Drumma Boy has been crafting the sound of Hip-Hop for nearly two decades. The Atlanta native has been one of the keys to the sound of the South, partnering with Jeezy, Gucci Mane, and whoever else needed some heat for their upcoming work. One of the forefather producers of Trap, Drumma Boy has both the talent and the business acumen to transcend his career to the heights that it currently is. He isn’t just a producer but a full-on industry titan that can be the focal point of any artist’s project and deliver whatever is needed to fulfill a vision.
READ MORE: Sound Proof: Drumma Boy Takes Us Through His Decade of Making Hits For Jeezy, Migos and More
Lately, Drumma Boy can be heard as he created the sound for the Jeezy and Master P collaboration “Gone,” the lead single from the soundtrack to I Got the Hook Up 2. Being able to provide his skills for Jeezy and P is a special for Drumma Boy, not because of who the rappers are, he has worked with them multiple times throughout his career. Instead, he understands the importance of having his work lead the audio aura for the sequel to a Hip-Hop film staple and understanding that it is a moment for the South.
Drumma Boy spoke to The Source about how the collaboration with Jeezy and Master P happened, upcoming releases, the impact of his brother’s passing on his work ethic and more.
You got this new single with Jeezy and Master P. You and Jeezy have been doing records since ’05. You did some work on Master P’s album before. Was it familiarity between you and them that led to this record?
I’ve been going in-studio sessions with Jeezy a lot and we just been making a lot of records and this was one of the records that we did. The master p situation came about and we were like, man, I think this record right here would be dope if we shot a video with master p and used it for his project, I Got the Hook Up 2. I just made a play. Jeezy executed the vision with master p and the rest is history, man. P being able to do the movie premiere back home in the city of New Orleans during essence. It’s just an amazing situation to be able to, you know, watch that. Something as powerful as that happened in the south, to do it in his home town and whatnot, like how we saw Friday out west. So for master pi to be able to do that for us in the south it was a pretty major situation.
The first film I Got the Hook Up is, of course, it’s a hip hop classic and the second one could also be the same. What did it mean for you to be a part of creating that soundtrack and also being a part of that southern history?
With the film being able to be done in the south, man, it’s huge. A big thank you to P and Jeezy, they gave me that opportunity. P is just so dope to work with. Like he’ll call you man, “drum man, I need this man. We only got 24 hours, man. I know you can get it done.” And honestly, that’s why a lot of people call and depend on me with Jeezy, Drake or master P or Beyonce, Rihanna, whoever it is. Like when you call me, they know I’m gonna get the job done. Point blank. On the A&R standpoint, from an executive standpoint, from a producer standpoint, artist, writer, management, consulting, whatever needs to get done.
Fans can see your work across different genres? Most recently people got a taste of you on Trevor Jackson’s new album. How did that connection happen?
I get the boss calls, like the head person who’s running the show. I get the call Trevor is in Atlanta, we need a studio. So again, that’s consulting. Now I go into consulting mode. We just built the studio. They booked the time and now I turn into a producer mode by delivering the music. So after I connect you with the studio, this and that, you get situated anything that you need during your session. I got you as well as the music. Then a feature is needed, I go back into consultant mode. Called Coach K, we need Lil Yachty. I say: “My man over here going crazy. SuperFly in the booth right now, man. We need Lil Yachty.” Then the rest is history.
You recently have things going on with K. Michelle, Lil Scrappy, 8ball & MJG, Waka Flocka, are there any releases coming up that you had a hand on this you’re particularly excited to get a hold of?
Yeah, I mean, absolutely. Most recently I dropped my album, My Brother’s Keeper. When I lost my brother, I dropped that project in memory of him. Then we also dropped The Collective Project, and that was dropped by drum squad. Just showcasing all of the artists and the roster of talent that we have. I just dropped a single off of that Junior called “New Bitch.” I just did one for YBN Almighty J I’m super excited about. Desiigner just did some songs with him. I’m executive producing 8ball & MJG album. I’m executive producing Lil Scrappy album. I was just on Love and Hip-Hop. And I also just appeared on a Tales working with Irv Gotti on BET.
How do you feel like your brother’s passing affected how you’re moving in music and then you work?
I think definitely it gave me whole new energy and gave me more fuel to the fire. What keeps me going honestly is his kids and, and you know, his legacy. Putting together his estate and the things that we’ve done in that aspect. So it’s definitely been a blessing, having those kids around and just looking at what he left behind and. My mom is, a big person on spirit and energy and she just instilled in all of us that we’re celebrating his life as opposed to his death.
You just spoke about all your ventures and things that you got going on, but then you also got your Hits Only playlists that you are pushing through Spotify. What led you to know that having a playlist where people could tap into their mind and what’s good for you was a good move ago?
Well, I’ve been doing a playlist since 2010. My first one was a The All-Star Playlist. Drumma Boy been doing hit list, it is something that I’ve always been in tune with. And I used to press up CDs of this, of this playlist just to let people know all of the recent records that I did. I used to run into a lot of DJs and they’d be like, damn, I ain’t know you did “Beat It Up” with Gucci Mane and Trey Songz. “I Think I Love Her” or “White Girl” so many different records. You’d be like, Dad, I didn’t know you did that with my lost on the road gorillas though. So I started doing playlist just to keep you in tune of what I’ve done and DJs would just mash out on the records like, you know, it just made so much sense for me for awareness. So now we took that CD and put it on Spotify. CDs are out. Playlists are in. So it’s just a blessing that just to see always that I’m ahead of the curve.
Do you find the younger producers and artists are reaching out to you specifically on advice that how to reach our level of success and then do you feel like you have a responsibility as well?
I mean, I definitely helped those just helping themselves and it’s kinda really easy to see who is helping themselves and who’s not. I don’t entertain my words or my time with things that don’t appreciate. And it is really simple as that. As far as trying to get into game knowledge, I always post interviews, workshops, flyers. If you see me, pop a question. And I tell guys all the time, I stop, I take pictures, I’m touchable, I’m tangible. I’m always humble and there to work with kids. So definitely, as far as the new producers, I love the new sound. I’m just flattered to see that I’m one of the originators of trap and we actually made a genre of music. I mean it’s just still flattering, like to see how many people are making beats, you know, in this style and what not. Something that we started.
