down and then it got them, I was mixing and then,
Got introduced to Jelly, then I'm in jail like, come on man, I take your own, so then Jelly, I had to organize like 2,000 records for him to show me how to DJ. Whole living room full of records, he want them in alphabetical order, then he'll come in there and fuck them up, then I had to redo it again. That's what it was, man, I was so pissed off that man messed that shit up.
That's like some karate kid shit right there.
Speaker 2 (05:38.97)
That right there, I think in today's climate of creators, music makers, DJs and all that, that ain't there no more. We had to pay dues to get into it like that. Some of us carry crates for other DJs.
you organize and boy if you come from the vinyl era of DJing
I did all that too though. had to carry the plates, the turntables, that shit. I helped them with all that. Jelly went no ho with it when it comes to training your ass.
And see that right there, that builds a work ethic. something like that, that's a testament to where you come from and where you going. Because man, I don't see anybody going through those rituals no more. Like how long was your training course, so to speak? Your Patawine.
I was always in training. That shit never really stopped. But as far as me organizing records, that stopped probably after the year. After the year I tried to maybe do it two or three times. was like,
Speaker 2 (06:55.872)
I know us as DJs, got, especially in the vinyl days, we got ways that we organized the craze. So was you organizing by genre, speed? what was the organization?
He just wanted them alphabetical order. Alphabetical? A through Z. He didn't make me go through speed and all that shit. I probably would have had a hard time. We didn't have tempos back then.
Yeah, yeah. So, so if you were going through alphabet, were these his crates that he was actually taking out to DJ with or this just his whole...
Cal-Law, how he would together mixtapes and stuff like that and so it was just everything. Like back then when he had Serato, was just we had. had to make mixtapes off of the album's album. Best facts. Yeah.
That's fact. So your introduction to 1200s that came through Jelly?
Speaker 1 (07:54.7)
Yeah, Jelly. Well, no, like I said, DJ Will was the first person that showed me on 1200s, but to actually, to where I completed and knew how to blend two records was Jelly. Jelly took me to the finish line. I've been around before CDJs was in meh.
Right, right. Like real deal. The whole thing DJing. The setup, all that. So the blending phase of it, because to me, that seems to be a lot of people that want to be DJs, the hardest part of them to learn how to blend. Because I've seen a lot of DJs, especially during this time, they wanted to get into it and scratch first.
But then the blending part of it, they always call hell on the blending part because that's the real work right there. So the blending, how long did it take you to really get good at the blending phase?
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 1 (08:57.838)
it took me a good two weeks. Not long at all, because I had to learn fast. I'm a fast learner. It took me about two weeks. I had got the hang of it.
Not long.
Speaker 2 (09:14.094)
Alright, so tell me this, because I know we similar in a lot of ways when it comes to, you know, if it's something that we trying to learn, man, we're finna step all the way into it. Because when I was trying to learn how to DJ doing tricks and all that kind of stuff, man, I wasn't even going outside. Is that similar to how your process was? Like you was in learning like all day long on it?
Yeah, I pretty much stopped hanging with friends at school and shit like that. was just like, y'all not doing what I want to do. No shade to no one. I was just like, man, this is it. This is what I want to do. And it's fun. I'm like, this is intriguing to me. I was like, this is what I want. And so I really didn't see none of my kids, my friends from high school. So now that I was in school, I started at 15.
Man, I'm
Speaker 1 (10:06.506)
I'm still like I ain't saying I'm young in this game, but I started young.
Yeah, I started DJing at 12. You know what saying? So same, same, but the same kind of trajectory.
Yeah, I knew I wanted to make beats at the age of nine. My mom bought me a drum machine at like nine or 10. And so I was in the room beating the block down.
So you was kinda doing it at the same time. So if you got the drum machine at nine years old, you was already on the beat thing. And once you got into the DJing thing, it became full circle and you just kinda met both of them in the middle after that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. But see, the DJ, I ain't gonna say he came first, but I learned that first. And then maybe like two years later, Oomp let me in his studio. That's when I was able to start doing the production shit. But I was like, I already make beats. And I started learning how to program and all that kind of shit. So for me,
Speaker 3 (11:02.99)
You know from the outside I'm a guitar player. I came at this at a different angle, but it's I've never really heard DJs talk about like that learning process, you know, you guys have just laid out, you know, that's like the hidden secret is like it's actually a lot of lot of work to make that work, right? Like people assume you just get a couple of things Yeah, whatever do this, know, but like that work ethic and the discipline
is something I think people are sleeping on with the DJ culture, like outside of it, maybe inside everyone knows, like, what do you think is the difference? How do people last in the DJ culture?
Well for me it was a thing where it wasn't nothing everybody wanted to do at the time. So it was like very few people and very few people that really can afford the equipment to be able to DJ. One turntable was like almost $2,500 just for one turntable and you gotta have two.
Yes.
So it's like a barrier to entry right from jump.
Speaker 1 (12:12.704)
right from even from the production end like to buy a keyboard and drum machine drum machine three thousand dollars everything so like
thing was 3000.
You
It was $3,000.
Everything so it's like in order for you to even have sounds and shit even if like that shit was just expensive like and so the bear for me to last so long I just made sure I stay relevant with playing what people want to hear besides of what I like Even though I like the shit now because I'm a producer and I'm still like man I still got to find something in there that I like for me to stay into this shit and stay relevant for real though cuz
Speaker 1 (12:56.428)
If I stay like, man, that shit ain't real hip hop and all that, I don't give a fuck about none of that. I don't care. This shit sound good and this shit making people dance and this shit selling, I'm gonna do the same thing. So.
I think that's the element that separates those that are good from those that just can't seem to get over the hump is that you can remove yourself from, know, okay, that might not be my personal taste, but I can understand why they might like it right there. So I'm going to play it. And then you end up liking
Yeah
Speaker 2 (13:38.25)
some of those songs that you probably just like, man, it ain't my taste or my speed like that. But then you start, once you start learning those elements that make those records work, you incorporate that same stuff into your producer toolkit and make that work for you. Speaking of that, like your introduction going into Oomp Camp, like how you went out when that went on.
and what was, know, how did it come about?
I was 15. That's when I just, that was them from the jump. that's who gave me my opportunity. And my chance was Unk and Jelly MC Assault and shit, Fred even taught me how to, you know, make beats in the studio, but that was the introduction. And I was still in high school when we created, well, Unk created the record label. And then this dude named JT, he came up with the word Unk Count. you know, but like we in boot count. we, we out of that.
Yeah, shit, yeah.
That shit was like our work ethic was something serious where you know you were really in a boot camp type shit like if you ain't It like going to the army if your ass ain't built for it your ass ain't going to get the hell out so that's how it works
Speaker 2 (14:54.158)
Wayne Biffley, How deep was Unk camp back then at that particular time? You being a young 15 year old, so you had to be like one of the youngest, if not the youngest in the room at the time. Especially at that time right there, man. You know what I'm saying? Like you really had to like be that.
Man, I was just a young nigga around a bunch of street dudes. And that was just like, and I want the youngest because I think Lil C was around at that time too. He might've been two years younger than me. And so me and Baby D came in at the same time. Jelly introduced me to Baby D and he was an artist that Jelly discovered. so, nah, it was, we had a young crew.
We had our young crew and had the OGs. The ones who helped molded us into the way we are now. it's like, shit.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:01.614)
I think man me me personally you and camp the whole movement doesn't get The respect that y'all really like like because Atlanta man like like for real for real for real for real Cuz this is that like this is that I'm still DJing in the club then so I'm playing I'm playing a lot of camp Records mm-hmm, and I'm talking about club going crazy and really really at that time
Unkamp is what's setting the club off. You put on the Unkamp record, it's going crazy. This predates trap, Trapping, trapping, trapping, making no noise.
The crazy part is, they told me my shit was too street, too much 808 for the email and even for the radio. This was like, I wanna say around, I started making beats with Onkka, like 97. Really 96, cause I think maybe these shit came out in 96 and I graduated in 97. it's one of them. Sam & Sam came out in 96.
What year are we talking about here?
Speaker 2 (17:11.021)
You talking about... Sammy Sam. Yeah.
Yeah, rivals or killers.
Me and every chance I get, I'm always mentioning you and Oomp Camp because, and this is just me, my knowledge as a DJ, like the Atlanta records that I was really, really, really playing in the club was them Oomp Camp records. Because they was like the hardest records. I mean, even though they might've had tempo, they were still hard.
Man, we wanted some street shit. We stayed with that kind of shit all the time. So that was our motto.
Now, are you getting pushed back about the 808s because people are trying to make it for radio versus the club versus the cars?
Speaker 1 (17:56.628)
Well, the pushback from 808s was because you know back then New York was just a true takeover, you know what saying? They didn't understand down south at the time. They wanted a lot of commercial records. A lot of shit that was just like dead-end and all that kind of shit. That was just that time. So they didn't understand the shit that I was making.
And that time right there, like, that's something for me, that's some of the times, not only in Atlanta, but just Georgia period, what Montaidon was doing was giving us something in the whole state of Georgia to celebrate, because they were rivaling, you know, forget the New York shit. They were rivaling what Luke was doing in Miami.
Hmm.
because Luke then was killing the club in the South from the mid 80s up into the 90s. And when Oomp Camp came about, Oomp Camp found a way to put tempo in some of these records because what we used to call booty shake, booty shake was still the apex of the club night. Once you get to that booty shake speed, you at prime time in the club. But the Oomp Camp stuff,
Hmm.
Speaker 2 (19:22.86)
was street. So you wasn't really hearing, I mean, cause you, had other Atlanta, what's up, what's up, what's up. You, had other stuff going on, but that's more fun records. Monte found a way to produce these records and keep them street.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:39.982)
Yeah for sure, that's what we push for, you know what saying? Even for radio, you know what I'm saying? I remember the time Jelly broke Rhyme with some killers on radio, Hot 107.9 and Triple J, DJ Triple J, he broke Eastside Westside. That was one of our biggest songs.
boy, hey Dan, that was one in the club when Eastside, look, Eastside, Westside was one of those records if there was a beef in the city.
Yeah, was East versus West.
What year was Isa with?
I want to say 2000. 2004 or 2000 or something like that.
Speaker 2 (20:19.884)
Okay.
Speaker 2 (20:23.854)
Yeah, no, it's 2000 because My catalyst I made I made a record like that for camouflage. It was the first record that that that popped camouflage off For the club. It was called y'all don't want no drama. Mm-hmm and Part of the reason why I made that record I got to do something like what Monta them doing over there with that East West record because we was on the same thing over in
I
Speaker 2 (20:52.906)
in Savannah. We was on the same thing. it's whatever we 808s everywhere, but this shit got to be hard. This shit got to be street. So that record with the chant, nigga, what, nigga, what, what? That record right there. Me playing that record in the club like I was and seeing what it was doing in the club, that was, that was.
Savannah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:19.746)
part of the setup for me to like, man, we need one of these. You know what saying? One of the big chant records that get everybody like, if it's beef in the club, that's the record they waiting on to come in and handle their business in the club. So what was the thinking behind doing that record? How did it come about?
So.
Speaker 1 (21:39.948)
Man, me, Baby D, Lil C, we all roll around to high school parties, college parties. We've made sure we stay in the streets as far as that. We stayed out every weekend. Any party we heard of, we there. And so we seen.
people in the club, like East Side, West Side, and so we were like, okay, so this what we're doing. We went back to the studio the next day, we made a song, and that was like one of them anthems.
Yeah, for sure, for sure, for sure. And then it's an ATL classic. Now, let's get into that right there because, you know, because I know you personally, so I know how humble you really are. You know, you don't play no, you know what saying? You know, we all got those egos and stuff like that. If we want to pop off, we can. Right.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:40.526)
the world don't really know all the classics you got, You what I'm saying? You got hood classics and you got international classics. Big records, How are you able to stay how you are because man, hey, look, I ain't gonna lie. When I caught my first big record, I was peacocking a little bit. How was you able to stay like...
Alright.
Speaker 2 (23:07.39)
Humble like that and just keep keep cranking out them classes man cuz you got I mean you got classic classes ATL classics, you know I'm saying like how was you able to just Keep that level head man and keep them cranking like that
To be honest with you, I was so focused on getting the next one. really wasn't even... I didn't even know how to celebrate my biggest record because I'm so into how I'm going to make the next one. How can I make something bigger than this? I was like, man, that's just been my mentality. And Oomp has always been telling me, man, this shit could be gone one day. And so for me to just be...
bragging and bolstering and doing all the kind of shit then you don't see me no more, don't hear no more of my beats. It's just like man, I just didn't want to be that person or nothing like that. So I just made sure I stayed like grounded and just cool, you know what I'm saying? The way you walk up to me, I'm saying what's happening, like we're good, you know what I'm saying? All that kind of shit, so.
Yeah, my one thing about Monta man when I when I when I first met Monta he was very he was very approachable He was DJing in a in Club Chocolate Ryan's spot and Ryan, you know
No, was in Envy. Right down Spring Street maybe. You in the studio on Envy right there by Varsity.
Speaker 2 (24:25.294)
It was envy.
Speaker 2 (24:29.814)
Okay. Okay.
Speaker 2 (24:34.124)
Yeah. You was-
Shot of red would do it shot of real
Shawty, don't think Shawty was, it was just me and Ryan that night.
okay. Now I'm saying... Okay.
It was just me and Ron that night. But, you know, again, you know what saying? Like, Montae was one of them early Atlanta DJs that, producers that I was like really paying attention to because being a DJ is like, man, he turned the club up. Like, he turned the club up and I'm on that shit right there. So when I had the opportunity to meet you, I asked Ron, I hey Ron, take me to meet, take me to meet Montae.
Speaker 2 (25:11.374)
So Ron took me up to the DJ booth, met Monte, we dapped it up, and Monte was playing this record. I won't say, it's his record. It had a sample in it from a movie. We won't say what the movie is.
And I was gonna sample that same thing so but Ain't too many people knew what that sample came from but I'm a geek like that So I knew what the sample came from so I told my test. Yeah, I like how you how you flip You know I'm saying so I'm leaving and Monte came out the DJ booth and tab me say hey don't tell nobody about this
Yeah, yeah, I remember that.
Speaker 3 (25:55.775)
Well, secret's out now.
I ain't gonna tell nobody.
I was in the movie and heard this shit. I was like, man, I gotta do this. I really wanted to do something like, Lil Jon throw it up. Cause I called Jon out on where he got that sample from. It was from his dream. I said, Jon, I where you got it from. started laughing. And so for a fat boy to do me like that, I was like, damn, man, that shit funny.
But you see how that shit work though, Dan. Monte called out John. I called out Monte. You know what saying? So I've been called out for samples that I, you know what I'm saying?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:36.718)
It's really wild how that sample recognition technology has gotten crazy. People can pick out samples from a flipped third beat or something, that's from a Cobra Kai or whatever.
It's so wild, they can flip it. They can even pick it up even if you try to put one of little gross beats on it. They still recognize it. They got software that sees if you sample their shit or whatever.
I mean, how much is that like hampering creativity from people working with the samples, like sample based beats? Does that change anything or people still just do whatever and sort the legal stuff out later?
It's best to sort the legal stuff out first. You know what saying? Get it done because you don't want to be hit with the shit. Like, the shit get out and now they can ask for 100 % of a record. you didn't handle the business first. But I was like, for me, I always preached stay away from samples. So a lot of my songs, like even my biggest ones, were just original.
Give
Speaker 2 (27:27.342)
Learn it.
Speaker 2 (27:42.574)
Yeah
Talk to me about like what's your creative process now? What does it look like when you're like, I gotta go make a beat. Where do you go to first? Yeah, what are you like? I gotta make a beat. What piece of gear, what software you looking?
What do I go to first?
Speaker 1 (27:57.774)
My software, my weapon of choice is Logic. I use Logic. And so I love that. And that's what I'm gonna open up because it's like I spent a lot of time learning it. I spent a lot of time setting up my sounds. I spent a lot of time setting up everything, learning how to use the grid, all that shit. So it's like me turning around and learning something new right now. Like I even been on the MPC a little bit, but it's like...
I love it, but then to go and get my work done, I'd get back on Lysic, because I get it done like that.
See, Montay, really, me learning different platforms to make tracks on, I got it from Montay because I was 1000 % MPC. I wouldn't come off the MPC for nothing. So, and I'm talking about back when, know, 13, 14, when we was in the studio, all three of us was in the studio.
I my machine in. The machine had kicked out the same sound that you was sounding.
Same sound, you know, so I'm steady in PC and every time me and my take it together, he's like, man, you still on the NPC. What you talking about? Like, how you gonna flip out on team NPC like?
Speaker 1 (29:21.0)
That's what got me my biggest record so Yeah
Okay.
The MPC. Speaking of your biggest record, get low. Hey, look, and I want to thank Monte, right? We can segue into this topic because it's affecting us as producers and how money is paid these days. But Monte had one of the biggest records of the 2000s, period, period.
Yep.
Speaker 2 (29:55.348)
And because this record was so big, we were on the same album. I didn't have a single off that album, but I was getting good checks off that album because of his rap.
Speaker 2 (30:08.608)
I mentioned this a few weeks ago, when we was talking about this, about the, you know what saying, like, look.
But albums are like, it's not the title, it's all the boats anymore, is it?
No. But this one record right here, man, that record got all of us paid. It didn't matter if you didn't have a single, but.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (30:29.058)
Diamond, right? That's a short list of records that have gone diamond.
I want to say about a hundred records that went diamond. Yeah, I'm almost 100. It's not even a hundred yet, but almost 100 I almost got two records that went diamond Um
talk about how that record came about.
Mike Karen had hit me, cause I had sent him a bunch of beats on the CD, and he happened to pick that one beat, and that was just something for me playing. DJing in the club, it was like man, that was inspired for me, DJing in the club, so I was gonna make this beat, and I put it on that CD. So I sent the CD to Mike Karen, mind you I had to mail it. We mailed it to the CDs, this wasn't no email, this wasn't no nothing.
20th century over
Speaker 1 (31:12.462)
I know right? So mind you I had to mail him a CD. What the ****? Yeah, with a stamp. Like, Used to go to the post office like, me a CD, I need a CD and mail off. I sent, he gave it to me and he went and mailed it off. Mike Karen hit us up, was like, man, I need this beat tracked out. I ain't heard the record yet. And so I had to track out the beat, put it on a DVD.
mail it to him so he can get that. Or CDs as a data and then know they get it.
DVD
Speaker 2 (31:45.324)
It could fit on the CD, DVDs it was going to
Yeah, yeah, yeah, so I sent it to him and he sent back the record the record had T-Pain on it T-Pain wrote the hook But it was powwow the juvenile that was on the song and powwow he did good I still got the record powwow did good But he was like I don't want it
I just gonna make me too pop. So was like, so Juvi, I remember, well, Mike Karen was telling me that Juvi wanted the record. I was like, shit, they give it to him. He was like, nah, nah, nah, I got somebody in Florida that's finna, he did a thing. I was like, all right, I ain't, you know, I heard the Flo Rida from his one song, but I didn't know him personally. Mike Karen sent me that song, man, I would look at that, I said, man, this shit out of here.
I knew it from the first time, just from the mix, I was like, man, this shit crazy. Yeah, but I didn't know that, you know what saying? He had a flow that didn't nobody have at the time. that shit was crazy. So when it became the single, and I didn't know how it was doing, he ended up coming to Atlanta on a radio run.
That's that DJ ear.
Speaker 1 (33:03.086)
And so he showed me on YouTube, YouTube was just getting popping. And I saw the different people that were dancing to this record. I was like, oh my God, man, this shit was so huge. And people didn't really understand the record. Like 106 and part, New York people didn't understand. So we fought for a lot of, because it was like something new and nobody really heard of. And the beat was different. And you were talking about Apple bottoms and boots with the fur and shit like that. So.
That shit was just one of them ones, man. I just knew that shit was out of here. For real.
It's just something we understood in the hood. We knew off top what was being talked about, you know what saying? But that record was so big, man. It got into places where it's like, what's he talking about? I don't know, but this beat is so infectious I can't stop my feet.
Do
Speaker 1 (33:49.582)
A lot of people thought I was from Florida because of the beat and how I made the beat.
Because it was just so different from anything else floating around.
Well, T-Pain and Flo Rida's from Florida. I was the only one that wasn't from Florida, but you got to remember that Atlanta is like we are a gumbo part of Miami. I mean, yeah, Miami pretty much. Florida, Memphis, California. We're a big ass gumbo part of downhill. So it's like that was just, I was, I just adapted it and made it my own.
which is why it worked like that because it was just a it worked it worked for Atlanta because we own that we own that but Florida it was just but the main thing it man that pop that pop lane it was so pop friendly man and I
I wasn't even trying to make no pop shit. I was trying to make some hood shit for real.
Speaker 2 (34:55.266)
Yeah, I think, you know what? Cause you, you played me to Paul Wall version and that version is the more street of it. You know what I'm It's street, it's streeter than what the Flowrider version became. And when I worked, working on that same album, when I met Flowrider, I got in the studio with him and Adam Basial
was in the room with us picking beats. And he actually skipped over the beat that ended up going on that album. And E-Class came back in the room. He had left out to handle some business and came back in there. he was like, you know, how many beats y'all pick? And I'm like, none. He was like, none. How many you played? I said about 30. And he was like, man, let me hear these beats. And the song that...
I did for Flo Rida was 808 it out too. You know what saying? Had a bunch of 808, you know, but it had like some Prince type chords on top of it. You know what saying? So it had that, it had some crossover pop appeal to it, but it had that hood shit on the bottom. And as soon as that beat came up, E-Class looked at Adam and was like, man, this the kind of shit we need right now. So it had to be a plan in place.
For Flowrider already because they wasn't really picking none of the straight up hard shit that I was doing, but if it had those hard 808s and had that friendly, could be crossover melody on top of it, that's what they were going with. Did you see that vision at first when it came to Flowrider? Because I know you said you didn't work with him personally at the time, but...
Did Mike explain that was the vision for him?
Speaker 1 (36:55.732)
Mm-hmm. He explained nothing. I Didn't even know of I didn't have no vision or nothing. He was just like send me to check out
Nothing at all.
Speaker 2 (37:04.078)
He told me he had a down south Nellie. That's how he explained him to me.
I didn't even know what he had. I'm telling you, was a part, I think that was before even Flo Rida was in the picture. Like he might've had Flo Rida at that time and I didn't know, you know what saying? I didn't know he got signed to Atlantic, but then Mike Cameron was just like, me the track. I didn't even know it was going to him. Like I said, it was powwowed and juvenile. It wasn't even first lieutenant for no Flo Rida.
When I worked with Flo for that album, I don't think they had low yet. They didn't have low yet. So the record I did for them actually came about before they got low. And I think you was the one that kicked the budget open. And it was like, OK, we got it. Let's go.
That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (37:49.697)
it was shit,
Speaker 1 (37:58.542)
Yeah, that shit did like, it was number one on the charts for 10 weeks.
Speaker 1 (38:07.182)
10 weeks on Hot 100. Hot 100, 10 weeks. That's what that is.
Right here, Hot 100.
There you go.
It's other one right there.
The mechanical royalties was on that man.
Speaker 1 (38:25.33)
That's the other one right there that hot 100 it was on effort. Yeah
Hey, this is still like the era where was like ringtones were like a thing. Like that was a pretty big source of revenue for a minute.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (38:38.164)
Anything with the mechanical royalties, man, was just, you were on a successful, and the crazy thing, that album didn't go gold or platinum, but that song was so crazy that the album still did numbers to the point where everybody on the album that may not have had a single, I, you know, thinking back to that time and period, I think Monte was getting all the Flo Rida singles.
I did this next single for the next album, the Roots album. I did the Sugar record. What winner on it? My Lips Like Sugar? I did it.
Perfect.
Speaker 2 (39:18.466)
with the sugar.
Speaker 2 (39:24.182)
Man, Monte made me so mad with that then. That sample, and that was a sample that I was gonna flip, man. Monte beat me to it, and I can't be mad. That's my boy. I can't be mad. He beat me to it.
Stay in motion on this one.
The crazy part is Mike Karen sent me a bunch of samples that he wanted flipped. And that was one of them. And so when I did it, it was me and Mr. Jones, keyboard player, you know, a producer. We both produced on that record. And so we did it. Mike Karen like, this it. Make a few more changes and then, you know, send it back. And so we did it. It was the person who was singing that at first was Lady Gaga.
80 was on that record first?
Lady Gaga.
Speaker 2 (40:09.623)
It off!
No, hey, hey, you feel the way when that happen, ain't
That shit would have been it.
Monta I played on five songs that were supposed to be on speaker box One by one they all started dropping off right before it came out and I was like, bruh
Speaker 2 (40:38.498)
Diamond album. Diamond album.
Yeah, yeah, so... Have you had songs like that? Or things that just you're like, man, this is gonna blow up and then it just doesn't connect or...
Oh for sure, I got songs to this day that did that. It's just part of the game, you know what saying? And then when I hear some of the songs that they did pick and beat, I'm like, man, y'all could have had this. But I guess every producer feel like that about their songs and beats, you know what I'm saying? I was just, I don't work in the studio, like working for Michael Jackson and for Usher and for all that shit.
And you're there and they're there and it just goes poof and doesn't go.
I was in a studio literally with Chris Brown and Rihanna. They were sitting on the sofa together. That's when they were dating. That's how we, I don't work in that with them and it's just out of all that shit that we did, like I had like 10 records with Chris on the hook. Out of all the records we did, I don't really just use one of them and that was with Plies and Chris, I don't think he even made, he even cleared it, don't think so.
Speaker 2 (41:45.26)
Yeah, I had a Madonna record, that they...
Mean just go to show you got to take some at bats You can't get a home run every time you swing in the bat, right?
Well, this is what happened with the Madonna record. This is what happened because you know, it's politics that go into it too. So me as a producer, I didn't really jump on a lot of my records like Jazzy Fadim. boy, you know what saying? I didn't really do that. And Madonna loved the record. But
Akon sent her a version too, because her vocals was just going out to us. And Akon did a version, but Akon put himself on the record. So they went with that. You know what saying? you know, so I was like, Monte was like, come on,
Yeah, come on I Did a regular idea with Jamie Foxx I did 808s and everything I heard this shit come out like what happened I didn't get no credit and I guess they just wanted my 808 so I was like man fuck man this it happened a lot of times so it's just like It is what it is for me
Speaker 2 (43:02.446)
It is. It is what it is.
It is what it is man, I just can't be mad at it right now.
Look, quick story, So I'm at an EMI conference in LA. And I'm sitting with the president, Big John. Like, it don't get no bigger than that right there. I'm sitting with Big John. Me, him, and Big Ryan at the table. A phone call comes in.
Yeah, give me a story.
Speaker 2 (43:35.756)
Big John says, yeah, cleared. Go ahead and cut it. Boom. Hangs up the phone. Now we talking to big men, men, Ryan talking to big John about, a record that I did at the time for, shorty red called drifter and, and now, and then the Snoop Dogg does sexual eruption and all that. So all this, you know, it's a big buzz because of them two records right there.
You know what saying? And Big John hangs up the phone and he's like, uh, yeah, I just had to clear a check for, for Monte for like 1.5. Get out of here, man.
Out of here!
I'm at the table and like I see I see the call come in John saw who it was you like hold on hold on hold that thought yeah clear
Z
Speaker 1 (44:38.062)
Uh-huh.
Damn, that is wild.
I come back to Atlanta, boy. I'm looking at my boy just completely different. You know what I'm saying? Like, what's up? I know what's coming to you.
Let me hold a hundred stacks.
shit.
Speaker 2 (44:58.666)
I know what's coming to you. But like I said, he's still one of the most humblest dudes in the game, man. He ain't never got out of his square and all that. He never let it go to his head and all that and always be like every time I call him, he pick up the phones to this day still. You know what saying? what other opportunities did that record because man, was, man,
You went on a crazy run, Your run was crazy.
That's what I'm saying. That shit had got me in the studio with all kind of people like Chris Browns and working on projects for like Usher and just everybody in the game. You know, that shit. I was just steady trying to crank it out. But at that time, music was steady changing. And so I didn't, I didn't understand. I was still trying to put my own shit onto it because I was like, shit, y'all called me for me.
Did you find like people want you to keep making the same record over and over again to
my god, that shit was so aggravating. Yes.
Speaker 3 (46:08.679)
They want low part two or part three.
Yeah, and when I made that it wasn't nothing that they visualized they didn't they couldn't visualize what Mike Karen had visualized for that record or pain had when he came up with that hook it was just something that I created it and I tried you know I'm saying I don't really try it's like asking an artist to recreate That's like asking pain to recreate low again. It's like
Yeah, that and the industry, the industry tends to do that. It's like the NFL. It's a monkey see monkey do business and they like to try to strike lightning twice.
The fun fact about the music now, you can be yourself. You can do the stupidest shit and just be on.
You can be yourself now.
Speaker 2 (46:55.15)
So speaking on that, because, okay.
I'm afraid what's coming next is, speaking of stupid shit. What we gonna talk about now, fat?
Well, well, When things started flipping, know, how was that transition period for you? The way the landscape started changing in music creation and the introduction of streaming, how popular streaming got and all. So it was no longer about radio so much and you know what saying? It just started going different ways.
ain't gonna lie to you, mean, streaming has its ups and downs. Yeah, it don't pay well, but shit, like, I had a record, the hold on, Glo Rilla, the latest one, and so, that record wasn't no big radio work, but it still went gold. Just off of streaming and shit like that, so it's like, shit.
If you catch a record and this dude and catch them spins, this shit, I would still love a radio record. You know what saying? Because that shit, the radio pays more. Yeah, so when people want artists to be saying they don't need radio, man, yes. Once that shit start hearing radio and your shit start hearing top, your checks look totally different.
Speaker 2 (48:05.355)
You do.
Speaker 2 (48:13.058)
How do you see that moving forward? Do you think that they'll figure out how to get those rates on the streaming side right to make sense for us? Because us as older producers that's used to radio hits and the kind of money that we're used to coming in from that, do you see the streaming side of things ever kind of balancing itself to where it makes sense for guys like us?
For me, hope one day they do, you know what saying? for right now, I look at it as, what is the word I'm looking for? But exposure. It's more of an exposure for me.
promotional thing.
Mm-hmm and so it's like what you use after that how you if you if you get a hundred pennies that equaled up a dollar to me You know I'm saying so it's like if this person want to keep calling me now I'm getting phone calls cuz this record and their record and it's dreaming. Okay, cool I let it all add up. No, I'm saying then I worry about all this shit later on and You just now you can work on your you got so much shit to utilize such as like Instagram and tick tock like you shit like that and so
So you can become the DJ and play your own damn records and certain shit. You can capitalize on a bunch of shit now. It's like you'll worry about that, but it's like, man, it's so many records coming out just for your record to even go gold. That's still huge. And for me to worry about that money, like, man, okay, I do want the money. That's where that comes from.
Speaker 2 (49:50.474)
For sure. For sure. For sure.
But I know how to hustle and use that to my advantage.
Once it's there, you know how to turn it into something else.
Yeah, yeah, you know I'm saying I got two gold records rich the other record almost platinum so it's like shit
You know, I just had one with the LMA record. It went gold, you know what saying? And it was still, it did well on radio and it did well on the streaming side. So I was happy about that because I was able to see both sides of the fence from that record.
Speaker 1 (50:32.704)
Yeah. But it just it is what the record do after that like sinks and yeah. Yeah.
Sinks it, right, right, right, right.
Does it turn into like performance opportunities, live show kind of situation? you know, you go out with T-Pain a lot, right? You're his main DJ. You produce, you know, is that like outgrowth of a strategy or it's just kind of a natural evolution or how'd that come about?
Well, for me, God put me in a position to go out with the artists that we got out of both bigger songs together. So it's like even we don't did a lot of records together period. We've been working since damn near 2006, maybe. And so just for me to land as his DJ, that was so hard. And then we just end up becoming like real close friends. so seeing him perform or we perform our songs.
on big stages and shit man that shit just be like
Speaker 2 (51:32.782)
Crazy.
So you just did that Coachella, you did what's the other big show? Stagecoach, right? I've been following, know, getting set up for all that.
Stays, coach.
Speaker 1 (51:42.958)
Oh man, that shit was so huge. I think Coachella might have been a little over 100,000 people out there.
Yeah, just a hundred thousand. No big deal.
Look like honey, okay?
I mean that's just me looking it. don't know who's counting. Man that shit. Yeah Stagecoach was like we didn't have a big stage but it's on the same field and so that was like 8,000 up under that tent but it was like 30,000 people outside of the tent wanting to see that shit so that was just huge and so. Man.
Little light honey, okay?
Speaker 2 (52:23.31)
So
Especially seeing my records just going crazy going crazy. Yeah still even when we do colleges them colleges man The whole college is getting low low all this shit. So I like man this shit Wow
Going
Speaker 2 (52:38.67)
See, I don't know if you remember, but we ran into each other at LA Fitness. And I asked you about some, cause I was getting ready to go on the road with Final Draft as their DJ. And man, you I hadn't been on the road since before a camouflage passed as a road DJ. So it brought back all those feelings being back on the road. Were you ever before this?
With T-Pain, were you ever a tour DJ for anybody?
I was a DJ on tour DJ. Yeah. But then, know, me and Jelly, back to that, we were doing our own tour. We were doing tours in Germany, two-week tour, me and Jelly.
So I know that was crazy.
Speaker 3 (53:28.44)
Do you know DJ Dollar Bill? I went over to Germany with Trillville. Hot Bill, Hot Seas, DJ Hot Sauce.
Yeah, no doubt a deal.
Speaker 1 (53:39.278)
Yeah, yeah dollar bill the one that brought us over there. Yeah
No, that was his thing. He specialized like Southern rap.
That's the thing though, we introduced all that music over there from our mixtapes. Our mixtapes were selling so big over there and we introduced like the crime mob, the Trill. Like they start, after we went, they start not too long going over there. Kurt Rashida was going over there because it's like we turned them on to him and he was like, man, thank y'all. So he was just booking everybody and...
No, man. It was like four or five years after what the impact of America you can go over to Germany. I was with Trill, it was like rock star shit. Like you can't get off the bus kind of like just like packed out.
Germany. You gotta remember, it wasn't no social media, wasn't no DSPs, it wasn't none of that. So it was like straight up mixed tapes that got their shit over there. So that's how big and impactful our shit was. Especially coming from the South, it's like our shit made it all the way over to Germany. We sell, we're wholesaling tapes and CDs over in Germany.
Speaker 3 (54:45.699)
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (54:50.382)
Speaking of the mixtape thing, going back, I was a big Edward Jay mixtape fan. The way he used to take the old school records and mix it with some kind of rap record that had 808 in it. But the Edward Jay stuff started going down and then that...
That oomph shit started going up and then all of a sudden you wasn't really hearing Edward Jay like that no more. when y'all took over the mixtape game, like I don't think nobody else had an impact on the mixtape game in the A like that until Jellydum came along. Until Dramadum came along.
yeah. Yeah, Drama them was after us doing that same kind of stuff. I mean, what they were doing, they introduced something different though. Yeah. Yeah. And they brought like the New York style mix tape to Atlanta. Yeah. And so it the screen. And so, you know, that shit was just became big. But we still were doing that. We still do our shit to this day. Like how we do it. We still.
They brought something different to it.
Speaker 2 (56:06.571)
Still doing the mixtapes?
Yeah, I'm still on the radio. I'm syndicated like 20 something stations. So I get like an advantage of playing my records and stuff like that when they come out.
on the radio.
Speaker 2 (56:21.56)
See you,
Wrong strategy there
I be taking a lot of cues from Monte, man. I just got back on the radio, you know what saying? But I mean, it's kind of like, you know, our routes into the game is very similar. you know, the only regret that I really have, if I have any regrets, is when I started taking off on production, I backed away from DJing in the club. And...
Monte, that's why when I ran into Monte in the club, you did back away? You did from the club?
Yeah, for a while because it's like, shit, man, I'm making more money doing production than fucking being in this goddamn club because I was out.
Speaker 2 (57:11.16)
So you did back away. You just never backed off the radio. Never backed off radio.
Never back down. I've been on radio for like 20 plus, maybe 20 years or 20 plus years.
And see right now, see this is crazy, man. I didn't know me and Monta was joined at the hip as much as we are because the radio station in Savannah, and this is what they told me. We gonna try to make you the DJ Monta of Savannah.
The DJ
Hey, Monta or Savannah, yeah, that's what they said. That's literally what they said because, you know, both of us producers, we both got, you know, we both got hit records under our belt. We both come from the DJ world. You just never left the radio and you still got that presence on radio. I'm just getting back into DJing, which I shouldn't have never left. COVID put me back into it, but...
Speaker 1 (57:46.969)
wha-
Speaker 2 (58:10.412)
That was the trajectory that I was on. I was on radio too. Early, back before the production stuff really started off, I was DJing on Georgia Southern's campus in Statesboro. You know what saying? So I was headed that route, but once the production stuff started, then I kinda, know, and money started coming in, I kinda backed away from the DJing. So.
I was like, man, shit. But uncle was like, man, you gotta stay in the streets. And I was like, man, fuck.
So you wanted to, but oom oom oom was like, suggested against it.
I wanted, I- Yeah, so I went back a few times, but other than that, I was like, man, I can't do it no more. This ain't it.
See
Speaker 1 (59:01.772)
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (59:11.84)
saying like he that one that be like man you gotta stay grounded you gotta stay doing that just keep your name out there and other kind of shit
Hey, you know, everybody keep bringing up these execs. Oun't name need to come in this conversation, Oun't name need to be in that conversation.
for sure. A lot of them came and sat in his office and talked to him and learned everything that he done did and picked up game and shit, you know, but they did they shit with it and just never came turning around and gave their hand to back out. So it's like we ain't tripping. We still do us because we us.
Right, and that just shows the hominess of Oonp himself because Oonp never really cared about the, know, hey, look at me and all that kind of stuff. Similar to you, you know what saying? you know, when your leader is a certain kind of way, everything else kind of follows that same kind of principle. You know, like the head coach, you know, the team takes on the identity of the head coach.
You know what saying? you know, is one of those labels, man, that it got that staple, but, and it's been able to stay around all these years because of that factor right there. You know what I'm saying? But I do think, man, we need to start championing Oomp Camp a little bit more, you know, cause JD, JD deserve his flowers on one side, but Oomp need his on the other side too.
Speaker 1 (01:00:45.902)
Yeah, I mean, it's people that show love. just like, it ain't like no big recognition. You know, we got big artists that came through and just, you know what saying? Without Unkamp and producers, big time young producers right now, they even give me shout outs for just like being their inspiration. You know what I'm saying? So it's like, we get our recognition. It's just like, do people care? I don't know. It's like, I could work for that same shit all over again. You know what I'm saying? So I don't mind it. That's how I...
much I love just making beats and doing production and shit like that so
So if you had to do all over again, you would do it exactly the same way?
man, I wouldn't even change nothing that I did. You gotta look at folks like Mike Dean, you know what saying? man been in business since fucking ghetto boys. So it's like, but that's him being him though, you know what I'm saying? With his old retro synths and everything like that, he brought a different sound to this shit, which that counts from the history of music that he know.
Still going.
Speaker 1 (01:01:52.034)
And so for me, I know so much more than a lot of these younger cats. I'm not saying that I got up a hand on them, but it's like for me, I feel like I do. You know what saying? Cause it's like, I could take shit and flip it.
So you have like protege's you're bringing along and making them organize your records to come.
Man I didn't put nobody through that kind of right?
like, the record's
Yeah, nah. nah.
Speaker 3 (01:02:19.918)
Organize your hard drive.
We do have we all have protégés like what's this protégé about DJ he was DJing before you know, we found out he was rapping on mixed CDs And so that's what made us put like a project, you know together because we had a single deal on the table for walkie walk it like a talkie so that came and then like I do it because something happened so we end up putting him on there then we had
Uh-huh.
Speaker 1 (01:02:53.388)
We DJ Shoddy Rock. We had a lot of Prodigy. We got DJ Super Blue right now. On the producing side, got, I ain't gonna say Big Kour is a Prodigy, because he's doing his own thing. He got singles and he's making beats. He's been on big placements, but he wanted the younger. We got younger producers up under us that, I'm not even gonna say Prodigy, we're just trying to make sure that everybody eat.
What should people trying to break into the game know about the DJ to producer pipeline now in 2025?
Don't be afraid of it, you know what saying? Just take what you see in the club and try to get it out your brain, because that's probably going to be one of the biggest things to get it out your mind. What you hear, the type of beat you hear, how you, once you put it on paper, it's like, did it sound like how it sounded in your head? That's going to be the biggest thing.
So like a dream or you're catching a radio transmission into your brain and
I'm catching the down log out there. I just be like, shit, I'm finna go ahead and fucking put it on my computer.
Speaker 3 (01:04:03.982)
Well, you must be tuned into the right frequency, man, because you've done so much with it.
Man, I appreciate it, Dan. I try to stay in that same frequency a lot. So, you know, that's just...
What we get off is set me the number for that frequency I need that no fire
What were some of your early inspirations, man, that you think may have influenced your production?
producers like Dr. DJ Paul and Juicy J, Lil Jon, shit, all that, man.
Speaker 1 (01:04:44.95)
Whoever produced some of Trick Daddy's shit, that was one of my shits. Manifresh them, KLC, Beats by the Pound, all that shit. They always been wanting to motivate me. then the younger producers, this is a lot of them right now that I fuck with.
KLC.
Speaker 2 (01:05:07.232)
you just you just said a thing with that right there, because I think when you know. Because you and I, it's it's producers that we have influenced, but when you become older producers in here. You should still be influenced by the younger people coming behind you that that that have something to offer to the game and a lot of.
that divide between young and old, I don't think me and you really get caught into that because we always welcome the young dudes. You know what I'm saying?
For sure. But it's like I still have young producers I'll be like, man, this shit was dope as fuck. Like I had to tip my hat to them because they innovate a lot of shit. took some of sound that me and you and Shot of Red and a lot of these producers have created back in the days and kind of took it up here. Yeah, yeah, for sure. So it's like, man, damn, like that's what motivates me because I like shit.
took yeah it took the baton and ran with it.
Speaker 1 (01:06:13.162)
still do them type of shits all day my eyes closed yeah yeah so it's like shit that's what makes me keep doing them kind of shit
Good job, Claude.
Speaker 2 (01:06:22.73)
Absolutely. So where do you see, because man, the way the city felt during this time period right here, like between the years of, really, really from the time Outkast came out up through.
That's another person that was an influence, my bad. person that was Yup. Yeah, I can't go by without Mr. Rico. That shit was, he was amazing.
Nice noise. Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (01:06:52.258)
Facts. It seemed like every time I look at my phone, man, somebody new coming out, man. It's like, who are you listening to right now that you feel like is somebody that can take it to the next plateau, know, kick this can down the road some more.
so much different shit. I ain't listening to nothing new. It's just so hard. To keep up with new shit, new trends and all that shit. I'll just be on TikTok and see what's going on or Instagram. I don't want to try to find nobody's new album and all that shit. And then I'm stuck in the middle of producing.
is hard.
Speaker 1 (01:07:33.646)
doing shows and traveling and shit. don't, I'm either sleep on a plane or sleep at home or making beats when I get home, cause I ain't had time to make beats out there cause I'm trying to get on projects and shit. I don't listen to much.
Yeah, I found that too man cuz like I've been in the studio all the time and I will like drive to like New York Without turning the radio on cuz I just can't hear any more music
Yeah, yeah, that's me. But I tell my wife, like, just, I sometimes listen to nothing. No, I listen to the radio. I just don't want to go through that whole shit. And then my kids get in the car and they play they music. I'm like, what? And y'all like this? Okay, cool. Not knocking it, but I'm like.
It's
Speaker 3 (01:08:19.084)
Yeah
It is what it is.
You know you in a new time when songs don't even have hooks no more. Yep. I don't even think some artists know how to come up with a hook. If they don't. A proper hook.
Man, man, look.
Speaker 2 (01:08:30.83)
don't.
Yeah, I didn't hear that part, but they don't. They don't. Yeah, I think it'd be hard for them to structure us on.
I mean, a lot of these kids, 60 seconds is what they experience on Instagram.
Yeah.
They live in the 60s. They live in the 60 second.
Speaker 3 (01:09:08.59)
shorter time.
Yeah.
And they're not taking care of the...
I'm kind of living in it too though because once I see something trending on TikTok and I even know how the rest of the song sound then when I hear the rest of the song I'm like
That was
Speaker 1 (01:09:30.286)
Yeah, let's go back to the 60 seconds, 30 seconds that you were playing, that's about it.
Yeah, it's a lot of...
practices that aren't being handled the way they used to be handled. For instance, like clearance samples and stuff like that. It's a record from a new artist, Ken Carson, that sampled one of my records and they didn't reach out for clearance or nothing. And that album going crazy right now. Three weeks, three, three, it's been out for three weeks, four now.
No, he's gonna get paid.
Speaker 2 (01:10:12.782)
And man, in three weeks, it was already over 100 million streams and the song itself was over 10 million already, just in three weeks. So, you know, it's...
What you saying as you got a new chick coming in?
I'm complaining but I'm not complaining. You know what I'm saying? Because I did happen, I didn't know about it and my brother called me and said he heard the record on the satellite radio station and then I checked it out and it's a beat flip too. So the beat starts off one way then it flips in to my kitchen. So I'm like, okay.
And then I started following up on this like, man, this kid got a following like a motherfucker right now. Like he going crazy. He signed the Playboy Cardi. but it does this does that fall kind of fall upon us, you know, as elder statesmen in business now that the young kids aren't understanding how to take care of or get the business straight.
on stuff like, does that fall on us? Because we learned it from somewhere. The knowledge was getting passed down to us. There was a learning period, a learning curve that we went through today. Is this our fault? Is it on us?
Speaker 1 (01:11:42.324)
Nah, you can't blame... I don't blame myself for none of that shit.
I give game. I know you give game whenever you get that. know Dan give game. Dan was making the living giving game.
Man, some people gotta learn the hard way, man.
If you are sampled in and put it out it's too late for me to even learn it's like you can't learn nothing you gonna learn now Yeah
Yeah, the horror way.
Speaker 3 (01:12:10.264)
for cheating and how attorneys at law.
The attorney's gonna teach you a good lesson. You know what I'm
A real good lesson.
real good lesson. I had like even amigos walk and talk and they would sample from us but they had put it out and they reached out to us but it was like we yeah we want them type of people so yeah yeah we worked it out.
after they put it up.
Speaker 2 (01:12:36.822)
But you know, know, in Atlanta and I think...
And that record I almost diamond. Yeah. It's like 200,000 away from diamond or something like that.
It'll be there in a couple of weeks. Yeah, I think the kid, think the kid, the Ken Carson kid might be from here, playboy from here. So I ain't pressing the issue hard like that. I just alerted everybody to it. It's just like, let's get it handled. Because they didn't reach out and I don't think that they understood.
the beat flipped into my kitchen. So, you know what saying? I'm not, cause it's going crazy. I'm just like, Hey, keep on going crazy. I'm not fitting the whole shit up. Keep going crazy. But I ain't holding nothing up. I ain't mad. I ain't, I'm happy. You know what saying? I look at it as homage when somebody sample your stuff and keep going with it because we're in that era now where they're sampling our music. How does that make you, you know,
Now that being OGs in the game, our songs are starting to be sampled now. How does that make you feel looking back at it and the appreciation that the newer artists still feel for those records that we were doing back then?
Speaker 1 (01:14:07.541)
Man, I'm appreciative to be honest with you. Like, shit, keep sampling on them motherfuckers. They make a hit off of it. We all finna eat together. That's how I'm looking at it. So yeah, we all finna eat together. So I'm not true.
together.
Speaker 2 (01:14:20.494)
Because I know for a fact, I'm waiting for somebody to can't touch this one of my records.
Speaker 2 (01:14:31.106)
Hey!
Too legit to quit.
Too legit to quit. You know what I'm saying? Like, hey, make one of my records bigger than it was when it originally came out. You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm not mad at that at all. Like, we'll be best friends.
I believe that should have happened later on down in life like you know I'm saying like I say 10 more years is probably gonna be recognized or something
Uh-uh.
Speaker 2 (01:15:00.814)
If somebody can make low bigger than what it was.
That's a retirement plan right there, man.
Yeah, I want to know I want to know low records. Hey, screw up the grind at this point.
Lower and
You
Speaker 2 (01:15:25.006)
I can't be mad at that man. I can't be mad at that at all
Fat you want to hit him with you think it's a good time for some level up?
Yeah, so we can level up. So I got some questions for you. You know, just quick fire questions. Don't answer that. Yeah, just what it is. This is our leveled up portion of the show. So, MPC or Logic?
large
Analog and digital.
Speaker 1 (01:15:59.234)
Digital.
Only Atlanta or New Atlanta?
Both.
Both, I had a feeling he was gonna say both. I had a feeling he was gonna say that. Producing the DJing.
Producer.
Speaker 2 (01:16:12.842)
Ableton Live with Logic.
Depends on what I'm using it for but if it's DJing Ableton production Logic
New cars are classics. We ain't bring that up. I figured that we bring that up then but I had it in the questions. He thought I was gonna let that slide. I ain't let it slide. Get low and walk it out.
Classic.
Love.
Speaker 2 (01:16:41.496)
Club DJ and the Tour DJ.
big fan the for sure.
Samples are live.
Laugh.
Live over samples. OK. OK.
Speaker 1 (01:16:54.326)
Yeah, I don't like samplers.
I thought you might have said sample after you said what you said about the You know, you know, you don't put too much live stuff in the music, but okay Same time you don't say
Mm-mm. if I- Yeah, so I'll re-create before I sample. Okay.
Okay.
I guess this one be for T-Pain but Wisconsin or Wisconsin?
Speaker 1 (01:17:20.874)
Wisconsin. Yeah, that's that's it. we got we're doing Wisconsin Fest up there in Wisconsin. So, this **** is a big thing that he get. They gave him the key to the city up there. that's usual, bro.
That was a question that I meant to ask a while back. Like, how often y'all out on the road?
I'm leaving tomorrow. We out. Like man, we out.
Is this a tour or is it mostly like spot dates?
spot dates. It's just depending on how how he want to be in how busy. Hold on my bad y'all.
Speaker 1 (01:18:03.086)
It depends on how busy he wanna be. You know what I'm saying? If he just wanna be at home, we at home. But while we at home, this what I do. Production and shit like that. I try to make sure I do all that kind of shit. I go to his house and try to get hooked so we can get placements. You know, that's the type of shit I do.
That Monty.
light in the background.
How do we get those for us?
Yeah. That's tight, Appreciate it. Nah, I actually designed that myself. I did it in Photoshop and then I've just been using it as my
Speaker 2 (01:18:45.878)
Who put it together for you? Who,
This is a neon thing I saw on Instagram. I was like shit. I sent them the logo and I told them a couple of neon lights on it.
I did it for you.
Speaker 3 (01:19:00.11)
Gotta have to step up on our logo plaque game over here. Trying to get like him.
Speaker 3 (01:19:08.528)
I didn't notice, did I? Do I?
I gotta get at a different angle in my studio. I'm set up, I just got the green screen behind me but the Plex is on the side.
Thanks.
Speaker 1 (01:19:21.58)
You got a green screen, ain't nothing on it but the green screen. Is there supposed to be something on it? okay.
I'll put your plaques in there and post.
and post it comes up. That's why I got the green screen back there. I mean, you know, I ain't think about it, but Monta got his plaques in the background. Dan always have his plaques every week and mine just sitting over and but.
I the platinum hair to go with the platinum plaques, so that's-
Hey, you got how many plates you got there?
Speaker 3 (01:19:56.782)
Well, I got three that triple there. That's on Nelly record I did and then under that is a that's a gold record. It would Carlos Santana Over here. I got a platinum with chameleon air from Revenge There's another Nelly record. I think that had like Ron Isley on it and Snoop Dogg So I got a few you know, not as many as you I'm trying to get like you
Hey, look, you got some record.
Amen.
Not bad for you. I tried to do my thing, but...
that get lowcase by itself.
Speaker 3 (01:20:30.828)
Yeah, I can't lift it. It's like lifting.
Right.
Get low-key fast.
Yeah, I can't touch that but maybe if get my low and lower remix going I'll let you know
I know, right?
Speaker 3 (01:20:46.638)
Hey, Monta, man, I really appreciate you making this time and sharing your knowledge with us, man. It's an honor and pleasure to talk with you again after 10 years since I've
I know, right?
It's still some stuff that was left on the table, man, but we'll catch up on that on another one.
Hey, it's up to you. I'm here for it.
Too far to turn back now Think of all the things we've been through
Speaker 3 (01:21:15.446)
Hey, just real quick, we need your support. If you like seeing discussions like this, we need you to like, comment, and subscribe to the channel. Thanks for watching.
levels today.