Murs & 9th Wonder "Funeral For A Killer"

Q & A With Thinker (@Thinx19)

What was your introduction to production?  What about producing keeps you interested?
I'd have to say that I was introduced to the process of music producing by one of my closest friends and mentor, Onree Gill. Spending time with him in studio sessions with the likes of LL Cool J, Big Daddy Kane, Easy Mo Bee and so on... this made me realize that producing was something that i wanted to do. Music is my true passion. I find inspiration in almost everything so this keeps me interested in producing, I'm always eager to find out how my inspiration might manifest it's self.

Why Maschine?
In my opinion, Maschine is the best product out there. I'm a huge fan of all things Native Instruments because of their obvious commitment to excellence. Maschine is the perfect pairing of hardware and software. The hardware is light yet sturdy with durable pads and knobs while being aesthetically pleasing. The software is user friendly, it reacts fast and it's super convenient to be able to open it up as a plugin inside of your DAW.

Why are musicians Bill Evans and Chick Corea so fascinating to you ?
Composers are to a musicians what architects are to carpenters. The process starts with the vision and I've always been fascinated with the idea that one person can basically look into the future by writing and arranging parts for multiple instruments much like an architect that envisions a final structure. Bill Evans was an amazing composer. I grew up listening to Chick Corea, He might be my favorite musician of all times. His music captures so much more than my sense of hearing. There is a spiritual quality that I can feel and even see in his music sometimes.

What artist of the past would you have liked to produce music for and which
producer would have liked to construct a project with? Why?
I wish that I could have produced music for and with John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix. They were both supremely talented and they also represented ideals that helped mold my current state of awareness in regards to the rights that we all have as humans.

How often do you seek out new sounds? How do you discover new music?
I can't say that there's a scheduled time for me to seek new music but every so often when I've been listening to familiar sounds for too long I need to cleanse the musical palate. When it comes to new music, I tend to discover it via the web. Tweets and Facebook posts. Sometimes I'll get a link via gchat and other times I'll just chance upon something new while I'm browsing the net.

12 Days Of RazMas: Day 1. El Presidente - Top $ Raz

If you don't already know who Queens emcee Top $ Raz is then you can't really claim to know about current NYC Hiphop. Top $ Raz defines the New, New York. Young, confident and proactive. The "Empire State" of the underground circuit that in a lil over a year, seemingly from no where has gained the ears and respect of his peers and then some in this rotten apple. He's proven, you do not need the yes man co-signage of an in-genuine blogosphere in order to garner real support. What you do need is exceptional music, a strong work ethic, great stage presence and true determination. Never take no for an answer.

With all that said, tonight FreeHiphopNow.com begins celebrating the, "12 Days Of RazMas". Each day leading up to December 25th, we'll be focusing on one track from Top $ Raz's current release "Spilled Milk" in an effort to continue creating awareness for this solid production. Also, gaining more insight on this young artist and those who contributed to the creation of this work.

Before The Milk Spills - El Presidente [[Explicit Content]]

1. "Before The Milk Spills - El Presidente" is a pretty healthy pre-introduction to listeners preparing for the release of the album "Spilled Milk". Did you record this before or after your trip to the west coast? What was the trip like out there and what were you doing while you visited L.A.?

"El Presidente" came before the trip to LA. It was supposed to be on the album, but I scrapped it due to a falling out with a producer. So yea, "Spilled Milk" would've been 12 tracks. I suppose god works in mysterious ways cause the album has a nice synergy to it at 11 tracks. Flows nicely. The trip was nice, the people at Trash Can Music took care of me out there. I got free breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday. I recorded the album out there for the 2nd time. After thinking about my future, I decided I didn't want to release the album with them so I did it independently. So I rerecorded the album in three hours at the Imagine That studios in Port Chester.

2. When'd you get the idea to record "Spilled Milk"? How did you map out the creation of the album?

I knew I wanted to do a new record after "The Narrative" to show fans and spectators where I am right now. "The Narrative", even though it didn't get an official release until November 21st 2008, was mostly created when I was between the ages 17-19. Half of the record was recorded in my senior year of high school. At 20, I felt I needed something more focused, that shows my skills today. I got in the lab to make this new record. It took many different turns. At first it was called "Captivity", but after a while it morphed into "Spilled Milk". I felt the title was more fitting.

Tomorrow, "12 Days Of RazMas" continues with Day 2: The Album Introduction - Spilled Milk produced by Thinker. We'll speak with both Top $ Raz and Thinker.

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>Download "Spilled Milk" <

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