The Heatmakerz are undoubtedly one of the most legendary music production crews in hip-hop. From the early Camron days, to the Dipset movement and sound in the early 2000's, these guys were running the sound of the streets for almost a decade. We spoke to founding member RSONIST about the beginning stages of his career, how he is able to survive for so many years in this climate, and some really helpful pointers for up and coming producers.
May 05, 2017•2 hr 3 min
Another episode chock-full of JEWELS and information. How do you build value for yourself? Well, there are multiple things you can do. We spoke about the concept of starting to build value and stock for your brand, why that's important, and how that can impact your interactions when meeting various people in the industry. We talk about networking all the time, but what are some key techniques you can execute to help build a stronger network? All of these questions are answered during EPISODE 31,...
Apr 28, 2017•1 hr 56 min
Michael Jackson, Usher, Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupree, Teddy Riley. What do these names have in common? This man right here; Bryan Michael Cox. Not only has he worked with some of the greatest in music to ever live, but he is the first music producer to have appeared on the most TOP BILLBOARD hits consistently for years. We spoke about that time he was in the studio with Usher, and Michael Jackson literally called the studio to "check up on what they were doing". We had an amazing conversation a...
Apr 21, 2017•2 hr 8 min
With a discography of songs produced ranging from Beyonce & The Weeknd to Kodak Black and French Montana, Ben Billions is a true force to be reckoned with in the music production community. Starting as an engineer for DJ Khalid, Ben was able to forge important relationships with industry players and megastars to get to where he is today. The scary part is that he's only getting started! From crashing on couches for years on end, to buying a house & supporting his family, we explore his i...
Apr 14, 2017•2 hr 2 min
In this episode the Blapchat crew breaks down a few key differences between the people who succeed and those who stay stagnant. The concepts of learning to network with people who you want to work with and how to keep those relationships alive. The music industry is a "people" industry. How and when we interact with them is vital to success. There's some major cheat codes here!
Apr 10, 2017•2 hr 3 min
Imagine a scenario where you're pursuing a career in music production for years, hit a wall, and then coincidently move into an apartment downstairs from one of Shaggy's (yes, THE Shaggy) dancers. Then you meet Shaggy (at the height of his career) and your life changes. That's exactly what happened to Ill Wayno. This particular episode is inspiring because what Ill Wayno has been able to do with his career since then is pretty remarkable. This is one of my favorite episodes to date.
Mar 31, 2017•2 hr 2 min
Another amazing producer from Toronto, Canada. Sevn Thomas has one hell of a story, from his early days as an actual artist signed to a major label, to re-kindling his relationship with Boi-1da at a beat battle showdown with WondaGurl. He connected with the right people and the timing couldn't be more perfect. From "Pop Style" for Drake to co-production on "Real Friends" for Kanye, then "Work" for Rihanna, Sevn's life changed forever. Another must listen with plenty of producer jewels!
Mar 25, 2017•2 hr 3 min
After a complete hard drive crash and losing all of his beats, Syksense decided to go harder, and boy did it pay off. After quitting his dead end job, he met Boi-1da at a beat battle in Nashville and everything changed. From Bryson Tiller, to "Know Yourself" for Drake, and most recently being heavily involved with Khalid (the youngest new star signed to RCA) we spoke about how his success strengthened his drive. What an inspiring conversation.
Mar 20, 2017•1 hr 57 min
One thing we all strive for as music producers and creators is to become successful doing what we love. That's a fact. To connect with likeminded people, live life in abundance and inspire people through the music we create is a dream we are all after. One factor we so often neglect during our journey is health. I'm talking about mental, physical and biological wellness. The food we eat directly affects our ability to create music and live life. So why do we torture ourselves by eating fast food...
Mar 10, 2017•2 hr 2 min
Here's a crazy fun fact. If hurricane Katrina never happened, Fat Joe & Remy Ma's "All The Way Up" never would have existed. That's pretty crazy. We spoke to the producer of the song who goes by the name of Edsclusive, who scored the biggest placement of his career after grinding for years and overcoming hardships. His move to Miami, linking with DJ Khaled and Cool & Dre, and building his network were all contributions to his starting point in the game. His come up is very inspiring and ...
Mar 03, 2017•2 hr 1 min
What happens when you decide to hit up a random open mic event, not knowing you'll meet the person who will change your life forever? That's precisely what happened to 6ix when he met Logic. The 2 formed a sound together and 6ix eventually helped catipult Logic to success. From going to school for medicine, to taking a leap of faith by moving to Los Angeles to pursue music, we get behind the story of this amazing producer. Lots of jewels dropped as usual. It's lit!
Feb 26, 2017•1 hr 58 min
The mighty Apollo Brown joined us for our 21st episode! First of all, this guy is an ANIMAL on the beats! Starting out in the "beat battle" circuit, to helping build independent powerhouse label Mello Music Group, to keeping his sound true to soul chopping and hard a$$ drums and taking that sound overseas where he's consistently selling out shows. He recently dropped an album with the homie Skyzoo and it's amazing. The 1st 10 years of his grind was a "confidence builder" and helped build his sou...
Feb 13, 2017•2 hr
We had an amazing conversation with the Vice President of the legendary 808 Mafia production crew. He goes by the name of Fuse. What a story! From his early beginnings coming up with Wacka, to meeting Southside and TM88 to form a production crew. He produced Big Sean's new single "Moves" and we spoke about how that placement came about (amongst many other things!). Very insightful interview with some really amazing advice for up-coming music producers (when do we not!?). Enjoy!
Feb 07, 2017•1 hr 21 min
Another show for the books. Man, so much to say about this amazing musician/producer Allen Ritter. You may have heard a few of the smash records he helped produce, like Rihanna "Work, Drake "Controlla", Kanye West "All Day" (do we really need to keep going?). We spoke about his early beginnings, the leap of faith he took moving to NJ to link with Vinylz (another monster producer) and how they started to create history together. His early up bringing and influence from his father is inspiring. He...
Jan 26, 2017•1 hr 6 min
In our 1st episode of 2017, we kick things off RIGHT with very special new additions to the show! Perfection is her production name, and she is an audio engineer & music producer. She also currently manages one of the premier music studios in NYC, Engine Room. She's met and collaborated with many people in the industry, and her perspective is one we should all look forward to. Glam is a music producer, rapper & singer. She hails from the BAY area, but currently resides in NYC. She's actu...
Jan 11, 2017•1 hr 39 min
The podcast pioneer gawds Reggie Osse & A-King of the COMBAT JACK SHOW blessed us with an amazing and insightful episode! We spoke about Reggie's history in the music industry, specifically his opinions on producer publishing deals back in the 90's compared to now, the birth of the "podcast" movement, his mission moving forward & so much more. Oh, and they stayed for BLAP OR CRAP. Who gets to hear Combat Jack give beat critiques tho!? Only here on BlapChat, baby!
Sep 09, 2016•2 hr 1 min
This week, Kosine of the incredible production team "Da Internz" called in to chat with us about a slew of things! We ran through how certain hit records came about, like Nicki Minaj's "Anaconda", and the story of how Big Sean had an idea for a song, and told them he wanted to create a beat around a hook saying "A$$ A$$ A$$ A$$" on repeat (true story!). We also touch on the amazing things Kosine is doing for our community, including his Marcos Palacios foundation, giving back to his hometown Chi...
Aug 29, 2016•1 hr 50 min
Another one for the books here on BlapChat! The homie Kerry "Krucial Keys" come through and dropped some serious gems. He told the story of how he met Alicia Keys at a Union Square, NY cypher event in the 90's, starting on A-Dat machines, the importance of giving back to the community and how he is able to stay relevant in today's over saturated market. Easily one of my favorite shows. Enjoy!
Aug 18, 2016•2 hr
What an episode. The homie Cardiak Flatline came through and dropped MEGA JEWELS. We spoke about his experience with being consistent in getting placements with Drake, J Cole, his first big record START IT UP (Kanye, Lloyd Banks, Swizz, Ryan Leslie) that literally "started" his career up, his beat battle beginnings, and how nervous he got when Dr. Dre made him change a snare drum a million times and just couldn't get it right. Such an epic show. Enjoy!
Jul 29, 2016•2 hr 4 min
In this episode, we discussed some concepts on networking with people in the industry, but more importantly why CONFIDENCE is so important. In any given situation, confidence will help you get what you want. We had some book recommendations & an in depth discussion, quoting some pretty remarkable people who embody confidence energy. Some really great beats during "blap or crap" as well (which was much needed!). Enjoy!
Jul 21, 2016•2 hr 1 min
What an awesome episode! We spoke to Frequency about what his experience was like producing "Monster" for Eminem & Rihanna, how that changed his life and what he had to do to get there. We dive into his underground hip hop roots, where he started (like the old production forums back in the day that !llmind started on as well) and why he transitioned from underground hip hop to top 40 pop production. Very inspiring stuff here. Run P kills his music set as always!
Jul 08, 2016•1 hr 59 min
What an awesome episode! A lot of inspirational conversation here, speaking on "genius moments" while creating music, dealing with self doubt and overall concepts on how to get over the emotional stresses that come with being an aspiring producer or artist. Stoni makers her return and completely SLAYS. We also introduce a brand new character. Her name is "Lauren" and she is a spiritual being. We'll just leave it at that LOL. Enjoy!
Jun 30, 2016•2 hr 3 min
Another one for the books! In this episode, we spoke to the amazing Supa Dups (producer for Drake "Controlla", Rihanna, Beenie Man & so many more) on his come up in Miami, staying humble, how he balances work and family life, his rise to making a name for himself to become a pioneer in his own right and so much more. His background is really interesting and inspiring. So many jewels in this episode as usual. Tune in!
Jun 24, 2016•2 hr 4 min
Man, this was one of my favorite episodes! So many jewels from the homies in this one. From Focus' experience at Aftermath and working with some of the best, to WLPWR's humbleness & super diverse catalog. This was also one of the funniest episodes to date! Tune in for some really awesome music production tips, like balancing time with family, a day job, and much more.
Jun 03, 2016•1 hr 58 min
In this exciting episode, we had the incredible Charlie Heat of GOOD Music. From touring with Madonna, to creating bangers with Kanye and DJ Carnage, we spoke about his beginnings and how he managed to reach this point in his career. So much great info!
May 27, 2016•2 hr 5 min
One of our best shows yet, we spoke to Cardo Got Wings about his grind, what it was like coming up in Minnesota, why he DM'ed Drake and ended up hopping on a phone call with him to get a placement on "Views" and so much more. The information here is priceless. http://www.blapchat.com
May 06, 2016•2 hr 9 min
This week's special guest was none other than Jonathan Master. With 15+ years in the music industry as an A&R (and !llmind's manager), the wealth of knowledge he possesses is second to none. We spoke about shopping beats, what it takes to break into the industry and some great insight on creating a financially stable/long term situation for yourself. Really awesome show. Lots of info. Enjoy!
Apr 28, 2016•2 hr 8 min
This week we spoke about some new plug-ins and some new/revolutionary live DJ hardware, making "cute-a$$" beats, and a pleasant surprise during our beat critique. !llmind also played his entire new "secret" hardcore hip-hop album with Chicago spitter Verbal Kent during our music break. Lots of information in this episode. Tune in!
Apr 21, 2016•2 hr 1 min
!llmind, Stoni, Atlas, DJ Prince & DJ RunP talk about music production and a bunch of other cool things. RunP plays funky tunes you never heard before. We've got special guest: Grammy Award Winning platinum music producer Symbolyc One (Producer of Kanye's "Power", Jay Z, Beyonce, Eminem & more, signed to G.O.O.D. Music's 'Very Good Beats' entity). We talked about the steps he took to get certain placements, how to balance work and personal life, and so much more. This was legendary!
Apr 16, 2016•1 hr 48 min
This week we had "America's Favorite Production Duo" Buda And Grandz Music came through to chop it up with us about mad things. These guys are becoming an NYC mainstay, having produced tracks for The Lox, 50 Cent, Dave East, Wyclef and more. We spoke about their rise to how they've gotten to this point in their career, and what it takes to stand out from the rest.
Apr 07, 2016•2 hr 10 min
