The night was rainy with a gloomy overcast. Thunder clapped outside in a grand, other-worldly type of crescendo.
The two emcees sat inside of the home studio, listening to beats online.
“I’m not feeling any of these beats, cuzzo,” Ambush Vin said.
“What type of beat you looking for fam,” the red-haired emcee known as Silence responded.
“I don’t know. I’ll know when I…” Vin stopped mid-sentence, as a lightning bolt struck right outside the window. “Damn!” he jumped, knocking over the coffee he was drinking.
(eerie music starts playing in the background)
“Yo, Vin,” Silence said, “you hear that?”
The eerie choral arrangements and piano sample combined to make a wayward companion to the storm outside. The thunder claps en fait seemed to be a part of the melody. The orchestra samples accented the growing tension of the storm.
“This beat was the soundtrack to the perfect storm,” Vin thought, as another lightning strike ensued. “Force Lightning…that’s it!”
This week I got the chance to talk with the Beast behind the beat that eventually became “Darth Prefectus”, DJ Radiohead!
DJ Radiohead
How long have you been producing and what got you started?
DJ Radiohead: I have been scratching vinyls since 2000 and producing since 2005. The cuts on Outkast’s “Wheels of Steel” started it all.
Do you have any sound or style that you prefer creating over another?
My personal preference is Boom Bap. I grew up on East Coast Hip-Hop. It played a big role in my sound.
Vinyl, Cassette, CD, or .wav?
I always choose to sample from vinyl, but I will sample cassettes and VHS tapes from time to time.
How long does it take to create a dope beat?
A dope creation could take anywhere from 5-10 minutes to 5-10 hours. Every beat is different.
Which do you prefer, creating organically (from scratch) or sampling?
I will always prefer sampling.To me, there is nothing better then finding a dope sample that you had to dig for. I spend about 2-3 hours a week at local record shops digging weekly.
If you could pick any artist out there to produce an album for, who would it be and why?
I would love to produce an entire album for Freddie Gibbs. I’ve always been a fan since I first heard his Mixtape “The Miseducation Of Freddie Gibbs” & really enjoyed his Piñata album produced by Madlib.
Al Gibson est le directeur du personnel et de l'édition pour AltWire.net, ainsi que le propriétaire d'AmbushVin.com. Il est également un artiste hip-hop indépendant, créant un son qu'il a baptisé Sci-Fi Music. Basé dans le nord-ouest de l'Indiana (Chicagoland), la mission de Vin pour AltWire est d'"apporter une reconnaissance à chaque artiste indépendant qui essaie d'amplifier sa voix". Pour AltWire, il ne s'agit pas de statistiques. Il s'agit de l'amour de la musique !
