thaFormula.com - What do you prefer use production wise?

DJ Exile - I just use a MPC 2000XL and occasional stuff like janky keyboards I get at thrift stores or mess around with my musician homies keyboards. Basically just the MPC itself.

thaFormula.com - What is the number one thing you look at when producing a track?

DJ Exile - Well if it's working with a vocalist or MC, just making sure you present the right beat that will work with that artist in particular and as far as just the beat besides the artist or anything like that I just try to look for that one thing that will make you nod your head and make you feel the beat in a certain way. It's hard to explain. Just hard drums, bass lines and some dope melodies.

thaFormula.com - Is the engineering and mixing something you do yourself and how important is it to a track?

DJ Exile - I basically sit in with Engineers and basically just offer them my ear and yeah I'm not completely on my own when it comes to engineering as of just yet, but I'm learning. It's definitely very important and it can definitely make your track wacker or doper. A lot of the times I will just listen to a 2-track of my beat and try to decide whether I should break it up and really dissect the EQ and stuff or whether I should just leave it as is. I would have really liked to have spent more time mixing Blu's record but I'm happy and satisfied with the way it is.

thaFormula.com - Did doing the "Pearly Gates" track for Mobb Deep open doors for you that you hoped it would and how was that experience for you?

DJ Exile - I was really excited about it. At first I thought it was just gonna be a 50 song, which was cool, but once I found out Mobb Deep was on it as well I was definitely more excited for that record to come out. I was hoping for that record to sell a little more to get a little plaque in my room or whatever but I'm still very thankful for being able to work with those cats. I've been getting some work, but I don't know if it's because of that but I am thankful and I don't have any complaints. I got that Jurassic 5 joint on their album, I got a track with Kardinal Offishal and Akon rhyming and were working out the details with me getting a beat on the Prodigy "HNIC 2" album and there is still some other things to but nothing super concrete yet.

thaFormula.com - How do you feel about live instrumentation in your production?

DJ Exile - I definitely sample myself on the keys as well as other musicians and live instrumentation. I also like to play the drums and stuff. I eventually plan on actually producing a live record for sure in the future.

thaFormula.com - Are you the type Exile that is in the studio 24/7 making beats or only when your feeling it?

DJ Exile - Only when I'm feeling it but sometimes I definitely force myself.

thaFormula.com - Are you the fast beat making type who bangs out beats constantly or more of the slow working producer?

DJ Exile - I would say kind of right in between the two. It just depends on the mode that I'm in mentally. I could just be in a mode where I could bang out 5 beats in a day or 3 beats. I'm not shitting beats out non-stop. Yeah, I say right in between.

thaFormula.com - What in your mind is the difference between a beat maker and a producer and do you feel there is one?

DJ Exile - I would kind of like to compare it to Graffiti bombers and piecers. They are both definitely relevant and a beat maker is like a bomber you know doing a little quick bomb which is like the essence of Hip-Hop, like that raw shit. And the producer, you know they can candy it up like a piece. Spray the extra shines on it and the extra little sprinkles and you know different colors where a beat maker could just get his point across like a bomber with a simple black and white or bass line and drums. In addition with just being a producer by just adding all the extra ingredients, I think that when you're working with an artist and you know what you want on that beat and if that person is not exactly giving what you want, you just maybe let them know your thoughts and see if they are open to working with you and putting something together that you guys will both like. That's what makes somebody a producer. A beat maker could just shit out a beat and have somebody rhyme over it and not even be trippin' whether the joint is really dope or not and just put it out there. That's not a real producer.

thaFormula.com - Do you think that is what is lacking today in a lot of the music being made? Do you think it's more beat makers out there then actual producers?

DJ Exile - I think the approach with today's producers is what's different. They are just playing it safe by trying to produce records to emulate what's already out there where back in the 80's or late 90's you know it was open to experiment. Like you could experiment with a hit. Like LL Cool J and Rick Rubin with "Going Back To Cali," that shit was experimental but it was a hit and cats aren't really doing that. I think the only way cats are experimenting now is when like a West Coast cat will experiment with a southern sound or something and just ride off of how somebody else made a hit.

thaFormula.com - Going into this Blu album you did, how did you feel about this album and was this a situation where you were hoping to experiment with a lot of different sounds?

DJ Exile - Me and Blu basically wanted to make a classic Hip-Hop album with a West Coast edge to it. When we sat down to make this record, we just wanted to make something that we would like to listen to and that we considered to be classic and I really think we accomplished that. We tried a lot of different stuff. We recorded a lot of songs and there are a lot of songs that we still have as far just trying to make the best music for this album. Listening to the record once it was done, it came out exactly how I wanted it pretty much. I wouldn't say better or worse, well maybe better in fact if anything. Everything so far has been real positive and I haven't heard anything bad yet. I heard classic thrown around a few times (Laughs) and I'm not gonna say it's not.

thaFormula.com - So what is the independent beat game like for someone like you for those that are really thinking about doing this?

DJ Exile - I mean I don't know man. Basically put it like this, some people may consider me up there or like "doing it" but yeah I'm still barely making rent so that should give you an idea of what's going on (Laughs Hysterically). I still steal stuff you know? I just stole a sandwich right now. I stole a turkey sandwich (Laughs). I'm serious.

thaFormula.com - How have your goals changed since the industry has started to crumble and the money has begun to run out?

DJ Exile - I don't know man. I've been working really hard and I am finally at a place where I'm like "yo, this is what I do, this is me" and then the industry collapsed and fuckin' (Laughs) I forgot what I was saying. My goal is still the same though. Just to make music that I like and just be honest to myself but I'm still definitely gonna experiment with new styles but I'm definitely not gonna switch to something because it's the trend. All I plan to do is just keep on doing me and just keep on trying to bring this Hip-Hop to a quality place. I want to make quality Hip-Hp and electronic music. I want to make quality music period, but definitely at this moment Hip-Hop is number one.

thaFormula.com - What do you got coming up besides the Blu album?

DJ Exile - I'm actually currently looking for a home for my solo rap project with me rapping. It's all recorded on cassette tape hence the name "Normal Bias" like the normal bias cassette tape and it's just me rapping, telling my story and my side of what I have seen of this world. I'm also working on an instrumental album called "Radio." Everything from the drums, the basslines and the pianos and everything is sampled off of the radio. It's purely sampled off of Los Angeles airwaves. I'm also working on a project with my man Johaz called Jag Savage. Me and Aloe (Blacc) are conceptualizing the Emanon album right now. Aloe wanted to approach this in a weird way. He is picking out all the beats, writing to all the beats, and then once he has everything he is going to himself add to the production by doing musical interludes so the whole album is all tied together. Then he is just gonna go through and record all the vocals like in a couple of days. It should be pretty crazy.

thaFormula.com - So what do you hope happens with this "Blu & Exile" album that may not have happened on your past projects?

DJ Exile - I hope it gets recognized for the classic that I feel it is and I'm a humble person. I want it to get the recognition all across the board. I want Primo to know that shit is fucking dope. I want Madlib to know that shit is dope. I want everybody to know about it because we worked real hard for it and I think we deserve it. Not even like on a fame level just as a like yo, this music is being made right now and we made it. It's definitely on the way. I just want everybody to go out there and buy the record even though people aren't really buying records as much as they used to, just to let us know that people are listening to good Hip-Hop so we will know to keep making good Hip-Hop. Because if they are not fucking buying it, what does it tell us?  

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