The Beat Mechanics are the illest producers that you have yet to meet. They have produced tracks for Future, Lil Wayne, Dipset, Jay Z and so many more. Always in a studio working on the next hit track for everyone’s favorite rapper, it’s quite the surprise that are not as known. But regardless to their social status, this triple threat of producers have continuously created hits after hits and have so many more tracks to come. Producing the official track, “The Devil is a Lie,” off of Rick Ross’ hit album, Mastermind, the Beat Mechanics have proven to be some of the best producers around.
I got a chance to talk to the Beat Mechanics about producing “The Devil is a Lie,” their past projects, being Grammy nominated and what is to come for them. Check out the interview below.
How did you get involved with the track “The Devil Is a Lie?”
Chubbie: Me and Rick Ross actually did a record a long time ago called “Fetti,” so we’ve worked in the studio together numerous times, even through Khaled. So, the relationship between me and him has been there. Him and KE had a mutual relationship through “You The Boss,” he produced that one for him.
KE: I was actually working with Nicki Minaj back in 2008 when we did “You The Boss” for her and we just built up a great relationship from there.
Who else have you guys worked with? I know you guys did a couple of tracks with Roscoe Dash and Future, but who else is on the list?
Chubbie: Man, we’ve damn near worked with the whole business.
KE: Even with Tamar Braxton, you know, we’re Grammy nominated just for that alone. So there’s actually a lot of people that we work with and a lot of projects that we have that are coming out also. There’s a whole rundown list if you want me to give it to you, haha.
Haha, just tell me recently who you’ve worked with.
KE: Gorilla Zoe, Flo Rida, Migos, Juicy J, The Game
Chubbie: Drake, too. We got some stuff on the line with Drake. We going to LA next week to do some stuff with Meek’s album. We’re going to the studio in a couple weeks to do some stuff with Lil Wayne, trying to get on The Carter. We ain’t on it yet but we’re heading down to get some work done. The list goes on. Then we got some up and coming artists we’re about to break, too with the Beat Mechanics production.
Can you give us a couple names of your artists that are coming out?
Chubbie: There’s this one artist, his name is Sosay, he’s from Ohio. I grew up in Ohio, too. We got a record coming out called “200k,” gonna be a real big record for the Summer. Then, we’re bringing out an R&B artist, his name is Aaron Lamont. He’s real dope. He’s gonna give you like the Carl Thomas-feel. The Beat Mechanics, you know, we haven’t really been showing off our production work because we’ve just been doing singles on different projects. Now, we’re about to give people a body of work, you know.
Ok, cool. And when is the entire “body of work” coming out?
Chubbie: Starting this Summer. We’re putting out Beat Mechanics production on one of my production mixtapes that we release every year. It’s called “36 O’s.” I drop one of those each year, this one will be Part 3 and it’s all Beat Mechanics production. You gonna be hearing a lot of KE stuff, SM tracks and other little parts of the machine that’s down with us. We gonna show off a little bit, you know?
KE: Also, there’s another mixtape coming out called “I Am Music,” with our production. 14 exclusive tracks from top to bottom.
How long have you guys been producing together?
Chubbie: I really, like, found KE and Roscoe. Like, I found them at a level where they were already together but I was working with Zone 4 for Polow Da Don. Everyone was excited about Roscoe Dash and I was like, “Hey man, they need to be excited about KE, he’s special he’s talented.” Late 2008/2009 we was already moving, then KE, you know, he started exploding. I put Future with KE and they came up with “Magic” and a bunch of other records. Because at the time, I had found Future too and I was managing Future.
KE: Yeah he played a big part in my career when I first started and I did “Swag Surfin’” and when I produced “Bad.” Then, when Roscoe came along, Chubbie was the one who could facilitate a lot of projects and deals that I had. So he’s played a big part and ever since then, we’ve just been rocking.
When you guys produced “The Devil Is A Lie,” did you produce it first and then give it to Ross or was he like in the studio chillin’ with you guys and the idea came up to work together?
KE: With the relationship I have with Maybach, I’ve been working with them and shooting them tracks so that’s how I got the placement. Ever since I had that relationship with them since 2009, you know, I just sent them over a track and they loved it and said they wanted to run with it and we’re gonna put Jay on it. So at that particular time, I wasn’t exactly in the studio with them, just had to have them check their email.
So how do you feel about how big the track’s gotten, especially after having Jay-Z on it? It’s in the clubs, all over the radio, etc. Clearly you have tracks that have gone big before. “Magic” was great, but Mastermind is on another level. That album, in general is awesome, so to be on that album how do you guys feel about it and the fan’s response it’s gotten?
Chubbie: We were excited, of course, we’re big Jay-Z and Rick Ross fans so to have both of them on a record together is an accomplishment for our team, man. We just want more motivation.
KE: Yea, most definitely. It is a great feeling. That feeling, for me, lasts probably about 48 hours and then I get back to work.
You guys can answer individually, but who is your favorite person to do work with?
KE: That’s a hard question to answer, actually. Haha. I like actually working with writers more than the actual artists. Because with me, we actually create songs for the artists. So with me, I’d probably say B. Major and Rock City I’d say both of them. And then, artist-wise, I think Future. I like how he just hears things and can come up with a hook or melody within 3 minutes.
Chubbie: I gotta say Lil Wayne. He’s like one of my best friends since back when Diplomats was starting. Me, him and Juelz, when we was workin’ on “I Can’t Feel My Face,” I seen how fast he worked. He helped me become a better musician, seeing how he worked, you know. Working on “The Carter 2,” “I Can’t Feel My Face” and even “The Carter 3” and introducing me to Drake and seeing how Drake works. Those are a couple of my favorites, man. But, the classic of all-time is actually seeing Jay-Z do a verse. I seen Jay-Z do a verse one time in Bassline Studios back when we had Dipset. On Cam’ron’s album, he did “Welcome To New York City” and I seen how he really ain’t write no music and he didn’t mess up, not one time.
Wow. So he ain’t lying about that then, haha.
Chubbie: Nah, he’s not lying, haha. I actually witnessed Jay-Z do the “Welcome To New York City” verse with Cam’ron. That’s gotta be the most classic time ever. That’s like being in the studio with Michael Jackson. People really got to get familiar with us. We built the Beat Mechanics with our separate, individual energies and we’re putting it all in one basket. We been in control of the music business for a long time, and we aren’t stopping. We got new projects that’s gonna be shaking the game up.
Do you guys feel like you don’t get enough exposure, especially be on such known-names tracks?
Chubbie: Nah, because if you look at Future and see the records that he’s done, everyone always wants to know who that guy is behind the music. Right? When you look at a team like Dipset, you wanna know who helped start that movement? You can’t forget the people in the back who are making it happen. They only see what’s in the forefront, you know. Like Roscoe and KE and Travis Porter, that was like a whole little movement. They started changing the music in Atlanta. They weren’t up on that, they didn’t know KE was gonna be this big, but I always knew, that’s why I always stayed with him. I knew he was gonna be the one, the star that shined over everything, look now. Travis Porter, they’re dope still, Roscoe Dash is dope, but KE is relevant, and that’s key – who can stay relevant throughout the years of the music.
What about you, KE? What do you think?
KE: I feel like I get great exposure. I feel like some kind of a household name, like some people actually know who I am.
Chubbie: Not write-up’s though, we’re talking write-ups. Not talking the business side, we don’t get enough write-up’s. Haha.
KE: Yea, true. I feel you.
Chubbie: I think KE deserves to get on the cover of The Source Magazine! Haha. One day, you’re gonna call us and say hey you’re getting the cover! So that’s exciting, haha. I would jump out the window, haha. We love The Source, man. This is our first time interviewing with you, for me. Is this your first one, KE.
KE: I’ve never done one with The Source.
Chubbie: All that work and we never made it to The Source Magazine until “Devil Is A Lie” and, you know, we respect that. It makes us go to the studio and work harder.
KE, this is a question for you. I’m sure you heard a lot about this and know you’re probably tired of talking it, but tell me the backstory about “Devil Is A Lie” and why Major Seven was saying that the track was stolen.
KE: I guess, you know, sometimes that’s what’s can happen when the business part isn’t handled before the track comes out. Some people put records out and the business just isn’t handled. You know, he’s young and it was his first big record as a producer. He just woke up with Jay-Z and Ross on there so the business wasn’t really handled and he wasn’t very familiar with the music business so he did a little rant or whatever. Once we actually sat down and talked, you know, he understood. Sometimes things happen this way, but you know, we got it all cleared up. As far as on the production, I actually added the drums, I didn’t really like his drums so we just went back in and they loved it so they put the record out. Then we went back to Major and handled the business. Now he’s on one of the biggest albums out and we are too. Everything worked out.
What is your favorite track that you ever produced?
KE: As of right now, it’s probably between “Devil Is A Lie” and Tamar Braxton’s “The One”. “Devil Is A Lie” is something real special to me and that’s an accomplishment. The Tamar Braxton one and it was actually from Biggie Small’s single, “Juicy.”
Chubbie: One of them is a classic, gotta be “Suck It Or Not” with Cam’ron featuring Lil Wayne.
KE: I love that record, too. That’s like one of my favorite records from him, too.
Chubbie: Yea, and then there’s one that we were gonna put on “I Can’t Feel My Face”. I actually used it to put out as a street single and it actually blew me all the way up. Let everybody know that it’s Chubbie baby, it’s called “Oh Yea”, featuring Lil Wayne and Juelz. Those are like my two favorite classic records ever.
Is that mixtape ever coming out?
Chubbie: Nah, haha. That window is over with. What we got out of it was a good experience. We got a bother bond and we still here making music today.
What do you guys want listeners to get from your music?
KE: I think when people hear the production from Beat Mechanics, I just want then to get the feel of authentic, real music. There’s a lot of club and gimmick records out there and I feel when people hear the production that we did, when they hear “Devil Is A Lie”, when they hear what we give, I feel like it’s timeless, like it’s classic. We want people to think we make timeless music, not just a here today gone tomorrow track.
Chubbie: I just want people to feel the real. When you listen to our music, you can feel the authentic-ness. We actually taking our time to make music for the people and outside of the box, we’re really treating it like a lifestyle. When you KE beats, when you hear Chubbie beats, when you hear BM beats, you really hear us. It’s how we dress, even, we dress how our music sounds, you know. We act like how our music sounds, it’s a lifestyle, you know? When we be in the studio working, KE has all the drinks around, he’s entertaining everybody so they’re all feeling good. You know, you go in the studio with some people and they may not even talk. You don’t get a vibe like that from us, when we in the studio, it’s crunk.
To close out, what do you guys have coming up in the near future?
Chubbie: We should probably save that for the next interview, haha.
KE: We’re working with a few artists that we got and I’m also an EDM DJ also, slash producer. I travel and do a lot of shows with electronic, trap and EDM music. I have a lot of shows coming up that I’m actually going to post on my Instagram and Twitter. I also have a lot of collabs and I think the one that made it kind of popular was Katy Perry and the track with juicy J, that electronic EDM track. It’s starting to take over the music industry so I’m happy to be a part of that.
-Jasmina Cuevas (@CueJT)
