The Boy Hollywood

Skitzo

CHAMP: I was doing my homework and all that and seen that you were born in the Bronx and you by Skitzo and Frenyc, Rod Raspy, Odd One and Justin Zane.

SKITZO: Yeah those are other aliases. They come out when it’s necessary like tonight Rod Raspy will be in the studio working on his r&b project for a Japanese boy band group and there’s like 80 of them in one group.

CHAMP: What?!

SKITZO:It’s group over in Japan and I swear to you there’s like 24 25 members in it and they all sing like one word in every verse. I dunno it’s weird.

CHAMP: So it’s the Japanese r&b Wu-Tang?

SKITZO: (laughs) Yeah.

CHAMP: Alirght so when you were coming up beat making wasn’t even really the path you were going to. You were actually interested in doing the whole video gaming.

SKITZO: What happened was I was going to art school and I wasn’t really interested in rap I was more interested in the artwork and then I came back from a trip and my brother erased every idea I had on the computer so he can go on it and talk on the internet and chat with a bunch of girls I don’t know. So he took my computer and I took his piano and the rest came to what it is.

CHAMP: What I found interesting is that you started making beats for just two way alerts and now look at it, you’re producing for one of the top artists.

SKITZO: Yeah it is kinda weird. I mean the two way alerts I didn’t really look at as a beat maker ‘til I started messing around with it   and it started getting good and that’s how artist got to know me. They started customizing two way alerts with their songs. Nowadays you can’t do that. You can just record the actual song. I think about it now and it is kinda weird like from two way alerts to actually making tracks that are on the radio and get a plaque with gold and platinum sales it’s really really weird.

CHAMP: What I actually wanna get an understanding of is that you can perform voice overs? Can you clarify exactly what that is?

SKIZTO: (laughs) Oh man you did your research! That’s the reason why they call me Skitzo. I was doing a lot of voices and I was hey I might as well bring that in the franchise of music because really I later on wanna do acting and stuff, not really later on I’m doing it right now with small auditions and stuff but the whole voice over thing is good because you know a lot of artist need skits and you know me being Skitz I’d do the voice overs. If you hear the beginning of every song that I have the “Frenyc Entertainment” voice.
CHAMP: You can do impersonations of people or do you develop your own characters.

SKITZO:I guess  you could say a little bit of both. I use to do the “Timbaland, Magoo” (impersonates Magoo).Then I started making my own characters. We got the web show Frenyc Tv so we got a lil Frenycville characters like all the characters we got I did all the voices for.

CHAMP: Now the Frenyc Tv, is it like a cartoon or is it just you doing voice overs in front of a cam?

SKITZO: I’m kinda like doing it the way Sesame Street did with the muppets thing and stuff like that. So I got like finger puppets in it. I’m gonna do more. It’s gonna look like it’s a kid show basically for adults looking for hiphop and comedy

CHAMP: Now if people have been sleeping or don’t remember in ’02 it was you who pulled out the pic for Jin about saying something about his sister and people don’t know you can spit

SKITZO: A lot of people don’t know that I rap and when they find out that I rap they look at me differently like whoa “you rap?” and I’m like yeah I did it right there. Now I’m not saying I’ll make rap a career ‘cause there’s so many rappers, that’s why I came in this music because there’s so many rappers and they’re gonna need beats so that’s why I fell in to it.

CHAMP: And with the beat making, I’d say more rappers fall of than producers, everyday a rapper quits or is done but producers have more longevity

SKITZO: Mmm hmm all we gotta do is change the sound

CHAMP: In another interview you had mentioned that hip hop ain’t dead but it’s suffocating. I found that interesting myself for you to put it in that way. Can you clarify what you meant by that?

SKITZO: The reason why it’s suffocating is ‘cause like nowadays people don’t see this as music, they see it as a product. Like with Soulja Boy. Oh yeah you got Soulja Boy? I got “Private Man” and there’s two many carbo copies of what the original was and it’s just becoming saturating. You know how long I’ve been waiting for a Jadakiss album or a Styles P album? These artists are so scared to come out like they don’t wanna come out with they music because they feel that if they come out, they gonna tank and gonna bomb with they music.

CHAMP: I like that. Now getting back to music most people will say you’re heavily involved with Dipset you did a lot of producing, a lot of joints for these guys. You did Mic Check (Juelz),you did a lot on the Public Enemy (Cam) from Glitter to Cycles Sick, which are may favorite tracks on that joint I must say

SKITZO: That’s what’s up

CHAMP: So like it all started with you hooking up with JR Writer while doing the street team work with Def Jam

SKITZO: No no what happened was since 15 and up with Def Jam I just been building relationships. There was a part in time where I was still dealing with Murder Inc and I was down with Murder Inc and everytime Ja Rule had a show I would go with him and I had this Dj Dj Hitz and with Dj Hitz he would come around and I guess they mistaken me for DJ Hitz. I was like nah nah I’m not DJ Hitz so after that I guess J.R Writer wanted to hear my stuff. He heard Get Em Girls and he liked it, then Jim Jones liked it, and they fought over it then Cam came and said forget y’all I’m taking the beat.

CHAMP: You actually didn’t know it would be that big ‘cause you chopped for 2 gz

SKITZO: Ok I’ll tell you how you it went. Ok I chipped it for 2 gz and he said I’ll give you more because it seemed ok so I thought it’ll be an intro. I didn’t even think it was gonna be anything like a single, video, you know on an album, didn’t know Kanye West was gonna be in the video and then people on TV talkin’ bout how Kanye made the beat and I was like Kanye?

CHAMP: Even I thought he made the beat ‘cause he’s up in the video

SKITZO: Yeah I know I know. I spoke to Kanye about that though

CHAMP: You spoke to Kanye on who made the beat?

SKITZO: Yeah I spoke to him at Cams birthday party. I was like yeah I seen you in that video but I made that beat

CHAMP: And what was Kanye saying about that?

SKITZO: I mean you know Kanye man. Kanye’s a cool dude I mean I don’t know if he was already thinking the sample when I was selling it but let me tell you something right now producers are weird in our society ‘cause I’m a weird person myself. I’m just like out of it but when it got cleared up everyone knew. I mean I definitely made a mark for myself. It would’ve really sucked if that was the only record I had then it would be like I’m tryina fight a lie, it’d be horrible but everything’s good.

CHAMP: Now you’re CEO of Frenyc Entertainment and you got a member named Nova who you’re tryina put out and he’s a 106 and Park CHAMP.

SKITZO: Yes Nova. I still work with Nova and he got his crew named Big House and I tell people you gotta have your own artists to know what responsibility is.

CHAMP: So what’s next for Nova project-wise? Do he got anything in the works right now?

SKITZO: Right now with Nova he’s actually working on a tape, which I’m gonna have him put on Datpiff.com just to give out to the people for free so they can really get they hands on it and really enjoy the music

CHAMP: Now you can play the piano and guitar. You don’t just sample and you actually would prefer the originals than to sample because of course business-wise that’s a good look but at the end of the day in your vault would you say you have more sample work or do you got more original based beats

SKITZO: I dunno I could say it’s kinda like in the middle. You see the thing is I hate sampling, but the only reason why I had to sample because back then that’s what Roc-A-Fella was asking for. Roc-A-Fella was like yeah the originals is cool but we really need samples that got like a different sound to it. I didn’t really understand the whole aspect of how valuable a sample really is. It’s not only a sample it’s like a different sound. So I was like to hell with this I can just play a beat and put layers and layers of tracks and beats to the point where I totally wiped samples and to the point where other artists call me to come play there samples over. Especially Mic Check and all that like shout out to Neo Matrix he made the beat but that was an intro to a Jackie Chan movie and who couldn’t clear that, so I had to come through and clear it and had to play it all over.

CHAMP: So you remade the beat?

SKITZO: Yup. I am the guy who will help you get your stuff cleared so that it can go ahead and go on an album and you can get money for it. I’m actually a producer’s best friend

CHAMP: So let’s say I’m a producer with the sickest beat but I need it to be original how much is it gonna cost me to make it an original.

SKITZO: Right now my rate is going at; for play overs 3000 a song. Since Tre Williams song I’m at 22 000 what it cost for a track right now

CHAMP: WOOOO!

SKITZO: And with the problem with that is Pharell lowered his price to 20 grand but I know I got better tracks then Pharell does. I charge a lot because the quality you get in the name and you’re getting a crazy hit you’re guaranteed and single or a street single, a follow up, one or the other

CHAMP: And you got the Skitzo stamp on your tracks. The funny thing is that people that know that it’s not just hip hop with you like you worked with cats like Vybz Kartel a dancehall artist

SKITZO: It doesn’t really matter who I work with. Honestly I’m the type of person who wants to make music like really r & b has been a whole new experience. I got together with a songwriter and her name is Michelle Hill, and she’s won tons of awards like 15 ASCAP award. Working with her has opened my eyes more when it comes to the business of making r & b music and it’s very lucrative.Actually right now I’m more of a fan of r & b than I am of hip hop

CHAMP: (LAUGHS) Word

SKITZO: That’s bad, that’s real bad that I had to say that dog. Everybody has this gunplay talk and talkin’ bout shoot this shoot that stab you

CHAMP: It’s getting boring now like who hasn’t heard that before

SKITZO: Yeah but if they keep on doing that, they gonna end up killin’ all they fans. Ain’t nobody left in the world to buy your album

CHAMP: You’ve worked with a slew of artists but there are two artists you’d really like to work with and that’s Outkast and Lud. Have you ever approached Outkast and Luda with some content? 

SKITZO: Yeah Luda actually…It’s funny you say that. I did wanna work with him and now I am. I’m flying to Atlanta to do a song for his album

CHAMP: Oh yeah? So he already picked the beat or are you sending him the vault.

SKITZO: He likes the beat already. I’m also gonna be working with Playas Circle too I like them and like what they doing. Along with Playas Circle I’m doing a song with Ludacris. I had played the one track and they had gone crazy over it. It’s nut man. On the street team I was on the Ludacris/Outkast tour. Who I really wanna work with is Outkast Outkast is my next on the list but with Ludacris I’m really amped to go down there and work with him because I like his style. The thing about him is he doesn’t get boring and has a great delivery

CHAMP: When he spits everyone has to listen

SKITZO: Yeah he demands attention when he raps that’s what I like about him

CHAMP: For people who are coming up and reading this interview. What advice do you have for someone trying to get to your status in the game right now?

SKITZO: Relationships are everything in this business. Try to build as much relationships as possible ‘cause at the end of the day you never know. I got this female artist I’ve been working with for years her name is Rece Steele. Nobody else really believes in her but me and she gets to be in the VH1 Ms. Rap Supreme contest. Now she’s gonna be on VH1 for like 2 months, so I’m just waiting to see everyone that was hatin’ on her kiss her ass. Be on the lookout for Rece and mainly like to tell these people like if you’re gonna do music please please have a love for it. If you’re not there to have a love for it,and if you don’t love this business and you think you need to do it ‘cause you rap and you think you can sing and just in it for the money, leave. Go away. Go find a puzzle or something. Leave it to the people that love this music and wake up to it, and eat music, and wipe they butt with music sheet paper and really live this music.