Features

Interview Conducted By: Fat Tony for ThaFormula.Com

Tony Touch is Hip-Hop. It's that simple. Everything he does; how he lives day to day, the music he creates all represent Hip-Hop culture. That's why when Tony Toca puts the call out heads come through for him. It's the kind of respect he has deservedly earned from putting in so many years of work. His history is long and his catalogue of tapes, appearances and live gigs is endless. If you're a true Hip-Hop head, chances are there is something in your collection that bears Tony's Touch. His first "official" solo joint, The Piece Maker was a collection of heavyweighters and now he's back with the much anticipated follow up.

ThaFormula.Com - So, you've finally dropped Piece Maker 2. How's the response been so far? 

Tony Touch - "The response has been incredible, man. It's a true Hip-Hop album. There are many, many talented artists on there."

ThaFormula.Com - Give us an idea of how an album like Piece Maker comes together, from the actual recording to all the guest spots and everything. Is it all lovely, like on some friendship type shit, or do you have to go through industry channels? 

Tony Touch - "I produced about half the album. What I usually do is I hook up with producers. The first step is the beats, I get the beats together, I produce a whole bunch of things. I reach out to a few heads I know I wanna' work with. On this particular project I wanted to work with Eric Sermon, I wanted to get with Pete Rock, I wanted to get something from the RZA…these are all guys that didn't produce anything on the first album. My formula was to change the entire lineup, so I reached out to all the producers, got all my beats together first then I reach out to the artist and have something to present to them. With most of the artists I already had relationships from the mixtapes that I've done, most them I had worked with in the past. Just from the "50 Emcees" I worked with over 160 artists, so when it came time to do the album I just reached out to most of them. People know the work I've put in, they respect that."

ThaFormula.Com - In your eyes, how does this new record measure up to the original? 

Tony Touch - "It's like a clone of the original; same format, I just switched the artists around. As far as the song structure and the production; I think I stepped my game up."

ThaFormula.Com - You got more mixtapes than anybody on Earth. Any idea of how many you have all together? 

Tony Touch - "Definitely in the upper hundreds…maybe 400, something like that."

ThaFormula.Com - Do you remember the first one you ever made? 

Tony Touch - "The first one I did was in 87, but that was before I was really making tapes for the public. That was just my personal. I still got that tape, man."

ThaFormula.Com - Oh, word? What was on it? 

Tony Touch - "You know, like Biz Markie, Eric B. and Rakim, MC Shan, that era; the '87 era.

ThaFormula.Com - You've pretty much covered every aspect, as far as The Elements go. What is your favorite part; rhyming, DJ-ing, producing? 

Tony Touch - "I'd say playing live, performing live in a club. DJ-ing is my first love, I mean, I'm emceeing and producing and all that, and I enjoy doing everything, but my first love is my club gigs. There's nothing like it, especially when the sound system is right and the ambiance is cool and the room is well structured… that's definitely my first love."

ThaFormula.Com - How did you first get into DJ-ing? 

Tony Touch - "I was actually introduced to the whole Hip-Hop culture through B-Boying. I was breaking before anything, you know? Eventually I started DJ-ing because I wanted to throw my own parties. It was all just hard work, dedication, persistence, you know? Persistence overcomes resistance so I just kept grinding. Mixtapes is what put me on the map, I was just real persistent with the way I put those out, but, at the same time I always tried to have fun with it"

ThaFormula.Com - How important do you think the Mixtape is to Hip-Hop?

Tony Touch - "The mixtape is probably the number one item to use when promoting a new artist or new music. And now, even a new product. You got a lot of companies that use mixtapes to promote new products like communication products and stuff like that. It's just a great way to expose people to what's new."

ThaFormula.Com - Over your career you've gotten to work with a lot of different artists. Who are some of your favorites to work with, who have you vibed best with? 

Tony Touch - "Aw, there's too many to name, man. Everybody brings something different to the table. I got some of that hardcore, some of that abstract, some of that underground, some of that bilingual stuff… there's like so many different flavors, you know what I mean? Like pure, lyrical lyricists that are just amazing… everybody brings something different, man, and I try and keep it well rounded; every project I work on, you know?"

ThaFormula.Com - No doubt, it's like even though you got all these styles and influences, it all comes together in the end. You've got the most musical ear of any DJ I've ever heard… 

Tony Touch - "Good lookin'. It's like, when I get something from a Large Professor it's different from what I get from a Wyclef; you know what I mean? Everybody's energy is incredible, man, but everybody's different."

ThaFormula.Com - Since you've seen and worked with so many MC's, you must have a good idea of what makes a dope MC. 

Tony Touch - "To me, what makes an incredible MC is the ability to come up with incredible songs, to be able to improvise as well as be able to adjust and rhyme to any beat, you know, not come with excuses about a beat being too fast or too slow, an MC that can adjust to any beat… those are the main elements, man. Of course, diction and clarity is all part of it, the wordplay has to be incredible. He has to be witty; there's a certain wit that has to come with that, a certain stage presence as well. Definitely the voice, like Guru said, it's mostly the voice."

ThaFormula.Com - Is there anyone left that you haven't worked with, that you would like to hook up with in the future? 

Tony Touch - "Rakim."

ThaFormula.Com - Oh, WORD? 

Tony Touch - "Yeah, you can look forward to that coming together on the next project."

ThaFormula.Com - What kind of gear do you use? 

Tony Touch - "I'm still working on the ASR 10 as far as the music's concerned. Recording I use Pro Tools."

ThaFormula.Com - What about the whole file-sharing issue? 

Tony Touch - "I think that's hurting us (artists). That's the repercussions of us coming up with all this technology, CD burners and stuff like that, it really bit us in the ass. Hopefully we can come up with a solution so that everybody benefits from all the technology instead of being hurt by it."

ThaFormula.Com - Do you consider yourself an underground artist? 

Tony Touch - "I consider myself in both worlds, I guess. I'm on the radio, commercial radio, you know, you hear me in the mix commercially playing stuff and then my mixtapes cater to the underground a little bit more. My records (Piece Makers 1 & 2), I think is more of a balance of both."

ThaFormula.Com - Being so close to that underground level, is there anybody you know of right now that heads should keep they eyes open for, anybody the people might not know yet but soon will? 

Tony Touch - "There's this kid named John Doe coming out; he's on Timbaland's label, Tim just signed him. He's got some shit. I'm really impressed, lyrically, with what he's doing.

ThaFormula.Com - Any last words?

Tony Touch - "Yeah, you know, shout out to everybody that continues to support Tony Touch and everything I do. Look for more stuff to come out, but right now it's all about The Piece Maker 2, you know what I mean? There's definitely something on it for you…"

Interview Conducted By: Fat Tony for ThaFormula.Com

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