How do you get to be nominated for Producer of the Year at the upcoming Grammys? In the case of Hit-Boy it is an insane amount of hard work. In fact, for this interview I met up with him and his manager, Nima Nasseri, at the L.A. studio he works out of the week between Christmas and New Year’s, a period notorious for the entire music industry shutting down.
While everyone else is on vacation, Hit-Boy, Big Hit (Hit-Boy’s father) and rapper The Game managed to make an entire album, Paisley Dreams, in a single night, released yesterday, New Year’s Day, as a wonderful release.
It was a perfect end to a year that saw Hit-Boy produce an incredible seven albums, including three just in one calendar year with iconic rapper Nas, and, most importantly, for Hit-Boy, his dad’s album, The Truth Is In My Eyes. The pair made headlines when they released the album exclusively through their own website and kept it off Spotify and other streaming services initially.
Hit-Boy has a lot to say about the state of the music industry heading into 2024. It’s a major topic of our discussion, along with what his Grammy recognition means, his collaboration with his father, his next steps in music, and more. .
Steve Baltin: I like that we’re here this week because no one else in L. A. will be racing this week.
Hit-Boy: Right. It’s like 10 rooms at the studio and I’m the only one occupied right now, me and my dad. Both of our rooms.
Baltin: Do you even have the idea of taking a week off?
Hit-Boy: I took a day or two off. I probably didn’t come on Christmas Day. I went the next day.
Baltin: Is it hard for you to slow down or there’s too much going on?
Hit-Boy: yes, I’m on a mission, man. I’m reaching that threshold, but I’m just looking to surpass it. I feel like all those years of making beats and learning techniques, I’ve implemented everything I’ve learned and I’m making bigger beats. So, I must do more of this.
Baltin: I talk about this all the time with artists, as an artist, you’re never satisfied. But what happens is that you do things that you start to enjoy and that are the building blocks for the next project. Do you feel like you do now? You’ve put all those blocks in combination and are there any of your songs now where you see all those blocks combined?
Hit-Boy: In particular, I would say my father’s new project. All the wisdom I’ve been able to get from being around Nas, or Jay-Z, Kanye, Game, Big Sean, and everyone else. I was able to apply it to anything close to my heart. We had a sound, between my dad and I, that was professional and that other people respected. So it’s just amazing.
Baltin: Are there any that stand out to you?
Hit-Boy: All of them, bro. We didn’t play, I feel like every song on this album has got raw emotion in it, musicality. It’s got a certain knock to it. Obviously the musical side, but just going into the real conversation like independence, you know what I mean? I guess when you do things as everybody else does or you kind of just feel like you’re getting caught up in a wave, you get swept up in a wave. Like if you don’t have this big giant first weekend, then you kind of feel like, “It’s over for me.” And with my dad’s album, I would say the money we made in the first week, we’d had to have millions of streams to make that amount of money. We would’ve made a couple $100 at this point from the amount of times we’ve been played just off my dad’s site. So, I feel way less pressure and I just feel like I’ve got some breathing room. I feel better about the situation. And I see people, I see the arguments, I watch the comments, and, man, I try to reply to as many people as I can to show love. Some people are like, “Man, nah, that’s not convenient. We want it on Spotify and on Apple Music.” And that’s cool, but we’re really trying to see who’s rocking with us. It’s not like you just discovered us or just let our song play on a playlist in the background. If you’re coming to hear this, you want to hear it the right way and we want it to be presented the right way. It’s more than just music, it’s an art piece. So that’s just where I’m at.
Baltin: It’s like so many things in life, scarcity makes them more valuable.
Hit-Boy: Exactly, exactly. I saw from Vince Staples that they were going to value our art. When it comes to music, especially urban music, it’s like a cap. I wouldn’t even say that urban music is just music. This crap costs $1. 99 or $9. 99 and that’s just the end, where you can push a movement where the shitty prices are $100 like Nipsey Hussle or $1,000 like Nipsey Hussle, and those are the other people who are really rocking with you and will come looking for it.
Baltin: Tom Petty, who I love, fought MCA as early as 1981. They wanted to release a record and they wanted to increase the value and he fought them for a year over the value, and $1 more because he didn’t. He needs to alienate his fans.
Nima Nasseri: The worst thing is that there is rarely a transparent and transparent payment system. According to the law, no one knows. We don’t know how much Spotify will pay Universal and then the breakdown between the DSPs and the big ones, we don’t know what their value is.
Hit-Boy: They’re all in cahoots.
Nasseri: Yes, he makes the product and then provides it to other people who walk on it.
Hit-Boy: Running off and making the real money off something I created, where I’d rather it be like, “Hey man, if we make 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, 100,000, whatever it is, we’re going to accept it and run with it and keep pushing and just let that be what it is.”
Baltin: But on the positive side it does seem artists have so much more freedom creatively now.
Hit-Boy: Yes, of course. That’s a smart thing to do about where we are. We were able to do that and we felt smart, man. I’m on Twitter, I’m on IG, I’m watching conversations. I see that many other people are not. I’m pleased with what’s happening with the numbers on streaming sites. So, I feel like it’s time for something to happen that makes the stage more balanced for the artists. But, obviously, it’s something they don’t want: the others. who make all the bread. I just do the most productive thing I can with what matters to me, protecting it.
Baltin: From an artistic point of view, do you also find it vital to combine the way you distribute music?So, let’s take the case of your father, for example. Since it’s such a private album, is the cast more important to you?
Hit-Boy: Yeah, and that’s what I’m saying. As if it tires your life. I’m sure many artists have felt that way. Everyone tries to accept it as true, but it’s like you listen to a top ten record and think “I know this is rarely bigger than what I’m doing now” [laughs]. That is precisely what it is. I’m not trying to be selfish, but there are often many points where it evolves in a limited way. We’ve talked about this before, most of the projects I’ve done didn’t have million dollar promotions behind them. And that is helping a lot. Many other people are influenced and many other people can be bought. So at the end of the day, I just can’t say what’s better and what’s not. I just know that I’m looking to do something that becomes Yo, man.
Baltin: So, let’s go to the Grammys. How much validation is there from being nominated for Producer of the Year?
Hit-Boy: I feel good. I feel like it’s already won, to be honest, because everyone has the biggest artists in their ranks. It’s a wonderful thing, it’s fire. But at the same time, to be able to paint enough with just the music, I think it’s the best. I feel like it’s a W.
Baltin: Is there anything that stands out to you in terms of creativity that has worked?
Hit-Boy: The CDs, magazines, and tangible pieces that accompanied my father’s album. Like I said, we’ve had millions of streams to make the money we make in a week from this shit. I don’t want people to think it’s just about money, but it’s business. And if they understood the kind of money that other people make who don’t even play the music, then they’d say, “Damn!”But if I talk about cash, then I’m worried about cash or I’m this and I’m that. At the end of the day, it’s still a business and I put my center and my soul into this shit. And I know other people who have never shown creativity, anything along the lines of “Niggas in Paris: he devours music more than I do. “This does not suit me. That’s the music business. I make the music more productive, but it’s the moms who don’t have anything artistic to play and sit down. We need to make our bread at the same time.
Baltin: Explain to me the procedure you followed with your father’s case. Did you say it directly?
Hit-Boy: Yeah, we posted it on their website, bighitnupid. com. We were just looking to create a position that was a hub for him. He designed all of his products, hand-drawn, using some of his criminal art. only for other parts. Actually, he brings other people into this world because he feels like it’s something other people haven’t noticed before. You’ve never noticed this dynamic. You’ve never noticed that a son grows up, goes through trials, bakes bread, all that stuff, and then raises his father. It’s the other way around. Therefore, for many other people it is not easy to digest.
Baltin: When you’re in a position where you can produce your dad’s music and get it on the most sensible charts, does it have to be as rewarding?
Hit-Boy: yes, sure. That’s all I’m really interested in, just seeing more and more people show respect and need to collaborate with him and with us. Nas is great, Game is great, Big Sean is great, Dom Kennedy, all kinds of artists I know. have a wonderful respect for.