hyperadmin | Interviews | Friday, March 25th, 2011
Yo, NOW! Don’t think this absolves you of your sins. Addi’s point still holds true. You just got lucky that this issue was coincidentally scheduled for release the same week as his letter. Anyways…shouts to the Boi-1da. Congrats on everything amigo.
Grammy Award-winning producer Matthew Samuels has taken the music industry by storm, cranking out hits for Drake, Eminem and many more. Still, the Canadian beatsmith is thrilled at the possibility of going home with a Juno.
By Jason Richards
Given the hot streak he’s been on for the past two years – and the 2011 Grammys on his shelf – it’s kinda cool that Boi-1Da can still get excited about the Juno Awards.
With characteristic humility, the beatmaking producer from Toronto, born Matthew Samuels, says he’s honoured to be recognized in his home country.
He has credits on records nominated in four categories at this year’s show: Eminem’s Recovery (international album of the year), Drake’s Thank Me Later (album of the year and rap recording of the year) and Drake’s Fireworks (songwriter of the year).
For those keeping score, Thank Me Later was the eighth-highest-selling album of 2010. Recovery was number one. Boi-1da (pronounced Boy Wonder) produced Over, and Not Afraid, the lead singles on both. The latter has an astronomical 213 million-plus hits on YouTube.
According to Samuels, those figures represent vindication.
“Some people had doubts about me, thinking I was just lucky with the songs that were out before,” the 24-year-old says. “But they can see now it’s something I really work hard at, that I put my heart into, and it’s paying off.”
hyperadmin | Interviews | Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011
Interview by: KG and Shep of COSIGN Magazine
It seems that more and more talent are coming from up-north, far up-north that is. J.Staffz, the young and talented producer from Toronto, Canada is a force to be reckoned with. This young entrepreneur resume is tough enough to compete with your favorite producer, and probably has already worked with your favorite artist, and this is just the beginning. Find out why the staff of COSIGN Magazine, COSIGN’s J.Staffz!
Where are you from? Toronto, Canada. Eh!
Tell us your background.
I’ve been playing piano since I was 7. I started making beats when I was 15. By the time I was 20 I had songs on local radio and now I’ve produce for a couple big artists and many TV shows.
What made you want to become a producer? I’ve been playing piano since I was 7. My mother sings and my father DJ’s. I’ve always had music around me.
How did you get your first start in the industry? Someone stole my beats a few years ago and gave then to G-Unit. Somehow they found out that I made them and since then I’ve been producing full time.
Solid interview with Page courtesy of HHC. He breaks down how he wasn’t actually “balling” when “Balling Is A Hobby” dropped, touches on the (now old) Drake situation, speaks about the importance of travelling, talks about his upcoming project Things Young People Do and more!
“Wow” moment for me was hearing that they spent 100k on “Still Fly”. Reading the interview, it seemed to me that Page was being sincere throughout so most of me believes that number is real. For people here that seems like a lot but when trying to crack the U.S. market it’s really not a lot to spend on one song. It’s easy to spend over 100k on radio promo alone in the U.S. for one song. But 80k on that video sounds a lil’ crazy mang. Pretty sure you could do the same thing for half that amount.
HipHopCanada: Ok. And then you dropped “Ballin’ is My Hobby” which was your first big single. So talk about that period and what that was like, and the response you got from it.
Page: As a matter of fact when I first wrote “Ballin’ is My Hobby” I was actually working construction with my brother. I was making like $200 a week. I was living on my own at that time with my girlfriend, and I was actually very broke. And I was coming back from work and I got stiffed on my paycheck. I was driving back on Huronontario, and I was just sitting in traffic and I was just daydreaming about having money. So I came up with this concept, ballin’ is my hobby. You know one day I’m going to be ballin’ and it’s going to be my hobby (laughs).
hyperadmin | Interviews | Tuesday, February 15th, 2011
This edition of One-on-1 features 25-year old Music Producer Jabari “J Staffz” Bowry! J Staffz as he is respectively known as in the music industry, is not only a Producer, but a Recording Artist, DJ and Engineer from Toronto, Canada. He’s worked with Artists such as Wiz Khalifa, G-Unit and Yung Berg, and it doesn’t look like he’s slowing down anytime soon! Read on to check out this Exclusive Interview with the man himself, J Staffz!
J Staffz! I’m so excited to get the chance to speak to you! Thank you for your time!
Thanks so much. I really appreciate the chance to be on your site.
Are you kidding? It’s my pleasure (lol)! As you know, I have a lot of questions for you that I can’t wait to get into! So far starters, I know that you Produce beats, how long have you been doing that?
I’ve been making beats since I was 15 year old.
So you’ve been at it for a few years now. Which genres of music influences your style?
Who are some of your biggest inspirations when it comes to your work?
I love classical music. I love cool chord progressions and string sections. I really love the production by The Neptunes as well.
Yeah, the Neptunes are dope. I wouldn’t have thought you’d be inspired by Classical music though. Especially since the beats you make are primarily hip hop. Do you play any instruments, and do you take part in any other aspect of the music business?
I rap and sing. Not that I want to do them as a career. I make beats and I have my own studio so it’s easier for me. Recording other artists all the time taught me a lot. I’ve been playing piano for 18 years. I also play the drums.
Before evolving into the producing beast known as J Staffz, there was Jabari Bowry; Canadian born music lover trained in classical piano. After graduating high school, JStaffz decided to continue his education at Fanshawe College in Canada where he took engineering classes. While at Fanshawe, he worked part time at a local call center. But he suffered a small setback after being denied entrance into the music arts program, twice. But he wasn’t going to let something like that stop him from chasing his dreams.
Being a believer in fate, Jabari took another route and decided to pursue his producing career full time. He started out at home using his mother’s computer to create his beats. To gain more exposure, he began giving artist his beats in effort to build credibility in the industry. But he didn’t take his eye off schooling altogether. Jabari decided to enroll at Metalworks Institute to study Audio Engineering and Recording. After 4 months there, he was able to go to work on his true calling once again. It was around this time that the JStaffz name began building a buzz for well-known production in Canada. Finally, his music was beginning to take flight..
hyperadmin | Interviews,Music | Thursday, January 27th, 2011
Really dope look into The Airplane Boys – their mental and their overall movement – done by Lauren Festa over at ThinkContra.com(whatup Trung!)
The Airplane Boys have landed.
For the Airplane Boys, everything is music. Every movement, every situation, every experience. Our sit down for CONTRA was no exception. Every sentence was beautifully phrased, as if they had been given the questions prior. Everything expressed was peppered with metaphorical meaning. There are so many layers to this duo, and you willingly let them wrap you up. One of the most enjoyable interviews to date. Being around Mannie and J, you want to make yourself a better person. They pull out of you, a feeling that anything is possible, if you set your goals high enough, and reach, reach, reach, no matter what. Feeling it would be a shame to edit too much, here’s the pre-production mix of our conversation.
Welcome to the elixir, that is, THE AIRPLANE BOYS.
“Some people dream about success, while others wake up to reach it..”. – Sleep
Based out of Toronto, Mannie Serranilla [Beck Motley] and Jason Drakes [Bon Voyage] are the enigmatic duo behind The Airplane Boys. They just might be children of the revolution, in planting the seeds of a new sound that challenges the barriers of modern music. If hip hop was stagnate for a minute, it’s about to be revived by young, forward thinking talents like Mannie and J. Putting out their sound means revealing something fresh, creating a smooth and steady ripple. When you hear it, you think, maybe it’s electro-hip-hop-rock. And that’s just fine with them. The Airplane Boys don’t want to be labeled as just one kind of music for one kind of person. That’s because they take something from everything, and work it into their perpetually evolving sound. Captivating synths, experimental drums, varying samples. Whether its a 32 bar or a 16th, it’s got to have meaning.
1da chops it up with Vibe.com about Drake’s new music for 2011, The Carter IV, working with Keri Hilson, Soulja Boy’s album sales, his favorite songs for 2010 and more.
How’s Drake’s new album coming along?
We were actually just up in New York working, Lil Wayne was in there, too. I gave him stuff for Tha Carter IV. Man, 2011 is going to be a good year for music. Drake’s in tip top shape and what’s amazed me is that lyrically he’s gotten better. He was already an outstanding lyricist but now I’m just in anticipation of what people are going to think when they hear his new music.
Do you think he’s out to prove himself more as a rapper and lyricist?
Yea, I know a lot of people had criticized him for singing, but I think he’s just coming back to show people why they fell in love with him, like ‘did you forget about me?.’ And it’s really coming out in his raps. It’s something I can’t even really explain it.
