The generation I come from is a
little bit more musical than the generation that's here now
And I think it's due to technology, the way things are being produced.
A lot of their music don't have a heart and
soul in it no more, ‘cause it's not really
being made by human hands, it's being made
by computers.
I think this was my chance to kind of bridge the gap.
The reason why I even got into music is my mom is a choir director, my Dad's a preacher,
so that means we at church four days out of the week.
As a child, you need something to do.
You need some involvement to keep you excited
about where you're going.
If I'm gonna be here at church, I want to
do something.
I started off playing the drums, and it seemed like every boy in the church wanted to play the drums.
I seen there wasn't nobody really trying to
play the keyboard or the organ, so I started
migrating over to the organ and the piano
and started learning that, and I just got addicted to it.
The sound that I developed through just working over the years.
A lot of people take it as the Zaytoven signature
sound is the piano.
It used to be the organs.
I used to rail rip the organs in my beats
and everybody was like, “Oh, that's the Zaytoven sound."
I think when I did a project with Future is
when I really used a lot of pianos,
and it was just me trying to separate myself from
all the other producers.
I didn’t really know about Lil Pump.
I didn’t know that much about his music
or who he was, but my son knew.
If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be keeping
up with what’s going on.
So when he called me, I automatically knew who he was.
“Oh, you Lil Pump.
You’re the one my son been talking about.
I need to work with you.
I can’t wait to work with you.”
So I go back and listen to him and see what he's on, then I create beats that I felt like that'll fit him.
I was right on the money.
My first step in creating this ‘Designer’
beat, I started off with the pad,
you know, just to kind of get the groove going.
It was a pad that came out of the plugin Omnisphere.
I feel like it brings a certain racing
feel. It kind of feel like it's just building up to something.
It's subtle, but then it's kind of mysterious.
It's like, "Okay, what's finna happen?"
You know, it gives you that type of feeling.
Now after I use this pad, now I think about
sounds that I can just add to kind of sprinkle
on top of it to kind of bring some different
elements to the beat.
So, what I added in next was, a bell sound.
I love to use bells ‘cause bells are not
harsh.
They just tickle your ears a little bit.
They just add some different flavor.
Just something about bells that make it be
like, “Ok, this is a trap beat.”
Since I'm so old school, I really don't add
a lot of effects.
I don't add a lot of stuff to change the real
texture of the sound.
And, I move fast.
So, that means I don't have a lot of time
to manipulate the sound, or change it,
or make it sound different.
After I got me two good,
full sounds in the beat,
that I feel like can set the mode, then I start adding drums.
Sometimes, I might add the clap first.
Sometimes, I might add the kick first, but
90% of the time it's the hi-hat.
Now I'm in my zone of, "Okay, let's add all
the drums in it now.”
So, after I add the hi-hat, I come on back,
and I add the clap.
Now once you add the hi-hat and the clap,
every rapper, every artist… what’s gon’
what’s gon’ really get them excited, or make them feel
like, “Ok, I’m ready to go in the booth
right now. Stop making the beat,” is when
you add the drop.
When you add the 808s, it’s time to rap.
I want to say most important sound in the
beat.
I didn't understand that until I got to Atlanta, and that became a major part of me making beats.
If you listen to the beat now, it pretty much sound ... It sounds full, it sound like it's ready to go.
I work with artists like a Gucci Mane, or
a Future, or even Migos, that ...
You know, they're impatient.
When you're in the studio once they start
hearing something they like, "Okay, I'm ready to go in.
I'm ready to go on the mic, boy, I’m ready to rap.
I don't want you to sit here for another 30
minutes making the beat 'cause then
I'm going to lose my energy, I'm going to lose what I had in my mind, what I wanted to say."
So, now, it's like, "Hurry up.
Finish the beat so we can go ahead and do
the song."
I'm like, "Well, hold on, give me one more
minute.
Give me just one quick minute to add all of
these different little extra spices in it."
So, the next thing I added was a snare.
The snares don't do nothing but enhance the
movement.
It's moving almost like how the hi-hats moving.
It just helps build that adrenaline.
I always look at a song as in there's a verse,
and there's a chorus.
In the music something has to change when the chorus come on so it defines,
"Okay, that's the chorus and that's the verse."
So I went on I said, "You know what, let
me add this last sound.
Then this beat will be done."
Even though this was the last sound that I
put in the beat,
I felt like it just made everything just gel together.
It just made it complete.
So now, after breaking down each instrument
and everything I put in the beat,
and the reason why I put it in the beat, let me give
you what the grand finale sounds like.
I feel like Lil Pump definitely follows the
rock star image.
It's almost like no cares in the world.
That's the type of music that makes other
people feel good.
Other people that's probably have problems
or got a nine to five and they stressed out.
These are the artists that can kind of free
them up and make them feel alive so when they
go out or when they listen to the music they
just feel pumped up and excited.
That's definitely the new generation.
Guys like that have respect for producers
like me.
Just the different generations coming together,
and I think that’s what makes it powerful.
