CREDIBILITY - Amadeus
interview by Ray C.
CRED: Can you give me the thought
process behind being a producer and being a CEO?
A: I started out as a musician at the age of fourth grade so from an
early age music played a major role in my life. At the age of 16, I
sold my first track and I started to really work on my craft and
take it seriously and now here I am at the age of 28 I am the CEO of
my own label Platinum Boy Music Inc. One thing that you have to
realize is that it is a long grind it is something that you have to
be passionate about, something that you have to take seriously and
something where you have to be in it for the long run. A lot of
times people think they are going to be rich overnight, they want to
drive a hot car or rock jewels and that is a part of the game but
that is not what your focus should be on. As far as my company I
wanted to create a movement where I was a platinum boy which means
everything I touched went platinum. As time went on I realized that
you do not have to do it by yourself you can have a team that taps
in to your vision and wants to help you get to where you want to go.
CRED: In an industry that is fickle about the sound it wants you
have managed to stay versatile; is that an advantage?
A: It is a gift and a curse, being a creative person in this
industry because people tend to gravitate toward a particular sound.
Right now it is the autotune sound, there is a Prince sound going
on, when I create I do not follow what is going on if I do take
something from what is going on I just do it from my perspective.
Sometimes people are scared. They are scared to try something new
they are scared to gravitate away from what is successful and try
something new. I try to stay true to what I do and stay true to my
sound I am lucky to have over 45 artists gravitate toward my sound
and give me an opportunity to create a record for them it lets me
stay on top of what I do and kep pushing to do my original sound and
my original vibe.
CRED: What advice would you give to producers to step their game up?
A: To be a producer it has to be something that you have to be born
to do. It starts with getting a keyboard or getting an MPC 3000 and
chopping up samples and trying to bang out as many joints as you
can. I can even appreciate what people do on the computer for a long
time I said you would never see me doing that but then I got a whiff
of logic and now I use logic. I definitely keep the foundation of
the keyboard and the MPC 2000 but it is cool to roll with technology
you do not have to be boxed into one particular thing. As far as
musicianship not everyone is blessed to play keyboard or play drums
so I would say just do what you do or connect with someone who does
that. You know I am from the church so I connect with other
musicians, other keyboardists that can lay down things I may not be
able to do. It does not take away anything from me to have to have
another person lay down a bass line or something if that is what I
have to do to have a hot record then that is what I have to do. A
lot of the most successful people in thi industry when you hear a
hot record it is not just them. It is a collaborative effort between
various musicians so I would say be open minded and not feel like
you have to do everything.
CRED: Which artists do you have the best chemistry with in the
studio female and male?
A: I would have to say Lil Mo for the females. We have a lot in
common she is hilarious and we both grew up in the church she is an
amazing singer, songwriter and she knows what she wants. I did
“Sometimes I” featuring Jim Jones and “Brand New” Meet The Girl Next
Door” album. She lets me come in as a producer add live instruments
and do whatever I have to do to make the records as big as possible.
On the male side of things, Mike Jones is the male version of Lil
Mo,... we spoke two months before and he knew what he wanted and he
is very passionate about what he is doing. When I went out to
Houston I stayed out at his crib, we knocked out the songs, he is an
overall good dude I appreciated those sessions the most.
CRED: I have to ask you what it was like working on Diddy’s project?
A: Wow, it was very challenging. The types of tracks I created were
nothing like what I had done before,... I just got back from LA
doing some filming for the Diddy’s show “Making His Band. Diddy is
building his band that will perform with him on the world tour once
he releases the CD. It was a rewarding and exciting experience.
“Last Train to Paris” will be a ridiculous album
CRED: Talk about learning the business side of the industry as a
producer.
A: Thankfully I only had two learning experiences that shook me up
and allowed me to open my eyes. I produced a song for Foxy Brown the
title track for the Cradle to the Grave Movie Soundtrack and her
brother Gavin wanted some of the credit and he even got paid on my
behalf. My wife at the time who was helping manage me had to call
Def Jam everyday and we had to do a lot of harassing before they cut
a check and saw the light. Now I am looking at the gold plaque on my
wall because it was the first record that I did that sold over
500,000 units. I’d like to mention to the producers on the come uop
that this has to be something that you want to do because the
politics of the game can tear away from you and you are going to
have to fight and continue to move forward regardless of people
pretending to be your friend, people pretending to appreciate what
you do and then they do not want you to succeed. It is what it is
they treated Jesus terribly you have to keep it moving and allow
that to be your fuel to keep pushing.
CRED: What is the most important things you could tell someone to
get ready for the industry.
A: It’s really about being able to create and maintain
relationships. A lot of me getting on these projects and albums is
me being a humble person that people can relate to. That people want
to work with. It is not just about being able to write, being able
to sing and being able to produce it is being able to do all of
those things plus be a person artists and producers want to be
around. Take advantage of the online tools the MySpace, Facebook,
Twitter use them. There are a ton of showcases that happen, there a
ton of conferences that happen so get out as much as possible put
your songs and your beats up, network and create opportunity. Become
a star in your neighborhood, in your city, in your boro because they
can appreciate you they can push for other people to appreciate you.
CRED: How did you get involved with Rakim?
A: It is all about relationships. I got connected with his
attorney/manager I sent him some tracks and he loved two of them.
Rakim is so pivotal if you don’t see the light now I do not know
what to tell you. It is huge to have Rakim on your record.
CRED: What are you working on and where can we find you?
A: My main artist Tiffany Mynon is the angel of R&B. I am working on
her album that will be coming soon.
www.myspace.com/tiffanymynonmusic. www.youtube.com/tiffanymynontv
I produced “Anything You Can Do” on Bow Wow’s New Jack City II
album. I produced “I Know” from Mike Jones’. The Voice featuring
Trey Songz. I produced a song on Paul Wall’s new album Fast Life. I
got song’s on Keisha Cole’s album, the new T.I album, Cannibus,
Keith Murray,Rakim, Redman. I will also be in a city near you with
Trey Songz I am his musical director and drummer so I will be doing
a tour with him maybe two. Also musical director and judge on
Diddy’s Making His Band Show.
I am also the Musical Director for Diddy his show Making His Band
coming to MTV this summer and fall so be on the look out. You can
catch me on MySpace at www.myspace.com/ produceramedeus. You can
catch me on twitter at www.twitter.com/produceramedeus and I have a
YouTube channel www.youtube.com/amedeustv. I do not have a Facebook
page so do not look for me there.
Both: Laughs
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