$outhern – Q&A Interview

Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from? How long have you been making Beats?

My name is $outhern and I am a producer out of Houston, TX. I started making beats 6 years ago during my first semester of college at Stephen F. Austin State University. I was just rapping and I was going by the name Southern MC. I was introduced to FL Studio by a neighbor down the hall in my dorm and I’ve been using it ever since. I really started making beats because it was something that I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid. I love music.

What influences you in making Hip Hop?

Producers. Even when I was rapping, I’ve always looked up to producers. 9th wonder was the first producer that I looked up to the most when I first started making beats. I wanted to pattern my sound after his at that time.

Describe your Beats, and what separates you from other Producer’s?

I love sampling. I actually started off sampling first before I started making beats from scratch. My sound is smooth, but my drums are always going to be tough.

In my opinion, the drums have to be right for the beat to be dope. What separates me from other producers is that I try to find records that other producers aren’t sampling. If I am sampling a record that has been sampled, I want to make sure that I sample the record completely different.

Who have you collaborated with? Who would you like to collab with in the near future?

I’ve collaborated with Cobell Damu, Blaccc Lotus, J Cash, and I’m currently collaborating with solo artists Shun and Yung Dawn on their upcoming project “New Students.” We released “Kermit” back in March as the lead single with an official music video, and we also released “Flight 4” on 4/20 as the second single which are both produced by me. At the top of my list for collaborations it would most definitely be Curren$y, Wiz, LE$, Juicy J, Mac Miller, Nipsey Hussle, and Dom Kennedy.

Your definition of “Underground Hip Hop”?

To me, underground hip hop is the realest form of hip hop. It’s more original because underground artists don’t have record labels and A&Rs telling them what to do. We make what we want to make without having anyone interfere with the creative process.

Who are you TOP 5 Producers & TOP 5 MC’s

In no specific order, my top 5 producers would be Dr Dre, Timbaland, Pharell and the Neptunes, Scott Storch, and Zaytovan. Top 5 MCs would be Biggie, Pac, Jay-Z, Eminem, and Nas.

Any current or future projects you are promoting?

Besides “New Students” with Shun (@_Marshun_) & Yung Dawn (YungDawn_PHE) I will also be dropping another beat tape sometime this summer. I will be releasing the title very soon.

Can you give us a brief description of the creative process of Cali Dreams? Also/ tell us a little bit about the concept and idea behind your Album/Mixtape Cover Art.

I worked on Cali Dreams for about a year. I made alot of beats for the project but only 10 made the cut. While working on the project, I listened to a lot of Curren$y for inspiration. For the idea of the project I wanted for people to see what I saw when I thought about Cali by listening to the music. Even though I have never been to Cali, I wanted the music to represent my perception from what I’ve seen through the media. Nice weather, pretty women, good weed, etc. I was an art major when I was in college so the cover was a vision that easily came to me. I shot the idea to Josh Powell, an artist from Dallas, TX, and he brought the idea to life.

Where can we find your music and info?

You can find my music on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/riotmusicproductions/sets/cali-dreams-instrumentals Follow me on Twitter at @SouthernMCBeats

Any shout outs?

Most definitely! Shout out to the fam 1neLife Clothing! We’re a clothing line out of Houston, TX and we’re currently on the rise with our signature “L1FE” jerseys! Check us out at http://www.1neLifeClothing.bigcartel.com Follow us on Twitter @1nelifeclothing