The Blast Blog: The Blast Spotlight: Fundamental (producer)

The Giant Blast's Interview with Fundamental.

The Giant Blast: Why do you call yourself Fundamental?
Fundamental: Well I'm all for originality and taking music where it hasn't gone before. I don't like hearing the same thing over and over again. So if anyone is to accomplish the task of doing what hasn't been done before, or at least expanding on something...they have to know the fundamentals. MJ would just be Harold Minor or Darvin Ham with out his work ethic and commitment to fundamentals. So I use that word to always remind myself of the right way to do things.

The Giant Blast: How would you describe your sound?
Fundamental: I know this is cliché, but I just describe it as my own sound. Yes you'll hear my influences in my music, but I make sure that I have something in there that only I can do. I'm just being me. With that being said, other people seem to say that my sound is what 90's hip hop would sound like in 2010 if it kept growing. "It just gives you that good feeling" is what I usually get from people.

The Giant Blast: What do you use to create your masterpieces?
Fundamental: FL Studio, Cool Edit, Yamaha DX7 mi di key board, M-Audio Firewire Solo, Neumann TLM 102

The Giant Blast: Are you looking to cop anything extra to go along with what you currently use?
Fundamental: I'm always looking to try new things. However, I'm more interested in getting live musicians to record.

The Giant Blast: How long have you been making beats?
Fundamental: 6 years

The Giant Blast: What secrets would you like to give aspiring beat makers?
Fundamental: Yes you should study other producers’ techniques. But study them in order to find your own. You're not helping anything by biting.

The Giant Blast: What's one of the worst experiences you've had as a beat maker so far and how did you learn from it?
Fundamental: My worst experience unfortunately has happened more than once and will continue to happen. Getting artists to pay me for my work. I’ve learned that you have to stay on people until the money is in your hand. Nothing is final until you have the money. People will bulls**t! It's part of the hustle though. I don't want to complain about it too much. I don’t get mad now. I just don’t guarantee anything with out the money in my hand or a signed contract. It show’s you who’s serious and who isn’t.

The Giant Blast: What is one of the highlights in your career as a beatmaker so far?
Fundamental: My biggest highlight would be getting a chance to form a bond with Ayatollah Jaxx and create Good Company. Musically we just seem to gel together. It's a blessing to have an artist completely trust your vision and creativity.

The Giant Blast: Who have you worked with in the past?
Fundamental: I've worked with Asylum 7, Carlitta Durand, L.E.G.A.C.Y., Theo, Shaya, M1 Platoon, G5 Clive, Major, Diverse, Green Fiend, and of course Ayatollah Jaxx.

The Giant Blast: Who would you like to work with that you haven't worked with already?
Fundamental: Oh man. A lot of artists. XV, J Cole, Drake, Wale, AZ, The Clipse,
Jay-Z, Nas, Little Brother, Common, Talib. Really and truly though, my life won't be complete until I get Greg Nice on one of my beats. His style is just like no other and he can make any song a song to remember.

The Giant Blast: What's next for Fundamental?
Fundamental: Good Company! We just finished Jaxx's solo album. I produced the lead single called "Ms 416". That track should be out in a week or so. After that we have our first full length Good Company album called The Stoic Renewal. In between all that, just working with my fellow Civil Mics artists on their projects. I’m always open to connect with new artists.

The Giant Blast: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Fundamental: What I'm striving for is to be about 3 or 4 albums deep with Good Company and have a cult like following. I want to be able to live comfortably (not necessarily rich) making the music I want to make. I honestly couldn't ask for anything more than that.

The Giant Blast: Where do you see hip hop in 5 years?
Fundamental: Well a lot could change between now and then, but from what I see, I really like where hip hop is going. I truly dig a lot of the new artists. I think in 5 years you're going to see artists on their own labels, with their own rules, putting out what they want a lot more than now. That's going to be the norm. With the ease of getting music out there, things are over saturated, but in 5 years I expect a lot of the mediocre s**t to phase out. People will just know how to search for artists by then. Right now there are too many hip hop fans that don't know how to find the music they like.

The Giant Blast: Anything you would like to plug, any shout outs?
Fundamental: Yea! Ayatollah Jaxx’s solo album Hello Hip Hop drops in March. Be on the look out for the lead single, “Ms 416”, in about a week. Then Good Company’s debut album is dropping late summer of 2010. Check the links to catch up on us!
Shout out to Twist and the whole Civil Mics Movement and my immediate circle. You know who you are.