If I tell you purple look good on you, and you ain't never wore purple, your favorite colors are red and green, and you're like, No man, these my colors. You won't know purple is your color until you try it on.
— Mike Will Made It
I like blessing others around me. When you work hard, it's just dope to give back to the people around you.
If you put your time and energy into developing creatively, that's where you'll go.
I wanted 'Formation' to be a woman empowerment song, but Beyonce made it into a culture empowerment song.
2012, I feel like I was still grinding. It was a good year for me, but that was my year breaking down the barriers. It was like my introduction.
I love being in the studio.
Whoever has a next-level ear needs to be an Eardrummer.
I used to be with Gucci every day. School nights, I was with Gucci going to all the different clubs, going to his video shoots. Just moving around with him is how I met a lot of different artists like 2 Chainz and Shawty Lo and other people I work with now.
Juicy J was always one of my favorites. For one, he was a producer and I just used to love how he came on his verses every time.
I wanted to find raw talent and help build it from scratch. I wanted to build from rags to riches. That's the way Ear Drummers did it. We took over the music industry from my mom's basement. That's why my first album is going to be called 'Made It Out the Basement.'
It's important to show the new generation that soundtracks can be just as exciting as traditional albums if put in the hands of the right curator.
With rapping, that's just another form of expressing your music. Whether you're going to rap, you're going to sing, it's whatever you want.
People told me that Miley's '23' wasn't hip-hop. Let me tell you, she went in and owned that track.
We Can't Stop' was the first song we did. We didn't try to reach and be too 'hood:' It's hip-hop-influenced, but Miley's a pop singer, and she's going to have country in there.
Me and Miley just clicked. She has good ideas. She's real creative.
I'm a producer, not just a beatmaker but a producer.
I was able to bring Gucci and Rae Sremmurd on a track together. It was crazy because it seemed like it was destined to be.
I didn't have no college friends. All the artists the college folks were listening to were my homies. I was leaving class, literally, to record with them.
I wouldn't say money can buy happiness. Happiness starts with yourself. Money can buy a smile, though.
I want to work with anybody original.
I like making dope music.
In 2011, a lot of people didn't even know I did 'Tupac Back.'
I feel like Rae Sremmurd is just a whole new sound culturally. People don't understand, but they learn to understand. The melody choice is different and everything.
I'm just expanding my sound and making it bigger.
I love the grind. Gucci taught me to never stop working.
God has blessed me with something. One day, I do see myself being like Jimmy Iovine. I'm trying to build an empire.
Jimmy Iovine has been telling me since 2012 that I needed to start my own label with my own artists. This was when he first met me and 'Bandz a Make Her Dance' was first taking off.
Pharrell is a legend.
A lot of times, older people don't get the new generation.
I do it all, man. I produce, I do my own wardrobe and my own ironing, too!
I just want to change the game.
I'm always that dude that's looking for the next thing.
When I was still at Interscope, I told them about Rae Sremmurd and we were talking about signing them. I was like, 'This is the hood Backstreet Boys, the black *NSYNC. This is the most ratchet pop is gonna get and this is the most pop hip-hop is gonna get.'
For 'Black Beatles' to be so true to us and our sound - we weren't chasing a sound - it solidifies that the world is ready for us and what we have to come.
I don't spend a bunch of money on jewelry or sunglasses, because I lose them a lot.
Once you start getting money, it relieves your stress of worrying about how you're going to pay your next bill. It's more like another stress of how many bills you have to pay.
I really like coming across all types of different music, and hearing new things.
I don't put myself in any box or say that I can't work on any kind of music. I'm not just a producer that only makes urban music.
I did 'We Can't Stop' for Rihanna, but it never worked. Every time I would play 'We Can't Stop' I was like 'this is the new 'Party in the U.S.A.'' I was like OK if I keep saying this is the new 'Party in the U.S.A.,' why don't I go to the girl who did 'Party in the U.S.A.?'
I feel like when I came in the game, I was more focused on like, 'yo how many times can I get on the radio?'
2 Chainz and I have a history. It's always an honor and pleasure working with him, because it seems like everything we do is dope. We just have that organic chemistry.
Drake is damn near the best with melodies.
You can scroll through my iTunes and I've got everything. I've got Ace Hood, Alt-J, Annie Lennox, Arctic Monkeys, Beanie Sigel, the Beatles, Beth Hart, Big Sean, Bob Dylan, Bon Iver, Chief Keef, Coldplay, the Flaming Lips, Mariah Carey, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, OutKast, Pet Shop Boys, Peter Gabriel, the Smiths, and the list goes on from there.
Jimmy Iovine, he pretty much started off as an engineer and a producer, and then he started up a label. Then he built his label to have big artists like Dr. Dre and 50 Cent. Then he started up a headphone company and made it a billion dollar business. He's a genius to me.
As far as rapping goes, as long as you are telling the truth and you have a good flow, then you win.
When people question me about whether something is hip-hop, I ask them, 'Does it sound hard? Does it hit home? Is it raw and real?' If it is, I did my job. And you can call it whatever you want.
With 'HUMBLE.,' I knew that beat was going to capture a moment. It just felt real urgent.
We Can't Stop' has so many different vibes to it. She sounds country; the beat has these live, knocking drums; and then it has these pop melodies. It's a feel-good record.
I've just got to keep a balanced head and stay focused.
Putting together a hit record is like putting together a puzzle.
