San (Hedrin) on the mic
San, the instru-monumentalist (on the beats)

THE DIFFERENCE



Wadup San

1. Back at home(Lesotho) you are not as active as you are is this side, why is this so? I mean, anyone makin it big in this industry will be pullin up boys from home, are you secretly doing so or you have stopped?

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It can easily be perceived so, but the truth is of a different nature. Everything I do has always carried with it a representation of whom I am and where I come from. That’s why on all the albums I’ve been involved with the names “Other Intelligences (O.I.N.T.S)” & “Audible Braile Entertainment” are hoisted up and are like a banner under which all the works I’m personally in charge of orchestrating and putting together are released. Other Intelligences is a two man Hip-hop/jazz/poetry group I am part of with my brother in rhyme and grind Barometz of Green back home in Lesotho, Audible Braile entertainment is a music production, promotion and events organizing outfit Alias, J. Meegar, Barometz, Lyrical TiP and I formulated with the primary objective of bringing cats we feel are nice on the mic and deserve recognition can fully be marketed through. This of course includes cats from Lesotho and in other places.

Over and above that, the premise under which I operate is one that recognizes that to be able to pull other cats to the fore front; you must initially cement yourself as someone who is in a position to earn respect from the listeners and fellow HipHop heads alike. In that way, it’s easier for you to dictate and relay to cats that the people you run with are as much talented as you if not more. Earn respect and credibility, from then on catapult your cats with you to the front…

2. When you were pushin the re-invention album, there was a time you told me kats are not serious and working towards the end of the product, but what i noticed was you had the same amount of energy at the end of the project as you had at the start, what pumpd you up? And what would you say to those who dropd empty promises on the project?

My hunger and passion to succeed in this world and culture of HipHop is infallible homes. With the Re-Invention album, I was fortunate enough to have laid the blueprints to the entire project down with Alias, Lyrical Tip, J. Meegar and Leminah Chifadza, people whose need to succeed and do well was equal to mine. With that inspiration behind me, I was able to keep my eyes on the ball and know exactly what was at stake, the reputation I told you is important in every producer’s career. In turn, this hunger was transferred to the fellow producers we were proud to have on the album. Those who made the final roster unquestionably felt the same way too and were ready to build with us. Unfortunately not all the cats we would have liked to have on the album managed to appear, some for reasons beyond their control and others simply because they did not realize the magnitude and seriousness of what we were trying to do. To them, I cant really say much except keep on doing what you do, the talent is there, that’s why we wanted to build together in the first place but bare in mind always that discipline is key in any discipline, can’t lose sight of that…

3. From my personal view i would say the re-invention album was or still is the biggest of projects to have taken place on AG, how did you feelin whiles pushin this project? I mean after the producer challenges hit the floor, you realy had to have had a lot of faith in this project.

True, like I said, I was inspired duke; I had an irrefutable conviction of what had to be done. The project manifested itself in front of my eyes way before it was put into the works and the producers were told about it. It took some time to plan, with that said, it’s only natural to understand that we had faith in the cats we would want to have on it and knew that with the a nudge from us in the right direction, they would do what they do best, deliver heat and we would have a classic on our hands…

4. You and Trompie are pushin the second version of the re-invention album, after the failer of the AG mixtape, what kind of faith do you guys have that this one will pull through?

Reputation! That’s what is at stake if this does not see the light of day or if it drops and flops. Trompie has been involved in more projects than I can care to mention and all of them have been received well by heads across the board. He brings to the second VOL a fresh and knowledgeable perspective of how to coordinate something with a bigger group of people. You should remember that with VOL 1 the producers were calling the shots, with VOL 2 we have them and the emcees, a different ball game all together, one that requires a more stringent and firmer line of dedication. Moreover I believe that with the success of VOL 1, all the emcees are inspired to do one better with VOL 2 cos they have something to act as a benchmark, no one wants to fall victim to the “sophomore jinx”.

5. Down to your production Who are you working with at the moment? I have heard you mention a couple of GTown kats, exactly how involved are you in the scene down that side?

The G is blessed with artistry ma nigg, everybody I know is involved in one way or another in the arts, and be it as dancers, choreographers, emcees, producers and so forth. With that kind of vibrant nature of the environment I’m in, it’s not too difficult to immerse yourself fully into the culture and find your footing. Also because of its small geographical characteristic, Grahamstown is a small place where everything happens in plain sight and easily within reach. As a HipHop producer and one fifth of an events coordinating company we host HipHop shows, emcee battles, B Boy shows and such, playing our part in the growth of the art.

Currently I’m working with soul singer Bridgetta CoCo and are to release her Ep in the next coming months. Also doing some work on the Optic Nerve of Supremacy’s debut Ep “blood type O”. over and above that, Alias and I are scheduled to release our sophomore album as INSPIRATION called: Numb3ers and alphab3ts pretty soon….

6. I have heard a track or two with you rapping, but that was a bit back in the day, are you still in touch with that side of the industry?

Unfortunately not. Not as much as I would like that’s for sure. With Other Intelligences (O.I.N.T.S) I am the primary beat maker and partial emcee, Barometz rhymes more than I do on our records, but because I ascribed to making beats more than rhyming with the intent of better perfecting that side of my art I lost touch with the emcee in me for a minute. Im slowly trying to find a balance between the sequencer and the mic again though. I feel I have a lot to say now, seen a lot and been working with talented emcees, I have more to share. Who knows, you might even get to hear something for the Re-Invention VOL 2 so stay tuned. hahaha!...

7. You have droped a beat tape before, and you are currently workin on the second one, what different approach should we be expecting?

Growth! From working with different producers and being exposed to their different style of beat making and production I have consciously and sometimes even subconsciously been gathering lessons from everyone I encounter. Alias has been a huge inspiration in my beat making skills with his jazzy/classical forms of producing, him and Myth, Cymtom, Rebbi and Trompie. The second beat tape will in that way be more musical and not just a bombardment of signature arrangement…

8. I know you to be a typical Reason head, now how do you guys get along making a beat?

The first step is the selection of the sample. For that to be possible I have to have heard something I like and can virtually see coming together from chop to chop. Sometimes I might even have 2 or more samples I liked and would want to merge those into a song. For chopping purposes I use Adobe Audition 3, it’s a nice and handy way of not only getting the sample cleaned up and precisely chopped but you can stretch it. By this time I have my Reason 4 open. The default layout is a 14 track mixer and the mastering suite. My first action is to load my NN19 device, I use this to load the sample and manipulate it on the sequencer. Thereafter I load the Redrum computer for the drums, and begin. First have a 4 bar loop going and from there add bits a pieces of the sample as I go along. The whole beat however is not made on anything heavily technical im afraid, just my headies and my lappy…makes for easy creation when one is on a bus and living out of a suitcase like I have been for the past 3 years.

9. What are your plans for the future, seeing as you the only kat who has pulled out a realy big project out of AG?

I wouldn’t say that, many cats I look up to in the world of beat making have come from AG, Trompie, Nyambz, IQ, Myth and so forth. All of those cats have individually made a huge contribution to the art and continue to do so. I guess then I would say that my wish for the future is to keep ON doing what I do but only bigger…

10. Can you please give us an in detailed report of your experience within the industry, from how and where you started from to your highlights to this day, and also how different is the scene back in Lesotho as compared to SA.

“The industry!” haha, I don’t know about that. Well, personally I have been making beats for the past 9 years now (I think or maybe longer).., got into HipHop like all of us have I guess, as a listener. Slowly moved up to emcee level and formed a group “the Mysterious Crew” with the Earth Priest (now Barometz of Green) in 1996 when we were still in high school and were al about two men crews (M.O.P, EPMD, Gangstaar etc). That was around the same time I think I met up with Core Wrekah and Fario Magnetic. Round the same time if not a year later Fairo and I lived in the same hood and he was the first cat to introduce me to beat making and gave me my first sequencer…from then on in my career as a ebat maker I went on to produce beats for a lot of people but none have as much significance in my life as the work I made for now late friend and emcee CREEPER REBORN the illa thought, he was a superb wordsmith with great passion, he will greatly be missed.

In terms of standard and stature, the HipHop scene back home can’t really be compared with the one here in SA because we are still in the very early stages of growth. People know about HipHop, they go to shows when there are shows, they buy records if you push them hard enough but the differentiating factor I think is what makes an industry and industry. There aren’t any A & Rs back home, you don’t have record companies waiting to sign HipHop acts or as much education as we have in SA on how to properly market yourself as an independent artist, cats are still in the earlier stages of learning about beat making never mind intellectual property rights.

11. Do you miss the scene in Lesotho? What about it do you love the most?

Not always but at times since most of the people I’m affiliated with are mostly out of the country during the year either because of work or school I miss huddling up with them once Vac hits and exchanging different lessons, sort of like return migrants bringing together trait secrets and weighing who has learnt more and done more during the year, shallow I know, but that’s how we learn... hehe!

12. When you were overseas, you mentioned bringin back fresh ideas, what exactly did you learn and how would you say it has changed or influenced your production in general?

Spending time in Sweden I was exposed to an entirely different culture of music. Being in a club at 11 oclock and listening to the latest Wil I am song you d be quick to think okay, there is nothing different about the people here and those back home, we all boogey to the same beats. The clock strikes 12 midnight and all of the sudden the town’s people morph into a different kind of music fiend, they transform and dance to a harder more grungier form of drum and bass, a unique side of the music that only the people there can say they own and have come up with, sorta like the Swedish version of kwaito (if such a thing still exists). Being a scholar of music I had no choice but to dive into that side of the music and learn more about it, the pattering, the drumming, the arrangement, everything. As is said, some of these things you learn consciously and subconsciously, either from conversations with other people or from your own deductions. Music has a way of seeping into you and changing your comprehension for its different shapes and forms if you listen long enough.

let me not grill you too much.

Thanx homeboy, keep it up.

Likewise ma nigg, likewise…stay UP!

DOWNLOAD SAN'S BEAT

The kid

The Wonder

Nyambo

1. Where have you been hiddin man? Like realy whats happening?

Hahaha Everyone seems to think I’ve been hiding lately. I guess there
is a little bit of truth to that. I’m just enjoying being alive,
watching my sons grow, living life with my best friend (my wife). Quit
my job last year to just get my mind right. Now I’m getting back into
the swing of things, nearly done setting up a small studio, and soon
I’ll be getting back into the corporate world.


2. Straight to beats, what’s your main influence when you make a beat?

Which artist would you say inspires the kicks out of you?

Usually the artist I’m working with inspires or influences me. It’s
been nearly a decade since I just sat down to make a beat for me. I
miss that. Back in 2005, Damola and I cut a really dope album and I’ve
been aching to get back into the lab with him and try do something
similar. He inspires me a lot.

3. You have been considered as an older God, meanin you know your way
around the industry, now which local beat makers would you say is
coming up in the game?

Their so many super talented producers out there it’s ridiculous.
It’s hard to say but some of my favorite local producers include,
Ootz, Top Shayela, Zweli, Hipe, Sam Simose, thi(13)teen, Becoming
Phill, Battlekat, Mr. C, DJ IQ, Draztik, Amu etc. These guys have all
been there for some time but I feel they haven’t gotten the amount of
shine and applaud that they deserve. If I was a multi-millionaire I’d
give ‘em a million each for the joy that some their music has brought
to my life.

As far as up and comers, Dj Pee Wee is a talent. Instro is nice. Che
Monu is very creative, SYC has a great musical brain, Ameen is
supremely versatile, Landmarq is crazy, Floowid Flow & Wax Lyrical are
beastly. There’s a production duo called “All Spark” that are
unbelievably mind blowing. Trompie is getting more consistent and has
a few gems under his belt, plus their quite a few promising guys on
AG.

4. How do you actually make a beat, please explain in great depth.

It’s been such a long time, I can hardly remember. In the past I’d
listen to records all day, until I found something to work with. Then
I’d chop it up in Acid Pro, then lay out the drums and bass
afterwards. Maybe play something over it with the midi controller. The
majority of my beats start as two bar loops which I expand as the song
progresses. As of late my creativities been a bit stunted so most of
the beats I’m left with are the two bar initial concepts.

5. What hardware and software do you use to make beats? And what have
you used before?

I started out with a tracker from Modplug (www.modplug.com) it was
very tedious to use but it got the job done. I then moved onto a few
digital drum machine samplers from Bram Bros before settling on Acid
Pro. Occasionally I use Fruity loops but mainly for house and R&B
tracks and such..

In terms of Hardware I’ve messed around with a few drum machines,
guitars, keyboards and midi controllers, MPC’s, turntables and my most
important weapon in the arsenal… My mouse.

6. Which projects are you currently working on? Which artists?

I’m not really working with any major label artists at the moment.
Just a few talented indie artists.

7. A while back you told me you stopped making beats a couple of
months ago, what’s up with that, was it a joke i missed to catch or

there is more than just a catch to that?

Commercially I stopped making beats around 2004. My mind isn’t in it
the way it used to be in my teens, mainly because I couldn’t handle
the pressure of being constantly compared to other producers. It
really got to me; I was always the type of producer that didn’t
compete with anyone other than myself. So when I came out I really
struggled with now having to prove myself to people who I really
shouldn’t have been trying to prove a anything to. I never once
considered myself to be the best and I hated having to live up to that
tag because I never was the best. It killed my spirit.

I always saw myself more as an executive producer or overseer. I think
my talents lie in creating albums with artists by providing artistic
direction ,matching them with the right producers, getting the right
features, etc. I think I excel with that, I know my limitations as a
producer and I’m not shy to call on other producers if I feel I cant
give an artist what he or she needs..

8. Before you started producing what did you do? And what did you
start with this industry?

Hahaha.. Before I started producing I played rugby, soccer, cricket
and bagged the occasional broad at school…

9. How would you explain the difference between a beat maker and a producer?

For me a beat maker just makes beats and isn’t too involved with the
actual making of a song. He/she just provides the beat. A producer is
more hands on. A producer directs and shapes the song.

10. To this date, can you mention how many beats you have made? And
which in that list would you consider the best or yet good work?

I’d say a little over three thousand. I couldn’t really say what the
best was. I’ve enjoyed my collaborations with Damola immensely. The
original version of Once Upon a Time in Africa will always have a
special place for me. It’s a simple beat but it was made at a special
time in my life and I was lucky to have two exceptional emcees in Tumi
and Sifiso rapping on it.

Wadup Ya'll
Now I'm sure for those who have been
to this blog before will notice there is a
new addition, the is now a new chat
box above the old one, reason being
that the new enables you to have direct
chat with me. The old one will soon
move as soon as all the heads start using
the new one.

Take care Ya'll