Q&A: Drumma Boy

Rhapsody: Your mom was an opera singer and your father played the clarinet. How influential were they on you musically? 
Drumma Boy: They were both an inspiration for me. My mom had me going to The Nutcracker and a lot of opera performances. On a Saturday morning, I’d wake up to Al Green or Smokey Robinson. One of her favorite songs was [sings], “Ooo Baby, Baby.” The whole house was being cleaned up and incense was burning. My dad being in the orchestra, he gave me this surrounding where I could identify with what a tuba or an oboe or a French horn or clarinet or a triangle sounds like.

Other than Three 6 Mafia, it seems artists have a hard time breaking out of Memphis. How hard was it as a producer?
My mama always used to tell me if you can make it in Memphis, you can make it anywhere, because it’s so hardcore. T.I. came to Memphis one time and opened up for Three 6. This was before I’m Serious and everybody was booing him. They were like, “Who is that?” Three 6 Mafia came on and it was just a shut-down. But that just shows you. [T.I.] went on to become one of the greatest rappers out of the South. Me coming from Memphis, there was a lot of heartache and struggle, but at the same time, there was a lot of motivation for me to want to be one of the first great producers out of Memphis. I came up under my older brother, Insane Wayne, who was getting money with Jazze Pha and Carlos Brody, who [produced] “Video” for India.Arie. I was like 13, 14 years younger, watching them do it. I always look at Puff Daddy and I respect what he’s doing as far as the business mogul, and then I look at Quincy Jones and respect what he’s doing as a producer. I always try to combine those two elements. 

Did you feel any hometown hate once you started getting on?
You always going to get the hometown hate, but at the same time, they give hella love. When I got the “Standing Ovation” on Jeezy, that was like the beginning. Within Memphis, they see you f*ck*ng with Jeezy and this like a street dream. This is the hottest thing going in 2005, 2006. 

Despite DJ Toomp reuniting with T.I., it seemed like the songs you produced like “What Up, What’s Haapnin’” and “Ready For Whatever” really shaped the album. Did that surprise you?
It’s a blessing. Toomp reached out to me personally. He was executive producing the album. A lot of these dudes that are doing business with me, there’s no negativity, drama or animosity. These are my peers and homies. Toomp has produced T.I. since day one. It’s not hurting Toomp in any way or form or fashion to say, “Look you hot right now. I need some help with this T.I.”  Toomp working on Jay-Z and on bigger and better things. I stepped up to the plate. 

Did you work with T.I. at his house?
I’m cool with his assistant and she was like, “He’s going to be on house arrest so if you want, we have a visitation list.”  I gave my information. I was the first producer to work with T.I.P. “Ready For Whatever” was the first track we ever cut. And he explaining to you on that song why he was doing what he was doing and the situation. I went to the crib with like 30 beats and he picked out like 27. He was like, “You know you’re the dude right now. I’m hearing your name everywhere. Glad to have you in the house.” Then he showed me around the mansion. He was in great, great spirits. We as men go through a lot of trials and tribulations, but we got to keep our head up, and at the end of the day, if you collapse, we all collapse. So, somewhere one of us has to stay strong. One strong, all strong.

What was the illest part of his crib?
The paintings. He had $100,000 paintings or it might be worth like $350,000. T.I.P is a smart dude. He knows how to invest and put his money where it’s going to be profitable and beneficial. I met [T.I.’s manager Jason] Geter at 17. And I’m 25, now. It took me damn near eight years to make a T.I. placement. I was here when I’m Serious, Urban Legend, etc [dropped]. All these albums, I’m in this n*gg*’s face with CDs.  To finally do business and then for “Whatever” to be the first track for him to just let it all out was like, “Man!” I’m in this dude's house and he’s calling me a king." It’s just crazy.

Since you’d already worked with Jeezy before, how did “Put On” come about?
We always be f*ck*ng around [about] soul food places in Atlanta because there ain’t too many women who know how to do their thing in the kitchen like the old days. We always relate [beats to food] like, “I got them greens, n*gg*. I got them yams and that new corn bread with the honey spread.” [Laughs.] “Put On,” I had made specifically for him and had it ready. He’ll call me at least every once a month. So I knew he ain’t call me, but I knew he was coming up. I just waited until he was like, “I need some more sh*t,” because that’s when he’s ready to work. A month later, I’m riding down the motherf*ck*ng highway and I hear it and I’m like, “Damn, this n*gg* uses auto-tune?” I’m listening again and I was like, “Oh sh*t!  This n*gg* got Kanye on the record.”

So, he didn’t tell you before you heard it on the record that he got Kanye?
He was like,” I got a surprise for you. I ain’t going to tell you who’s on this sh*t. You going to hear.” Three days later, it was blasting on the radio and then the Jay-Z remix was even crazier.

For aspiring producers that haven’t had hits yet, what’s a ballpark figure of the kind of revenue that can be generated from having a “Put On”?
It all depends. If a sample is used or whatever the case may be, a lot of times [the artist sampled] may want 25 percent of your publishing. Nine times out of 10, a hit could always start you at a quarter of a million. It just all depends. “Shawty” had an Earth, Wind & Fire sample in it and “Put On” was original so “Put On” is going to be more, as far as more publishing. I’m 50 percent in on that shit, but at the same time, “Shawty” sold more ring tones. It really depends on how your money’s being made. Is it a bigger video record? If you win a music video of the year, that means they’re selling the sh*t out of that video.  TV spins is worth way more than radio spins. Radio spins is pennies, TV spins is dollars. It adds up to dollars way quicker than radio.

Are you a fan of Kanye using auto-tune so much?
It’s cool. I think it’s just a fad and a trend that some people are going through. You got people who keep up with trends and then you got people who set the trends, so more respect to T-Pain. He started the trend, so in reality everybody who’s using it is pulling a T-Pain, but at the same time, it’s a plug-in. T-Pain don’t own that plug-in. It’s just like radio voice, back when people started using radio voice and cutting out the bass or making it sound all treble like a robot. It’s all sound effects. It’s a free world so you can do what the f*ck ever you want to do. I’m not tired of auto-tune. If I feel like I want to make a song with auto-tune, I can do that.  It’s a plug-in and any money that I spent on it, I’m going to make my money off of it. So, call it what you want.

T-Pain was saying how Ron Browz singing on “Pop Champagne” was the worst usage of auto-tune he’s ever heard. For people who don’t have trained ears, is there a bad way to use auto-tune?
“Pop Champagne” sounds good and it feels good. People popping champagne to the record so, it doesn’t have to sound good. It’s a lot of things people are saying that don’t sound good, but it’s dope. It’s a nice record. Jim Jones is doing his thing on it, so I like it.  The women and the club like it. So whatever.

Since you’re based in Atlanta, were you friendly with Def Jam Executive Vice President Shakir Stewart?
Yeah, he was one of my homies. I was getting plenty of money with Shakir. That sh*t f*ck*d up the game. I probably seen him like a week before that. He was just straight money like, “What’s good with you?” We was talking about the Rick Ross joint [“Here I Am.”]  Then we was on a f*ck*ng reality show and they came in and told me the news. That sh*t was extra f*cked up.

Being a friend of his, do you have any idea why he might have done it?
Nah, not a clue man. That sh*t is crazy. That sh*t got the game shook right now.

What was your favorite memory with him?
Probably Rocko’s album, man. Shake was always a dude, not really to say he gave me the cold shoulder, but you have to earn his attention and his respect. He’s not going to give you the benefit of the doubt. It was a blessing just to be a part of what his movement because anything that he needed, I got it. And then we were working on the Rocko project, that was like the beginning. Jermaine Dupri initially wanted to do the deal with Rocko and then once Shake heard about it, he was with it. Rocko had “Umma Do Me” popping in the A on his own on the radio and in the clubs with no deal. It was just a pleasure just working with Shake. Prior to that, the only sh*t I was doing with him was the Jeezy sh*t. When Rocko came around, one track turned into like eight [on his album]. Then I got “Here I Am” and that sh*t took Rick Ross to a whole other platform because the album sales went up. We’d have Def Jam takeover parties. It was just hella momentum. [Shakir passing] was like a momentum halter. He was just a cool cat.