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Check out this exclusive interview with Memphis representative, Drumma Boy — founder of Drum Squad Productions, home of songwriters and producers. Drumma Boy has been in the studio cutting records with a lot of big names these days, including artists such as T.I., Andre 3000, and Chris Brown just to name a few. Read on to see what a night in the studio is like with Drumma Boy, and some of his motivations to continue going forward with making hits.
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Interviewed by Randy Nangpi with questions from Bryson Paul of Kaboom Magazine
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Now with the whole mix of people coming at you for beats, was there anybody that you were kind of surprised that they tried to get at you?
Andre 3000 just hit me, you know what I’m saying? So I thought that was like a shot definitely, and a cool look. They were like the only cats in the A [Atlanta] that I haven’t worked with yet, Outkast.
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Yeah, and I look forward to hearing that.
For sure, for sure.
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If you had the opportunity and the choice, who would you like to work with at the moment?
Um, man, I would have to say Kanye. I know what I could do with his style and his delivery, you know what I’m saying? And somebody like Kanye, somebody like Jay, or Dre is sitting on top three.
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Yep. Now, are there any new sounds that you recently found out about that you’re looking to develop into your production?
I got a lot of sound that I’m just doing period, just having fun with a lot of different stuff. Dubstep, you know what I’m saying? It’s a cool thing, the dance, the pop. I’m trying to do R&B and every genre, so country, blues, jazz, you know? Got a lot of different clientele, a plethora of clientele reaching out, trying to do some stuff you know what I’m saying? I’m just having fun man, and reaching out. I just did some stuff with Chris Brown.
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Now speaking of sound, what would you consider your definition of the South’s sound?
808, just 808 bang, you know what I’m saying? I mean everything outside of that is what you want to put in addition to, like, your chords or easy sims or whatever. But you know, the 808 is the main key core ingredient.
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Now with your hits and your definition, when will your musical career be complete in your eyes?
I mean, a career is never complete until you are done, you know what I’m saying? And I mean I will never be done having fun. My career is about having fun. So…
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So you feel the best is yet to come? Or do you feel that…
(overlapping) Definitely! I feel like the best is yet to come. Like I’ve just been warming up, you know what I’m saying? Not even exemplifying my best yet.
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Definitely. Now what is the best advice you’ve received that you applied to creating your music?
Brand. Everything to me is about brand and being that household name, you know what I’m saying? That’s the one thing that I wanted to build for myself was a brand.
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Now you’ve supplied the sound for some of the biggest records in hip hop period. Can you predict which artists you are currently working with who will have the next big one? Just like that ‘Spend It,’ man, I’m hearing it everywhere.
Yeah, yeah I told people that 2 Chainz was going to be extremely successful, and I told them Future was going to be the same thing, so a lot of my input on the industry has been very successful.
We’ve had numerous amounts of artists that we put out become successful, from Plies, T-Pain, to Waka Flocka’s ‘No Hands’, to Rocco’s ‘I’m Gonna Do Me’, to Tity Boi’s (2 Chainz) ‘Spend It’, you know. Like I said working on some new artists, working on building their brand on the Drum Squad moving some units under my own label as well.
I’ve got a couple of new songs for Future. Everybody’s all on Future, so definitely stay tuned for him, you know what I’m saying? And as far as out of Memphis, we’ve got this dude named Young Dolph, and we’ve got a group named PVZ.
A lot of folks been getting into it with my own music. You know, so I drop my first rap solo ‘The Birth of D-Boy Fresh.’ It’s on a live mixtape, so you can download it check it out.
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There’s not that one track, right now, that you’re working on that’s just got you like…
Right now? I just did a song with Nelly called ‘Country Ass Nigga’ and it’s on MTV, so definitely stay tuned for that, that’s got T.I. on it and 2 Chainz. And I’m also working on T.I.’s album, you know what I’m saying? So definitely stay tuned for what me and T.I. got coming up new. Staying busy.
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I can see. Now you recently decided to add rap into your resume with the producer. Now why start when you’ve been in so long behind the booth?
Well, I mean I was in the booth before I was doing the beats, you know what I’m saying? And I did the beats just as the hustle, just to make some quick cash and keep the lights on, you know what I’m saying? One step lead to another, now I feel it’s time to take it back to the brand inside of things. Like so many people know the name but they don’t know the face.
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Got you.
There are so many endorsement deals that I could have closed on, but because I’m not in the limelight or I’m not in the forefront, I’m missing out on certain deals. And then, the last but not least, the motivation we’ve got from VH1 when they honored the south, they didn’t say anything about the city of Memphis. And the city of Memphis was the brand of the south music as far as the standpoint from Three 6 Mafia to 8 Ball and MJG.
You know how early we have been doing it? From the Beale Street, one of the only streets in the south other than Bourbon Street that you can drink alcohol and walk up and down and really listen to music. The forefront of what those blues and those jazz musicians left on that street, of Beale Street, and for you not to mention that saying we have no legendary pioneers in the city of Memphis which is just outrageous.
And the news brought guys like me up, the news brought guys like Yo Gotti up. So I felt like I’m the voice of the city, I’m the voice of Memphis. In 2010, I mean in 2009 I dropped my mixtape, my unification mixtape for the city of Memphis called ‘Welcome to my City’ volume one. You can download all of these mixtapes on my website www.drum-squad.com. And when I did that in 2010, the mayor A C Wharton gave me the key to the city.
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Wow.
And nobody has brought up that unification that mentioned bringing rappers together and speaking positively on each rapper from the city as opposed to hating, you know what I’m saying?
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Just been trying to do that for years which should have been changed a minute ago.
Right. And now you got Yo Gotti, you got Don Trip, you got Young Dolph, you got myself, a lot of artists that are coming out of Memphis who a lot of people are paying attention to. I got ‘Welcome to my City’ volume two about to drop. And I just look at it like we just got a lot more work to do. I look at myself as the voice of the city, D-Boy Fresh.
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Definitely. And we know this. Just like you’re saying, people kind of like actually supporting each other now. Do you feel that is how it is, kind of like how if you are a New York artist it seems like you get backed up real quick by your own, and I think it’s hard out here in Cali, I think they’re just starting to do that too.What do you feel is the solution to doing that more on a huger scale? Like getting everybody on board and supporting each other.
Man, I just think it’s just lead by example. The more people see me doing it and supporting Memphis, then everybody wants to jump on the bandwagon. It’s a bandwagon industry you know what I’m saying? Like, people see one person doing it then they want to do it. So it just takes enough of me getting out there and giving back to the city and really exemplifying what I want the city to be like. And showing them and putting it into a picture form.
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And that is definitely refreshing to hear.
So you know, that ‘Real Up’ video was all shot in Memphis, you know what I’m saying? You know very special to me. It’s definitely on Myspace.com/music, so check out the ‘Real Up’ song featuring Nicole Wray. ‘Welcome to my City’ volume two is dropping soon on my website www.drum-squad.com.
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Cool. Now what is the current stage of your new project?
My new project ‘The Birth of D-Boy Fresh,’ we’ve released over a 100,000 downloads, you know what I’m saying. I’ve pushed over 60 to 70 thousand copies in the street. We’ve been giving it away for free as just Drumma Boy awareness, and putting a face with the name. I’ve done over 56 cities, free shows, DJ meet and greets and really campaigning and letting people know I’m next.
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So you’re really taking that brand advice to the fullest. Now, tell us your funniest studio moment, you got any?
Man, it wasn’t really funny, but the best and craziest studio moment for me is ‘No Hands,’ man, like, that was a celebration. And, um, I’m doing a song on one side of the studio in the A room with Gucci. I got Waka in the B room with Roscoe Dash, all of the Brick Squad and Wale, and all of these people. And then I can’t even really reach my keyboard the way I want to. I can’t really reach my beat machine, people standing in front of my equipment, people everywhere in front of the speakers, everybody talking, I can’t really focus and concentrate on the beat. But I’m still reaching and touching beat keys and trying to reach over people (singing) Dun dun dun dun dun dun.
I made the beat like in five minutes, it was crazy. And I dumped the beats put them in the system. Roscoe Dash goes to the booth like, I got it. (singing) Girl I’ve been to the far away… It was crazy man I’m talking about there’s girls in there ‘oooh, I like that’, you know what I’m saying? And they were in there dancing and doing their thing and then Wale’s all like, I’ve got it! He goes in the booth does his verse. Waka goes in the booth and does his verse. (singing) All that…, in them jeans, you know what I’m saying? It was crazy, it was like really a live club show performance atmosphere, man. It was like, one of the best moments of my studio history.
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So, it’s almost like you could say you created that song in the club…
(overlapping) Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly, like it was in a club. It was crazy, though you know, so, we have it on tape, it posted on WorldStar, Behind the Scenes making of ‘No Hands’. You could probably still Google it, search it, you know what I’m saying? And put up a link. But definitely dope.
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Cool. Now how has social media impacted your production?
Uh, I mean, it’s been a support system for me, you know what I’m saying? A lot of new people who hear good music respond good to good music. And that’s what it’s about just putting forth your best foot and putting some quality into the game. There’s so much quantity and there’s not enough quality in the game, and that’s what I try to bring back. You know just a quality sound like, damn man, I can listen to Drumma Boy shit over and over and over and over again. Man when are you going to drop more?
And it becomes a system of we need you, you know what I’m saying? What you got next? Man, my ears are just feening for some more. Something by Drumma Boy. And even if you know it or not, you start to realize, damn a lot of my favorite shit is produced by him. You know what I’m saying? So it’s just a system that you are trying to be and that goes back to the branding and keeping everything in that quality system.
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First Album Bought: Snoop Dogg ‘DoggyStyle’
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Last Album Bought: Gucci Mane mixtape. (I produced ‘Sometimes’ featuring Future, and’Thank You’)
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First Concert: Ruff Ryders/Cash Money tour, when they came to Memphis, they performed at the Pyramid. Crazy, hands down one of the best performances I’ve ever seen.
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Most Recent Concert: Mary J Blige, New York. Hands down, remarkable.
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Artists who have impacted your career the most: I would have to say Dre, (Young) Jeezy, and Rick Ross.
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To check out more of Drumma Boy’s latest projects, you can find him at http://www.myspace.com/drummaboyfresh.
