SHAWTY REDD  (December 2007) | Interview By: Nima

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Interview was done in December 2007

Questions Asked By: Nima

Shawty Redd Gave Dubcnn A Shoutout! Check That Here

Full Audio Interview Here
 

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Related Media

Shawty Redd - Drifter (ft. Big Gipp)
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Dubcnn: We're right here with Shawty Redd from Atlanta, how you doing man?

I'm doing alright, what's up with yourself?


Dubcnn: I'm good man. You're the man behind Snoop's new single "Sexual Eruption", but for those who don't know you, go ahead and introduce yourself to everybody out there.

Basically, I'm Shawty Redd, I've been working with a lot of southern artists like Young Jeezy, Gucci Mane, a lot of Atlanta talent. I just recently linked up with Snoop to do this Sexual Eruption or Sensual Seduction track, so we just doing some real big thangs right now, waiting for the single to do what it do.


Dubcnn: How long have you been actively producing?

Man, I been producing since I was 15! My first artist was Drama, I did that whole album when I was like 17, so I've been doing my thang for a long time.


Dubcnn: Who would you say are your influences when it comes to making beats?

Right now, everybody. Everybody is influencing me, I like good music, whatever is good I listen to.


Dubcnn: I heard you refer to yourself as making Dope Boy Music?

*laughs* Yeah, that's all I was producing at the time, the D-Boys, so I called myself the dope boys beat man. That's what kept me in the game when the major labels wasn't messing with me, the trap boys was messing with me, so they really put me in the position I'm at right now, cause they kept me working.


Dubcnn: But you don't only make beats, you also rap and sing is that right?

I wouldn't really call it singing, I do some harmonizing, like Bone Thugs & Harmony do. I'm not a singer, I just harmonize, that's all.


Dubcnn: Cause I heard your new single "Drifter", and I heard you sing. It kind of reminded me of the Snoop song too, the structure of it.

Yeah, that song "Drifter" was actually first! Snoop heard "Drifter", and he wanted to buy that song! I told him he could get on it, but I could make him one as well. So what I did was, I made Snoop a song just like "Drifter".


Dubcnn: How did the connection with Snoop happen and how did he approach you about getting "Sexual Eruption" from you?

Basically, me and Daz from D.P.G., that's my big homie, that's my dude. At the time, Snoop was doing a lot of touring, and Daz told me Snoop really wanted to get with me, and when he came to Atlanta he hit me up. I just couldn't make it to the studio that one day, so I haven't actually met Snoop yet, but we conversate on the phone as much as can, thanks to Daz.


Dubcnn: How do you like the way it came out?

It shocked me! I didn't know he was going to take the whole song like it was. He called me back and told me "I'm gonna auto-tune it up!" I never played with the auto-tune, I was familiar with it cause of what T-Pain did, but I just felt like when he sent it back to me it was totally different than what Snoop normally does. He said that for this album he wanted to be different, and that's why he picked me to make the first single.


Dubcnn: So you actually had that song with the vocals and he re-did it with the auto-tune?

Yeah, Snoop was at one studio in Atlanta, and I was at my studio, I couldn't make it out there in time, and about a hour went by, I recorded a song and sent the song to Snoop, and by the time I sent it to him he was on his way back to L.A. so he said "I'ma record it as soon as I get to L.A." Once he recorded it, he sent it back to me the same night and I was playing it in the club!


Dubcnn: What you think of the video?

Oh the video is sick, cause I'm a huge Prince fan! I think the direction he took with it was funny, he took it back to the Prince, the Superfly days, it was a good look to me.


Dubcnn: You really got your name out there with Young Jeezy's album, how did you first get together with Jeezy?

I mean me and Jeezy been together so long... Me and Jeezy been together for years man, I can't even say! That's big bro, we been doing this music for years, just grinding it out. He was my homeboy first, and then when he started taking the music seriously, I was always there and jumped on it.


Dubcnn: How would you describe your chemistry with Jeezy in the studio?

The chemistry is so sick, cause we grew together. Everytime I bought some new equipment, he was always the first to rap on the track that I made. He knows my drum patterns and which direction I wanna go, so it's nice.


Dubcnn: Can we expect to hear you on future Jeezy projects as well?

To tell you the truth, right now he's working on his album, and he wants me to do some tracks, but I haven't done any yet. *laughs* I'm just lounging right now, I'm taking a break!


Dubcnn: Who else have you been working with, I know you've been supplying a lot southern artists with production.

Like I said I did the Gucci Mane, so we got the new Gucci Mane album in stores right now, "Back To The Trap House", I did one track on there called "Stash House", and right now I've been doing so much stuff I couldn't tell you.


Dubcnn: How would you describe your sound, cause one thing I've noticed about you is that you have a lot of different styles.

I mean, I wouldn't put myself in a category. As long as it's good music it's good music. I try to give it a 110% at what I do, and I always try to beat myself. Whatever I've done last year, I try to beat that. Or whatever the fans think is the hottest track, I try to beat that, so I'm always battling myself.


Dubcnn: It seems like your beats are hood but at the same time you're not afraid to try some pop.

Yeah! I just like good music man, so whatever I feel like at the time, whatever comes out, however my hand touches the keyboard, that's how it's going down!


Dubcnn: Your new single "Drifter" for instance, I'd like to hear the background story on that.

Basically, I hang out in the strip club, I'm a strip club dude, and at the time my car was in the shop getting painted, and I ain't have no transportation. I really wanted to go to the strip club, and I couldn't figure out how to get the strip club to the house, so I just went into my own little world, started drifting, and I started recording the song, like "I'm a drifter, searching the world..." That's how the whole song came about.


Dubcnn: How did you reach out to Big Gipp to get on there?

Aw, Big Gipp, at the time I was working on my mixtape, and Gipp just happened to come to the studio, and I was like "Man, that would be perfect to put Gipp on this type of song, cause he be drifting himself!" He's my homeboy, so he just jumped on the record, and actually it was just for a mixtape, and what happened was, it leaked out, and people started playing it on the radio, and just took off.


Dubcnn: Can we expect a video for that song?

As soon as my leg gets better we're going to shoot the video, cause the label is really asking for me to shoot the video right now! *laughs*


Dubcnn: What's going on with your leg?

Me and my brother were in a car accident, and I broke my leg... I got about 6 more weeks and I'll be back at it!


Dubcnn: So you have an album coming out, "Jekyll & Hyde" is that correct?

Yes sir, my debut album! Universal/Motown, and I'm working on it as we speak!


Dubcnn: What can we expect from that album?

It's Jekyll & Hyde, you got a whole bunch of sides. I got songs for everybody on this album, it's not just a hood street album, I done went pop, I done went East Coast, I done went West Coast. I'm coming out as a rapper/producer, that's the whole concept, I'm trying to have something for everybody.


Dubcnn: Which artists will you be collaborating with on there?

To tell you the truth, right now it's a majority of me, but you know the big homie Snoop is gonna be on there. I'm not going to mention a lot of names, cause I'm still trying to make sure that my peoples, my friends, get on the album.


Dubcnn: Which artists would you like to see yourself working with in future, anybody specific?

I'm really trying to get Kanye on the album, but the situation happened with his mom, so I just sitting back right now. Kanye, Common and Lupe Fiasco. I'm really trying to get with them as we speak.


Dubcnn: You also worked with Daz on that "Make It Rain" movie that he did right?

I've been messing with Daz on that movie for a long time, but I'll be helping him more with the soundtrack than with the movie actually.


Dubcnn: Before we get out of here, is there anything else you'd like to let everybody out there know?

I just want everybody to watch out for the album that's coming, '08, Jekyll & Hyde project, Beat Bangerz is the clique and I want to thank all the DJ's out there that support Shawty Redd.