J
Jersey8five6
Guest
http://www.thaformula.com/dj_battle...othing_but_the_funk_thaformula.com_music.html
DJ Battlecat: Producers series - Nothing But the funk pt. 1 feedback: info@thaformula.com May '07
thaFormula.com - When did you make the transition from DJ to Producer?
DJ Battlecat - I was DJ’ing and really making a name for myself so that paved the way to eventually getting my own DJ set up. When I needed help getting a piece of equipment that costs like 3000 dollars, I ran into some cats that’s was real good with money and they liked my approach to them about purchasing this equipment and then I gave them a demonstration of what I could do with it. So once I did that, they was enthused and said “okay we are gonna invest in you.” So they invested and got me the machine. It took me some time, about almost 6 months to really get the swing of it. Like learning the process of sampling and sequencing and actually making music with it making sense to the point to where the sound was marketable. So once I started making a name, different people that I grew up with like Kurupt in the junior high school days, he was coming to me getting beats done and my reputation grew to the point where I ended up doing additional drum programming for people like Club Nouveau and stuff like that. So that's how those two came together. It wasn't very long before I started learning how to be a producer.
thaFormula.com – I’ve seen your name on a lot of production credits under keyboards…
DJ Battlecat - How it all tied in is putting all the elements together with DJ’ing and sampling, I took it to another level. I started learning the art of engineering at an early age from DJ’ing with Bobcat. It took a while to just to learn how to get it together, but the main thing that helped me was just putting a CD on and just start playing along with it until I can match the tempo and some of the same sounds or phrases that the record was doing so that helped a lot. It stayed with me. My family is definitely musically inclined. My father and my mother they both sing. My mother is a pianist and my cousin is a pianist. My uncle he sings so all that helped a lot with learning chord theories and melodies. I learned that at an early age, DJ’ing and sampling at the same time. I got my first opportunity to really start doing it later when I ran into Domino. During the “Bangin’ on Wax” project you started hearing my keyboard skills around 1992. I learned fast because what was there before I started doing the DJ’ing. Drums and pianos were always around me so that helped a lot.
thaFormula.com - How did you get approached for the “Bangin On Wax” project and how much do you think that changed things within the Bloods and Crips?
DJ Battlecat - When I did the project, there was a friend in Compton who I met named Tweedy Bird and I was working on his project and he ran into a dude named Ronnie Philips and they wanted to do something different and positive. The project just happened to be called “Bangin’ On Wax” and I was like “how are we gonna do this, how is it gonna work?” They said “well the whole thing is to get them to bang on each other on wax, show them the business aspect of making a record, being an artist, becoming a producer, an engineer.” All that was like all in one making and some good came out of it. Me and Domino, we did our thing out of it. It brought us props and clientele and the success of it is that it brought different walks of life together that we never thought would have come together, and out of it came me and Domino. We took it farther than the project and we wanted to show another side from somebody who comes from the walk of like from you know a Crip neighborhood or influenced in the Crip way of life.
thaFormula.com - What was that first big hit for you as a producer?
DJ Battlecat - Well my first big hit was “Ghetto Jam” with Domino and that went platinum. That was definitely my first mark with Russell Simmons. So my first hit is with Russell. Then there was records with Faith Evans, Eastsiders, Snoop’s “Paid The Cost To Be The Boss,” and “The Last Meal” were definitely platinum records that I was responsible for. Records like that definitely paved the way to show that I am hungry and have high expectations of still being a musician and a producer and giving good music. But what's happening now is that I have been behind the scenes as an entrepreneur as far as the business side. My children are musically inclined, I have other producers that's with me that's into film that learned all the different theories of music and are going into a wider audience as far as music and entertainment is concerned.
thaFormula.com - Production wise, do you see a difference between a producer and a beat maker and in your opinion what is the difference?
DJ Battlecat - Yeah there is definitely gonna be one. You know a beat maker is a beat maker, that's all he do you know? He makes different rhythms. But if he happens to be musically inclined to where he is putting melodies or sounds over it, it doesn't make him a producer. It just means that he has ideas. It's like a drummer. That’s what a beat maker is, he just happens to be a programmer. Sometimes you get some guys that are real good and some guys that are not real good. If you really wanna be a beat maker, you really got to go back and study the art form of drums and how they really work. They got videos at the guitar center and Sam Ash. A real producer is a gentleman that can arrange other instruments than just drums. You know string instruments, flutes, percussions, and know where to place them and play them. It also would be good to listen to the records that have been here before you which would give you a greater opportunity to be heard. So you really come with the real true traditions of the music. Like right now the young generations, I feel like they haven't spent enough time to go back to they roots and find out what is a certain category of music as far as style and sound. I think once they find out where it all comes from and what theory is, then they will take it in a better perspective as far as a form of creating and then they’ll really see who they are. Like right now they got different competitions that they put out now from coast to coast where beat makers can go and play their music and get it heard. That's cool because that's something like a Boy's Club. That's something we never had so I like that. I think that’s something we really need even that much more because we can take a beat maker to another level. If some of the producers that are real producers in R&B and Rap and Gospel would just come to the summit and just really hear what’s there, they can help them understand what theory is what. Like “this is where they got this from.” You will have a DJ there with all the records from Rock, Pop, Reggae, Dancehall and Country, whatever. A lot of people sample and put music together from everywhere so if we could just show where it came from then we could help them understand the structure and the characteristics and what sound is really marketable as far as with what they are coning up with.
thaFormula.com - Now early on the West had major artists out like Ice Cube, NWA, Ice-T, King Tee, CMW, D.O.C., etc. making legendary albums. What do you think is the biggest difference between that group of artists and the group of artists of today from the West and why they can't make the breakthrough that those artists made?
DJ Battlecat - I think once they take time to listen and see what was the outcome of every artist that came up from the West Coast through all the adversities and trial and tribulations, once they seen how far they have went then I think they would get a chance to understand integrity and ambition as far as you being very focused in how to make an impact in today’s music. Like it was more so a movement when you mention Ice Cube and that’s what helped a lot because there was an actual movement behind an artist like Ice Cube and he had a alliance of producers that came from different walks of life that loved music and each producer had it's own characteristics and flavor on the album. It was like maybe 7 to 9 producers but all on one record, it still had one voice and that was Ice Cube so it was uniquely arranged, thought out and planned. They thought about what they said and what they did and I think once you get back into that art form of making music, I think you would really have a major impact.
thaFormula.com - Now what are your thoughts when Ice Cube started the West Side Connection? When Cube came out screaming Westside, it created a big divide between the coasts. Do you think that was the best thing that could have happened at the time for the West or was that one of the things that really has left the East still bitter to this day?
DJ Battlecat - Well it's a combination of both. It happened both ways. What effect that it had is not really looked at as something that's needed right now because it would look like obviously we are hating or we wanna be the mad rapper because the coast doesn't have it's favor right now. But that’s got a lot to do with how we are as human beings, the nature of us as a human being its gonna show how its gonna be in the form and nature of making music. At a time as far as showing that we can be effective in getting our point across, they proved that they could. Was it a success? Yes it was did the record plaque, yes. There were people from they’re own coast that felt the same way because they didn't like the way some of the artists were being treated as far as bringing them in the game or what not. Just even as a human being a lot of people felt like some of the rappers that was being talked about, needed to be talked about. You would be surprised at who would glorify it or be behind such an expression that the West Side Connection pushed. But they was the only ones that didn't want to let the coast not be heard as far when we was getting bomb shells and feeling like we weren’t gonna be nothing in life. Its funny that they would say so many bad things about this coast because you will find a lot of these cats with girls and baby mothers or soul mates or business partners and they find themselves coming out here and living and having a home or finding their niche in being successful through film and entertainment or whatnot. So this coast can't be all that bad as different people have painted it.
thaFormula.com - What does the music represent to you?
DJ Battlecat - Music is supposed to bring hope or whatnot and when the high end of the industry don't really want to discipline or really police the industry.. that's why anything goes. It is because they are the same as well. They like how it’s going down. They like the lifestyle, they like the fact that the Hip-Hop side or just the Rap side or whatever you wanna call it have given them an opportunity to venture into something that they never tried to create or be a part of in the first place. They just stumble along with it and decide to finance it or fuel it to a certain degree. Some of the atmosphere of the Hip-Hop or the Rap world or producer world has been fundamentally appreciated and embraced as beautiful place to be. Then you got another side of it that is not a good side of it. You’ve done seen death behind music before and **** like that. So its like we never thought this industry machine would be that crazy like that but it is, and they act like they don't want to be real about it so it's kind of like giving a lack of hope to people that really wanna be positive with what they are doing or what they are capable of doing as far as a rapper or musician. There is no arena or platform big enough for them to say “hey okay there is room for this.” So independent is the business for you to have control of your visual ideas.
thaFormula.com - Do you engineer and mix down your own music?
DJ Battlecat - Yes I do. Like I said I learned in the early days from music people like Uncle Jams Army like how to put a sound system together, a crossover, tops, bottoms, and amplifiers. So all that helped me balance my ear in engineering. Like learning how to work with bass, learning how to work with mids and highs. You know, just learning how to set up a system to sound good no matter where it's at.
thaFormula.com - So how important is the engineering and mix down to your own tracks?
DJ Battlecat - Well the more things that you add to a song you wanna make sure that it's heard and it's felt and balancing each instrument or each sound that is added to a song is very important ‘cause it's obvious that you want them to hear everything that you bring, so you have to have arranging skills in composing a song. It’s very important that you spend time on your own time at home learning how to engineer. They got software now where you can learn at home, you don’t have to be in the big studio if you have some fair monitors. I’ve done touched them all and learned them all. Different records that I have produced uh, listening to others peoples records through them, I learned how much a speaker can take when you dial in frequencies, when you EQ and stuff like that. Learning how to compress a sound that is to loud, keep it at one level so that it will sound smooth, but it will have some presence at the same time. It took a long time to learn the sound and learn the character ‘cause every sound has a character, it has a feel and it has a mood to it so I learned that. It took a while but then I had the pleasure to work with Raphael Saadiq and people like that who are high end like Puffy, Faith Evans and Kenny Lattimore just to name a few. I’ve been around George Clinton, Stanley Clarke and they all have loved my contribution to music. So with them giving me thumbs up on what I'm doing it let me know that I'm there, I'm certified as far as I'm concerned. Dr. Dre who is my ultimate, Bobcat and a few others have helped me a whole lot.
thaFormula.com - How do you feel about the computer software that's out now for producers?
DJ Battlecat - I'll tell you one thing, it's affordable and it works man. It's self-contained, and you don't have to worry about trying to spend that money on hardware or gear. But I'll tell you one thing, it is good to learn both sides. I would rent hands on hardware and take the time out to learn the difference. You could take your money and invest in that. Take your money and have an engineer mix a demo or mix something else and you would be surprised in seeing the difference. But like I said, for people who can't afford a studio, they definitely became a hero for young engineers and producers and even the engineers and producers that have been here already. There is nothing like being portable with what you do. I could be on a plane doing what I'm doing. I could mix a record on a plane if I wanted to. The convenience is endless.
thaFormula.com – Are you the type that samples a lot off of vinyl or are you more into the instrumentation now?
DJ Battlecat - I'm into both worlds. For the publishing sakes of it, I don’t really like making the sample obvious so what I have learned to do is create the same elements that's in the record as far as sound wise and then I make a new track with the original elements of a record from the past. Just like if we was to make a new record but it still has that flavor. If I wanted to do the Motown sound, it’s easy because I know what it sounds like. I’ve been around musicians for years. Sometimes you will see album covers and look at the back and see the kind of instruments that they were using. I would go to this place there used to be in Los Angeles and I would go buy all that old **** and try it and it would sound just like the record or even better.
http://www.thaformula.com/dj_battlecat_producers_series_day_14_nothing_but_the_funk_part_2_thaformula.com_music.html
DJ Battlecat - I was DJ’ing and really making a name for myself so that paved the way to eventually getting my own DJ set up. When I needed help getting a piece of equipment that costs like 3000 dollars, I ran into some cats that’s was real good with money and they liked my approach to them about purchasing this equipment and then I gave them a demonstration of what I could do with it. So once I did that, they was enthused and said “okay we are gonna invest in you.” So they invested and got me the machine. It took me some time, about almost 6 months to really get the swing of it. Like learning the process of sampling and sequencing and actually making music with it making sense to the point to where the sound was marketable. So once I started making a name, different people that I grew up with like Kurupt in the junior high school days, he was coming to me getting beats done and my reputation grew to the point where I ended up doing additional drum programming for people like Club Nouveau and stuff like that. So that's how those two came together. It wasn't very long before I started learning how to be a producer.
thaFormula.com – I’ve seen your name on a lot of production credits under keyboards…
DJ Battlecat - How it all tied in is putting all the elements together with DJ’ing and sampling, I took it to another level. I started learning the art of engineering at an early age from DJ’ing with Bobcat. It took a while to just to learn how to get it together, but the main thing that helped me was just putting a CD on and just start playing along with it until I can match the tempo and some of the same sounds or phrases that the record was doing so that helped a lot. It stayed with me. My family is definitely musically inclined. My father and my mother they both sing. My mother is a pianist and my cousin is a pianist. My uncle he sings so all that helped a lot with learning chord theories and melodies. I learned that at an early age, DJ’ing and sampling at the same time. I got my first opportunity to really start doing it later when I ran into Domino. During the “Bangin’ on Wax” project you started hearing my keyboard skills around 1992. I learned fast because what was there before I started doing the DJ’ing. Drums and pianos were always around me so that helped a lot.
thaFormula.com - How did you get approached for the “Bangin On Wax” project and how much do you think that changed things within the Bloods and Crips?
DJ Battlecat - When I did the project, there was a friend in Compton who I met named Tweedy Bird and I was working on his project and he ran into a dude named Ronnie Philips and they wanted to do something different and positive. The project just happened to be called “Bangin’ On Wax” and I was like “how are we gonna do this, how is it gonna work?” They said “well the whole thing is to get them to bang on each other on wax, show them the business aspect of making a record, being an artist, becoming a producer, an engineer.” All that was like all in one making and some good came out of it. Me and Domino, we did our thing out of it. It brought us props and clientele and the success of it is that it brought different walks of life together that we never thought would have come together, and out of it came me and Domino. We took it farther than the project and we wanted to show another side from somebody who comes from the walk of like from you know a Crip neighborhood or influenced in the Crip way of life.
thaFormula.com - What was that first big hit for you as a producer?
DJ Battlecat - Well my first big hit was “Ghetto Jam” with Domino and that went platinum. That was definitely my first mark with Russell Simmons. So my first hit is with Russell. Then there was records with Faith Evans, Eastsiders, Snoop’s “Paid The Cost To Be The Boss,” and “The Last Meal” were definitely platinum records that I was responsible for. Records like that definitely paved the way to show that I am hungry and have high expectations of still being a musician and a producer and giving good music. But what's happening now is that I have been behind the scenes as an entrepreneur as far as the business side. My children are musically inclined, I have other producers that's with me that's into film that learned all the different theories of music and are going into a wider audience as far as music and entertainment is concerned.
thaFormula.com - Production wise, do you see a difference between a producer and a beat maker and in your opinion what is the difference?
DJ Battlecat - Yeah there is definitely gonna be one. You know a beat maker is a beat maker, that's all he do you know? He makes different rhythms. But if he happens to be musically inclined to where he is putting melodies or sounds over it, it doesn't make him a producer. It just means that he has ideas. It's like a drummer. That’s what a beat maker is, he just happens to be a programmer. Sometimes you get some guys that are real good and some guys that are not real good. If you really wanna be a beat maker, you really got to go back and study the art form of drums and how they really work. They got videos at the guitar center and Sam Ash. A real producer is a gentleman that can arrange other instruments than just drums. You know string instruments, flutes, percussions, and know where to place them and play them. It also would be good to listen to the records that have been here before you which would give you a greater opportunity to be heard. So you really come with the real true traditions of the music. Like right now the young generations, I feel like they haven't spent enough time to go back to they roots and find out what is a certain category of music as far as style and sound. I think once they find out where it all comes from and what theory is, then they will take it in a better perspective as far as a form of creating and then they’ll really see who they are. Like right now they got different competitions that they put out now from coast to coast where beat makers can go and play their music and get it heard. That's cool because that's something like a Boy's Club. That's something we never had so I like that. I think that’s something we really need even that much more because we can take a beat maker to another level. If some of the producers that are real producers in R&B and Rap and Gospel would just come to the summit and just really hear what’s there, they can help them understand what theory is what. Like “this is where they got this from.” You will have a DJ there with all the records from Rock, Pop, Reggae, Dancehall and Country, whatever. A lot of people sample and put music together from everywhere so if we could just show where it came from then we could help them understand the structure and the characteristics and what sound is really marketable as far as with what they are coning up with.
thaFormula.com - Now early on the West had major artists out like Ice Cube, NWA, Ice-T, King Tee, CMW, D.O.C., etc. making legendary albums. What do you think is the biggest difference between that group of artists and the group of artists of today from the West and why they can't make the breakthrough that those artists made?
DJ Battlecat - I think once they take time to listen and see what was the outcome of every artist that came up from the West Coast through all the adversities and trial and tribulations, once they seen how far they have went then I think they would get a chance to understand integrity and ambition as far as you being very focused in how to make an impact in today’s music. Like it was more so a movement when you mention Ice Cube and that’s what helped a lot because there was an actual movement behind an artist like Ice Cube and he had a alliance of producers that came from different walks of life that loved music and each producer had it's own characteristics and flavor on the album. It was like maybe 7 to 9 producers but all on one record, it still had one voice and that was Ice Cube so it was uniquely arranged, thought out and planned. They thought about what they said and what they did and I think once you get back into that art form of making music, I think you would really have a major impact.
thaFormula.com - Now what are your thoughts when Ice Cube started the West Side Connection? When Cube came out screaming Westside, it created a big divide between the coasts. Do you think that was the best thing that could have happened at the time for the West or was that one of the things that really has left the East still bitter to this day?
DJ Battlecat - Well it's a combination of both. It happened both ways. What effect that it had is not really looked at as something that's needed right now because it would look like obviously we are hating or we wanna be the mad rapper because the coast doesn't have it's favor right now. But that’s got a lot to do with how we are as human beings, the nature of us as a human being its gonna show how its gonna be in the form and nature of making music. At a time as far as showing that we can be effective in getting our point across, they proved that they could. Was it a success? Yes it was did the record plaque, yes. There were people from they’re own coast that felt the same way because they didn't like the way some of the artists were being treated as far as bringing them in the game or what not. Just even as a human being a lot of people felt like some of the rappers that was being talked about, needed to be talked about. You would be surprised at who would glorify it or be behind such an expression that the West Side Connection pushed. But they was the only ones that didn't want to let the coast not be heard as far when we was getting bomb shells and feeling like we weren’t gonna be nothing in life. Its funny that they would say so many bad things about this coast because you will find a lot of these cats with girls and baby mothers or soul mates or business partners and they find themselves coming out here and living and having a home or finding their niche in being successful through film and entertainment or whatnot. So this coast can't be all that bad as different people have painted it.
thaFormula.com - What does the music represent to you?
DJ Battlecat - Music is supposed to bring hope or whatnot and when the high end of the industry don't really want to discipline or really police the industry.. that's why anything goes. It is because they are the same as well. They like how it’s going down. They like the lifestyle, they like the fact that the Hip-Hop side or just the Rap side or whatever you wanna call it have given them an opportunity to venture into something that they never tried to create or be a part of in the first place. They just stumble along with it and decide to finance it or fuel it to a certain degree. Some of the atmosphere of the Hip-Hop or the Rap world or producer world has been fundamentally appreciated and embraced as beautiful place to be. Then you got another side of it that is not a good side of it. You’ve done seen death behind music before and **** like that. So its like we never thought this industry machine would be that crazy like that but it is, and they act like they don't want to be real about it so it's kind of like giving a lack of hope to people that really wanna be positive with what they are doing or what they are capable of doing as far as a rapper or musician. There is no arena or platform big enough for them to say “hey okay there is room for this.” So independent is the business for you to have control of your visual ideas.
thaFormula.com - Do you engineer and mix down your own music?
DJ Battlecat - Yes I do. Like I said I learned in the early days from music people like Uncle Jams Army like how to put a sound system together, a crossover, tops, bottoms, and amplifiers. So all that helped me balance my ear in engineering. Like learning how to work with bass, learning how to work with mids and highs. You know, just learning how to set up a system to sound good no matter where it's at.
thaFormula.com - So how important is the engineering and mix down to your own tracks?
DJ Battlecat - Well the more things that you add to a song you wanna make sure that it's heard and it's felt and balancing each instrument or each sound that is added to a song is very important ‘cause it's obvious that you want them to hear everything that you bring, so you have to have arranging skills in composing a song. It’s very important that you spend time on your own time at home learning how to engineer. They got software now where you can learn at home, you don’t have to be in the big studio if you have some fair monitors. I’ve done touched them all and learned them all. Different records that I have produced uh, listening to others peoples records through them, I learned how much a speaker can take when you dial in frequencies, when you EQ and stuff like that. Learning how to compress a sound that is to loud, keep it at one level so that it will sound smooth, but it will have some presence at the same time. It took a long time to learn the sound and learn the character ‘cause every sound has a character, it has a feel and it has a mood to it so I learned that. It took a while but then I had the pleasure to work with Raphael Saadiq and people like that who are high end like Puffy, Faith Evans and Kenny Lattimore just to name a few. I’ve been around George Clinton, Stanley Clarke and they all have loved my contribution to music. So with them giving me thumbs up on what I'm doing it let me know that I'm there, I'm certified as far as I'm concerned. Dr. Dre who is my ultimate, Bobcat and a few others have helped me a whole lot.
thaFormula.com - How do you feel about the computer software that's out now for producers?
DJ Battlecat - I'll tell you one thing, it's affordable and it works man. It's self-contained, and you don't have to worry about trying to spend that money on hardware or gear. But I'll tell you one thing, it is good to learn both sides. I would rent hands on hardware and take the time out to learn the difference. You could take your money and invest in that. Take your money and have an engineer mix a demo or mix something else and you would be surprised in seeing the difference. But like I said, for people who can't afford a studio, they definitely became a hero for young engineers and producers and even the engineers and producers that have been here already. There is nothing like being portable with what you do. I could be on a plane doing what I'm doing. I could mix a record on a plane if I wanted to. The convenience is endless.
thaFormula.com – Are you the type that samples a lot off of vinyl or are you more into the instrumentation now?
DJ Battlecat - I'm into both worlds. For the publishing sakes of it, I don’t really like making the sample obvious so what I have learned to do is create the same elements that's in the record as far as sound wise and then I make a new track with the original elements of a record from the past. Just like if we was to make a new record but it still has that flavor. If I wanted to do the Motown sound, it’s easy because I know what it sounds like. I’ve been around musicians for years. Sometimes you will see album covers and look at the back and see the kind of instruments that they were using. I would go to this place there used to be in Los Angeles and I would go buy all that old **** and try it and it would sound just like the record or even better.
Hip Hop DJ Battlecat: Producers series - Nothing But the funk pt. 2 feedback: info@thaformula.com May '07
thaFormula.com - So far as being in the studio goes, are you the type that is in the studio 24/7 or only when your feeling it?
DJ Battlecat - It's never gonna be 24/7 because I have a life. I'm a father and I have a personal life but I try to put in enough hours to get the point across on what I'm doing. Sometimes I do so many songs a day.
thaFormula.com - Do you feel for all the time and effort you have put into production and Hip-Hop that you have got back everything you deserve?
DJ Battlecat - As far as being able to employ myself for one, yes. Number 2, the reputation is there but I'm gonna push it a little bit more because of the things that I want to do now is different. This time I'm doing my own album for the first time. My brother is an extremely talented artist that is a true legend and entrepreneur as well. He has that about his presence as an artist so I'm getting behind his album.
thaFormula.com - So you are finally doing a solo album?
DJ Battlecat - Yeah and it's more the expression of what touches me in music and the people who touch me in life and that's what the album is about. It's a lot of up tempo, a lot of energy, definitely a few legends on the record as well. Cube, Snoop, Dogg Pound, Xzibit and I would love to have Quik and Dre as that would really make me happy as far as on the mic, not so much on the production side. I would love to produce them on a song and have them on my album. 'Cause we basically lived some of the same crazy stuff and got a lot in common.
thaFormula.com - What would you say is the first rule to live by when trying to come into this rap business MC or production wise?
DJ Battlecat - The same thing that they teach you in school. If you really are a good listener that will help you a whole lot. If you are very concerned about really getting information, that will help you a lot and be very inquisitive in a positive manner about the things that you ask. A lot of people have a different mission on what they do when they want to get chance to meet a producer or rapper or whatnot. They don't seize the moment. I would take a tape recorder with me or a camera if I ever got the opportunity to so I could replay what was told and study it and use it. That's one of the first rules. Be honest about what you are inquiring about because if you're asking just to be asking, you know you're really hurt the opportunity for another person. Some people can get burnt out on wanting to help people because an artist feels like they won't use the information or some people feel like they can't get close because they think "oh, they don't want to talk to me." No, you got to really push the line if you really want it. Another thing, if you come in peace as far as asking them anyway, they shouldn't really see you as a problem. Always keep a smile even if they ain't smiling. You got to show them that you really love who you are and you really love what you do by giving us that positive energy in the first place.
thaFormula.com - Once a new artist gets a deal who do you suggest the would hire first business wise?
DJ Battlecat - I definitely would hire a lawyer. I wouldn't hire no manager first because there is some things that you could learn where you will find out how good you are at managing yourself. You never know how good you are in managing yourself until you try. A lot of people like to be lazy and give too much power and leeway over themselves to somebody else and they don't even know the full capacity of what they are capable of. So I would hire a lawyer because a lawyer can help you with every legal aspect of the contract in the business. There are some managers that are hands on, but at the end of the day it's the lawyers that are making friends, not really the managers.
thaFormula.com - So how important is a manager to an artist and can they make or break you as an artist?
DJ Battlecat - If he's passionately driven to educate, that's a good manager in the first place. If his ambition and intentions are to educate first, then that's a good manager. Number 2, he's got to be a go-getter, but you got to be a go-getter too. It's like you have to flood him with things he could use to administrate the opportunity of both of you being partners or entrepreneurs. Because if you don't have a entrepreneur drive or mind state in the first place, they are gonna see that you're just in this **** just to be playing. They can tell if they got a winner and it's very important that you let a manager know where you're not educated and how much you want to be educated. Because if you don't let him know that then they will promise you things and tell you this and make sure that you don't embarrass yourself or him so they will keep you behind and they go in the offices and make all these deals and really it's not really the deal you wanted to make or the impression you want them to see. So that's why its good to learn everything about a manager's position before you decide to give him the opportunity to take it on. A lot of people have got a lot of talent but their business is not good. Unfortunately I had some things that wasn't done correct and right, but because of my title being so good, it played it's part but it could have been felt even that much more because I learned how to market myself and what a publicist could do for me. I didn't understand that part until later in the game and I'm working on that right now and it's working out good for me because I'm becoming an editor as far as with film. I use iMovie and all that stuff. I got my hands in it all because it works. You might go somewhere and they might not have the setup that you're used to but then they got another setup that can do the job just as well. So I don't want to be handicapped just in one way of getting it and hustling or getting my point across as an entrepreneur or producer, CEO or anything. I'm learning about everything.
thaFormula.com - So for you Battlecat, what has been your biggest disappointment within the industry?
DJ Battlecat - People. It's not even the music. It's the people who affect the music. That's just basically it. How we are as a person is gonna affect our music. So that's really what it is as far as I'm concerned. Because we know what good music is and we really know how to create it but if you don't know the business and how to master certain things then it would entice you to give up of course. If your positive and you are a real innovative individual, then that's gonna come out through the music. But if you're not that person, I can see how you can only go so far with your music because it's got a lot to do with you. So I think when people start understanding who they are, what they love and who to really embrace and respect in their surroundings as a human being, I think they will have a better expression in whatever they are doing in life. Whether you are an engineer, producer, musician or whatever. It's people.
thaFormula.com - How is the solo album coming along and what else can people expect to hear you on?
DJ Battlecat - Ice Cube, I'm working with him. WC, Snoop. The Grand Hustle Family, they are very interested in my music and it was a surprise to see that because seeing as how successful they are but they still have some people in mind and in heart that they feel that they respect as far as music and the fact that they had me in mind was a blessing. So it's given me an opportunity to work with Grand Hustle Records new artists, if not T.I. himself so stuff like that is in the making. Also more R&B. Less Rap and more R&B because I been musically inclined for years and I haven't really had my opportunity to seize my musical side and I'm not trying to produce rappers the rest of my life. I'll smash it with R&B. I really would make a lot of people happy about music that they miss. So that's where I'm at to this year.
thaFormula.com - Let's talk about the remix you did for 2Pac and how that came about?
DJ Battlecat - Well what it was is that 2Pac wrote a letter to Interscope about some things that he wanted to happen on this record. The record was already done, but he wanted a remix for the single. He just wanted another opportunity to make this record felt so he reached out to the label and said "hey I want to get Battlecat and Warren G and a couple of other cats to do this remix." The letter went something like this, "Hey Battlecat how you doing, I been listening to your **** a long time and I really like your stuff. For this remix of "Temptations" I got you and a few other people in mind, but I really want you to do this remix if you can. If you can't it's all good, but I love what you do, I like your ****." He said "I got Warren G too because they worked with each other before on the "Got to get yours, Got to get mine." They had read it to me over the phone and I was definitely inspired. I was already in the studio so I started on it immediately and that's how that relationship happened. I had did remix for him before off of the "Strictly for My Niggaz" album but each time I got the opportunity to do these remixes, I don't know why I wasn't focused to give him exactly what I wanted to give him because as I got a little older in my production, I was like "man if I had these acapellas now, I would blaze them ****s." So my friends and them they gave me some acapellas but I never put it out. But I'm gonna let Afeni Shakur hear the remixes I did if I ever catch her. I did some incredible stuff.
thaFormula.com - You got to put those out man…
DJ Battlecat - Well it's gonna be kind of hard. I love to do things by the book so everything will work all the way around. I think I'm just gonna do what I can do and just give it to her and see what she want to do with them. I'm gonna do a whole album of just like 10 songs that I like and if she likes it, she could put it out. I think she would love it because people that I have around me will definitely help blaze the record.
DJ Battlecat - It's never gonna be 24/7 because I have a life. I'm a father and I have a personal life but I try to put in enough hours to get the point across on what I'm doing. Sometimes I do so many songs a day.
thaFormula.com - Do you feel for all the time and effort you have put into production and Hip-Hop that you have got back everything you deserve?
DJ Battlecat - As far as being able to employ myself for one, yes. Number 2, the reputation is there but I'm gonna push it a little bit more because of the things that I want to do now is different. This time I'm doing my own album for the first time. My brother is an extremely talented artist that is a true legend and entrepreneur as well. He has that about his presence as an artist so I'm getting behind his album.
thaFormula.com - So you are finally doing a solo album?
DJ Battlecat - Yeah and it's more the expression of what touches me in music and the people who touch me in life and that's what the album is about. It's a lot of up tempo, a lot of energy, definitely a few legends on the record as well. Cube, Snoop, Dogg Pound, Xzibit and I would love to have Quik and Dre as that would really make me happy as far as on the mic, not so much on the production side. I would love to produce them on a song and have them on my album. 'Cause we basically lived some of the same crazy stuff and got a lot in common.
thaFormula.com - What would you say is the first rule to live by when trying to come into this rap business MC or production wise?
DJ Battlecat - The same thing that they teach you in school. If you really are a good listener that will help you a whole lot. If you are very concerned about really getting information, that will help you a lot and be very inquisitive in a positive manner about the things that you ask. A lot of people have a different mission on what they do when they want to get chance to meet a producer or rapper or whatnot. They don't seize the moment. I would take a tape recorder with me or a camera if I ever got the opportunity to so I could replay what was told and study it and use it. That's one of the first rules. Be honest about what you are inquiring about because if you're asking just to be asking, you know you're really hurt the opportunity for another person. Some people can get burnt out on wanting to help people because an artist feels like they won't use the information or some people feel like they can't get close because they think "oh, they don't want to talk to me." No, you got to really push the line if you really want it. Another thing, if you come in peace as far as asking them anyway, they shouldn't really see you as a problem. Always keep a smile even if they ain't smiling. You got to show them that you really love who you are and you really love what you do by giving us that positive energy in the first place.
thaFormula.com - Once a new artist gets a deal who do you suggest the would hire first business wise?
DJ Battlecat - I definitely would hire a lawyer. I wouldn't hire no manager first because there is some things that you could learn where you will find out how good you are at managing yourself. You never know how good you are in managing yourself until you try. A lot of people like to be lazy and give too much power and leeway over themselves to somebody else and they don't even know the full capacity of what they are capable of. So I would hire a lawyer because a lawyer can help you with every legal aspect of the contract in the business. There are some managers that are hands on, but at the end of the day it's the lawyers that are making friends, not really the managers.
thaFormula.com - So how important is a manager to an artist and can they make or break you as an artist?
DJ Battlecat - If he's passionately driven to educate, that's a good manager in the first place. If his ambition and intentions are to educate first, then that's a good manager. Number 2, he's got to be a go-getter, but you got to be a go-getter too. It's like you have to flood him with things he could use to administrate the opportunity of both of you being partners or entrepreneurs. Because if you don't have a entrepreneur drive or mind state in the first place, they are gonna see that you're just in this **** just to be playing. They can tell if they got a winner and it's very important that you let a manager know where you're not educated and how much you want to be educated. Because if you don't let him know that then they will promise you things and tell you this and make sure that you don't embarrass yourself or him so they will keep you behind and they go in the offices and make all these deals and really it's not really the deal you wanted to make or the impression you want them to see. So that's why its good to learn everything about a manager's position before you decide to give him the opportunity to take it on. A lot of people have got a lot of talent but their business is not good. Unfortunately I had some things that wasn't done correct and right, but because of my title being so good, it played it's part but it could have been felt even that much more because I learned how to market myself and what a publicist could do for me. I didn't understand that part until later in the game and I'm working on that right now and it's working out good for me because I'm becoming an editor as far as with film. I use iMovie and all that stuff. I got my hands in it all because it works. You might go somewhere and they might not have the setup that you're used to but then they got another setup that can do the job just as well. So I don't want to be handicapped just in one way of getting it and hustling or getting my point across as an entrepreneur or producer, CEO or anything. I'm learning about everything.
thaFormula.com - So for you Battlecat, what has been your biggest disappointment within the industry?
DJ Battlecat - People. It's not even the music. It's the people who affect the music. That's just basically it. How we are as a person is gonna affect our music. So that's really what it is as far as I'm concerned. Because we know what good music is and we really know how to create it but if you don't know the business and how to master certain things then it would entice you to give up of course. If your positive and you are a real innovative individual, then that's gonna come out through the music. But if you're not that person, I can see how you can only go so far with your music because it's got a lot to do with you. So I think when people start understanding who they are, what they love and who to really embrace and respect in their surroundings as a human being, I think they will have a better expression in whatever they are doing in life. Whether you are an engineer, producer, musician or whatever. It's people.
thaFormula.com - How is the solo album coming along and what else can people expect to hear you on?
DJ Battlecat - Ice Cube, I'm working with him. WC, Snoop. The Grand Hustle Family, they are very interested in my music and it was a surprise to see that because seeing as how successful they are but they still have some people in mind and in heart that they feel that they respect as far as music and the fact that they had me in mind was a blessing. So it's given me an opportunity to work with Grand Hustle Records new artists, if not T.I. himself so stuff like that is in the making. Also more R&B. Less Rap and more R&B because I been musically inclined for years and I haven't really had my opportunity to seize my musical side and I'm not trying to produce rappers the rest of my life. I'll smash it with R&B. I really would make a lot of people happy about music that they miss. So that's where I'm at to this year.
thaFormula.com - Let's talk about the remix you did for 2Pac and how that came about?
DJ Battlecat - Well what it was is that 2Pac wrote a letter to Interscope about some things that he wanted to happen on this record. The record was already done, but he wanted a remix for the single. He just wanted another opportunity to make this record felt so he reached out to the label and said "hey I want to get Battlecat and Warren G and a couple of other cats to do this remix." The letter went something like this, "Hey Battlecat how you doing, I been listening to your **** a long time and I really like your stuff. For this remix of "Temptations" I got you and a few other people in mind, but I really want you to do this remix if you can. If you can't it's all good, but I love what you do, I like your ****." He said "I got Warren G too because they worked with each other before on the "Got to get yours, Got to get mine." They had read it to me over the phone and I was definitely inspired. I was already in the studio so I started on it immediately and that's how that relationship happened. I had did remix for him before off of the "Strictly for My Niggaz" album but each time I got the opportunity to do these remixes, I don't know why I wasn't focused to give him exactly what I wanted to give him because as I got a little older in my production, I was like "man if I had these acapellas now, I would blaze them ****s." So my friends and them they gave me some acapellas but I never put it out. But I'm gonna let Afeni Shakur hear the remixes I did if I ever catch her. I did some incredible stuff.
thaFormula.com - You got to put those out man…
DJ Battlecat - Well it's gonna be kind of hard. I love to do things by the book so everything will work all the way around. I think I'm just gonna do what I can do and just give it to her and see what she want to do with them. I'm gonna do a whole album of just like 10 songs that I like and if she likes it, she could put it out. I think she would love it because people that I have around me will definitely help blaze the record.
