Today’s guest has rewired modern hip-hop. His fingerprints live all over the last decade

In this conversation, he opens up about the highs and lows of being a producer in hip-hop: the pressure, the politics, the contracts, the moments that nearly broke him, and the breakthroughs that almost didn’t happen.

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0:00 TEASER

1:20 Ross’ Intro

2:02 Fatherhood and Being a Full-Time Dad

5:12 Parenting, Hoops, and What His Son Really Loves

6:29 The Humbling Reality Check: Kids Don’t Care About Your Hits

7:29 Growing Up Between Pasadena & San Bernardino

8:34 Seeing His Uncle’s Success & Wanting to Be on TV

9:35 Falling in Love With Beat Programming

10:12 Learning to Write & Rap at 13

11:23 Selling His First Beat for $20 at 16

12:24 MySpace Era: The Birth of “Hit-Boy”

13:09 First Major Betrayal: Partner Gets Signed Behind His Back

15:01 Advice to His Younger Self: Patience & Self-Belief

15:23 Building Early Industry Relationships Through MySpace

16:13 First Time Inside a Real Studio (The Underdogs)

17:39 The Underworld of LA Sessions & A Young Hit-Boy Watching Greats

18:44 First Major Placement: Jennifer Lopez

19:06 Providing for His Mom With His First Checks

19:27 Growing Up Without a Present Father

20:22 His Dad’s Return & Going on a Run Together

22:04 How Fatherhood Changed His Time, Focus & Creativity

23:27 Recording Nas: The Hidden Role People Don’t See

24:57 Getting His First Publishing Deal (And the 18-Year Lock-In)

28:02 Staying Current: “I Update My Software Every Day”

28:21 First Big Hit: Drop The World Lil Wayne & Eminem

29:47 Why He Used to Clash With Kanye

32:00 The ‘N*****s in Paris’ Moment (Language Question + Setup)

33:35 First Song With Kanye: The Christmas Track

34:12 Making Music With Kanye, Jay-Z & the Good Music Family

35:40 Hearing 'Paris' for the First Time in the Planetarium

36:32 Realizing the Song Was Going to Be a Cultural Earthquake

38:23 Big Sean, Executive Production & Sharpening His Ear

39:09 How Drake Found the ‘Trophies’ Beat

39:52 Stripping Beats Down to Let Artists Shine

40:33 When to Stop Producing: The Minimalism Lesson

41:38 Depression, Contracts & Losing the Relationship With Drake

42:57 The Pain of ‘Trophies’ Not Making Drake’s Album

43:13 What His Publishing Deal Held Him Back From

44:22 Working From a Place of Fear vs. Freedom

45:01 Working With Beyoncé (Excellence at Every Level)

46:22 The Story of ‘THIQUE’: An 8-Year-Old Beat Comes Back to Life

46:39 Why Old Beats Deserve Second Lives

47:57 The Making of Sicko Mode & Travis Scott’s Explosion

48:20 The Greatest Timing Ever: Streaming, Social Media, Travis

49:00 The Long Journey of Sicko Mode (2016 → 2018)

50:13 Are Producers Songwriters? The Eternal Debate

51:30 Nipsey Hussle: Early Sessions & Mutual Respect

53:53 Nipsey Claims the Song: “I Need This for My Project”

Produced by Joe London and Jad Saad

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