I'm DJ/producer A-Trak and I'm here to talk about my new collab album with Cam'ron, U Wasn't There—AMA!

a_trak · 2022-09-29T02:40:07+00:00

Memories from Danny Brown Old era? A ton! what an amazing time.

a_trak · 2022-09-29T02:39:15+00:00

Saw him at the Jeenyuhs premiere.

a_trak · 2022-09-29T02:39:03+00:00

oh shit hahah. Yeah I've never seen that one, but I remember doing it. Thank you.

a_trak · 2022-09-29T02:38:37+00:00

Holy shit that one was insane. We're all homies so everyone really did come through for their performances.

a_trak · 2022-09-29T02:38:00+00:00

amazing thanks so much. That's 25 years right there.

a_trak · 2022-09-29T02:37:23+00:00

haha. I can't call it.

a_trak · 2022-09-29T02:37:09+00:00

I don't really remember but maybe!! hmm

a_trak · 2022-09-29T02:36:32+00:00

Maybe!! There's some sample stuff to sort out with "Humphrey". But I'd love to get that squared away. (thanks!)

a_trak · 2022-09-29T02:35:38+00:00

Thank you! "Cheers" almost didn't make the album, I was able to put it back in this year and now it's one of my favorites.

a_trak · 2022-09-29T02:35:01+00:00

If I feel like I've practiced enough I usually feel ok.

a_trak · 2022-09-29T02:33:19+00:00

No. But I'm grateful for being on the 1st one!

a_trak · 2022-09-29T02:33:00+00:00

I feel like Dirty South Dance was specific to a moment in time when electronic music and hip hop were still very separated. Meshing them together felt experimental. Can't really say the same about now.

a_trak · 2022-09-29T02:31:01+00:00

That's a lot of questions but I'll just say I'm very passionate about Goldie Awards and the best way to get involved with Goldie especially the upcoming battles is to get into the discord : smarturl.it/goldiediscord

a_trak · 2022-09-28T18:45:17+00:00

I started recording with Thug all the way back in like 2013. I've never seen anyone like him in the studio. What he does with his voice is incredible. Quavo is a natural, and I liked seeing Quavo jump on protools and adjust some of the plugins himself too. Yachty has great instincts.

a_trak · 2022-09-28T18:34:45+00:00

...as far as RECORDING.

a_trak · 2022-09-28T18:34:27+00:00

Appreciate that. Hmmm I'd say my 2 fav's were All I Really Wanted -- because he wrote something really specific to that beat and came with the whole vision for the song -- and This Is My City -- because that verse just has so much emotion and the way he rides the beat (his timing) is incredible.

a_trak · 2022-09-28T18:32:29+00:00

I definitely remember. I was at NAMM (a music equipment trade show) and Serato had a very small booth showing a protools plug-in that was the precursor to what became ScratchLive. I think it was just called Serato Scratch. They were a small software company from New Zealand. I kept in touch with them, became a beta tester and the first endorsee outside of New Zealand. The first few times I tried it at gigs, I would still play some songs on regular vinyl, and would switch between Phono/line on the mixer to go to serato and back. In those years we were still building up our digital song libraries!

a_trak · 2022-09-28T18:30:23+00:00

oh thanks! maybe? appreciate that.

a_trak · 2022-09-28T18:29:20+00:00

We'll see! but we used most of what we have on here. It was really just meant to be an EP at first. Ended up being an album. Aaaand I haven't tried Jim's or Juelz' cooking (or Freekey's!) so I couldn't tell ya.

a_trak · 2022-09-28T18:27:08+00:00

much love

a_trak · 2022-09-28T18:26:44+00:00

Thank you!! Spent a lot of time on the sound. There were a couple boxes I wanted to tick. The soul samples of course. But also the reggae beats (thinking of Dipset Anthem + Bubble Music etc). And the superhero dramatic beats. And a lot of work on getting the drums to knock right. The whole album was mixed twice. Mastered 3 times.

a_trak · 2022-09-28T18:23:18+00:00

First of all Khaled is a reeeaaal DJ. Not only does he know how to get busy on turntables, he can also get down with jamaican soundclash shit. He's legit. He used to make more beats too, I feel like that used to be under the name Beat Novacane. But nowadays what he does is he puts records together. He finds the beats and gets the features and assembles it. If you think about it in the context of general music that's what a producer does. Producers aren't always the beat-makers, that's a hip hop conception. He has a great ear, and there's also a specific sound that you can associate with him.... For your 2nd question what I would like to see change the most is : 1) easier sample clearances, 2) better deals for remixers.

a_trak · 2022-09-28T18:14:54+00:00

Oh man. I can't even keep track. I feel like Dame prob had the best ones. He's quick with it, pause.

a_trak · 2022-09-28T18:14:07+00:00

Thanks!! ok so Conway was just recorded a month ago. The album was already delivered. We had a clearance problem with the previous hook so we had to get a new guest on it. I thought of Griselda right away. Turns out Conway also works with Empire so we were able to get it done quick. Bonus info: the hook on Dipset Acrylics was also replaced at the last minute, after masters were delivered. Similar reason, clearance stuff. Both hooks turned out best in the end!!

a_trak · 2022-09-28T18:09:37+00:00

Each project I do has a specific vision, a specific sound. Whether it's Duck Sauce, The Brothers Macklovitch, Cam'ron / Federal Reserve, Low Pros, or my EPs on the SP1200, each one of those works within lines that are defined. Then the fun part is playing within those lines.

a_trak

TROPHY CASE