Fade
The Beat Strangler
Administrator
illest o.g.
What's up Short (can I call you that?)
Hell Naw!!! I prefer Fuze. See there we're already startin' out on the wrong foot! You gotta understand I'm a short dude. The name ShortFuze came about sort of as a double meaning. For one because of my height and secondly, because I used to sort of blow up, if you know what I mean. Situations and substances could get the better of a dude at times but, that was when I was younger.
Ok so how short are you then, Shorty? Oops I mean Fuze!
I'm a five footer lets just leave it at that. And I've noticed your short dude prejudices! So F*#k you Fade!! J/K
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I'm ShortFuze your everyday head aspiring and grinding trying to introduce the world to my sound. I'm from Winston-Salem, NC a.ka. the Trey-Four. I attended and graduated from the greatest HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) on the planet NC A&T SU. Right now my day is highlighted by working full-time as an EWP Designer (please don't ask I get tired of explaining what that is). Also I'm the proud Pops of a fine little girl and a baby boy. After work and family dues I don't know how I find time for my music sometimes!
At least tell us what EWP stands for!
Engineered Wood Products.
What's it like holding down a family and trying to make music and be creative all at once?
It's not easy at all. It's very frustrating because I want to sit down and work on beats on a regular basis. But, when you got a kid crying and pulling on your leg it hinders your process. And then a woman that wants her time and attention doesn't make the situation any easier (I'm gonna get so in trouble for saying this). Naw, but seriously I have a desire for making beats and music so I make time. Only bad thing is I can't go at this music thing with the intensity that I want to.
What's it like growing up in North Carolina? How's the music scene?
There's probably several answers to that question but for me I grew up in an urban area. I can't speak for the rural Carolina catz. I can say I've seen my fair share of the unpleasant things that the streets have to offer. But I was blessed with a tight knit family that could keep you from straying too far away from sensibility. So remember kids - family is the strongest institution in the world and knowing is half the battle.
The music scene, huh... naw it's alright. NC is definitely building momentum. With the successes of 9th Wonder and Fantasia, the mainstream has been breached. But don't get me wrong, we've always had a presence. Take for instance the Busy Boys from back in the day; this group consisted of Dana Lucci, Junior, Fanatic, Ski, and Billy Devour. Check the history: Fanatic did "Crush on You" for Lil Kim. Dude even did a track on Michael Jackson's last album. Billy Devour did joints on 8 Ball and M.J.G.'s last album with Bad Boy. Dana Lucci is a local legend in the Hip-Hop game. And Ski... all I'm gonna say is check Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt and see who's name is heavy in the production credits.
The underground scene is bubbling. Little Brother and Justus League is doing it pretty big. Neblina Records is getting some nice presence. IllMuzik's favorite emcee Mercury Waters I think is around the Charlotte area. Celinski, E the Mad Assassin, Metaphor my 9th Floor fam is on the rise and I could go on. One cat on the boards made a comment to me one time like "Oh you're from NC - that's like the Brooklyn of the South" I was just like wow.
I've never heard that term before.
Me neither. Hahaha.
What do you think is missing in your area?
Unity, it seems like everybody is for self nowadays.
When and why did you get into producing music?
I started producing music in 2001. I've had an interest in how beats were made for a while. But a mix of curiosity and a lack of beats to rap over is what got me started. And little does my daughter's mother know, she was the drive that kept me going. She was stressing the shit out of my ass and I found beat-making to be a good way to keep my mind off of that.
Hahaha�. Does she support you now?
She supports anything that seems like an opportunity for her to get more money from me.
Do you emcee as well?
I was rapping way before I thought about producing anything. I started writing rhymes around 94' when I was in high-school, did a little show some time later but nothing much. When I got to college I got with a couple dudes that were into rapping and did some things with them. That pretty much kept me writing but I didn't do much emceeing. A few years passed and I got that rap urge in me again. Around about that same time I copped a copy of ACID style 2.0 from Best-Buy, not knowing anything about any kind of production software or anything production wise. But it didn't take long before I realized I wanted to do beats more.
What's ProBangaz Entertainment all about?
It kind of started out as a concept. A couple of years ago I was at a point where I knew I wanted to build something and I felt like my beats were on to something. So ProBangaz came to me, it's kind of short for professional banging beats. ProBangaz is a Hip-Hop company now dealing mainly with beats and music. I intend to provide that street bangin' sound, you know what I'm sayin', shit catz can spit hard to. ProBangaz Entertainment is home to Grand Crew, my squad. The crew consists of myself on production and every now and then, a verse. Big Cas a real spit heavy dude, and D-Gust the hottest unknown around here. Shit ProBangaz and ShortFuze are basically synonymous.
How did all of you guys hook up?
I used to have freestyle sessions at my crib where I would just throw beats out and dudes would jump on the mic. D happened to come through one night with a friend of a friend of mine. First let me say D's the type of guy that shy's away from the hype so he'd sit back mostly kind of sheepishly. I remember a beat was playing and I heard somebody spittin' some heat. I did a double take and this dude was just dropping metaphors back to back. I hollered at him and we've linked every since. Cas came along a little later. He and D would have battles in the streets. One day D brought him to the table and they had a nice mesh so...
Do you make beats with a crew, or alone?
First of all, I make beats alone. I can't stand for someone to sit there and tell me something ain't right but has no idea of what direction I'm trying to take something in. But, I work mainly with two crews. Of course I do my thang with Grand Crew. And then I'm down with Celinski and the 9th Floor Family. I've been working real close to Celinski for a minute and we've got some hot shit cookin'. Be on the lookout for the "Celinski for Mayor" album due to drop soon, and the mixtape to precede the album to hit even sooner. And the crazy thing is the mixtape may be just as hot as the album!
Do you think that is what's missing in today's music? (A lack of direction). Do you feel that today's music is just "there"?
I feel like a lot of music today doesn't come from the heart. And that's what being an artist is all about. I think a lot of music is made with the almighty dollar in mind. And a lot of music is made just to cater to the trends of the time.
What's your beat-making process?
First of all let me say I sample and I sample classic soul mainly. 'Cause that's what's in me and it comes naturally, not because it's a trend. Normally I'll start out with a song that I'm feelin' and record it into my PC. From that point I'll open it up in GoldWave, now wait I hear all those grumbles. I've found GoldWave as the best tool for me to scan files and find different parts that I'll use to construct my beat. After I have the different samples from the song, I'll open them up in ACID. This is where I do my major chopping and rearranging. Once I have my chops and constructed my different parts of the beat, I move on to the bassline or drums, whichever I feel is the most necessary at that point. I'll either drop my bassline in ACID or Rewired through Reason. Afterwards I'll drop my drums and do the mix.
What kind of setup are you rockin?
I'm PC centered with ACID Pro as the hub. Sound Forge and a gang of plug-ins for editing purposes. I fuck with Reason through Rewire equipped with a MIDI controller. A Gemini turntable for my vinyls. And a descent soundcard with an audio interface. Nothing real extravagant but it gets the job done.
Any plans on getting an MPC? How do you create your drums?
Oh definitely I'm looking to cop a MPC 1000 to incorporate with my software setup. But what I'd really like to get my hands on is the MV-8000. I read those joints are compatible with ACID files. Now that would be the shit for me. I have all my drums in one-shot WAV files. I just use ACID as sort of a drum machine. I do this by looping a region, let's say one bar then I'll set my snap to whatever I feel. Now I just find the drums I want to mess with and place them into the looping region. Once I have things like I want I'll render the individual looping tracks with the one-shots into new tracks. That's just the jist of it. I know people are probably like "Why does he go through that?" It's really not that tedious and I'm accustomed to it.
Sampling vs. Synths - your thoughts?
Ahha!!! The legendary debate. Like I said earlier, I'm into sampling heavy and I doubt that's going to ever change. But I respect both art forms because they are both in their own right art forms. Hip-hop would not be what it is today without sampling. Synth beats have risen and taken their part in Hip-Hop nowadays. I mean I'm from the South, you can't help but love it. But the only problem I have with this comparison are the folks that think the cats who are musically inclined who make Hip-Hop beats are hotter. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they're not, I'm just saying that doesn't mean they're more talented than Joe Blow who chops up samples. I mean let's be serious, there are a lot of musical cats out there that can compose some dope tunes but then the drum selection is weak or the drum patterns just don't compliment the overall track. And that's the same with sample-based beat makers too. The one thing that unifies all Hip-Hop beats are the drums. That's why we call them beats right? But Sampling vs. Synths that's like asking "Hardware vs. Software" and we all know where that ends up every time. It's all about the person that's putting it down.
What/Who are some of your influences?
Anything that makes my head nod. A lot of Soul, Funk, and Jazz. But in Hip-Hop, the RZA and Premo are my favs. So their sounds have probably had the biggest impact on the way I look at making beats.
How long did it take you to feel comfortable at making beats? How did you learn?
It took me about a year to feel comfortable at making beats. But it took about another year for me to start feeling any confidence behind some of the beats I was making. Dudes who've known me from when I first started trying to make beats until now say I have made crazy strides. When I first started making beats I didn't even know how to count bars. So basically most of everything I've learned was through trial and error. I think that's why my way of beat-making may seem unorthodox to some people. When I began with beat-making I told myself I was going to make at least one beat per day wack or not wack. And I did that religiously for about two years.
Do you listen to other forms of music? Do you plan on producing other forms of music?
Hip-Hop is my preference but I do listen to R&B . I also enjoy Neo-Soul and Jazz. Just as I like Classic Soul, I like Classic Rock. But I really appreciate all music. I rarely turn my nose up to anything. Right now I'm focusing on this Hip-Hop thing but, if another form of music came about somehow I'd definitely enjoy the opportunity.
What do you think of IllMuzik?
IllMuzik is great. It's my favorite place on the web. This is the best free resource for Hip-Hop production anywhere. I've learned a lot from this place and it's helped me take my beats and production to higher levels. So saying that I want to say I really appreciate what you and the staff have built here and keep on improving on.
Any shoutouts you'd like to give?
Oh no doubt let me give a shoutout to Grand Crew, D Gust and the whole 9th Floor: Celinski, E the Mad Assassin, Metaphor the Great, Mike Maddox, Maxx Out, and Trail we're in the fu#%king building!! And big-ups to all the cats on these boards day after day who keep it poppin, interesting, and real knowledgeable. I got luv for all you guys! And of course you Fade for making all this possible.
No doubt.... Thanks for doing this interview, and good luck with Pro Bangaz!
No really, Thank You.