Mike Will Made It talks working with Gucci Mane, Hip-Hop going pop and Miley Cyrus’ weed threshold.
Mike Will Made It sat down with Billboard Magazine and spoke on the current high he’s on after producing the lion’s share of Gucci Mane‘s Everybody Looking album.
He also talked about the criticism he has received for working with artists like Miley Cyrus who many have considered to be a cultural appropriator. Mike Will produced “23” on Cyrus’ Bangerz album.
He tells Billboard:
“All I hear is ‘Yo, that sh*t you’re making ain’t hip-hop. People told me that Miley’s ‘23’ wasn’t hip-hop. Let me tell you, she went in and owned that track. She smoked more weed in one week than most rappers I know. That song was not some far-fetched thing she had to reach for. She was ill as hell. 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.”
Mike Will also shared the advice he got from music industry juggernaut Jimmy Iovine who gave him a label via Interscope Records.
Billboard writes:
For now, Will wants to expand his brand to include film production and content creation. There also is Ransom 2, his long-awaited mixtape that he hopes to drop by the end of the year. Contemplating his future, Will relates a conversation he had with Iovine in 2013 at the Floyd Mayweather-Robert Guerrero fight in Las Vegas. As 13 of his tracks played over the MGM Grand Garden Arena’s PA system, Will realized he unofficially had created the fight’s playlist. Iovine turned to him and said, “You’re the only young producer out there making hip-hop pop.” Will recalls arguing with the music mogul, advocating that hip-hop could never be pop. “Jimmy told me, ‘Oh, yeah? 2Pac, Diddy and Kanye all did it. ‘Pop’ is just short for ‘popular.’ They just played 13 of your songs during a boxing match! Quit f—ing around and do your own thing,’ ” recalls Will, adding, “That’s how you change the game.”
Read the rest of the Mike Will Made It feature here.
Photo: Instagram
