Fade
The Beat Strangler
Administrator
illest o.g.
Sticking with the Boom Bap style of beats, S3oulC1ty recently won the Warzone Beat Battle with his dope productions. With all of the different styles in the Hip Hop production world right now, it's refreshing to hear someone keep it soulful, and at the same time using just FL Studio! Read on...
Sup S3oulC1ty, tell us about yourself.
I'm usually pretty bad at talking about myself, but my full name is Jinnam Grant. I was originally from the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia), but I now reside in El Paso, TX as part of my tour. The way I got into the Boom Bap all started when NBA Street Vol. 2 came out. The first song that came up from the introduction screen was T.R.O.Y. by Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth. It sounded so smooth I had to search for the artists before even playing the game. Then after, I asked my father who exactly they were, all of sudden he had me go through an entire history of '90's Hip Hop and that was the start of it all.
That's dope. Who are some of the other 90's artists that stood out to you?
The artists that really stood out to me would obviously be Nasty Nas, Jay-Z, and B.I.G., but even more than the individual artists were the groups. Groups like Gangstarr, De La Soul, Black Starr, I love an artist that raps about knowledge and politics or that can rap with subliminal messages.
How would you compare the 90's to today's sound?
With me being a Boom Bap enthusiast, today's sound obviously compared, at least in the aspect. It doesn't have that same feel or emotion as what it was. Pete Rock quoted in an interview "...you can't call it Hip Hop without the basics."
Why the name S3oulC1ty? And why that spelling?
Mainly, the reason for choosing my name is the same as 9th Wonder's reason for choosing his name. It just sounded good. At same time there is reasoning to it, for example, my ethnicity is combined of African American and Korean, as well as touring in Korea helped me embrace my culture, Hence "S3oul" for Seoul, Korea. I've also, always, been a city boy do to most of my life being spent around D.C., hence "C1ty." The three and the one signify an age. By the time I turn 31, I will make it in the music industry as a Boom Bap type producer.
You recently won the Warzone Beat Battle. How did you put together the winning beat?
It actually feels great to win a Warzone. I've been wanting to win one of these contests but usually became runner up. This victory is mainly for the Boom Bap movement as well as my own movement call "#bringbackthesoul." The final beat was actually created for a different competition on a different site. I ended up recreating the beat and using that one instead of this one. I kept this one in the back of my hard drive until this competition came up and I needed a 4th beat. So this one was actually one of my earlier projects.
I noticed that you're in the Army. How do you manage to balance out your career with producing music?
When it comes to the Army, there never really is a balance. Active duty soldiers are on a 24/7 call back so the service always comes first. Usual times I get to work on a project are either during my lunch breaks, after work or on the weekends, but again, there is no constant balance.
Was music always a passion?
Music wasn't always a passion for me. Before music, I was a huge car freak. During that time I planned my life to be a mechanical engineer. Being the kid that I was, I saw all the work and studies that went into it and quit the chase. After that, I spent about a year thinking about the career I wanted to pursue and then thats where the NBA Street story came in. What I didn't explain earlier was before I wanted to become a producer, I wanted to be a Hip Hop historian, but then I started paying more attention to the beats more than the lyrics. I then wanted to learn how the beats were created.
I've always wondered for those that serve in the military and also make beats - does the military lifestyle influence your music?
For me personally, the military has no influence over my music other than how fast I can bust out tracks. I may have something to do with the organization of the project, such as where to place the patterns and what to classify a certain group of instruments and sounds. Other than that, there's no influence from the military.
So what kind of setup do you have?
This is actually pretty funny to me. All the producers I look up to, as well as, the producers here have the best technology which is why their music is on another level. Literally, my entire set up consists of a laptop, mouse, and some low grade computer speakers. I honestly, don't know how I stack up with the other producers that have the skill to use mix boards, keyboards, drum machines and so on. Probably the only MIDI that I have is a Numark NS7, which I rarely use in my production at all. It's mainly for me just having fun with it. Everything that I do is done digitally on FL Studios 12.
You're active in doing the sample flips right here in the forums. Do you mess with synth stuff or are you just using samples most of the time?
If I do anything with synthesizers, it's probably for the bassline and miscellaneous transitions every now and then. Other than that, everything is sampled. For me, samples make the beat sound authentic, more interesting, and fun. The fact that you can turn Marvin Gaye or Harold and the Blue Notes into something that has bounce is always a good time for me. Also, sampling is way a I stay true to the Boom Bap.
From checking your beats on your SoundCloud, you have some really dope remixes with acapellas. I always find it hard to work with acapellas. What kind of tricks do you use?
Like any producer working with lyricists, you'd always wanna create a beat to fit the artist. For me, It's the other way around. I find a song or an artist that fits the beat. When find a sample and create a beat off of that sample and it sounds amazing, I feel like I have to put an acapella to it. As far as fitting the lyrics to the track, it's a tedious process. I usually find the BPM of the original track, set my track to that BPM, chop and stretch the lyrics, return the track to the BPM I set, and finally, reset the pitch of the acapella. After all that, I master everything.
What's the biggest challenge for you when you're working on a beat?
If anything, probably the biggest challenge is finding the perfect snare for the track. For me, the snare of a Boom Bap track sets a majority of the mood for the track. The only thing above that is the sample itself. Usually when I find a sample, I already have a mood set in my mind for that track and the snare completes the mood. If I have a snare that doesn't match it throws off the entire mood. I sometimes go through over 100 snares before I find the one that fits. In the words of the great Pete Rock "...it's like putting together a puzzle."
If you had the chance to work with a famous producer, who would it be? And what would you ask them?
If it's just one producer, obviously the Chocolate Boy Wonder Pete Rock. He's almost an idol to me. On top of that I find it extremely interesting how he can do it all with no editing software. If it's more than one producer I'd like to work with the entire Soul Council of Jamla Records. Not only are they wizards at creating the wonderful sound of the Boom Bap, but their movement something I definitely wanna be a part of.
What can we expect from S3oulC1ty in the near future?
In the near future, I plan to come out with an album called "Rigid Horizon." It's morally a beat tape like "Petestrumentals." Only difference is its free and there is no determined release date yet. I figured since I put out all of these singles, I might as well put together an entire album. Other than that, I plan on entering more competitions and, overall, just being more present in the IllMuzik community for right now.
Thanks for doing the interview. Any shoutouts you'd like to give?
No problem. Of course, I gotta give a shout out to my interviewer Fade. This site is truly one of a kind and definitely one of the most underrated in Hip Hop forums. I appreciate the opportunity.
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