18th Jan2011
1 Comm
05th Jan2011
Random Requests: Young Jeezy x Lil Wayne x Drake x Fashawn Chris Brown x Officer Bawse x Saigon
Officer Bawse ft Drake – Made Men
XV ft. CyHi Da Prynce, Vado & Erin Christine – All For Me (prod. by Omen & Audio BLK)
Officer Bawse ft Wale & Meek Mill – Pandemonium <–Puzzled
Saigon-The Greatest_Story_Never_Told
MORE BELOW…
19th Dec2010
Jay Electronica’s Interview w/Elliott Wilson (RESPECT Magazine)
Do This My Way
NOLA’s Jay Electronica wants to be successful. But on his own terms. And, in his most candid interview to date, in his own words.
As Told To Elliott Wilson
By the time you read this: Jay Electronica may have, at long last, landed a record deal. Or not. It’s hard to predict the future of the enigmatic MC who electrified the rap world from the end of ’09 to early 2010 with a song called “Exhibit C.” Produced by Just Blaze, who broke the record while guest-hosting Tony Touch’s Shade 45 Sirius show, the soulful sonic boom ushered in the rise of this NOLA brother with the Nas flow—captivatingly complex lyrics and vivid storytelling.
After being wooed by the record industry’s biggest execs for a year Elect is still, at press time, a free agent. But recent dealings with Mr. Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter may be changing that. In his modest Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn apartment, the man born Timothy Thedford spoke for over three hours about his almost Forrest Gump-like journey through this thing called life. Aiming to do justice to his jam-packed existence, RESPECT. hosts Electronica unfiltered. Here’s a toast to a true original.
“My light is brilliant.”
“Exhibit C” magnified everything. Everybody was coming at one time. I’m the kind of person where if I get to a point where I can’t make this decision then I’m gonna stand still. I don’t care. I’ll stand still for two years, 20 years. I’m 34 years old. I’m still learning myself, but I know myself a little bit, so I stand still. People was telling me, “Oh, you buggin’, this is the time.”
By the time March [2010] came, it was crazy. I coulda signed any kinda deal at that time. I coulda took these publishing companies to the cleaners. I met anybody you can think of. Like, I’m gonna entertain what you sayin’, but we already have a fundamental disagreement in the way that we view the music business and the treatment of people, period. I need to feel like I’m talking to my grandmother. I need to feel like I’m talking to my sister or my mama to feel comfortable. If I’m not at that comfort level then I’m completely uncomfortable.
30th Nov2010
Che Guevara With Bling On: How A Music Journalist Helped Write Jay-Z’s “P.S.A.”
Anyone who’s ever been lucky enough to see Jay-Z give a stunning rendition of “P.S.A.” in a live setting will tell you that it’s a powerful song. It’s the type of arena-rock anthem that shakes a building to its foundation. Excerpts from Jay’s memoir, Decoded , reveal that the second verse of “P.S.A.” wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Village Voice reporter Elizabeth Mendez Berry.
Peep game:
“Just Blaze was one of the house producers at Roc-A-Fella Records, the company I co-founded with Kareem Burke and Damon Dash. He’s a remarkable producer, one of the best of his generation. As much as anyone, he helped craft the Roc-A-Fella sound when the label was at its peak: manipulated soul samples and original drum tracks, punctuated by horn stabs or big organ chords. It was dramatic music: It had emotion and nostalgia and a street edge, but he combined those elements into something original. His best tracks were stories in themselves. With his genius for creating drama and story in music, it made sense that Just was also deep into video games. He’d written soundtracks for them. He played them. He collected them. He was even a character in one game. If he could’ve gotten bodily sucked into a video game, like that guy in Tron did, he would’ve been happy forever. I was recording The Black Album and wanted Just to give me one last song for the album, which was supposed to be my last, but he was distracted by his video-game work. He’d already given me one song, “December 4th,” for the album–but I was still looking for one more. He was coming up empty and we were running up against our deadlines for getting the album done and mastered.
At the same time, the promotion was already starting, which isn’t my favorite part of the process. I’m still a guarded person when I’m not in the booth or onstage or with my oldest friends, and I’m particularly wary of the media. Part of the pre-release promotion for the album was a listening session in the studio with a reporter from The Village Voice, a young writer named Elizabeth Mendez Berry (more…)
07th Nov2010
Renaissance Man: Just Blaze (Interview w/Honey Mag)
Inherently musical, intelligent, hard working and possessing a versatile style: Justin “Just Blaze” Smith paved his own road to success in NY’s burgeoning and intensely competitive Hip Hop scene in the late 1990s. The Paterson, NJ native went on to become an in-house producer for Roc-A-Fella records whilst his peers were still in college. Indeed, he churns out hits for superstars like Jay-Z, Usher, Kanye, T.I., Rihanna, Fabolous, Diddy. More notably, he has helped many underground artists cross over into the mainstream by lacing them with a “Just Blaaaze” banger (Joe Budden’s ‘Pump It Up’ anyone?). You can also catch him doing his thing in Eminem’s new music video for ‘No Love’ featuring Lil Wayne. With full production and some vocals by Just, it’s currently the number one music video from the US to the UK. Having also successfully branched out into clothing, gaming soundtracks, movie theme songs, sold out international sound clash tours and more, it’s safe to say that the Polo Ralph Lauren aficionado is more of a prodigal renaissance man than your typical super producer.
It’s a hot night in uptown NYC and Just is busy working at his new studio, kind of difficult to imagine that he had hundreds of clubbers wildin’ out to his weekly DJ set at Santos Party House until the wee hours of that morning (we did mention he was hardworking!). Just’s clean silhouette resembles a classic beat in itself. His outfit is fresh, fitted and tastefully set off with an orthodox and intricately designed diamond watch on his right wrist. His eyes exude an interesting mix of focus, humility and… humor. (If you follow him on Twitter (@JustBlaze) you’d know exactly what we’re talking about.)
To know the man behind the boards a bit better, Honey sat down with ‘The Megatron Don’ to talk about female Emcees, the reconciliation of Dipset and Kanye West’s global stardom.
Honey Magazine: How is the new decade treating you thus far?
Just Blaze: Great! I am an integral part of one of the highest and fastest selling albums of the year so far. [Editor’s note: Eminem’s ‘Recovery’ had just gone double platinum and returned to the number one spot]. It’s a blessing for me to be a part of that. I am also in the process of setting up a new studio, which has been a very trying process.
Your old studio [Baseline] closed earlier this year. Explain the legacy of Baseline for those who are not familiar?
The reason we’re building a new studio is because we closed Baseline. For those who don’t know Baseline was a home to Roc-A-Fella records [in it’s earlier years] and myself since 1999. I‘d owned it for the past 7 years so, I personally shut it down. It was a good run but it had outlived its purpose. Most major recording studios in Manhattan have merged, closed or are in the process of closing. It wasn’t financially motivated. The good thing about our situation is that I was able to bring in enough work where we weren’t in any financial trouble but at the same time you always have to think ahead when it comes to a business. I had to ask myself “in five years will I still be doing the same thing I’m
06th Oct2010
@ItsTheReal & @JensenClan88: Hype Men Podcast Episode 7 w/ Just Blaze
Jeff, Eric (It’s The Real) and Jensen sit down with Just Blaze for their latest Hype Men podcast and honestly, this is probably the best one.
EPISODE 7: super producer Just Blaze joins the Hype Men to discuss what he owes the Diplomats + his portrayal in Jay-Z’s movie Fade To Black + early Kanye + Jay Electronica’s next move + Amil’s whereabouts + the latest on T.I. + running into Charles Hamilton + his current thoughts on Joe Budden + “Pump It Up” + his falling out with Dame Dash + what Aloe Blacc’s done for cancer research + more!
Link: Hype Men Podcast Episode 7 w/ Just Blaze
Hype Men Podcasts: Ep. 0 (Introductions) | Ep. 1 (Jean Grae) | Ep. 2 (Peter osenberg) | Ep. 3 (Bobby Moynihan) | Ep. 4 (Jake Fogelnest) | Ep. 5 (Martin Starr) | Ep. 6 (Brett Gelman)
23rd May2010
Just Blaze Speaks On The Corruption Of The Remix (Video)
Hey, does anybody else remember when artists and producers, when remixing a track, would actually create entirely new interpretations of songs rather than just bringing in somebody for a guest verse? Just Blaze reveals the financial and technological reasoning behind the demise of the actual remix.
05th May2010
Just Blaze Combats Interviewers with Extreme Passive Aggressiveness (Video)
Vibe caught up with Just while he was out on the left coast to ask him about some new Eminem album, but not before they asked him about their Greatest Producer of All Time bracket, to which he simply replied: “It’s cool. Vote for who you like.” As far as Recovery goes, he had this to say about the working process:
“I have a few more songs that I have to finish mixing,” Blaze said. “It’s a great experience working with him, he’s such a hands-on artist… Most artists come in and rap and the rest is up to you. It’s good to collaborate with someone on the other end of the spectrum.”
(or the interview as how he would put it 
Hype Vibe reporter: so do you have any comments on the all time producer brackets and competition?!?! Me: No… HVR: well how about a message to the fans!? U know like “vote for mee!!!” Me: No…. *crickets* HVR: um yeah great!! Soo.. How was it working on thhe project with alchemist. That album u guys did.. What was it like. . Me: ??
04th May2010
Just Blaze & Jay Electronica In San Francisco
At the Yoshi’s Jazz Club in San Francisco this past Saturday. Above is a dope montage of their performance including “Exhibit A” and “Exhibit C”.
