Photo Credit (including featured image): Evan Tetreault

Laquan Green is a name you might not be all that familiar with, but you should look out for his name in the future. He’s a co-producer on one of this year’s biggest hits and a winner of a Grammy off that hit. Since his co-production on “Bodak Yellow,” he’s landed deals with both Atlantic Records and BMG and has a lot more on the horizon. RESPECT was able to catch up with him about how “Bodak Yellow” came about, getting it to Cardi B, winning a Grammy and more.

RESPECT.: For the people who don’t know a lot about you tell us a little bit about yourself.

Laquan Green: My name is Laquan Green, I’m 24, I’m a resident of Virginia, I’ve been there all my life and I’m just a lover of music. That’s been my whole life. I can play both the piano and drums and I just love creating music.

RESPECT.: How did you get into music?

Laquan Green: My mom is a singer and my dad is a drummer, so it’s kind of in my DNA. I started playing in the church around the age of 4, playing drums for a few years and by 10 I was playing the drums. One of my cousins who was older than me, then taught me harmony and music theory and all that stuff. By 13 I started to sing and do a little bit of my own music writing and in middle school, I started taking music appreciation and that’s when I started producing. That really captured my attention and my heart. I started off with dance music, and from there is when I made my transition to Hip-Hop.

RESPECT.: What made you transition into Hip-Hop?

Laquan Green: Hip-Hop had intrigued me for a long time because my dad was a Hip-Hop head. Growing up I listened to a lot of N.W.A., Tupac, Biggie, The Roots and all that so that was always apart of my DNA. I was born to get into that type of music.

RESPECT.: Around 14, I started listening to Waka and a lot of the trap stuff. I started to create stuff that sounded similar to it. Lex Luger is from Virginia so I listened to a lot of his stuff. I began to put my flavor in it and I started to put classical music, into trap music, and that’s where I began to develop my style.

RESPECT.: Who are a few of your favorite artists and producers today?

Laquan Green: Prince had a huge impact on me. I loved his creativity and he was just so eccentric. Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Queen and a few others they were so influential — they were all just so funky. Timbaland is from Virginia so I looked up a lot to him too.

RESPECT.: Can you take us into the process of making the beat for “Bodak Yellow” and getting it to Cardi?

Laquan Green: I have a company and we’re a looping samples company. Crafting those samples for that record it was a really difficult process and it wasn’t really planned. When I make a beat it’s usually sporadic and that’s just how I play it. I made the sample for it, and that’s really how it all came about.

RESPECT.: After hearing the complete track, did you think it would be big as it was?

Laquan Green: That song went beyond any of our wildest dreams. Cardi is one of the most bold and unique individuals in Hip-Hop that I’ve seen in a very long time. It was really incredible seeing how that song blew up.

RESPECT.: Where were you when you find out you guys went #1?

Laquan Green: I was actually in the studio at home working. That’s when they told me Bodak went #1, and I was just in shock. It was incredible to see everybody’s hard work up until that point, finally come to fruition.

RESPECT.: How did it feel being nominated for Grammy?

Laquan Green: It felt incredible man. It’s one of those things that you always dream about, but in the back of your mind, you’re always like ehhhh it’s a nice dream, but it’ll probably never happen. When they told me Bodak was nominated I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry tears of joy it was just crazy. It was a humbling experience to be nominated for sure. I still pinch myself when I look at the award because it still feels like a dream.

RESPECT.: Did producing that open a lot of doors for you musically?

Laquan Green: Absolutely. It opened quite a few doors. People I’ve only dreamed about meeting, I’ve met and talked to. Just getting the respect of a lot of people in this industry has been crazy for me.

RESPECT.: What other artists do you want to work with or are you working with right now?

Laquan Green: I have a huge list of artists I want to work with. I want to work with Adele, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Selena Gomez, Drake is a big one and just a whole host of others. I want to see my music touch every corner of the genre — pop, rock, folk all that. I just want to see what happens when creatives just create.

RESPECT.: So what’s next on the horizon for you?

Laquan Green: I got a song deal with Atlantic Records. I got a publishing deal with BMG and that was all a result of me and manager getting placements so we’re definitely working.

RESPECT.: Anything else you want to tell the people?

Laquan Green: I want to encourage producers that might be where I was. They’re working and working but not exactly where they want to be yet. Keep going and grinding, things will look up because timing is everything, you just have to be patient. When you think that all of your work is worthless, that’s when doors fly open. I just want to tell each artist, producer and creative just keep working and good things will eventually happen.

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The post RESPECT. Interview: Meet Laquan Green, One of The Minds Behind “Bodak Yellow” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Long gone are the days that Supakaine was a member of Via Marz, which found him rapping about being young and having fun every weekend. At 25, Kaine seems to possess a wiseness beyond his years and with each release, he doubles down on that. He’s branded himself as an artist that relies on his music being a great form of “real rap,” with each song having some type of meaning to it. Whether it be work hard to get what you want out of life, being safe being in the streets or getting betrayed it’s a message for everybody on Just Like My Neighbors.

With 11 songs in total, Earlly Mac, Mike Floss, Perrier Rosewood, Drey Skonie and a few more help Kaine in bringing the project to life. On the production side, he enlists his trusted team of producers that include W$ Kharri, Icepic, DaG, and a few others. They all come together to put together a consistent and cohesive piece of work that will satisfy listeners for a time to come.

Hear Just Like My Neighbors above.

You can also listen on Apple Music, here.

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The post Supakaine Proves to Shine as One of Detroit’s Brightest Artists with ‘Just Like My Neighbors’ Album appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Detroit is constantly buzzing with new raps and artists, but one of their most talented collection of artists APX just dropped a new short mixtape. Big Friends Vol. 1, features new music by Earlly Mac, Supakaine, Perrier Rosewood, Prada Leary and more all make appearances on the 7 song effort. Behind the boards, Icepic does the most work with three credits, and W$ Kharri and Yung Ray do the rest of the tracks.

The strength of APX’s music is the things that they preach. They ditch the normal narratives of the average Detroit artists and preach a series of topics way more important. The main point they make is to “Buy more land cuz god ain’t making no more.” They are indeed right. Throughout the EP they make sure to throw tips here and there on financial literacy and what activities to avoid when trying to come up. The song that teaches the most is probably “Flip Mo,'” which is about investing in homes, businesses and eventually flipping them.

Above all, the music here is good. APX is trying to do something different and we’re here for it. Stream the project above and look out for Kaine’s next project which will be surfacing in the coming weeks.

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The post Boss Your Life Up: APX Gives You The Tips to Get Rich, Along With Some Great Tunes appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Whether you’re on the wave right now or not, Detroit is one of the hottest cities for rap in music right now. It seems like a new artist emerges monthly if you pay close enough attention, and countless artists mimick what they see and hear from Detroit. Of course there are the big guys: Big Sean and Tee Grizzley for instance. The artist that’s probably the most consistent though, and has been around longer, is Fenkell Avenue’s Payroll Giovanni.

A member of the collective Doughboyz Cashout, which started dropping around 2010, Payroll as a solo artist has carved a die hard fan base with good reason. He’s always kept a hot 16 on deck, producing chops in his back pocket and his new alliance with Cardo Got Wings didn’t hurt him either. Payroll drops bomb after bomb and since Big Bossin’ Vol.1 has really become a force on the rap scene and a staple in Detroit music.

Last week he dropped a self produced tape, 4-1 P, and if you haven’t heard it, it’s fantastic. It’s a tape rooted in Detroit’s origins and the old Doughboyz sound. You can’t forget where you come from, and Pay goes back to the old sound for sure. We caught up with him and got to talk about 4-1 P, the roots of his production skills, Detroit rap and more. Listen to 4-1 P, below and enjoy the interview!

https://open.spotify.com/album/3Gi7BYa1wUJWgu3SIHWtx1

RESPECT.: What made you want to do a whole tape where you produced the whole thing?

Payroll Giovanni: Really just getting back to the roots, the original Doughboyz sound. I feel like that’s what the fans was missing, so I felt like I had to come with it, but make it sound bigger.

RESPECT.: Is it important for you to keep that original Doughboyz sound alive?

Payroll Giovanni: Yeah most definitely. That’s the sound that got us where we at. That’s the type of sound we most comfortable on. It’s just the essence of bringing the Detroit sound back. People ain’t understand it they thought it was some little kid sh*t, but now it’s respected worldwide.

RESPECT.: What inspired you as a producer and is it a different feeling than rapping?

Payroll Giovanni: What inspired me to make beats was really my cousin. He used to make beats back in the day. I used to go in there and freestyle after school, playing around, and the older I got and started taking it more serious I knew what I wanted my beats to sound like, but he couldn’t do it. I picked up on how to make them watching him. Eventually I got my own equipment and started making them.

The sound I grew up on was like Cash Money, Street Lordz, Eastside Chedda Boyz and all that so you probably gon hear that in my beats cause that’s what I was raised on.

RESPECT.: What’s your favorite song on the new tape and why?

Payroll Giovanni: Right now, it’s “Cartier Wishes.” It just reminds me of a time when we was younger and life was just about Cartiers and Pelle’s just hustling trying to get some money, and some of that stuff was real unreachable at that time. It really just take me back to that mind state I had.

RESPECT.: Who you think got the hardest verse on the tape?

Payroll Giovanni: Chaz (Bling) went crazy on “Tax Brackets…” “It gotta be either Chaz or Maine to me right now. Everybody came with it though, so that’s a hard question.

RESPECT.: How do you go about picking who’s going to be on what when making your tapes?

Payroll Giovanni: Usually I just be like this a song I know they a give me one on. I know they gon come with it on this one. Or, I’ll put somebody on a song where they out they comfort zone and make them go crazy on something different.

RESPECT.: You got a history of doing one producer, one rapper projects. Are there any producers you want to link with to do that?

Payroll Giovanni.: Yeah, it’s a couple. I want to do one with Zaytoven in the future. I got some in the cut that I ain’t gon throw out there yet. I got some I’m working on with some Detroit producers. I would love to do a Mannie Fresh one, Just Blaze, hella producers.

RESPECT.: How do you feel about the Detroit rap scene?

Payroll Giovani: It’s beautiful. We in the building. Our presence is known— you got celebrities throwing up Detroit artists, listening to it and some even sound like Detroit artists. I remember they wasn’t acknowledging us at all, they was biting from a distance but wouldn’t give us our props. Now they acknowledging us, it’s a beautiful thing. We making progress.

RESPECT.: Who’s a few of your favorite artists in Detroit?

Payroll Giovanni: Fasho Tee Grizzley, he putting on and making us look good. I f*ck with DZ, I be listening to everything, I be listening to everybody.

RESPECT.: So, what’s next?

Payroll Giovanni: I’m probably gon come again in like October/September. I got a couple things in the cut so I ain’t for sure what I’ma drop next, but the fall time is when I talk that stack yo paper type sh*t so for sure fall time.

RESPECT.: Did you like the response that BBV2 got?

Payroll Giovanni: Yeah, they got the picture. They got the point I was trying to get across with songs like “10 Years 1 Summer,” and all of that. It just had a message and the people caught on to it.

RESPECT.: What’s your favorite project by yourself?

Payroll Giovanni: Stack Season. It just got a classic feel to me. It had a classic feel while I was doing it. It was like my reintroduction to the rap scene cause I wasn’t on the scene for a minute, and I came with that and the fans went crazy. To this day a lot of people say that’s your best project.

RESPECT.: Right now, if you could work with somebody right now who would you work with?

Payroll Giovanni: Young Dolph. Easily, he be talking that sh*t.

Credit: JerryPHD

You can keep up with Payroll Giovanni on Instagram & Soundcloud

Also, you can catch Payroll at the Kindred Fest in July, & be on the lookout for the 4-1 P tour coming this summer.

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The post Cartier Wishes & Champagne Dreams Manifested: A Interview With Detroit’s Payroll Giovanni appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

After dropping the excellent Scholastica Park last year, Detroit rapper Supakaine has started the campaign for his latest already. Just Like My Neighbors is next up on his horizon, and “F*ck Wordplay” is the first offering from it. A few weeks ago he dropped it on all streaming platforms, but now we have a set of visuals for the video as well.

Set in Detroit, the video for “F*ck Wordplay” is a scenic route of Detroit while Kaine goes about his day putting the things that make Detroit, Detroit on display such as Carhartt and lots of snow. He rides shotgun with producer DaG and they both cruise through the city. His WHLGN friends make a short appearance as well before he sets out on his journey.

Kaine is finding a niche for real life bars and it’s working perfectly for him. We can’t wait to see what he does on his next tape. Take a trip with him above on “F*ck Wordplay.”

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The post Supakaine says “F*ck Wordplay” In Latest Video appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

BYLUG Records already put one good project under their belts in 2018 with Payroll Giovanni’s Big Bossin’ Vol.2, and before the summer started decided to let off another one. This time HBK delivers his long awaited Sweet Chin Muzik, a play on his name with that being the real HBK’s signature move. If this music is anywhere close to his signature music, he’s found his stride easily.

The tape runs 14 tracks long, and he brings his usual crew of guests for appearances. Payroll appears on a few tracks, Big Quis, and even the late Doughboy Roc is able to deliver a verse. All sides of HBK are on display here, whether he’s aggresive on “Smack The S** Out You,” bragging on “Pull Mercedes Up” or introspective on the outro for his fallen comrade Roc. He has everything working for him here.

It will interesting to see what BYLUG has in store for us over the rest of the year, but Sweet Chin Muzik is a win and makes them 2/2 on the year. Listen to HBK above.

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The post Detroit’s HBK Delivers With His Latest Tape ‘Sweet Chin Muzik’ appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

4Hunnid/Interscope Records newcomer Mitch debuts his new project, SPACE. The producer turned singer-songwriter is best known for his work with rapper YG; he’s credited on tracks such as “IDGAF” and “I Ain’t Lyin.” Now, the Houston-born and Phoenix-raised artist, is placing his full range of talent on display. Through raw emotion and clever wordplay, Mitch presents his story; detailing the life he left on his journey to fame. The 14-track record features production by Cardiak, B Korn, Mitch, and more and is now available on all streaming platforms.

SPACE includes the single “Jersey,” which has visuals already. The bass-filled track lends itself to Mitch’s signature sound; one which is heavily influenced by trap, with hints of west coast hip hop, R&B and soul. It was this combination of style and versatility which earned him a degree from the esteemed Full Sail University, and his intense grind has allowed for his rise within the industry. In 2016, Mitch was invited to join YG’s Fuck Donald Trump Tour and he has since worked with California rapper, TeeCee4800, and the Atlanta hip-hop collective, Two-9. Mitch currently resides in Los Angeles where he continues to record and produce.

Enjoy SPACE above up top.

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The post 4Hunnid Records Signee Mitch drops his Debut ‘SPACE’ appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.