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Hip-Hop Wired: How did you get started?

Larrance Dopson: I started off in my band, they’re from Chicago. I was in a singing group back in the day, they moved out here [Los Angeles] pursuing their dream. I was raised in church in the hood [and] dealing with that. [I] started playing drums…drummers didn’t get paid as much as I liked to get paid so I moved to the keys, cuz they got way more money. That helped me to start producing and stuff like that. Being in church, I met a lot of talented people [that’s now ] my 1500 family members. Our first major song that we did as a band was [Jay-Z’s] “Show Me What You Got.”

Hip-Hop Wired: How did you transition from being a musician to producer?

Larrance Dopson: I was about 16 years old and I was kickin’ it wit my homie Terrace Martin and he did a beat for $15,000. He showed me that at church, and from there I said ‘I quit!’ I took all the money I had, bought equipment and started making beats. Maybe two or three months after that I got my $15,000 and I never stopped.

Hip-Hop Wired: Has your career always been so fluid, or have their been times when things didn’t go as planned?

Larrance Dopson: Yeah, because I was also dealing with like — I had good parents but I was always around certain gangs and certain types of people. Sometimes I was in situations where I had to beat a few people up, and I really didn’t want to [laughs]. I mean I’m from L.A., I’m really from L.A…. anyone that from L.A. understands that it’s real gang-banging out here. Growing up it’s either you gang, go to church, or you’re a square. I wanted to do a little bit of both [but] I changed my life and now all my friends that gang banged are doing music.

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