In The 'Yo: DJ Toomp & Company

If Atlanta Hip Hop is a tree, DJ Toomp is the seed. The man has had a hand in every Atlanta artists' career from Success-N-Effect to Stat Quo, counting names like T.I., Ludacris and Young Jeezy in between.

I have interviewed him numerous times over the last few years and I have to say that he is one my favorite people to talk to. He keeps it honest, almost too honest sometimes. He has got to be one of the humblest cats that I talk to, plus, I know that everytime I interview him, I will hear something new. He's like a Hip Hop historian. Not just a Southern Hip Hop historian, but a HIP HOP historian, period. I have a feature on him in the second-to-last SCRATCH issue with T.I. and Wyclef on the cover. At the time of that interview he was riding the high of having produced Kanye's lead single "Can't Tell Me Nothing," telling me the story behind the beat and and his relationship with Kanye. He made mention that he did two other songs on the album named "Good Life" and "Been Through It All"...which was renamed to this. When he mentioned those songs, of course I knew they would come out dope, but GIAT DAYUM! I wasn't expecting what they wound up being.

Anyways, I was assigned to interview Toomp again for a internet video project I'm producing for this website [when it drops, I will let you know, It's kind of big deal]. Once again the interview was dope. After we were done he started playing around on the beat machine. He started by showing off and recreating beats other people beats to show just how easy this shit is to him. Then he started playing beats for songs that were about to come out. Right now, the only ones I can remember is one he said is gonna be on Slim Thug's new album, possibly the lead single...the shit is FIE! Then he played the single he did for Glasses Malone.












Later on producer Kenoe fell through.
.
If that name sounds familiar, he used to produce for No Limit here and there. He wasn't in Beats By The Pound, but if you check the credits of some of your No Limit CDs around the 1999 end of thier run, you'll see his name in the credits. He also did alot of work for Turk, B.G., Lil Flip's Underground Legend album and Soulja Slim's last three releases. He is a producer in Toomp's NZone unit now.

Everybody started getting hungry so me and the video crew went to Merkerson's to get the fie fie seafood.

By the time we came back, my homie Nick Love and his producer Arnaz The Nazty One came through for something they were working on.

Toomp and Nick


Arnaz


Grim, Nick and Arnaz


Then, Lil Jon came through and he was crunk as usual.

He walked in the door yelling and cracking jokes. I was scheduled to interview him too, but we weren't all the way sure that he was gonna show up, or on time for that matter. The interview was supposed to be at 8pm. He showed up at 9:15pm talking about "8:30! This was perfect timing for an interview, I'm drunk and ready to talk!"

His interview was dope as hell too. I've only interviewed Jon one other time and that was back when I was in school on the campus radio station, trying to get quotes backstage at the Homecoming concert. But, I've always known that Jon ain't a character 24/7 because I used to intern at the radio station he used to work at. Anyways, it was cool seeing the love in the room. That's pretty much what the internet video thing I'm producing is about. Jon was giving Toomp props on the Kanye singles and saying how its crazy that everybody in the country has to come to Southern producers for that heat, "even the Hip Hop shit." I hope the video guys caught all of this, I know I did.

Toomp and Jon


Jon, Toomp and Arnaz


Toomp Trying on Jon's custom made Oakleys


Toomp and Jon comparing Gold chains [kidding]


Jon and Kenoe


Toomp and Arnaz vibing...I think I might have pissed Toomp off for a sec at this point. I told him that I already heard one of the beats he was playing. Of course he asked from where, and I told him it had leaked to the internet last week and it had B.O.B. rapping on it. He seem bothered at first, but I think he cool now.







Peep the rust! AKAI is up to the MPC4000Plus, and Toomp still has the MPC60II. This thing probably has plenty of stories to tell...And yes, he still uses it. I didn't see a newer model anywhere in the building.