OnRapRadio Interview with MdL

So heres the story behind this. This interview is a few months old, I was planning on dropping it a while ago but my computer was fucking up ridiculously. This interview was before the Jackie Boyz threatened to sue me lol and it's also before i figured out who Qwes was (coincidentally i posted a track by him earlier today). Anyway this is still a good interview and MdL is still that dude.


ORR: So first of..where are you from?

MDL: pasadena, california. specifically altadena, CA. it's like right on the border of pasadena

ORR: So how did you get into making music?

MDL: ok, well, i've always been into music since i was little, but it wasn't until like 2 years ago that I got into making beats or whatever, like i was never into hip hop and RnB and stuff like that, but as I listened to those styles more, i really loved the beats so then i started messing with fruity loops and just kinda got into it,and then just added like a midi controller, monitors, a mixer, all that stuff little by little, then i brought some beat cds to school and some rappers heard it,and that's when everything really kicked off

ORR: You must have known you're beats were something serious to drop that kind of money on equipment. Were the beats the funding for all this?

MDL: actually at first, i didn't make money off them, I didn't know if i was supposed to or whatever, lol, but then i read up on a lot of production and business stuff, and I learned all that.....but at first i just bought inexpensive stuff. but it took a while for me to get good money from production

ORR: so fruity loops is the tool of youre trade?

MDL: oh, definitely not, i use it for some things, but as a DAW, no. i use Nuendo (Cubase SX 3) for all my sequencing, recording, mixing, and home mastering. in addition i use plenty of commercial VSTs and a motif es6

ORR: I see i see. and i dont know this for sure,but ive been told you dont use samples in you're beats?

MDL: i rarely use samples, only on request. when i first started was into the whole kanye thing, lol but i almost exclusively do everything from scratch

ORR: i definitely can respect that as an aspiring producer myself. its one thing to manipulate a sample and make a beat,but to make something from scratch is completely different. is there a reason for you're abandonment of sampling?

MDL: Exactly, having the freedom to go whatever direction i want is a big thing.....the other reason is the clearance issues that are so much of a hassle that they're not worth it....nowadays most commercial labels and stuff don't even want anything to do with sampling cause it's too much of a hassle and expense when composed shit is just as hot

ORR: True..sampling is a huge reason that downloading is such an issue for an artist these days. they lose so much money with paying for sample clearance they lose profits. So you sell beats on such a large scale that this would even be an issue?

MDL: right, well some people's theory is that if they sell a sampled record and it's get big enough to get noticed then they can pay the clearance fees no problem. but for me i'd just rather compose, but lots of times like east coast cats want me to use a specific sample or whatever and of course knowing how to sample and chop and all that is an essential skill to production. so everyone should at least try it and get comfortable with it cause those skills come in handy when editing drum one-shots for example

ORR: I see i see. So youre a young dude,do you ever get discriminated against when it comes to selling youre beats? or does the music speak for itself?

MDL: because of my age and unfortunately my race and demeanor, yes, im underestimated at first glance, but the music speaks for itself once heard and i have good management with excellent connections so usually everything goes smoothly. once the music is heard, my age is actually an advantage

ORR: Haha. so this is kind of a sidenote for me personally but ill probably keep it in for anyone who wants to know,but how much do you typically charge for a beat and what exactly does ur charge include

MDL: haha, ok.....well for local artists or whatever, usually between 300-1000, for signed artists any where from 2,0000-8,000 roughly. but it all varies, and that includes tracked out waves of the beat or whatever is needed. but many times i record to, or i go to the studio where the artist is recording cause i try not to be a "beat maker" i make a myself a producer. i like to help create the flow of a track and arrange vocals and work with engineers when not mixing myself.

ORR: How often do you sell beats? is it to the point where you can live off of you're production alone? and are you the only person affiliated with MDL Productions?

MDL: well it varies, but im doin productive things almost everyday, right now im goin through a patch where im tryin to close some big deals that i have pending so im not doing too many placements at the moment, but i was getting good placements like every week or whatever. it's pretty much just me, but I gotta give a shout out to my boy parker, who does my myspace and helps me production wise and stuff like that

ORR: So who is one of the main artists you're working with right now?

MDL: right now im doin a lot of great work with the Jackie Boyz

ORR: are they one of the signed artists you've worked with? and how many others have you worked with?

MDL: The jackie boyz are unsigned at the moment, but as for other signed artists..about 7-10, probably more.

ORR: would you like to label drop right now?

MDL: lol ok..flipmode squad/ jive records, konvict, universal, slip-n-slide, def jam

ORR: thats one thing ive noticed,being in the business that i am i have tons of music connects,and i know tons of producers,but you posses a certain something that others dont,anyone can produce a beat over time but you have a hit making quality,im sure you've been told that before. what do you think seperates you from the others?

MDL: thank you, that means a lot bro. but, um, i try to stay fresh and i try to make records with commercial potential which means money making records and i try to use the highest quality sounds possible

ORR: Speaking of quality,how selective are you about artists you work with?

MDL: im fairly selective, but if the money's right i'll work with people i normally wouldn't

ORR: haha i like that,get that money. so i take it you're not one of those producers who cries about how hip hop is dying?

MDL: lol, definitely not, i change with the industry and the "commercial" sound doesn't bother me. it's all just music, and i love making music, whether it's pop, or anything. i believe hip hop is changing. it will never "die"

ORR: as far as hip hop goes i feel there needs to be a balance,i dont want to hear "Real shit" all day. i mean im not going to sit here and compare a soulja boy to a Nas or Jay-Z,but to say crank dat doesnt knock at a party is just ignorance. good music is good music,glad you recognize that

MDL: i completely agree. i want to make a comfortable living doing what i love, whether i get big or not but.......i do have a "i want to be the best" mentality. i wanna do everything i possibly can.

ORR: yeah i can definitely dig that. dont get in the game to lose,and with skills like yours i can definitely see you as a scott storch type of the next generation

MDL: thank you bro, i can only hope.

ORR: So do you only produce hip hop and R&B music?

MDL: no, i used to have a closed mind but that's not good. i do pop, techno, pretty much anything in that realm. so yeah i try to do whatever is asked of me. cause that makes more money, shows versatiliy, gets more exposure. all positive stuff. i even wanna do radio and movie scoring, anything

ORR: yeah exactly,i was telling a producer friend of mine earlier today,dont get stuck in genres,do it all and get paid,you never know,it could be a rock music A&R who opens the door for you. you just never know who hears what, good to use all aspects of advertisement.

MDL: definitely, and like i said its all music. and i love music no matter what it is.

ORR: thats a good outlook. so you dont have any artists who get free or discounted beats?

MDL: i do, but at this point im getting too busy to have all these free artists. even though there's not many

ORR: yeah..business is business. but at the same time supporting a artist you strongly believe in is a good outlet for both of you

MDL: yeah, good artists you can give a break. you can't be too lenient though cause people will take advantage and that's happened to me before. so i learned from it

ORR: do you do the singing in tracks? i mean i hear tracks where you're listed as the producer and there is a vocalizer singer,wasnt sure if it was you or not

MDL: i sing a lil bit so that helps me arrange rnb artists and i can find harmonies and stuff like that.

ORR: thats a really good look. So what artists unsigned/signed would you like to work with in the future?

MDL: honestly there's no one i don't wanna work with. i wanna work with everyone.

ORR: So you got anything else you want to say before we finish?

MDL: just check out myspace.com/masondl for updates and be on the lookout for some radio things to drop soon from Qwes and the Jackie Boyz. thank u for the interview i appreciate it.

ORR: Thanks for taking out the time to do it, im sure we'll be hearing much more from you in the near future.

MDL: peace bro

ORR: peace

www.myspace.com/masondl to hear this super producers music.