Dot Da Genius Interview
The Boy Hollywood
CHAMP: What's poppin'! What are you doing at the current moment?
Dot Da Genius: Right now I'm in the studio, currently working on the Cudi album and just doing some scoring. Scoring for HBO and I'm heavily involved with some projects for MTV
CHAMP: Now for the people that don't know exactly what scoring is. Can you break them off with a lil knowledge?
Dot Da Genius: Oh no doubt. It's pretty much like based on a show or even sometimes when you're watching tv , it's the music that's needed to feel the mood of scenes so that's what I'm doing a lot of now.
CHAMP: You hail from BK. How long have you been producing for?
Dot Da Genius : I just really been producing for about 5 years. When I first got into college, that's when I started taking it seriously. As far as music in general I've been doing it my whole life.
CHAMP: There's always the debate on what is a producer and who's a producer and who's a beat maker. Would you classify yourself as a producer or a beat maker?
Dot Da Genius: Most definitely a producer because I'm involved in all my tracks I produced I don't just make like a beat cd and give it to an artist and he does whatever, like if I do submit a beat CD, it's gonna have a beat and a beat with a hook, so I would say I'm most definitely a producer
CHAMP: Now you caught my attention with the joint Day N' Nite , which is mad hot. How'd y'all hook up to make that joint just bang out?
Dot Da Genius: Well me and Cudi lived together for like two years and we met through a mutual friend. As far as music we pretty much just got the same passion so when we started working together it was kind of ecstatic and we worked for two years and he actually came up with the idea and one day we was in the studio and we just started working on it.
CHAMP: You had just mentioned how it came to be. A lot of people have found a hit by accident or didn't even realize what they had was a hit. Was that the situation with Day N' Nite?
Dot Da Genius: When we did the record we were in the studio and we did that "what what" sound which is my manager Lex . He was just in the studio and we wanted to incorporate him into it, so the song was complete. It was hot of course, but honestly with me I didn't see it as a full complete hit record. I thought it was a crazy record, but I didn't think that that was gonna be the song that would give Cudi flames. It was a hot record like Cudi use to tell me like yo I see Day N' Nite being the number one record in the country and I was like word? You think so? Ok that's what's up. I won't even front I'm still soaking it in
CHAMP: I'm telling you it's a monster! It's a monster banger but what kind of tools can we catch Dot Da Genius playin' with when he's in the studio cheffin' up a beat?
Dot Da Genius: My workstation is a Roland MV, Motif. I really play with a lot of virtual synths and I try to use just different tools. I like to use a lot of sounds in mine. I can use something and reverse or delay it
CHAMP: Now there's always the debate of sample versus original based beats. What's your take on the two worlds?
Dot Da Genius: I don't knock sampling at all because I sample, but not much, like if I hear a hot sound I'll use it, but I think that it shows more creativity if you can make a record from scratch and it can be something that somebody else can sample like I'm on youtube and I'm hearing a lot of remixes to Day N 'Nite. People are actually sampling it and it's crazy. That's something that maybe ten years down the line somebody'll make a hit record from sampling it.
CHAMP: Who else can we expect you working with?
Dot Da Genius: Primarily right now I'm working with Cudi's album exclusively. That's the best work to me close to my heart. I want that shit to be like my coming out as far as producing. People are checking now but after they hear stuff we do on the album, I really expect to hear things but I'm really doing the scoring like that's something I've always wanted to do. I'm not restricted to any genre. I can do it all. I can make a gospel album it's really nothing but I'm gonna be doing something with Atlantic Records and some artists over there, and some Def Jam projects too.
CHAMP: One thing I have to mention is that you have now contributed to the future of hip hop because with Day N' Nite, it showed that you can still make a new sound and make it hot. What's your take on the direction of hip hop these days, especially the evolving sound of hip hop?
Dot Da Genius: I think it's great and all. A bunch of artists are coming out and they all have there own distinctive sounds. I think it's still within the rell of hip hop because hip hop is a lifestyle but at the same time hip hop is what you make it to be. Hip Hop with Mobb Deep back in the day, Jay Reasonable Doubt, Illmatic, like that's classic hip hop you know what I'm sayin'. With hip hop now were just trying put it in a direction which comes with time. A lot of people try to not classify Cudi as hip hop, but he's hip hop like this guy can freestyle off the dome and it could be hot on any beat
CHAMP: What else can we expect from Dot Da Genius?
Dot Da Genius: I have an artist I'm developing right now as we speak and he's coming out next year. I'm trying to do the whole conglomerate media thing. Like for Cudi were trying to do the documentary that we're gonna release sometime next year and I'm gonna be scoring that and were gonna be in a lot of things so definitely be on the look out. Go to our myspace.com/headbangamuzikgroup. Just check up on us. We also got headbangaonline.com, where we're gonna have video works and I'm gonna also have beats up there that people can go and lease and you know keep it movin
DAY N NITE REMIX - KID CUDI (PRODUCED BY DOT DA GENIUS)
