Hailing from Miami, Florida, Infamous has been holding it down for years, earning respect as a multiple-award winning DJ (title details here). Infamous is also a record producer, already on his path to stardom: expect to hear his name go from 'who' to 'household'. Most recently, Infamous gained acclaim as the beatsmith behind Lil Wayne's "Mr. Carter" featuring Jay-Z. In fact, Infamous has been dropping beats for Weezy for quite some time. Recently, Inf' and I chopped it up to discuss his background, his current success, and what the stars hold for him in the future. We're proud to present another Hip Hop Is Read exclusive interview with... Infamous!
HHIR: Okay so: "Mr. Carter"! The track popped up on the web one day and the internet went absolutely nuts. How did you get to work with Wayne? I ask because "Mr. Carter" isn't your first beat that Weezy has rocked, right?
Infamous: No it wasn't. I met Wayne through my boy Develop who produced "Fireman". Develop and I had been in a DJ crew called The Allies back in the day. He introduced me to Wayne; I passed Wayne a beat CD that had the beat for "Light Up My La La" on it and since then I've kept in contact with him, dropping off beats. I honestly lost count of how many records he recorded; I know about ten of them leaked ("Light Up My La La", "Pussy MVP", "I'll Be Here", "Rider", "Talkin' 'Bout It", "Sept. 27th", and some others.)
HHIR: Now that "Mr. Carter" dropped and exploded (helped by Jay-Z's feature, undoubtedly), are you gearing more towards producing in hip hop? Are artists reaching out to you? I know that hip hop isn't the only genre you've worked in.
Infamous: People are definitely reaching out. I started getting calls from people that I would have never imagined getting calls from saying they want beats. I grew up listening to all kinds of music because of the people I was around, but growing up no one in my family was into hip hop so it became my thing. But I don't necessarily want to pin-point myself to just being known as a hip hop producer 'cause I feel that would limit other creative outlets I could pursue.
I'm also not the kind of dude that's gonna say: "Well, I don't wanna work with this person 'cause they're not gonna sell" -- which is a mistake that a lot of producers do. If someone is dope and they want to work on some good music, then let's do it! I'll sleep when I'm dead. Right now I feel like I have to keep working with any and everyone that wants to make some good records.
HHIR: Yeah, that's a good outlook. Besides, you never know who might blow up in the future, and you'll be that guy that was down from day one.
Infamous: Exactly!
HHIR: Now I've seen this question all over the web lately (SOHH and some other forums), and being that HHIR likes to cover sample information, I've gotta ask: What (if any) sample(s) did you use on "Mr. Carter"? Everyone seems to want to know in particular where that hook came from. The most frequent answer I've seen is that those vocals are original. Would you care to clarify this heated dispute or do you wanna keep it private?
Infamous: I would love to clear this up! I produced this record with my boy Drew Correa who I actually met through Wayne. He's been Wayne's recording engineer for years. He hit me up and was like "I've got this idea for a record for Wayne that I know he's gonna wanna fuck with: let's produce it together." And so he had the hook already in mind and we bounced music ideas back and forth. He knew some kid from around the way that could sing and we had him sing the hook. Then Drew worked his engineering trickery to make it sound like a sample. We added some scratchy vinyl, real tucked in the back of the beat to give it the effect that we actually took it from a record and ta-dow! The beat was done! No sample!
HHIR: Wow! Some people are gonna be furious! But I'm glad it's official now.
Infamous: I know! I've got a bunch of friends that are die-hard crate diggers and they think I'm bullshitting them when I tell 'em it's not a sample.
HHIR: Okay so: You started out as a DJ, winning several titles; took a break from it. Now you're getting into producing. And from the success of this new Weezy single, I know you're gonna have your hands in many great projects in the future. Tell me a little bit about how the transition from DJ to producer has been for you. Lots of prominent DJs (Green Lantern comes to mind first) have taken a similar direction. Is it a natural switch for you (given your DJ background), or does it feel like a completely new field?
Infamous: It's a completely new field. Although it was a huge accomplishment in my life, DJing was really just a college-type preparation for dealing with people in the actual music business as a producer. I had only been DJing for about a year when I won my first national title so I didn't have all the leg-work and paying dues that I had to go through to be fully able to get my foot in the door as a producer. To say the least, when I finally decided: "Okay, I want to be a producer", it was humbling and it still is because I feel like every record I do has to be special. But all in all, I think it's a natural transition to go from playing people's records to wanting to make people's records. Plus as a DJ you learn when it's okay to dumb it down. I have taken guitar lessons for most of my life, and all the schooling in the world can only help you so much when you're producing hip hop. It's a completely different vibe that I think DJing helped me out with.
HHIR: When making beats, what's your process like? Do you listen to older records for inspiration before going to work, or do your compositions come from within/on the spot?
Infamous: It really depends. There's a lot of times where I'm just flipping through some sounds (samples or pre-set instrument patches) and I'll stumble upon something that sounds real crazy that will get me inspired to start working. Other times, I'll know that there's a particular artist looking for beats right now and I have to make some stuff for them, so I'll think up a melody in my head and just translate it to an instrument. I have beats that I take a week to finish and some only take a few minutes. But I always try to keep at least four or five that I'm working on at a time and just flip back and forth between them so I don't get bored.
HHIR: As far as hip hop production is concerned, who are a few producers who have influenced your particular style/development?
Infamous: Number one has to be Timbaland. More than anyone else, he's the dude that when I hear something new of his it makes me say: "Damn, why didn't I think of that!" I also like Kanye and Just Blaze 'cause they got that real hip hop sound that can still translate into a big radio/club record. I find inspiration from almost every producer out there. There's always something about someone's beats that I think is cool, even if it's as small a thing as their hi-hat pattern. [Laughs] But I also like Streetrunner, KLC, Toomp, Swizz and ?uestlove.
HHIR: No doubt. I read a Dr. Dre interview back in the day in which he said that the greatest influences (as far as producing hip hop beats) came from listening to other genres for inspiration. Be it jazz, rock or whatever, what other genres or styles do you lean towards in your own style and preference?
Infamous: Everything that I can get my hands on! Back in the day, I went on tour with this group from L.A. called Ozomatli and they were so eclectic they put me on to so much weird shit. I remember being on the bus and they were playing this recording of Buddhist monks playing pot drums; it was crazy! since then it really opened me up to a lot of different things. I'm Cuban, so growing up we always had salsa and Spanish music playing in the house and my dad was a sick jazz guitarist, so I grew up listening to a lot of Al Di Meola and Spanish jazz fusion. Through that I fell in love with Blaxploitation music. I also draw off of rock, of course.
HHIR: Absolutely. Yeah, Ozomatli is huge over here in Los Angeles. When did you begin touring?
Infamous: I did two months with them right before they started working on Street Signs. They won a Latin Grammy for that album; when I found out that they had won a Grammy, I kicked myself in the ass for leaving. But they're great people and I'm really happy for all their success.
HHIR: Well, you're on your way man, believe it.
Infamous: Thank you.
HHIR: So what do you think about hip hop in '08? Being that you cover two of these fields, I've gotta ask: Who's putting in more effort: the emcees/lyricists or the producers? How about the DJ's?
Infamous: That's a hard question. There's a lot of really talented producers, emcees, and DJs out there. But there's also a lot of bullshit ones. Somewhere down the line, people started thinking that just cause you slap some exclusive songs on a CD, that makes you a DJ, when in my opinion it doesn't. I see the benefit of doing it for a new artist but at the same time when people go out and steal songs that are supposed to be on an artist's album it kinda fucks the industry up.
HHIR: Wow, that response kind of ties up another question I hadn't thought of asking: What do you think about Lil Wayne's comments about the DJ/mixtape game?
Infamous: [Laughter] Damn!
HHIR: [Laughs]
Infamous: Okay, I know a lot of DJs got really upset with Wayne for saying that, but I think he was really taken out of context. I know Wayne and a lot of the people he's around, and they all respect the DJs. I haven't met an artist that doesn't to be honest with you. But at the same time, I know he was specifically talking about certain people; if you're not around Wayne, you wouldn't know that's what he meant. Before all the leaks came out, I went to the studio to check Wayne and drop off a beat CD, and he was working on a mixtape: keep in mind that this is while he is working on Tha Carter III. We started talking a little bit and he began telling me that he's putting a pause on working on Tha Carter III 'cause he wants to do a free mixtape for the fans. I was shocked 'cause here is one of the biggest rappers at the peak of his career, putting a pause on recording his most anticipated album ever so he can do a free mixtape for the fans that supported him! After the mixtape came out, then all the songs from the album start leaking; and now you got people trying to make a name off of it. I could understand why he was upset. But in all honesty, Wayne's remarks weren't directed to real DJs; I think it was directed to the people who saw his songs leaking as a chance for them to capitalize.
HHIR: Yeah, I doubt that most critics would see it from that perspective. Aside from the Wayne incident, how do you feel (in general) about albums being leaked? I read a recent article that noted that leaks may actually lead to boosted sales. I'm a bit of a skeptic. What do you think?
Infamous: Yeah, I'm gonna have to be skeptical on that one too. I think people fail to see how much damage leaking an album does to the industry and the economy as a whole. The most common thing I hear from people when an album leaks is: "So what?! They're rich already!" But people fail to see that there's a bunch of producers that lose money. Some of these producers are broke and an album release could really be their big break. When an album leaks, it fucks them up big time. Also, you've got to take into account that there's people working in factories manufacturing the CDs, artists making the art work, engineers mixing the records, and all these people need to get paid. It's never just the artists that leaking records fucks over. When "Light Up My La La" leaked, I was devastated 'cause that was my big break. Luckily, I landed "Mr. Carter" thanks to Drew and Fabian and everyone else from Cash Money, so I got really lucky.
HHIR: What a coincidence! Album leaks go up; the U.S. economy goes down.
Infamous: [Laughs]
HHIR: For all the techies out there who might be interested in knowing: What equipment do you use?
Infamous: I used to use the (Ensoniq) ASR-10 keyboard religiously. Then my boy put me on to Logic 8 and all these soft synths and it's been Logic from then on. I still mix everything in Pro Tools and do the live instruments (i.e. guitar, bass) in Pro Tools. But the majority of the writing now takes place in Logic 8.
HHIR: Now that you've begun kicking down the industry door with "Mr. Carter", who would you like to work with?
Infamous: Well, I just did a record with 50 [Cent] the other day. I haven't heard it fully yet, 'cause he recorded it in Atlanta, but people are telling me it's crazy! I also got a few joints with Cassidy done for his new album that are dope. I've also got a record with Ace Hood, Kid Sister, Fat Joe. And I did the string arrangement for a beat that Streetrunner produced on LL [Cool J]'s new album. I've also been working with Wale who just signed with Interscope; we did a record that's insane! As far as people I want to work with? It would have to be Andre 3000, Luda, T.I. (who I just missed), and anyone else that wants to make some good records.
HHIR: Wow, that's an amazing lineup. Many people are saying that 50's next joint will either break him or be his comeback album. Maybe you can help sway it towards the latter.
Infamous: I hope so. The beat is really hard and I think 50 is hilarious, so I'm dying to hear what he did on it.
HHIR: Word. Any last shoutouts you wanna make?
Infamous: Yeah, shout out to Drew Correa of course. Hip Hop Is Read is one of my favorite sites. Fabian Marscuillo, the best engineer in the world. Develop, Streetrunner, Onhel. And thanks to everyone that bought Tha Carter III and supports what I do.
HHIR: That's what it is!
Infamous: No it wasn't. I met Wayne through my boy Develop who produced "Fireman". Develop and I had been in a DJ crew called The Allies back in the day. He introduced me to Wayne; I passed Wayne a beat CD that had the beat for "Light Up My La La" on it and since then I've kept in contact with him, dropping off beats. I honestly lost count of how many records he recorded; I know about ten of them leaked ("Light Up My La La", "Pussy MVP", "I'll Be Here", "Rider", "Talkin' 'Bout It", "Sept. 27th", and some others.)
HHIR: Now that "Mr. Carter" dropped and exploded (helped by Jay-Z's feature, undoubtedly), are you gearing more towards producing in hip hop? Are artists reaching out to you? I know that hip hop isn't the only genre you've worked in.
Infamous: People are definitely reaching out. I started getting calls from people that I would have never imagined getting calls from saying they want beats. I grew up listening to all kinds of music because of the people I was around, but growing up no one in my family was into hip hop so it became my thing. But I don't necessarily want to pin-point myself to just being known as a hip hop producer 'cause I feel that would limit other creative outlets I could pursue.
I'm also not the kind of dude that's gonna say: "Well, I don't wanna work with this person 'cause they're not gonna sell" -- which is a mistake that a lot of producers do. If someone is dope and they want to work on some good music, then let's do it! I'll sleep when I'm dead. Right now I feel like I have to keep working with any and everyone that wants to make some good records.
HHIR: Yeah, that's a good outlook. Besides, you never know who might blow up in the future, and you'll be that guy that was down from day one.
Infamous: Exactly!
HHIR: Now I've seen this question all over the web lately (SOHH and some other forums), and being that HHIR likes to cover sample information, I've gotta ask: What (if any) sample(s) did you use on "Mr. Carter"? Everyone seems to want to know in particular where that hook came from. The most frequent answer I've seen is that those vocals are original. Would you care to clarify this heated dispute or do you wanna keep it private?
Infamous: I would love to clear this up! I produced this record with my boy Drew Correa who I actually met through Wayne. He's been Wayne's recording engineer for years. He hit me up and was like "I've got this idea for a record for Wayne that I know he's gonna wanna fuck with: let's produce it together." And so he had the hook already in mind and we bounced music ideas back and forth. He knew some kid from around the way that could sing and we had him sing the hook. Then Drew worked his engineering trickery to make it sound like a sample. We added some scratchy vinyl, real tucked in the back of the beat to give it the effect that we actually took it from a record and ta-dow! The beat was done! No sample!
HHIR: Wow! Some people are gonna be furious! But I'm glad it's official now.
Infamous: I know! I've got a bunch of friends that are die-hard crate diggers and they think I'm bullshitting them when I tell 'em it's not a sample.
HHIR: Okay so: You started out as a DJ, winning several titles; took a break from it. Now you're getting into producing. And from the success of this new Weezy single, I know you're gonna have your hands in many great projects in the future. Tell me a little bit about how the transition from DJ to producer has been for you. Lots of prominent DJs (Green Lantern comes to mind first) have taken a similar direction. Is it a natural switch for you (given your DJ background), or does it feel like a completely new field?
Infamous: It's a completely new field. Although it was a huge accomplishment in my life, DJing was really just a college-type preparation for dealing with people in the actual music business as a producer. I had only been DJing for about a year when I won my first national title so I didn't have all the leg-work and paying dues that I had to go through to be fully able to get my foot in the door as a producer. To say the least, when I finally decided: "Okay, I want to be a producer", it was humbling and it still is because I feel like every record I do has to be special. But all in all, I think it's a natural transition to go from playing people's records to wanting to make people's records. Plus as a DJ you learn when it's okay to dumb it down. I have taken guitar lessons for most of my life, and all the schooling in the world can only help you so much when you're producing hip hop. It's a completely different vibe that I think DJing helped me out with.
HHIR: When making beats, what's your process like? Do you listen to older records for inspiration before going to work, or do your compositions come from within/on the spot?
Infamous: It really depends. There's a lot of times where I'm just flipping through some sounds (samples or pre-set instrument patches) and I'll stumble upon something that sounds real crazy that will get me inspired to start working. Other times, I'll know that there's a particular artist looking for beats right now and I have to make some stuff for them, so I'll think up a melody in my head and just translate it to an instrument. I have beats that I take a week to finish and some only take a few minutes. But I always try to keep at least four or five that I'm working on at a time and just flip back and forth between them so I don't get bored.
HHIR: As far as hip hop production is concerned, who are a few producers who have influenced your particular style/development?
Infamous: Number one has to be Timbaland. More than anyone else, he's the dude that when I hear something new of his it makes me say: "Damn, why didn't I think of that!" I also like Kanye and Just Blaze 'cause they got that real hip hop sound that can still translate into a big radio/club record. I find inspiration from almost every producer out there. There's always something about someone's beats that I think is cool, even if it's as small a thing as their hi-hat pattern. [Laughs] But I also like Streetrunner, KLC, Toomp, Swizz and ?uestlove.
HHIR: No doubt. I read a Dr. Dre interview back in the day in which he said that the greatest influences (as far as producing hip hop beats) came from listening to other genres for inspiration. Be it jazz, rock or whatever, what other genres or styles do you lean towards in your own style and preference?
Infamous: Everything that I can get my hands on! Back in the day, I went on tour with this group from L.A. called Ozomatli and they were so eclectic they put me on to so much weird shit. I remember being on the bus and they were playing this recording of Buddhist monks playing pot drums; it was crazy! since then it really opened me up to a lot of different things. I'm Cuban, so growing up we always had salsa and Spanish music playing in the house and my dad was a sick jazz guitarist, so I grew up listening to a lot of Al Di Meola and Spanish jazz fusion. Through that I fell in love with Blaxploitation music. I also draw off of rock, of course.
HHIR: Absolutely. Yeah, Ozomatli is huge over here in Los Angeles. When did you begin touring?
Infamous: I did two months with them right before they started working on Street Signs. They won a Latin Grammy for that album; when I found out that they had won a Grammy, I kicked myself in the ass for leaving. But they're great people and I'm really happy for all their success.
HHIR: Well, you're on your way man, believe it.
Infamous: Thank you.
HHIR: So what do you think about hip hop in '08? Being that you cover two of these fields, I've gotta ask: Who's putting in more effort: the emcees/lyricists or the producers? How about the DJ's?
Infamous: That's a hard question. There's a lot of really talented producers, emcees, and DJs out there. But there's also a lot of bullshit ones. Somewhere down the line, people started thinking that just cause you slap some exclusive songs on a CD, that makes you a DJ, when in my opinion it doesn't. I see the benefit of doing it for a new artist but at the same time when people go out and steal songs that are supposed to be on an artist's album it kinda fucks the industry up.
HHIR: Wow, that response kind of ties up another question I hadn't thought of asking: What do you think about Lil Wayne's comments about the DJ/mixtape game?
Infamous: [Laughter] Damn!
HHIR: [Laughs]
Infamous: Okay, I know a lot of DJs got really upset with Wayne for saying that, but I think he was really taken out of context. I know Wayne and a lot of the people he's around, and they all respect the DJs. I haven't met an artist that doesn't to be honest with you. But at the same time, I know he was specifically talking about certain people; if you're not around Wayne, you wouldn't know that's what he meant. Before all the leaks came out, I went to the studio to check Wayne and drop off a beat CD, and he was working on a mixtape: keep in mind that this is while he is working on Tha Carter III. We started talking a little bit and he began telling me that he's putting a pause on working on Tha Carter III 'cause he wants to do a free mixtape for the fans. I was shocked 'cause here is one of the biggest rappers at the peak of his career, putting a pause on recording his most anticipated album ever so he can do a free mixtape for the fans that supported him! After the mixtape came out, then all the songs from the album start leaking; and now you got people trying to make a name off of it. I could understand why he was upset. But in all honesty, Wayne's remarks weren't directed to real DJs; I think it was directed to the people who saw his songs leaking as a chance for them to capitalize.
HHIR: Yeah, I doubt that most critics would see it from that perspective. Aside from the Wayne incident, how do you feel (in general) about albums being leaked? I read a recent article that noted that leaks may actually lead to boosted sales. I'm a bit of a skeptic. What do you think?
Infamous: Yeah, I'm gonna have to be skeptical on that one too. I think people fail to see how much damage leaking an album does to the industry and the economy as a whole. The most common thing I hear from people when an album leaks is: "So what?! They're rich already!" But people fail to see that there's a bunch of producers that lose money. Some of these producers are broke and an album release could really be their big break. When an album leaks, it fucks them up big time. Also, you've got to take into account that there's people working in factories manufacturing the CDs, artists making the art work, engineers mixing the records, and all these people need to get paid. It's never just the artists that leaking records fucks over. When "Light Up My La La" leaked, I was devastated 'cause that was my big break. Luckily, I landed "Mr. Carter" thanks to Drew and Fabian and everyone else from Cash Money, so I got really lucky.
HHIR: What a coincidence! Album leaks go up; the U.S. economy goes down.
Infamous: [Laughs]
HHIR: For all the techies out there who might be interested in knowing: What equipment do you use?
Infamous: I used to use the (Ensoniq) ASR-10 keyboard religiously. Then my boy put me on to Logic 8 and all these soft synths and it's been Logic from then on. I still mix everything in Pro Tools and do the live instruments (i.e. guitar, bass) in Pro Tools. But the majority of the writing now takes place in Logic 8.
HHIR: Now that you've begun kicking down the industry door with "Mr. Carter", who would you like to work with?
Infamous: Well, I just did a record with 50 [Cent] the other day. I haven't heard it fully yet, 'cause he recorded it in Atlanta, but people are telling me it's crazy! I also got a few joints with Cassidy done for his new album that are dope. I've also got a record with Ace Hood, Kid Sister, Fat Joe. And I did the string arrangement for a beat that Streetrunner produced on LL [Cool J]'s new album. I've also been working with Wale who just signed with Interscope; we did a record that's insane! As far as people I want to work with? It would have to be Andre 3000, Luda, T.I. (who I just missed), and anyone else that wants to make some good records.
HHIR: Wow, that's an amazing lineup. Many people are saying that 50's next joint will either break him or be his comeback album. Maybe you can help sway it towards the latter.
Infamous: I hope so. The beat is really hard and I think 50 is hilarious, so I'm dying to hear what he did on it.
HHIR: Word. Any last shoutouts you wanna make?
Infamous: Yeah, shout out to Drew Correa of course. Hip Hop Is Read is one of my favorite sites. Fabian Marscuillo, the best engineer in the world. Develop, Streetrunner, Onhel. And thanks to everyone that bought Tha Carter III and supports what I do.
HHIR: That's what it is!
