Dubcnn: Dubcnn right here with Hi-Tek! What's going on with you?

I'm good man, just picking up my son from school right now!


Dubcnn: We're here to talk about your new album "Hi-Teknology 3". The album is coming barely a year after the last one, what made you come back so quick?

Two reasons. Contractually, I had an obligation to turn in another album with Babygrande, and also I didn't want to wait too long cause I'm trying to get into other things. I felt like I needed to be more consistent, cause I usually drop every couple of years, and people forget. Right now the world is moving at a fast pace, so I think I need to deliver a little faster and just keep it moving!


Dubcnn: What would you say are the main differences and similarities between Vol. 2 and Vol. 3?

Similarities are me always trying to show my versatility in my production. The difference I think, this one is more street. We tried to cater to the streets on this one, trying to give back to where I come from. But it's still Hi-Tek at the same time, I just wanted to give it a little different caliber like I always do.


Dubcnn: One difference I noticed is that you had more big name artists on the last one than on this one, did you do that on purpose?

Right! Yeah, most definitely. I think I've done that and I've captured that moment in my career as far as just working with a lot of big name artists on my projects. I think my biggest success comes from working with up and coming artists, and at the same time, I think at the point in time right now, this is how I felt. This is what made me hungry to finish the album up, like a breath of fresh air working with new and upcoming artists.


Dubcnn: The first single is "My Piano", featuring Ghostface Killah, Raekwon and Dion. Tell us how that song came together.

Basically I made the beat, me and Dion came up with the hook, and we tried to envision who would sound best on the track. Ghost and Rae came to mind, so it was like that.


Dubcnn: Another song we've heard off the album is "God's Plan" with Young Buck and the Outlawz. That's a deep track, tell us the story behind that one.

That track I think I made it in L.A., and I always wanted somebody to write a song to it, anybody who could rock the track. I tested it here and there and saw who'd make the best song over it. I had the track for a while, but one day Buck was in town in Cincinnati and they had a show. I was playing tracks for him, and I when I played that track he really liked it. I explained the concept, that the piano in the track basically is telling the story. It's not just a track that needs a hook, it's like a movie track, so you gotta really tell a story.

Eventually he got the concept, and he took it to the lab, him and the Outlawz. I though they may have forgot about it, but he called me one day like "Yo where that track at that we played in the studio?" I got it to him, and that's the song they came up with! I think they came from the bottom of their heart with that song and really laid it out, made a classic with it.


Dubcnn: I was also happy to see that you hooked back up with Kurupt for this album, the "Keep It Moving" song off Vol. 2 was one of my favorites.

Oh me too, I love that one! I appreciate that fam. Me and Kurupt is like family, him, Snoop and the whole Dogg House, they treat me like family so I try to do the same with them. Give and take. We just try to keep it moving basically! Snoop always comes through for me, and if I can't get Snoop cause he's too busy, I try to get some of his family, and at the same time I'm a big fan of Kurupt, I think he's one of the most slept on MC's out there. A lot of people don't give him his props, but I think he's still got it, I really love what Kurupt do and how he comes on a track, how he rides the track, so I love Kurupt.


Dubcnn: What are some other personal highlights off the record?

I got a song called "Life To Me", which features my mother on the intro of the song. It's basically a song about me, a star being born, and it was a dedication to my mother basically. She did a poem at the beginning before song, and the artists singing on the track her name is Estelle, she's from London. I think it's a classic song, it really means a lot to me, and I always wanted to make a dedication to my mother song and do something for her, and I think that was the one right there!

I also like this other song I got on there called "Ohio Allstars", I had to do something with my 'Nati family Cross, Showtime, Mann & Chip The Rippa. I always wanted to do a song where it was natural, not really doing it just to be doing it as far as working with my local fam. So I really think we captured that on the song and it came out to be a classic and really represent my hometown the right way. Those are really the highlights that I really love.


Dubcnn: So when is the album dropping?

December 11th!


Dubcnn: I know you've complained before about the promotion for your album, how do you think it's going to turn out this time?

Hopefully due to the internet and people being online, I hope it does well. I know we didn't have much set up time, just this craziness with how people handle business. At the end of the day I just tried to make a classic album, good enough music for even a slow roll, people are gonna cop it and go get it. Whether they get it the first week or the next week, once word of mouth gets out about the album, I'm sure people are gonna get it. I think that's how I always survived throughout my career, with or without promotion I always sold records, cause the music was quality.


Dubcnn: Dion is of course all over the album. How did you hook up with him in the beginning and what made you take him under your wing?

Basically I hooked up with him through a contest I did out here in Cincinnati, I did a Mid-West talent search, and he entered the contest. He won, I think this was 2003, he won the contest, and ever since then I've been working with him in the studio. I've helped him get to where he is now, I got him signed to Aftermath for a brief time, that fell apart, but we still trying to keep it moving right now.


Dubcnn: Both of you have been working with the Aftermath camp in recent years, what kind of experience has that been?

Beautiful experience man. Dre always helped me step my game up, so he keeps me at a certain level. Sometimes I'm all over the place with the tracks, and I like the way he kind of lets me know from the tracks he picks from me, how we finish the tracks out, he teaches me what I can do to not even have to touch the tracks, how to capitalize and make it a bigger song. I've learned a hell of a lot from Dre.


Dubcnn: What's your exact relationship with Aftermath, are you signed as a producer?

Yeah. I got a producer deal with them.


Dubcnn: So what's going on over there right now, anything you can tell us about Detox?

Nothing at all man. It's boiling!


Dubcnn: So who's all in the Aftermath production team right now?


You got Focus, Dawaun Porter and DJ Khalil.


Dubcnn: I heard Warren G was over there working too?

Yeah Warren G is family, so you know.


Dubcnn: I heard you're a part of Sha Money XL's production crew too?

I'm part of Sha Money's Management, he manages me.


Dubcnn: So what are your plans after "Hi-Teknology 3"?

I plan on getting back into Detox mode, and we're gonna work on the Reflection Eternal album.


Dubcnn: Which projects will we be hearing Hi-Tek production on in the next couple of months?

I did a song for Cassidy on his new album. Me and my young producer Sparks produced that together. What else... I did a movie score for the movie "Mr. Untouchable", which is a movie documentary about Nicky Barnes, who was Frank Lucas' rival. It's good to see and hear both sides of the story. I did the score for the movie which was good, it was something to see, make sure to check it out!


Dubcnn: What can you tell us about "Reflection Eternal 2"?

That it's going to be another classic, that's all. It's in the early stages, we're just starting to work and getting it cracking.


Dubcnn: What are you trying to come up with musically on this record?

It's nothing really solid or a clear vision of how we're going to do it yet, but one thing for sure is that we're trying to top what we did the first time, which may be impossible because it's a whole different time, but we definitely trying to at least add up to the quality of it, and balance it between what's going on musically now and what we did then.


Dubcnn: What about Mos Def, are you gonna be working with him?

I haven't actually heard from Mos, he's been doing his own thing. Me and Kweli are trying to concentrate on what we gotta do.


Dubcnn: You produced one of my favorite tracks of all time, "Cool", with Tha Eastsidaz, Butch Cassidy & Kokane. Do you remember that track?

Love it! Good looking. I did the track in Cincinnati, that was like the first time I ever met Snoop! I was working on the Hi-Teknology 1, and I had the track, I had came out to see him, may have been around 2000. I went to his house and played some beats for him, that was one of the tracks. He did a verse for me for Hi-Teknology 1 which never made the album cause the label fronted on me, but that's a long story I don't really want to get into that. But yeah when I went to his house that day, that was my first introduction to Snoop. Ever since then we've had a long relationship, working relationship.


Dubcnn: Who are your personal favorite up and coming artists in the game right now?

Right now I'm a big fan of Estelle from the UK, and my man Cross he's from Cincinnati, he's on my album too he's on the Ohio Allstars song. Right now, I'm a big fan of those two, so be on the lookout for those two artists.


Dubcnn: What have your favorite albums of 2007 been so far?

I gotta say I like Kanye and 50's album, I like Common's album, Talib Kweli's album. That's about it.


Dubcnn: Before we go, is there anything else you'd like to let everybody know?

I just want to encourage everybody to go cop my album. If you enjoy listening to good Hip-Hop, you're definitely gonna get that.
 

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Hi-Tek Gave Dubcnn A Shoutout! Check That Here

Full Audio Interview Here
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