NayoInc

Thursday, March 29, 2007

9th Wonder: Soul of a True School Producer

9th Wonder: Soul of a True School Producer
Interview by Tony Muhammad


In the beginning of the year, UAN had the pleasure of meeting up with super dope producer 9th Wonder at a True School party at the Marlin Hotel in South Beach. We spoke about the purpose of the company that he co-founded with several college alumni, True School Corp., which dedicates itself to throwing parties nation wide representative of their genre of music (1980 – 1995), aimed at attracting urban audiences between the ages of 25 and 35.

Throughout our discussion, 9th Wonder emphasized the importance of bridging the gap between generations by keeping the music that you grew up on alive. Culturally, he believes its time that grown men need to start behaving like grown men on all levels. He criticized both commercial and underground artists for producing a generation of soulless music, which can be easily argued that is producing a generation of soulless people.

9th Wonder stressed how grown adults need to stop trying to be their children's friends, act their age and become more responsible. This interview took place in the midst of rumors that 9th Wonder was no longer with Little Brother, the group that brought him to fame as a producer. It was shortly after the interview that the rumors were confirmed. With 9th Wonder only landing one beat on the upcoming Little Brother album; it seems that rappers Phonte and Big Pooh were having what has generally been termed in the industry as "creative differences" with their exceptionally soulful boom-bap oriented producer.

9th Wonder himself hasn't kept all of his eggs in one basket. Besides doing most of the production on Little Brother's famed debut album The Listening (in 2002 off of ABB Records) and the group's Atlantic debut The Minstrel Show (in 2005), he has had the remarkable opportunity to branch out and do production for more noted artists such as Jay-Z, Lloyd Banks, Memphis Bleek and Destiny's Child.

In 2005, 9th Wonder collaborated with Boot Camp Clik founder Buckshot to make the Chemistry album and most recently a whole album with indie rapper Murs (yet to be released).

9th Wonder also has 5 songs that he produced off of the new Sean Price album Jesus Price Supastar, which has been receiving some rave reviews. Overall, our discussion was as lively as the music that we were jamming to all night long, grooving as we went down memory lane – from Aaliyah's Back and Forth to Chaka Khan's I Feel For You; to say the least, WE HAD A BLAST!

UAN: How would you define what "True School" is?

9W: True School is our voice speaking out. All of the mass media is for 40 and up or 22 and bellow. Our aim is to make our own music classic, not acting like we're 12 years old. I'd rather play what I grew up on and play what I listened to while I was in college and high school rather than play what my nephews are playing, you know what I'm saying? Not to say that there's nothing out there anymore that has soul in it. Some of the stuff is soulless. Whether you're talking about conscious rap or whatever type of rap, it doesn't matter what side. Some of the stuff out there right now is soulless.

UAN: Haven't you been doing some production for G-Unit?

9W: Yeah! I produced a joint for Lloyd Banks. I mean, I've never liked the term underground. I like the term soul music. That's what I do. No matter what you talk about on your record, some stuff has soul and some don't. And the thing about it is, Curtis Mayfield's Superfly was a soul record, but he talked about "Pusher Man" …

UAN: Pimpin' and hustlin' …

9W: Exactly, but it was the feeling of it that made it soul.

UAN: Going back to G-Unit, some of 50's music got some soul samples in there, like Ski Mask Way.

9W: Yeah man, like Window Shopper got soul in it! 21 Questions got soul in it! Yeah, you can't front on it! You got people out there that want to hate. But in the end in, either your music is bad or good. The soul, we need to get back to that! And that's what True School is!

UAN: Now, would you consider everything "underground" necessarily "True School?"

9W: No! True School to me is a time period thing, 1980 to 1997. I'm 31 years old, so an 18 year old might not understand that. We might learn about it on the Internet or they might have an older relative that turned them on. But, I feel sometimes that you needed to be there.

UAN: Well, how do you feel abstract type Hip Hop like Def Jux, which some underground heads brand as being "real Hip Hop"?

9W: I did music with someone who is not necessarily a Def Jux artist, Murs. (Due to be released later this year) Overall, I just don't like soulless records. And I'm not saying that Def Jux makes soulless records, because LP is my boy. But some stuff just has no soul to it. Some stuff is so abstract that there's no feeling in it. You're just being abstract so that you can say that you're different. That's wack to me. Outkast is different, but they have soul. Man, it all goes back to the soul! It doesn't matter if you are underground or over-ground, you have to have that soul element in it! That's what Hip Hop has lost. I mean, even if you're rappin' about something ignorant on your record, have soul in your music! I believe there's a future for Hip Hop, but in order to keep it going, it's up to our generation to teach the next generation and ain't no one passin' the torch. That's the problem.

UAN: On Phonte's Internet blog I remember reading about how Little Brother had an interesting experience performing at a predominantly Dirty South (Summer Jam) concert. Could you tell us a little about what happened?

9W: I wasn't at that particular show, but from what I understand it was like they (Big Pooh and Phonte) were performing and the audience was giving them looks like they were crazy. I mean, you gotta study demographics. With that particular demographic, how are they going to know about a group that has been in Fader Magazine and Elemental? We had a couple of spots in XXL, but you know, a lot of people don't read. We haven't been made visual. So, in this day and time, if you are not made visual you don't sell. I don't care what you sound like. You've got to have a visual attached to it.

UAN: Not just visual, but people also got to hear you on the radio.

9W: Right!

UAN: So, do you believe if your music was played more on the radio a lot more of the youth would gravitate towards your genre?

9W: I think so! I mean, it's kind of hard to get into something you don't see. Luckily for us, the kind of things that we've seen is classic stuff. Now, all the stuff that seems to make it, they would have to have a boat load of money or get 30,000 spins on the radio and then, boom, they sign you. But, a lot of people don't know who we are, because we are not accessible to a kid. We're not on BET. We're not on radio. So, it's like we don't exist. We were featured on Elemental Magazine. There's a small amount of people who read that magazine.

UAN: How do you feel about that whole situation at The Source when Editor-in-Chief Fahiym Ratcliffe gave Little Brother's Minstrel Show four and a half mics and (co-owner at the time) Benzino had it changed to just four mics? (The controversial incident resulted in Ratcliffe resigning from his position from the self-proclaimed Hip Hop Bible)

9W: Benzino made a comment that only college kids listened to Little Brother … that you have to be educated to listen to them. Considering that, I would have to ask, what are you selling to the next generation? Plus, after he said that, he said "I don't even know who these dudes is!" And then he turns around and says "Yeah, I like Hip Hop." Buckshot just released an album with me …

UAN: Man, you're talking about a grown man who grew up with Hip Hop acting like he don't know?

9W: Exactly! But, everybody wants to perpetrate in the industry man! They want to portray that they're living a particular lifestyle and that's what's messing the music up.

UAN: Do you feel that they make such compromises to make themselves look appealing to the younger generation?

9W: Right! Come on man, you are 34, 35, 36! Why are you trying to appeal to a 17 year old kid? That's kind of sick man!

UAN: How do you feel about artists, especially established ones, who are 30 and up and they stop making the music that they like to do and they make compromises in their craft in an attempt to get some play on the radio?

9W: Well, not to say that they're doing it, but let's just say for example, if you're De La Soul, and those are great friends and elders of mine … De La Soul, they came out in 1989, so their average fan, when they came out with 3 Feet and Rising, is about 32 years old. So for every artist that came out, if you dropped your first album between 1988 and 1996, that means your average fan is between the ages of 26 and 34.

UAN: What is amazing is that certain artists now that are able to break into the mainstream are being portrayed as "new artists" and being introduced as if they were in their 20s, when they're actually in their 30s and they're making that kind of music.

9W: Right! You have to understand that there's a generation that grew up under you that still wants to hear you but is now upset because you're trying to cater to a kid as an attempt to make more money. The truth is we have the most disposable income. We make the most money and we have nothing to spend our money on. Case and point, Jamie Fox did 500 or 600 thousand his first week, Mary J Blige did 700 thousand the first week; Jay-Z did 600 thousand … because they cater straight to their audience. The problem with kids is that this is a downloading generation. So, how could you sell music to a generation that downloads? When Mary J Blige sold 700 thousand her first week, it was all of her fans since What's the 411?. And all of her fans are past the age of 30. But the problem is that's probably the only album they bought in the past 8 years because nothing is speaking to them right about now.

UAN: Now, a good question is how would anyone of our generation feel comfortable exposing their children to some of the immature things that are trendy right about now?

9W: A lot of parents nowadays, instead of being a role model for their kids, they're trying to be their kid's friend and sh*t! It's a situation where you're playing the music your kid is playing. No! He's supposed to learn about your music. If there's a cookout, you're supposed to play your music, not your kid's music. If your kid wants to play his music, that's fine. But, he has to go to his room to play it.

UAN: Well, look at a lot of the Hip Hop that came out in the late 80s and early 90s. A lot of the samples that were included in that music came from the previous generation, what our parents would listen to. This was the music that our parents exposed us to.

9W: Right! The soul music! See, that music connected me to my older brother, because he liked Cameo and Roy Ayers and then I would listen to a Mary J record or a Pete Rock record with the same feel. That's what connects the generations. I mean, have you ever seen Do the Right Thing?

UAN: <I>Yeah!

9W: Do you remember the part that they did The Love Radio roll call? Ella Fitzgerald, Felonious Munk, De La Soul, Stetsasonic … You can't say Ella Fitzgerald, Felonious Munk, De La Soul, Stetsasonic, JEEZY … WHO DON'T FIT? And I love his music, but Jeezy doesn't fit in that roll call because it does not have any soul! Yeah, you talk about struggle, that's cool! Okay, you came up, that's cool! Okay, you made it out of the hood! But your music has no soul! See, with the soul music of the 70s, you could make love, have kids, raise your kids! It was life music! Even in the 80s, it was life music! Even in the 90s, there was still life music being made. There ain't nothing but death music being made now man! It's just about going to the club, get drunk, get f**ked up and do that sh*t and rob that n*gga, let's have a party and that's it! And the mother f**kers talking the real sh*t they don't understand that yeah, they're talking the real sh*t, but they're song ain't hot! Your song is wack! They think that just because they talk about the real sh*t, they don't have to make no hot music! It's a lose-lose situation! Why can't a mother f**ker talk about some real sh*t and make some soul music?

UAN: How about the "conscious" abstract rappers that don't feel that they should be making much money because they're supposed to be "underground"?

9W: Man, I asked this one dude, "What are you in this for?" He said, "I'm in it for the love!" I asked him "You don't want to make any money?" He said, "NAGH!!! I don't want to make any money! That's selling out! Like Common, he sold out when he did that GAP commercial!" I said, "Okay! You live with your mom and dad?" He said, "YEAH!" I said, "Okay, let's say you don't live with your mom and dad. You live in a house by yourself. You've got two jobs just to pay your bills. GAP comes to you with a check for five hundred thousand dollars. What are you going to do? You're going to jump your silly a** in front of the cameras!" You have to put them in a real life situation for them to understand that! A sixteen year old living underneath their mommy and daddy's roof wouldn't understand some of the decisions rappers need to make.

UAN: So, would you say the same thing to those who have criticized you for doing production for G-Unit?

9W: At the end of the day, for me, it's like I hate that underground got attached to our (Little Brother's) name. AT THE END OF THE DAY, IF YOU THINK WHAT YOU SAY CAN REPLACE THE SMILE ON MY TWO YEAR OLD'S FACE AIN'T SH*T THAT NO MAN COULD SAY TO ME! IF I WALK INTO MY HOUSE AND MY LITTLE GIRLS, MY SON AND MY WIFE ARE TAKEN CARE OF I COULD GIVE A DAMN WHAT ANY INTERNET MOTHER F**KER HAS TO SAY ABOUT ME! COME AND PAY SOME OF MY BILLS! COME AND TAKE MY DAUGHTER TO SCHOOL! THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS MY JOB! AS LONG AS WHAT LLOYD BANKS AND I DO GOT SOUL TO IT … BECAUSE IF ANY MOTHER F**KER IS GONNA COME F**K WITH ME, HE'S GOING TO BE DOING A SOUL JOINT!

UAN: Taking it back, where do you see the future of Hip Hop going? Do you see any form of balance potentially taking place in terms of commercial exposure?

9W: No! There's not enough unity in Hip Hop man! Mother f**kers would be on some Hollywood sh*t so much, no one wants to talk to anybody. You'd have to go through about 50 people. Come on, let's look at who we got in the game! We've got Common, Mos Def, Kweli, Young Jeezy, Pharrell, Jay-Z, Nas … the list goes on and on … like Jill Scott, Premier, Pete Rock, Jazze Pha. We've got so many talented people and when you check out their albums there's only two hot tracks! Now, how the hell can that be and you've got all these talented mother f**kers walking the earth? There's no unity! Everybody's cliquish!

UAN: Well, on a positive note, we can be sure that 9th Wonder is going to keep dropping the dope tracks.

9W: Most definitely! I'm going to keep putting the dope sh*t out! I've got a lot of loyal fans! They love my sh*t! You know when someone comes up to you and tells you that something that you made in your room completely changed their life … I've had that happen a good number of times, when someone was having a bad year and they heard a song on The Listening (Little Brother's 1st album) and it inspired them. One person told me, "I listen to Threat (off of Jay-Z's The Black Album) every morning!" Another person told me, "I didn't listen to Destiny's Child until you did Girl!" I've heard it all! Another person told me, "Man! You're my Pete Rock!" Man, for a fan to tell you that and then on the flip side, Pete Rock, my elder, to come and tell me, "Man, you're all we got right now!" Premier telling me, "Man, we're going to take this sh*t over!" It's like saying, you and me are boys and sh*t! That's the kind of sh*t that drives me man … that a lot of people out there are counting on me to keep good soul music out there!

UAN: Any final words?

9W: Keep supporting dope music! If you're over 30, don't feel ashamed to play some Guy or some Bell Biv Devoe type sh*t. Don't be afraid of it. If you're 35 running around bumpin' some young sh*t, looking like a child molester and sh*t, take off those big a** clothes and put on some real clothes, grow the f**k up, but still love Hip Hop though! You could do that!

Jhey

prooops man, good read!

__________________


PSNetwork: Jhey

Cropped_Stunts

9th wonderrrrrrrrrrrrrr........

Pretty Soney

the murs and 9th wonder album is real gud

anybody hu dnt hav it shud get it

gemma

i like that person