Mookie The Dope Interviews IMAKEMADBEATS

Recently I had a chance to send a few questions toward producer IMAKEMADBEATS. We talked about who he is, his origins, his name, what he's working on, what he's got in store, and much more. Real interesting dude, peep the interview after the jump:


Who is IMAKEMADBEATS?

IMAKEMADBEATS is a producer/engineer/dj from a variety of places, including Memphis, TN, Orlando, Fl, and Brooklyn, NY. I entirely produced The Transcontinental, a collaboration with Stones Throw artist Roc C that was released on E1 (fka Koch Ent) on May 19th.

What's the story behind your name and did you go through any others before you settled on that one?

Yeah, I had a couple of names before IMMB. In high school and my early college years I was known as Nemesis Enforcer. Before that, during my adolescence, I was simply NeMo. My closest homies still call me NeMo, but IMAKEMADBEATS has sort of taken over as the stage name. One day, in upstate NY, Supastition aka Kam Moye, my man Surreal, and my homey Theo were listening to my beats before a Supastition show later that night at Bard College. Theo was feeling the beats and seemed amazed that I had so many of them. I told him that I make mad beats. He said that's what he was going to call me, "Mad Beats." Later, I found myself always saying that phrase to explain why I had what some would deem a nonexistent social life. "Look, I make mad beats. I don't care who won the game last night." It gets to the point. This is what I do. Whether the beats are fresh or not, is for the listeners to decide, but no one can tell me I lack in work ethic. I've produced for a variety of artists, and released music under genres most "underground" producers wouldn't be found. This includes credited and uncredited dance and pop records for international artists. "Mad" also hints toward "variety." I think that kinda explains, eh?

How did you first get into producing music?

I always had an affinity for music and dj'ing. Just like most that have travelled the road to production, my upbringing had a lot to do with it. My dad's record collection and always playing loud music almost forced me into it. I got free meals in high school because of the lower income my Dad made. I would get lunch, then sell it to whoever was at the end of the line waiting to pay 1.25 for a meal. After a long time, I was able to buy 2 turntables and a Radio Shack mixer. Later, my brother Tzar and I visited my cousin Kit aka Synopse in Orlando, and found out he was making beats. We were amazed. That's pretty much how it started.

Did you ever consider rapping instead, or both producing and rapping?

Ha. I definitely used to rap. Some of the heads in Ozone still have Cd's and mp3s of me spitting. The feeling I have for rap never matched the feeling for production or dj'ing though. Once I met my partner in crime, MidaZ, I officially had to retire the mic. It was blatantly obvious that whatever the cosmic pull was that sucked me into making beats, he had that, for rhymes. I wasn't going to rap next to someone born to rap, when I truly didn't care as much as he did about it. I still write though. I do feel like a good producer has to know how to do what it is an artist would do over your production. It can only help.

How much time on average would you say you spend on making beats every day?

Because I've been getting these projects ready to be released, I haven't made as many beats per day as I'd like to. I don't just make beats, I try to be a thorough producer, which means I put a lot of time in the arrangement and mix of not just the beat, but the song. I'm at the final stretches of a couple of projects so lately its been about perfecting what I have already created months ago. I have over 2000 beats and I generally don't limit the times I work a day. When I wake up, I start working on some facet of music. I usually fall asleep 18-19 hours later while adjusting a fader in Pro Tools or something, wake up, save what I've done, and go to bed. I'm learning to plan out time to do other things, like watch movies, and call people on the phone. To most, those things aren't that hard to set aside time for. I've always had problems with that.

How did you and Roc C link up to form The Transcontinental?

I was working on my self titled production compilation in Brooklyn, and the homey Mic Geronimo told me if i was looking for dope rappers with a good work ethic, hit up Roc C in Cali. He had just come back from there and did some songs with Roc and Oh No. So I got at Roc and sent him some beats for him to choose which he wanted to hop on for my album. When he listened, I guess he was feeling all of them, and just asked me if I wanted to do a whole album. Within 2 weeks we had 10 songs with a lot of the guest features on the project already.

The Transcontinental feat. Rapper Big Pooh and Chino XL

The Transcontinental's recent album was released to very positive reviews, can you tell us a little bit about the project?

I'm really grateful to have been able to do a project like The Transcontinental at that stage in my career. Not only did that project open up a lot of doors and further my name in the industry, but to get such a great critical response for my production was a real blessing. I think as my career continues to develop, I'll always be able to look back at The Transcontinental as one of the key elements that helped me really open a lot of doors.

Do you have a favorite track from the album?

Hmmm...my favorite track would probably be "Imagine That" feat. J Freedome (fka Felony). Its got a real inspirational vibe. I love inspiration.

What are you working on right now musically?

Right now its all about the self titled compilation IMAKEMADBEATS which features Black Milk, Hezekiah, Von Pea, Roc C, Butta Verses, Supastition aka Kam Moye, Mic Geronimo, and many more. I have also recorded 2 EP's recently, one with Butta Verses titled Daylight, and the other with MidaZ the Beast titled Nightlight. Those will both drop before my compilation, and all of these projects will be distributed through Culture Kings Music/Domination Recordings.

Who are some other artists you'd like to work with in the future?

I'd love to work with a lot of artists. I'm a much bigger fan that I am a creator, and who I'm a fan of may not necessarily be who I want to work with. I definitely would like to work with artists like Fashawn, Elzhi, U-N-I, Sean Price, Murdoc, Stacy Epps, yU, and much more. Really, anyone dope and wants to create something new, I'm always down to work with.

What should we expect from IMAKEMADBEATS in 2010?

In 2010 expect to see my self titled album, the Daylight/Nightlight EP's, an album from MidaZ executive produced by myself, collaborations with heads like TzarizM, Synopse, and Greg Barbone, touring, and much more.

That's it. Thank you for making time to answer these questions. Anything you want to say before we close it out?

Just a shout out to you, Mookie the Dope, and all my family out there waiting and supporting what I do. Thanks!

Check him out at:

Myspace
Twitter
BandCamp