Video After The Jump
In this episode of "People's Party With Talib Kweli," Kweli and Jasmin Leigh sit down producer, DJ and rapper:
HI-TEK
Hi-Tek's productions defined the Rawkus Records sound. Here's what was discussed among two legends who literally came into the game together:
• The difficulties of artists breaking through in his hometown of Cincinnati.
• Receiving the demo tape of Talib after his group Mood came back from NY.
• How rappers Vicious Lee and Big Del inspired Hi-Tek to keep at his craft.
• Moving to New York and avoiding all the distractions the city had to offer.
• Cincinnati's unique mix of influences from all over the map.
• Getting put onto Rawkus and producing 6 songs for the Black Star album.
• Why producers are naturals when they choose to pick up a mic.
• Going on to produce Jonell's radio hit 'Round And Round'.
• Meeting singer Dion Jenkins and bringing him to Dr. Dre at Aftermath.
• The legacy of Snoop Dogg and working with him as well as Dr. Dre.
• Crazy stories of Talib and Hi-Tek in a jail's drunk tank and almost beating up a cab driver.
• Talk about the possibility of a 3rd Reflection Eternal album.
• A breakdown of his production for Anderson .Paak's 'Come Down'.
• 9th Wonder contacting Hi-Tek to get on his Soul Council collective.
• Hi-Tek's and J Dilla's friendship resembling that of George Clinton and Bootsy Collins.
TIME STAMPS:
3:56 -- Hi-Tek speaks on his hometown of Cincinnati, gives his take on why it's been such a difficult city for artists to break through and he talks about his father Willie Cottrell. Hi-Tek and Talib also discuss their early collabs and how their creative mindsets combined so well and Hi-Tek tells about the demo tape of Talib he received from his group Mood after they visited New York.
9:46 -- Hi-Tek talks about his close friend, rapper Vicious Lee from the group Mood. He speaks on how Lee was the first to put Hi-Tek on and bring him into a studio, how instrumental he was in inspiring Hi-Tek to keep at his craft, them making money by selling studio time to other local artists as well as a blessing in disguise that led to Hi-Tek eventually linking up with Talib.
17:38 -- Talib gives a big shout out to Big Del, who was featured on 'Memories Live' from the album 'Train Of Thought'. Hi-Tek goes on to explain how him and Big Del always were on the same page about the end goal being to get off the streets, and him always being supportive of Tek while he was making his moves to do exactly that, as well as why it was so important that D get on 'Train of Thought'.
22:19 -- Hi-Tek is asked about his first impressions of New York when he first arrived there. He tells how Talib's being so laser focused on his mission helped keep Tek from getting caught up in all the distractions that NY had to offer. Tek and Talib also discuss the lessons learned from Mood's bad record deal with Blunt Recordings on the release of their album 'Doom'.
26:35 -- Talib asks Tek for his take on Cincinnati's shift from mostly being influenced by East Coast hip hop to the radio there almost exclusively playing Down South rap, all starting around the time Master P hit the airwaves. Tek details how everyone in his crew had their own individual mix of influences from all over the map, with himself being mainly East Coast driven.
30:08 -- Jasmin asks Tek about his production work on 6 tracks for the Black Star debut album, what he remembers most about those sessions and his take on the Talib Kweli and Mos Def dynamic. Hi-Tek reflects on the initial studio session where he first met Mos and realized that they really had something special and Talib also takes the time to thank Hi-Tek.
35:22 -- Hi-Tek is asked if he believes people sleep on his skills as an emcee and he talks about the things that come naturally to producers when they pick up a mic. Hi-Tek goes on to talk about his transition of leaving Rawkus Records and signing with Kevin Liles to produce Jonell's 'Round And Round' and takeaways from that opportunity of producing a mainstream R&B hit.
40:03 -- Hi-Tek speaks on when he met singer Dion Jenkins who is best known for frequently appearing on albums with Aftermath Entertainment. Hi-Tek speaks on how impressed he was with Dion's singing, but telling him that he would need to win a talent show that Hi-Tek had put on for Cincinnati at that time if he wanted to work together. He also notes the song that really sold Dre on Dion's talents and why he thinks his album never came to fruition.
45:35 -- Hi-Tek is asked about being an in-house producer at Aftermath Entertainment during the height of the 50 Cent/Game beef, producing for both at the time. Hi-Tek also talks about how much he respects Snoop Dogg for being one of the first rap stars to work with artists from different cities as well as underground producers like Hi-Tek. He reflects on the first time meeting Snoop when he layed down a verse for a song that was supposed to be featured on 'Hi-Teknology'.
52:09 -- Talib brings up his and Hi-Tek's reconciliation after years of not speaking to do 'Revolutions Per Minute.' He goes on to tell the story of them both getting arrested after a crazy night of celebrating and ending up in the drunk tank together at the county jail. Talib asks Hi-Tek what he learned about their friendship through that experience and similar episodes like the one where Hi-Tek almost beat up a cab driver for smoking crack in the car.
57:00 -- Hi-Tek gets asked about his feelings on a potential part 3 of the Reflection Eternal experience. Hi-Tek responds with "we're going to have to write some rules first" and they both share the things they appreciate most about the Hi-Tek/Talib Kweli creative dynamic. Jasmin goes on to ask Hi-Tek about his experience producing Anderson .Paak's 'Come Down' and how that ranks among his catalog of beats. He also explains why he changed his approach of how he offers his productions to artists.
1:09:12 -- Hi-Tek speaks on the time 9th Wonder called him up and asked him if he wanted to be a part of the Soul Council and outlines how supportive 9th has been since they met. Jasmin goes on to ask Hi-Tek if he could name his top 5 producers of all-time and they discuss Hi-Tek's close friendship with J Dilla, likening their relationship to that of George Clinton and Bootsy Collins. Talib also brings up how dope it was to see Hi-Tek and Madlib work together and lastly asks him what he has coming next.
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