The name Mike City has been synonymous with good music and real singing for well over a decade now. So when the man takes the time to speak on the problems he's seen with the current state of music, you listen. As you will hear in part two of our interview, we discuss why there are fewer fans of music than there used to be, artists abusing the music industry, the online sale of music not being ideal for its target audience, as well as the only time he's ever been star struck in the studio.
YKIGS: The other song I wanted to ask about which is probably my second favorite this year is the song you did with El DeBarge and Faith Evans, that song is crazy.
MC: Oh man, oh my God! Now with El DeBarge it’s funny because I know a lot of people that know El, but I never knew El out here, I never met him or anything, and we just instantly clicked. It’s just one of those sings where here’s an iconic dude that in high school everybody skipped class to go see DeBarge play at Great Adventure. *Laughs* You talk about that and then I’m in the studio with him doing a joint, I got three songs on the album, I got more than anyone on the album actually, maybe it’s me and Jam & Lewis. So I did three songs on the album, and then the single. A friend of mine Erika Jayne, she wrote the joint and it just came out crazy. It’s a blessing man.
YKIGS: I actually had a chance to see a video of you guys on Youtube in the studio making the song and it looked like you guys were having a lot of fun doing that.
MC: Yea man, it’s just a blessing. It’s like you can’t beat that and that’s what I feel like this generation right now is missing because who are they excited about like that. And then the other thing is, I gotta bring this out, I know downloading and all of that stuff is prevalent. A lot of the problem with music right now, it’s not enough fans because everybody thinks they are an artist, that’s a big problem. That’s a bigger problem than I think people really know, like who is the fans?
YKIGS: So what do you think is the solution to that?
MC: I don’t know, but who is the fans? Everybody is a critic. It’s just one of those things, I don’t know the solution to that because everybody thinks music is the easy way out, and it really isn’t. That’s the reality. So that’s what we’re dealing with as well. A lot of people don’t really talk about that.
YKIGS: Do you think it’s that a lot of people are coming into the industry that don’t have the talent, and people are still supporting them?
MC: Yea!
YKIGS: I mean I think that’s a problem. I hear music on the radio and I don’t these artists have talent, but people are still supporting it.
MC: Plus, just because it’s a hit, doesn’t mean it’s a hot record. And that’s the truth. So it’s a false sense of security for artists who shouldn’t really be doing it, it’s like “well if he could do this, or she could do this.” It’s like that, so I don’t know.
YKIGS: I love to see people who are passionate about music and the musicality of things and supporting that and keeping real music alive. I feel like some people are taking the shortcuts just to get on the radio and not really caring about the musicality and the real singing and stuff like that.
MC: Well some people don’t care, some people don’t even know how to do the musicality. And you know these computers lead to that, before computers came into play, you had to do joints, there weren’t any tricks.
YKIGS: The unfortunate thing about it is, I spend a lot of time promoting r&b, and a lot of real singers are getting pushed to the back, not in the forefront any longer and people don’t even know they’re releasing albums. It’s really sad because we’ve got some really good albums coming out and people don’t even know artists are releasing these albums. It’s crazy.
MC: Right.
YKIGS: But it is what it is right now, it will come back someday to the fore front.
MC: Yea hopefully! That’s what we’re dealing with right now, it’s more than just free downloading. And with grown black women, I just feel like they’re a little ways away from embracing buying, I mean not everyone but as a whole, they are little ways away from buying music online because they are used to having physical products in their hand. And as most people know, a lot of physical products are not even available anymore. So it’s just one of those things man.
YKIGS: You’ve worked with so many talented artists in your time in the industry. But who is an artist you haven’t had a chance to work with yet you’d like the opportunity, name some.
MC: It’s a few. I know Justin, we talked a few times before, but we never got it in. I think Justin’s really dope, we never got it in. I’ve met Beyonce quite a few times before, she’s good people, she had a warm spirit to her. I mean who else…I feel like me and Mary, I don’t even know how that hasn’t happened! But it is what it is, I don’t even know how that hasn’t happened, but if it’s meant to be it’s meant to be. Mariah’s dope and everything, so it’s quite a few people, but I have been blessed to work with a lot of people that I’ve really wanted to work with. I mean El DeBarge, that’s good for me, Brandy was big for me, Lalah Hathaway, that’s big for me. To go from listening to these people and then you’re really working with them and help shape what they’re doing, their next albums. It’s crazy.
YKIGS: One thing I wanted to ask you about is on a lot of your hits, you’re credited as the main producer and also the songwriter, which is rare in this day and age for a producer to do the writing on a track as well. So where did you develop this talent for writing in addition to producing.
MC: Well I’m actually a writer first. I’m a writer first.
YKIGS: So tell me about how you developed that talent in writing?
MC: I don’t know man, it’s a gift from God. I have a way with words, but it’s a gift from God.
YKIGS: So when you’re putting a song together, writing a song, how long does it take you to put it together? Because I’ve heard a wide range from artists.
MC: It depends, I wrote “I Wish” in 20 minutes, I wrote “Full Moon” in two or three weeks. *Laughs* I was writing a line a day, and wasn’t doing anything else.
YKIGS: *Laughs* Oh wow that’s crazy, but it came out good, so the hard work paid off!
MC: Yea I mean so that’s why no one can tell me if it don’t come right away, it’s not a joint or whatever, because I can dispel that theory.
YKIGS: As a producer, over the years as technology has changed, has this forced you to make changes to your production style, or have you stuck with the same method?
MC: Oh yea, I had to go take a class. My primary production machine before was ASI-10. A couple of years ago, it was one year when I didn’t have any records out at the time, and a lot of people were probably like what’s going on with me. I got married, had my first daughter, but a lot of that too was I was switching over to using Logic, and I kinda had to go cold turkey so I could get on it foreal. But you’ve got to man, you’ve got to keep up. With the Dwele record, no one would have known what I did it on. Even when I was using my ASI-10, a lot of people thought I was using ND because I come from a hip hop background, I grew up in that era, I grew up when your drums had to be right, you just couldn’t rely on 808. So I grew up listening to all of that and with the drums crazy from Pete Rock to A Tribe Called Quest to even my man Mark Sparks, who actually started Soulife, he was one of the people who started Soulife, he did “Shoop” for Salt-N-Pepa but he was doing hip hop records too like Grand Puba. So just being around all of that, being exposed to that and the basis of everything, the drums had to be hot or you weren’t placing no records.
YKIGS: You mentioned earlier you did some songs with Carl Thomas, you did some recently with Anthony Hamilton. What other artists have you been working with recently and scheduled with for the future?
MC: Obviously Carl, me and Dave going back in. I think I’m supposed to sit down with LaToya Luckett soon. I know a lot of people that people probably just wouldn’t even know I know, or expect I know. Me and Teedra Moses we probably finally going to do something, Teedra is an incredible artist, and I’ve been knowing Teedra since I’ve been out here. My mind is drawing a blank because things just be happening so fast but I stay pretty active. Not only that, I placed records overseas, I’ve got records out in Japan, South Africa, on different artists, Belgium, doing stuff, getting into doing commercials, filming, T.V. You’ve got to use all of that to your advantage and me being in L.A. kinda helped me out.
YKIGS: How are you perceived within the industry in terms of when an artist is looking for a hit, do they come to you? Like do their people come to you like “Alright we need a hit, let’s go to Mike City.” Does it work like that?
MC: I mean I don’t know if it’s per say need a hit, I don’t think anyone has a magic touch or wand. I think if they want a record that they think I can get them to feel a certain way, they will come to me. Oh who else I’m working with, a new artist I’m working with on Geffen his name is Shavonte, he’s dope too. Kayla Smith, I’m doing some work with her, she just signed to Interscope, and that’s my man Kenny Smith’s daughter. I feel bad because I know I’m missing someone foreal. It just be a lot of stuff that happens and then we come back to it like “Oh we doing this now, ok.” And then some stuff I can’t get into until it gets solidified.
YKIGS: Has there ever been a time when you were in the studio working with an artist and you felt like almost pressured, like the need to perform extra. I don’t want to stay star struck, but you felt a little nervous, you wanted to do something extra.
MC: Nah, I think the only time I was star struck in the studio is when I first met Stevie Wonder and I was doing a session with him and I was actually just singing on the record with him one night.
YKIGS: Tell me about that.
MC: It was just the best experience ever, it was Stevie Wonder! *Laughs* It was back when everybody had two ways, and I was like “Yo, I was just sitting here with Stevie Wonder!” I was two waying everybody, and everybody hit me back like “Word!” and I was like “No doubt man, I was just here with Stevie Wonder!” But other than that man, it’s just one of those things, I’ve been blessed everywhere I go, I’m like a ghost and a machine, if you don’t know me, you really don’t know me, but the right people know me. *Laughs*
YKIGS: Those are all the questions I had prepared, is there anything else you’d like to add?
MC: Nah man, just God is great!
No comments:
Post a Comment