Hyphenated 1 on 1: Jake One

Riding around in his White Van pumping out sampled goodness, Seattle native Jake One is a Producer like no other. Seldom do we see great producers around here, not to mention producers with a catalogue as diverse as Jake’s. Jake One is synonymous with greatness, producing neck breaking “Oh Shit!” classics such as MF Doom’s “Hoe Cakes”, 50 cent’s “Movin’ on up”, De La Soul’s “Rock Co. Kane Flow”. A heavy hitter with the underground and mainstream levels of Hip-Hop, Jake One moves through the realms of rap with a consistency that keeps him a reoccurring name in your favorite album’s credits. With his new piece “White Van Music” in stores, Jake weighs in on his success and the future of Hip-Hop.

Hyphen: With such a vast catalog of music, do you have a favorite beat?

Jake One:It’s hard because, in the past, a lot of the stuff I’ve done I don’t really listen to too much honestly. I let it go pretty much after we do it. The obvious choice would be “Rock Co. Kane Flow”, only ‘cause I’m always remind of it; that’s just one of those special records. I go to a De La Soul Concert and that was the last song they perform, and I see people goin’ crazy. It’s just a dope feelin’ knowing that something you made has all these people goin’ Bananas. So if I had to choose a record it’ll probably be that one; it was just unexpected and different.

Hyphen: What piece of equipment can you not live without?

Jake One: Definitely the ASR-10. That pretty much is the foundation of everything I do.

Hyphen: Outside of your production, who do you feel is doing Hip-Hop Justice?

Jake One: As far as producers, I like a lot of Nottz’ stuff. Big fan of Jay Dee’s, his stuffs always gonna be there. Khalil’s another guy; Denaun Porter, I like his stuff a lot. There a lot of producers I dig. Justice League, those guys are really dope.

Rapper wise it’s a little harder. I like Young Jeezy’s album a lot. Something about dude; I just dig his style. I actually like the kids from L.A., Pacific Division. I think their dope. [However], I feel like a lot of rappers are making such an inconsistent effort that it’s kind of hard to just ride for one rapper.

Hyphen: What’s your message to the new producers and artist coming out?

Jake One: Man, more than anything, since I do get to listen to a lot of new producers because of [Red Bull] Big Tune, try to have some kind of angle you’re going for. If you’re one of those fake 9th wonders, Timbalands, or fake whoever it is, you’re really not gonna go anywhere with that shit. A lot of people think they’re ready for it when they aren’t. If you’ve only been making beats for a year, you’re probably not ready. You gotta build that foundation, rather than taking that Olympic long jump.

Jake One - The Truth


Peace.Love.Hlife

-J. Poakwa