Fade
The Beat Strangler
Administrator
illest o.g.
IllMuzik's own Sucio is one of the most versatile producers I've had a chance to interview. His beat production skills are undeniable and he's known for producing beats with great sound quality. I had the pleasure of hooking up with him and asking a few questions about his production process, and much more.
Sup Mr. Sucio, tell everyone who you are and where you're from.
My man Dac, what's good? I go by the name Sucio. I am born and bred in New York, but currently live in Florida in a little city called Lake Mary, outside of Orlando. I am a beatmaker by hobby, and a freelance producer. Haha.
How did you get started making beats and who were/are your influences?
I started making beats back in I think 2002. I started making beats with Nomics of Da Illfellaz. We both had FL 3.0 and started just making basic beats with the stock sounds. I've always wanted to produce music, but at that point I had ZERO clue on where to begin. Until I found FL Studio aka Fruity Loops. My main influences in production are of course DJ Premier, Just Blaze and Kanye West. Thing about Kanye that I enjoy the most about his music is that you can hear his passion in the music, which is something that I want people to hear in mine. Also he's not afraid to be experimental in his music, because it is a part of who he is.
I've seen pictures of that awesome setup you got but give us some details on it and what else do you plan on adding to it in the near future?
I'm currently running an iMac 21.5, basic style with 4GB RAM with a 3.2ghz Intel. I'm also running Windows XP on it (I still have FL Studio, can't seem to let go of it, yet) via VMWare Fusion. I finally got the 2nd monitor working. I primarily use Native Instruments Maschine, which most of us here know because I big the thing up so much. I have an M-Audio Keystation 49 where I do my keyboarding, and of course I'm running Pro Tools 8 LE. I use Pro Tools primarily to track out my beats and do a mix to it, since I am not a fan of mixing inside Maschine just yet. I'm also running quite a few VST instruments, such as Omnisphere, Gladiator, Predator, Nexus, Sub-Boom Bass, and Kontakt 4 with many sample libraries. I'm hoping to get some new headphones, looking at MDR 7506 headphones which actually came highly recommended from a sound engineer from Propellerheads that I met recently.
Tell us what your process is for making a beat.
My process in approaching a beat vary, because of the different types of music that I try to tackle. When sampling a record, if I'm looping a sample I will chop the sample up (here's where Windows comes into play) in Cool Edit Pro and time stretching in FL Studio to ensure smooth transitions and the BPM is where I want it and the pitch is where I want it. I then incorporate that into Maschine and go from there. If I'm not looping the sample and just chopping small sections, then I do everything in Maschine. When I'm composing something I literally do a really really basic melody. I go nuts on the drums until I get the sequencing I want, then to back to the melody and either change instruments or add more. Once I have my melody where I want and the drums where I want, I finish with a bassline (if it's needed). With Maschine, the beats have taken longer than with FL Studio, however I've noticed that I feel more free with Maschine and explore a little more.
We've all seen how versatile you are as a producer, what is your motivation to venture in other genres?
I appreciate the love on being called versatile, that is what I've always aimed to be. I've been told that if you want to have the clientele and maybe even make some money off of your music, you have to expand your possible client base. More genres = more people = bigger opportunity to make money. A friend of mine who passed away recently always used to tell me that the money is in popish music, but never go away from the east coast sound that I've been used to because that is who I am. Made so much sense, plus I love having music in movies because of how it incorporates into the actual scene in a movie.
Florida is known for generating some of the best hip hop out, how does it compare with New York hip hop?
Florida is an extremely talented state in terms of music - the people outside only hear one type. What makes Florida special is that it is a very transient state. There's not many people out here that were born and raised in Florida especially in the area where I live. So what you get is a bunch of people from all across the US and of course, they bring their type of music with them. You have dudes out here that rap like they're from NY, because they are. You have people from the midwest bringing that slang over, and you have people from the REAL south (Mississppi, Georgia, Alabama), bringing that real southern drawl. New York hip-hop is basically what we've been hearing since the 90's - sample-based records with gritty drums and more uptempo in terms of BPM, however in the past decade they've also been influenced by southern music - slowed down a little bit, incorporating more synth work rather than samples. Of course synth music is nothing new, Planet Rock is a perfect example. Dirty south music is just a modern version of the 80's.
A while back you showed some interest in turntablism, do you still plan on incorporating that aspect of hip hop in your music?
Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be a DJ who cuts records AND being on the radio. My uncle was a DJ here in Florida and when I used to visit him, he used to let me rock out on his turns, I was loving it. Made my first tape when I was like 12, of course it wasn't good but I was proud of it. I wish I still had it. When Nomics and I were really getting into the beats, he had some turns and a Numark CDX and I loved being around it. I realized that if I could cut on a record like DJ Premier, I'd be that dude. I'm still interested in doing it, even as a hobby, because that's probably the biggest part of hip-hop that I hold closest to my heart. If someone told me that you could be a DJ and be nice with it, but never make beats again. I'd be a DJ, that's how much I would love to do it. I'm looking into getting either the Traktor S4 or the S2 from NI due to space constraints. Would love a complete setup, but I just don't have the room.
Tell us about your endeavors with Magic Mike.
Magic Mike is a legend in hip-hop, the Godfather of Bass Music. I remember hearing him all over Florida radio when I used to come down here to visit family. Skitzo, the artist I'm working with is actually personal friends of Magic. My boy Skitz has been doing music for a while, however recently Skitz showed Magic some joints that we put together and was impressed with what he did, as well as my production. I finally met Magic about a year ago and hit it off.The guy is an awesome dude, extremely humble, yet very knowledgable of the business side of music. Magic is putting out an album soon, featuring Skitzo and a couple of other artists, produced by Magic. We are also looking to push Skitz's next project, which will be exec produced by Magic, including production from the both of us and possibly us together on tracks. There are a couple of legal things that have to be ironed out before that project comes to fruition. Magic featured on a record I produced called "Dominate da Microphone" or "DDM", showing his scratching skills on the hook and at the end of the record. We are also in the works of getting him involved in the remix version of the track.
What are some of your ultimate goals in the music game?
My ultimate goals in music are pretty simple and it's not to be a millionaire (which would be pretty awesome) because I'd do this for a living on a teacher's salary. My ultimate goal is to be sitting at a traffic light and a car pulls up next to me with the windows down and a track blaring that I produced, while the passengers in the car are just vibing to the joint and spitting all the words that they memorized knowing how dope the track is. My other goal in music is to one day have Nas, Jay or Kanye call my cell and ask me to come to a studio session because they want to hear some beats, then take one or more of them.
Take us through a typical day in the life of Sucio.
My day usually starts around 8-9am. I wake up and hit the bike (my trek, now) for my morning exercise, maybe listen to a couple of beats that I did the day or days before with fresh ears and make any adjustments. Go to my regular job and when I get home the headphones come on and I get to work on music until about 3-4 in the morning, and repeat, LOL.
You recently won the "Biggest Ego" Ill Award up against some tough competition (LDB, Stresswon and myself...lol!). What are your thoughts on that?
Biggest Ego? Haa! As any producer should have some extra confidence in their own music. You have to market yourself as if you're that dude, and your music is the shit, but only for the music. As a person you must still stay humble and not forget where you came from and that everything can be taken away in a blink of an eye. I want to be known as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. A laid back all around cool dude, but when it comes to music, a monster. Music is my passion and I will go hard at it until I can't, or until I lose the desire. There are some egos here but you have to have that ego to be in the game. You know your worth, however you have to show others that you're worth more than what you really think you are and let the music do the rest.
Thank you very much for your time. Any shoutouts or acknowledgments?
First I want to give a huge shoutout to my fiance for putting up with those late nights I spend in the studio and at my computer. Shoutout to my pops for passing his love for music onto me. Shoutout to Skitzo for being in my corner for everything I've done.. Shoutout to The Music www.tmlorlando.com and its entire staff for allowing me to call the studio home. Shoutout to dude LDB for staying true to the south - the south shall rise again!! Finally a big shoutout to you, Dac and ILLMUZIK for giving me the opportunity to let everyone know who Sucio is and for providing the competition I needed to better myself as a producer. I am very proud to call illmuzik.com my cyber home. What up FADE!
