New Hittman interview about Dr. Dre and Aftermath

[KURUPTION-81]

15 years wow time flys , great interview.

[TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96']

it was a canny PR move

well the song is basically celebrating Dre's successes and accomplishments in the game.  Which is basically the only thing Jay-Z knows how to write about.  Such lyrics worked for Dre in a comeback song in 2001.  But unlike Dre, Jay Z never really earned his stripes or proved himself in the game and just went straight to writing such celebratory type lyrics without ever actually earning that spot.  Stupid fans just believed the hype and followed the crowd, and it takes a real ficca like Infinite to point out that the Emperor has no clothes!

[Don Seer]

haha nah its still "fuck jay-z" over here 

[TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96']

haha nah its still "fuck jay-z" over here 

There's a reason i wrote a book in 01' "2pac the hip hop prophet" 

[jaytee]

Hitman Arises — Part Three
By Jackson Howard

NOT MAD co-founder Jackson Howard sat down with Dr. Dre’s former protégé, Hittman. Read the first installment of the interview here and the second installment here.

In this final installment, Hittman and I discuss his present day musical output, reconnecting with Dr. Dre in the studio, why he thinks Dre’s long-awaited Detox is finally coming and not being nostalgic.

PART THREE

NOT MAD: What’s going on these days for you music wise?

Hittman: A few years ago, I just started writing down a bunch of ideas at once and now I’m trying to bring it all to fruition at the same time. And in between, at the top of July, Mel-Man called me one day like, “yo, come down to the studio.” I’m like, “where?” and he said, “you know where.” I’m like, “oh, the good doctor? Okay.”

Woah. That’s big. So you guys are finally back working together?

I probably came back into the mix right around the time he had the prototype for the Beats headphones, I remember because he showed them to me. So I’ve been around, just lurking in the shadows. What I can honestly say though is that I know he wants to do his last album for sure. He said something to me that really resonated. And he has that look in his eyes like he did during the Slim Shady LP/2001/Marshall Mathers LP sessions. Also, I’ve seen like a who’s who of artists and producers at the studio, so you know that something is going down!


Hittman, Sir Jinx and Mel-Man at the Beats Music launch party, January 2014

So what you’re telling me is that he’s actually doing Detox?

Yeah man, well maybe not Detox but he’s definitely workin’ on new material. He’s busy on the set of the movie (the upcoming N.W.A. biopic) at the moment. But even still I can tell that he’s truly excited about the music.

That’s incredibly exciting. What’s the studio been like?

At first I didn’t know how it would go, you know because Dre is on some next level shit. But when he heard the ideas I had, his face lit up. Dre stays in mover and shaker mode; he ain’t tryin’ to be stagnant. So he’ll poke his he’d into the studio to hear what you got brewing, he’ll say wassup and then he’s out of there, like “I got to hit this movie set” or “I got to fly up north to meet the people at Apple.” So the other day, he peeped in to check up on us and then left, or so we thought. But the A&R guy came in (after) and said “whatever y’all got must be special because I don’t think Dre is leaving.” Next thing we know Dre got his Hennessy and is sittin’ there with us saying, “so what’s the idea, what are we gonna do?” And Mel-Man and me are lookin’ at each other like, “Oh shit, it’s goin` down!” So yeah, the vibe is definitely still there, and yes I do think that something will come of this work. He told me a few of the ideas I ran by him could be special, so I can do nothing but take his word for it.

How is the relationship between you two today? Does it feel the same?

We are on good terms. You live and you learn. Dre has been through it all, so he understands the growth process in this game. I thank him for being patient with me because I’m such a hard head. Laughs. He tells me, “I still feel like I owe you, because you delivered me my album that we have yet to surpass.”

Well, I feel like that pressure to surpass 2001 must still be lingering over him. But the fact that you, Mel-Man and a Hennessey drinking Dr. Dre are in the studio together gives me hope that something 2001 level could happen. Snoop said a few years ago that Detox would only work if Dre got the original crew back together.

Snoop is right. It just makes sense to have the key people there that were involved in the past projects. Then you sprinkle it with the newness, like Kendrick (Lamar) and Jon Connor, etc. In the past, I think the Detox sessions didn’t produce the desired results because Dre’s legend had grown even larger than when I first came around. And a “yes man” syndrome kind of took the place of creative criticism. You don’t want to offend that man and be on the outside lookin’ in because you did. But in order to get the best shit sometimes you gotta be like “hey, I don’t like that shit.”


Mel-Man and Hittman back in the studio, July 2014

Have you met Kendrick or hung out with anyone else on the new Aftermath team?

Kendrick, not yet. I have been at the studio with Jon Connor a few times, though. He’s got like 8,000 songs already. He’s like a banana clip. Being around that, it peaks your intensity. I heard a lot of his stuff and that dude — he’s a bottomless pit when it comes to rhyming.

I assumed I would never hear anything from him knowing Dre’s history.

Laughs. No, I think (Dre’s) going to put out music (with) him. The things I heard…then Dre played me snippets of Kendrick’s new shit, or what may be, and it’s just like damn!

Clearly you’re excited now that you’re back in the studio, but is it hard to stay focused in the present and not get nostalgic for what is used to be?

I could never be too nostalgic because I always considered myself to be on the next. So I’m always pondering what the next thing will be. And knowing what I came from, I can often predict what’s next. Like when I first heard Kendrick (and his TDE label mates) I knew that they were taking it where it needed to go next…It did get to a point (a few years ago) where I couldn’t predict and I resorted to a bit of nostalgia. All I fucked with was classic material, be it rap, jazz, funk, etc. Because modern day rap had become mundane. But once I started hearing what the new breed was bringing to the table, I became a fan again. Now that I’m locked back in I’m eager to contribute to these exciting times in rap!

Besides your stuff with Dre, what music are you currently working on?

I’m workin’ on an album called The HITTmanifestation and it’s inspired and geared towards fans that have hit me up on Youtube and Twitter over time wondering if I had anything in my unreleased catalog with the sound and feel of 2001. At least 5 songs on this album should quench their thirst. If all goes right, then I’ll have the first single out by late fall or early winter called “Crime R8” featuring H Minor & Spek Show. And I’ll keep you posted on that. But when I release my albums, it ain’t that I want fame, it’s just owe it to myself. I’ve written so many songs and I just want to see it be tangible.


Hittman in Pasadena, CA, August 2014. Photo by David Kepner.

Are you currently signed to a major?

Nah. I’m independent. But if I come across somebody who wants to repackage it and make it come out bigger, I’ll do that too.

That seems the best way to be these days.

It’s funny, because artists would run up on me and be like ‘can you give this to Dre?’ And I’m like ‘No, I know you're not gonna believe this — because you think I’m trying to block your opportunity — but independence is better man, it’s free.

You got to work with one of the greatest producers of all time on arguably his greatest project. You have a plaque commemorating 6 million copies sold with your name on it. Yet you could have had more. Are you still bitter? Or are you cool with how it all turned out?

Nope, I am no longer bitter. I was for a long time, though. I am at peace with it all now. I have only a few regrets, but even with those I stood on my principles and made my decisions based on the knowledge I had at the time. And while I may have squandered any remnants of a career, I never compromised my character in exchange for one. So I can live with that.

[dnjp4life]

This was a really interesting and insightful interview and revealed a lot of things.  It's great to actually get some real information on Hittman and what he's been up to, because, like it said in the interview, it is almost like he disappeared off the face of the earth.
He seems like a humble and intelligent guy, and if he does get involved in this new project that Dre is supposedly working on, then he deserves it.

[Will_B]

This was a really interesting and insightful interview and revealed a lot of things.  It's great to actually get some real information on Hittman and what he's been up to, because, like it said in the interview, it is almost like he disappeared off the face of the earth.
He seems like a humble and intelligent guy, and if he does get involved in this new project that Dre is supposedly working on, then he deserves it.

[Eddz]

Great interview! I hope we at least get a Hittman album produced by Mel Man.

[Okka]

Great interview. Can't wait to hear some new music from Hittman.

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

The fact he never put anything out afterwards... Well it kinda points to Dre making the right decision. As an artist you gotta get out there and put your own work in. He should've tried to prove Dre wrong by putting music out on his own.

[doublee313]

Very good interview.  I always wondered were Hit went.  Now I know.  Thanks.