Interview with founder of HOOKSTARZ, Marka

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JTP: Thanks for taking out some time to do this interview, give an introduction for the readers that don’t know who Marka is.
Marka: Who is Marka? Thats a pretty good question. As a person, im a father and a man, but musically i try to be everything I possibly can, ranging from an engineer to being an artist myself. I write, produce & record people. What most people know me for are my hooks & being the founder of HOOKSTARZ. Thats what some people would call my defining act as a musician. idk tho.
JTP: How long have you been making music for?
Marka: Ive been actually writing/making music for close to 14 years maybe 15, and recording/engineering myself for around 5 of them.  I come from a musical family so i’ve never been a stranger to a studio environment.
JTP: What rappers inspired you when you first started?
Marka: Royce da 5’9 was my biggest influence in music, eminem, common, talib, mos def, pharaoh month, atmosphere (slug), living legends, aesop rock. i’ve always been apart of the underground scene and not many know that about me. Im all about diction and how you choose to say the things you say. Lyricism is a major factor for me in music & i think that has been lost for about 90% of the artists today.
JTP: I see that you also produce, what do you use to produce, and who are some of your inspirations as a producer?
Marka: LOOP GANG! FL Studio an Axiom 49 midi and my vsts to be exact. Honestly my inspirations as a producer are my current peers, Epik (one of the biggest influences in music right now), Superstar O & Vybe, they are good friends of mine and DOPE producers, JUSTICE LEAGUE…i don’t think i need to explain or speak the reason as to why they make this list. boi1da as well.
JTP: Are you independent or signed to a major label?
Marka: indie.
JTP: I don’t see you on hooks as much as I used to on soundclick, why did you decide to stop doing them?
Marka: I didn’t want to burn myself out. There was a point when I had 3-4 hooks on Soundclicks Top Ten at one time for 3 weeks, i felt that at that point it was time to slow down on soundclick and venture into other areas. The way i had it figured, soundclick was being over saturated with my voice. While thats a great thing short term business wise, i had a strong feeling it would do more harm than good in the long run. So, i let my soundclick buzz “die down” if you will, maintained a subtle presence doing features and hooks on other sites or just offline in general, while working on my solo E.P. “Remarkable”. But, now that my second project is almost complete, i have been working on some pricing adjustments to make a win win that could lead me back to that path of saturation. We’ll See.
JTP: Do you make music full time, and if so when did you start?
Marka: Well i started making music for the very first time around 10 years old. But of course that wasn’t full time (not by choice). I started doing music full time around mid 2007.
JTP: Do you have any songs coming out soon with any big names on it?
Marka: Ummm not that i know of, lol what i mean by that is that there have been submissions and “people” liking tracks but i haven’t been made aware of any upcoming releases.
JTP: Where can fans go to hear your music?
Marka: my new site http://www.iammarka.com which will be released and considered launched upon release of my newest E.P. “Bittersweet”.
or
google…google hookstarz google marka of hookstarz
or itunes search my name or go cop my latest EP “Remarkable”
JTP: Any final words of advice that you could give to up-coming artists trying to break into the industry?
Marka: My saying applies to everyone… “success is only difficult to reach for those who deserve it” so keep pushing, and if it feels like you’ll never make it…you’re on the right path. And If you need a hook/feature holler at me.
Also, No amount of “hook ups” or “connections” can replace the value of consistency & hard work, so make sure you’re familiar with both.
Thanks for having me.

Interview with Producer of Nipsey Hussles “Keys To The City”, Djay Cas

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JTP:  Before we start the interview, introduce yourself to anyone who doesn’t know about DjayCas.
Djay Cas: I’m nobody famous, just a young producer from South Carolina.
You might’ve heard my work on Young Jeezy’s “Bag Music” orr Nipsey Hussle’s “Keys To The City”.
If you hear “The Academy?!” on the track, that’s me. Also, the cash registers.. That’s me too lol.

JTP: How did you go about getting the placements with Nipsey Hussle and Young Jeezy?
Djay Cas: With Jeezy..It was a domino effect, getting on the website PmpWorldWide put me in touch with DJ Folk, who got the record to Jeezy.. which led to me working with him and the whole CTE crew in Atlanta months later.

Nipsey I’ve known for years man..since like..2007. I initially hit him up on myspace before I knew he had any kinda deal in place. His album “South Central State Of Mind”..
I must’ve had a placement on it 4 different times over the years with different records..
But the album always got reworked and new tracks would replace the old ones.. I did “Walk In My Shoes” for free on his Bullets Volume 3 mixtape.. (Same beat as “Bag Music”)
So I met him in LA in 2010 and he got Sony on the line and made sure me and E.N.G. got paid when he wanted our “Keys To The City” track for his album.
The album never came out but him and his people looked out.  Shout out to his brother Adam.

JTP: What equipment do you use to produce?
Djay Cas: I keep it simple.. Acid Music Studio, Reason. Wireless mouse & I’m good lol.
Not opposed to trying new hardware or software but I always come back to what keeps my workflow effecient.
Sometimes I’ll be messing with something new thinking.. I could be doing this much faster in Acid.

JTP: What would you say is your go to piece of equipment or vst that you use the most?
Djay Cas: Well, I can say I get alot of use out of the cash registers lol.
I’m still sitting on a project titled Cash Register Music I might release later this year..

JTP: Do you produce full time, and if so when did you start?
Djay Cas: Yeah, I started when I was 14.. 23 now which is crazy. But music provides most if not all my income, so I guess it’s my full time job.
So many ways to make $ off being a musician aside from selling beats.
Just gotta look for different lanes of revenue. But don’t get me wrong, I’m no millionaire yet lol.

JTP: Where do you see a lot of new producers making mistakes?
Djay Cas: STOP OVER COMPRESSING YOUR DRUMS! You won’t have to worry about them clipping but you won’t have to worry about them thumping either.
But business wise? Doing what should be a lawyer’s job. Learn the business but always consult a lawyer before you sign something, before you make a decision that will effect your career even in the slightest.
It’s a tricky business, nobody gets on all by themselves. Managers, Lawyers etc.. You’ll need their help.

JTP: What advice can you give to up-coming producers that are trying to get in the game?
Djay Cas:  Be prepared to work hard. I’m still knocking on the door and I’ve actually done a couple records. It ain’t easy.
Also… keep your session files. Make back ups. Back up the back up copies. Back up those as well. Cds, Hard drives, Online storage.
It’s worth it because you can’t replace your ideas months after you lose them.

JTP: Can we expect to you hear your beats on any other big name artists tracks?
Djay Cas: Man I’ve done records with some of the biggest rappers in the game right now and they never got released. Records that woulda changed my life but after they got recorded things fell apart.
Sessions get lost. People get fired. Songs get dated…So I can’t really speak on anything cuz these days I don’t even believe it until its out lol.
I can tell you I’ll be working with up and coming rappers like Jay-R from Greenville, SC. Trap Star as well.
Another talented artist RushDee outta Michigan. Him and I are getting some serious work done.
Me and Juice aka Juice McCain are gonna drop an EP all produced by me this year too.
Plenty others, too many to name.

JTP: Any final word of advice to producers?
Djay Cas: Network. You won’t get too many opportunities hiding your music. Get out there where the people are. And be respectful to everyone you meet.
You never know who might have a great opportunity for you somewhere down the line.
I Also wanna say thanks for giving me the opportunity to share my .02 cents. Preciate it man!

Interview with Multi-Platinum Producer Andrew Lloyd

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JTP: Before we start the interview, introduce yourself to anyone who doesn’t know Andrew Lloyd.

Andrew Lloyd: Appreciate you reaching out to me, I’m a multi-platinum, grammy nominated multi-instrumentalist and producer from Hempstead, NY. I’m part of a production team called Kasai, that is run by Young Fyre.

JTP: What equipment do you use to produce? And when you sample do you sample from vinyl or from mp3?

Andrew Lloyd: I use Reason 6 by Propellerheads to produce, I’ve used pretty much every DAW out and this new Reason 6 is really the best thing for how I work. When I sample which is rare, I always use mp3, I don’t really sample from vinyl because its not part of my set up, with everything being so streamlined for the computer its just easier to sample from mp3s these days.

JTP: Do you produce full time, and if so when did you start?

Andrew Lloyd: I guess I do produce full time lol, but I’m also a student full time as well if that makes sense. I attend Berklee College Of Music out in Boston and im in my last year, so once I graduate I’ll be able to dedicate all of my time to making music and furthering the brand for myself and people I work with on the regular. I’ve been a full time producer pretty much since I started in 2007, but didn’t really get any major placements with big artists until 2009.

JTP: How did you start working with Young fyre, and how did you guys go about getting the track placed on the Carter 4?

Andrew Lloyd: Young Fyre reached out to me through a mutual producer looking for a keyboard player, we linked up through AIM and just have been working ever since. I signed with the team and he had got signed to T-Pain a couple months after I had signed. That was a couple years ago, but being signed to T-Pain and the relationship Young Fyre & him had made it easy to get records placed with him. The record on the Carter IV was originally a T-Pain record but Wayne wanted it, and the rest is history. But that’s really all Fyre’s doing, I just did what was asked of me and he did the rest lol and I prefer it that way

JTP: What advice can you give to up-coming producers that are trying to get in the game?

Andrew Lloyd: Don’t be opposed to signing to a producer that is willing to build with you and work with you if theyre already established and in the game. If you get a good deal, take it and always work hard to get a lot of work, you’ll be presented a lot of opportunities, its kind of like an internship.

JTP: Can we expect to you hear your beats on any other big name artists tracks?

Andrew Lloyd: Trying to work with a little bit of everybody, don’t really want to speak on it until everything is in place and definite, but it should be a very productive year for myself & the team im with for sure!

JTP: Any final word of advice to producers?

Andrew Lloyd: Stay working, stay humble and keep it one hundred.

Interview with Epik The Dawn

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JTP: Thanks for taking time out to do this interview, lets start off with an introduction for the people that don’t know who Epik The Dawn is.
Epik: Thank you for having me. Um… I’m an independent music producer from Los Angeles residing in ATL now. I’ve gained much of my success online and with some major productions (Pusha T, Raekwon, Sophia Fresh).
JTP: The first question I want to ask is what equipment do you like to use?
Epik: FL Studio is the brains of my operation, I use *A LOT* of vst’s, and create a lot of my own sounds for my production. But most of my production is CPU based.
JTP: Where do you see new producers making mistakes?
Epik: Well. There’s a lot i can say. The main thing is BUSINESS and not having it sorted BEFORE they get into this industry. Also trying to stay to current and too much like someone else. Best way to grow and stay relevant is to create whats relevant.
JTP: To all those new aspiring producers reading this learning to produce music/make beats, what advice can you give them starting out?
Epik: Be yourself, use your favorites to learn from and fuse them to create your own sound. Equipment isn’t everything, but perfecting your craft is. OOOOH.. And stay away from managers if you can.
JTP: What are the 3 most important steps to making beats?
Epik: The thought, The execution, The creativity.
JTP: Very few producers make it to the top of there career as a world famous producer. What’s the difference, in your opinion, between a famous producer and one who can’t seem to it? What do the ones that make it do that the ones don’t?
Epik: Well making it in this industry is about 50% who you know, 40% Luck, and 10% Talent. It’s the combination of those that make shit work. And all of that takes work. Most people think there working harder than others when that other person is still up working when you go to sleep at 11pm. Someone else is always working 2 times harder on you. On there music, Connections & Opportunies.

JTP: Which do you prefer new producers start with when learning to make beats: Hardware or software? And Why?Epik: I honestly prefer “PRODUCERS” to start off songwriting and learning the process of creating a song. Now if we are talking about  ”BEAT MAKERS” it doesn’t really matter, use what feels right to you.

JTP: What makes a quality beat? What must it sound like? How do you know when your done?
Epik: I think the 3 qualitys are Drums > Melody > Mix in that order. In hip hop/R&B/POP it’s mainly dance or sound driven and those elements are what move you the most. A beat is complete when you can hear what an artist can do with the beat. It’s kind of hard to explain. But a lot of the time I get up and walk around rapping/singing to a beat to make sure that I don’t crowed it with WAKNESS.  LOL
JTP: Can we expect to hear any big names on an Epik beat any time soon?
Epik: I have a few things going on. Mainly Licensing to TV and Movies. But I also have a few artists in the bag.. Coming soooooon.
JTP: Any final thoughts or advice to aspiring producers? 
Epik: Live because the creation of life inspires creativity. Don’t stay stuck in the room all day, I find myself doing that and it does nothing but cut me off from the world and keeps me uncreative. Other than that BE YOURSELF and be blessed. Thank you for having me and I hope to do this again SOON.
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