Tack Fu

Let's get right down to the goods, what artists are you currently working with these days?

So much on the platter and so little time. Understand, it's
been 1 year and a half since any new material has reached a
legit listening audience what-so-ever. To chew on any crumb of
somewhat new material, ya gotta check the mp3.com site.
http://www.mp3.com/tackfu
To list all the possible projects in the works, plus, all the
stuff moving forward on the side...man...that would take
another year and a half to explain!
I'm just looking foward to lauching a brand new web site, new
url domain and server with technical backup. Sweet!

Which artist did you combine with to create the best, most hip hop blessing tracks?

I can answer that 3 different ways.
If your talking MC? Braille is your man. Kid is nice.

DJ? This kid named DJ Squint. Check'em in the DMC midwest
battle and Scribble Jam DJ battle this summer. (01') I'm
impressed with the skills. Mark my words, y'all heard it here
first, see him make his mark later.

Producer? Man...to single out one, that would be unfair. My
heart is with so many cats I wish had more time to collab with.
The Chaircrusher has come through with several excellent
sounding collab tracks with me over the years. He's the man.

Which are you most excited about?

I'm building this Chicago/Iowa City bridge right now. The two
cities are only 3 hours apart. I have lock downs on 3 different
clubs for live performance in Iowa City, so now is the time to
build the bridge and give the up and coming acts somewhere else
to play outside of Chicago. Besides...half the student
population at the University of Iowa in Iowa City is from the
Chicago area. Things are going to start popping off around
these parts really soon.

Everyone on the planet knows you're a production guru, do you
have any secrets to share?

Post-production. It's no secret to anyone close to my camp that
the last step in the production game, the final mastering
process, is key. My job is to dial in a solid mix...then my
man, the Chaircrusher, takes care of the rest. I give it the
thumbs up when he's finished and BAM! Done deal. Word to all up
and coming producers...find a good mastering/studio engineer
and you'll sound two times better.

What do you think of sampling?

That's my bread and butter.

Do you sample a lot of material to create beats?

Oh yes, 75% is sampling, 25% live instruments and drum machine
blends. (to give the track a more robust sound) I'm not against
live instruments, it's just that, when you count on flaky
musican types to help you out...man...you're opening a whole
new can of worms.

What type of music do you most sample?

Sky is the limit. Anything that sounds good to me. That's the
thing that attracted me to hip-hop in the first place.
It's "no rules" mentality and approach to what instruments you
can use in the track. Honestly, I listen to everything else but
hip-hop. I know that sounds strange, but I don't have a lot of
time to listen to what other cats are doing. I just "think"
or "express" myself with hip-hop music. In goes everything I
listen or sample from, out comes out hip-hop.

What is the best equipment to use when creating beats?

Right now I'm learing this acid program. I like the flexability
in the sequencing. I use some of the basic concepts I learned
from making beats on drum machines, and then blending that with
raw breakbeats. I have 2X more room to work when I use the acid
computer program. My orginial style of production was so
limited, you had to be creative while trying to be creative!
Seriously! I was hand toggling samples in real time, blending
beats by ear, mixing down the track, going to other producers
cribs to lay out the track on their computers, chopping the
track up after that, taking that new sequence over to my post-
production engineer, have him re-master the track and chop it
up again. Whew! What a hassle!

And what equipment do you use?

Basic commercial grade stuff. An akia s-20 sampler. A reel-to-
reel tape player (20 years old) A crappy turntable from
Panisonic. A Marantz reciever (30 years old) A Tascam analog 8-
track player. A Sony CD player. One Rane graphic equalizer for
mix down. And one borrowed computer. That right there, my
friend, is my home studio. Net value of less than 700 bucks. I
just know how to use it to it's maximum potential.

What are the steps in making a good beat from beginning to
end?

Process, process, process! Listen and re-listen. I make sure
every frequency is represented tight. High-ends, mid-range, and
low tones. Dial in a good mix and watch how everything starts
to come together. It's all about being patient, it's about
picking apart sounds by ear. I'm not going to make a beat in 45
minutes, it's going to take me hours upon hours. I want it
done right. I aim for perfection, starting with a good sounding
drum pattern and then add from there. Dig for a sample, find a
bassline to fit it, chop it up on the computer, re-sample it
again. Anything to freak it.

Please tell us what's your methodology?

Drums first, everything else later. Make good sounding drums.
That's the foundation. Once that is established, I find other
parts that wrap around the beat. By parts, I mean, basslines
and samples. Stuff that bounces around the beat. Music that
hits all areas of the sound spectrum. Each part having it's own
space so none of it collides. I think of myself as a "sound
painter" in a sense. Slowly with each stroke of the "sound
brush" I make this picture, something that has a feeling, a
mood that takes you somewhere, something that reminds you of a
place or a person or an event. When the last stroke of the
brush is put on the canvas...it's done. I can't explain when or
what is the "final stroke"...it just is.

Tell us about Yen & Slang?

My first attempt at hip-hop production. It was a on-the-job
training type project. I was a rookie for goodness sake!
I learned so much from that project. Stuff you don't learn in
the classroom. Wow. Looking back on it now, I'd never put up
with half the shit I had to put up with when I made that CD.
I just don't take any crap from musicans and flaky artists
anymore. For real. I don't have time for other people's
personal issues. Life is short, I wanna get work done, keep
that personal garbage out of my music. I mean, I can't blame
other people for getting personally involved when it comes to
creating music, music is a very personal thing...but damn, I'm
not the one to wipe everyone's ass. I may look like the pillar
of responsibility, stability & organization from the outside,
but I'm just as screwed up as everyone else.

What do you think fans will most get out of listing to Yen &
Slang?

Innocence. I lost it after that project.

Tell us about Chained Reaction?

My second attempt. More focused, but yet again, the pain in the
ass flaky artists and musican types really made the job
difficult. Near the end, I was seriously losing my mind. My
engineer and a few of my closest friends were about to have one
of those "sit-down" intervention type talks and check me in.
Beer consumption had tripled, I was popping all sorts of pills,
I was a mess. I was lettting all these suspect artists and
bandwagon jumpers get to my head.
But, I straighted up, and forged ahead to complete the project.
You'll notice on the inside liner notes I say "and for all
those that didn't think I was doing this for the best interests
of everyone involved..middle finger to ya'."
I'm a better judge of character nowdays. I'm only interested
in working with people that have a good heart. God knows I've
worked with too many people of questionable character and
merit.

Did it turn out to be as successful of a project as you hoped?

Behind the scenes, it was a disaster at times. I felt like I
was on a sinking ship, people were jumping overboard, and I was
left to patch up the damage all by myself. "Chained Reaction"
naw what I mean? Chained down in many different ways, and my
reaction to the circumstances.
On the outside, it was a very good sounding, nicely put
together CD. There are alot of premium tracks and phat beats.
I'm proud of it. It's still moving, still getting play on the
radio, and will continue to do so for quite awhile.

Tell us about the track "Matter Of Time". That beat is
blazing hot, and Braille really complimented your amazing
production on the track. It say's in the credits you worked
with Michelle Qui Jones, what was that like?

It didn't work with Qui Jones personally, Braille and Qui
devised the recording and lyrical concept, I just provided the
music. They sent the mix back to me, and my post-production
engineer, the one and only Chaircrusher, mastered it...

What do you think fans will most get out of listening to
Chained Reaction?

A darker side of Tack-Fu. Yes, some tracks show a lighter side,
I mean, I really do have fun making beats and recording
tracks...I really do, but with "Chained Reaction"...some demons
were exercised.

How would you compare Yen & Slang to Chained Reaction, or can you?

Yen & Slang- Fun, innocent.
Chained Reaction- Dark, better sounding, more focused.

What's the science behind your name? Or Is there any?

Tack- My last name.
Fu- The way of.

Tack-Fu: The way of Tack

How would you describe your music?

I'm not going to move the dance floor. If I do make a track
that does, it's not planned. I want to take the listener
somewhere. Put Tack-Fu hip-hop music in your ride or walkman
and reflect, nod your head. It's ear candy, not booty shaken
music.

How would you describe yourself?

I believe I'm easy to get along with...I'm a little off at
times, but understand...it's all done in jest and humor. I
don't want to hurt people's feelings, that is unless they cross
the line, and I have to put either the physical or mental
smackdown on they ass.

What are your future musical plans?

#1- The Tack-Fu instrumental joint. All instrumental. It's 65%
done and there is a lot of collab on this joint. The difference
between this new Tack-Fu project and the previous projects
are...the artists I'm working with aren't driving me crazy!
You'll see many new production assistance from some unheard of
local talent, a few old names will be on the credits, and some
beatmakers I hooked up with through mp3.com lend assistance. By
the way, there is too much garbage on mp3.com...but a few gems
really shine on that web site.

Out of the songs you've created, what is your personal
favorite, and why?

I think Proverbs 5 is a classic. That is the highlight of my
production career thus far. The concept is dope, the music
combines many different influences, it's recorded well, I
mean...the lyrics are from the Bible! How can you go wrong!
I don't care about moving dance floors. I care about making a
time-tested tune, a tune that means something, a tune that
sounds good. Proverbs 5 does all that plus more.

Where can fans listen to some of your music?

http://www.mp3.com/tackfu

How long have you been rhyming?

I quit many years ago...strictly production nowdays.

Do you see Hip Hop as a religion, art, culture, a career, job,
or just a hobby?

I'd like to make a career out of it. That's the goal. I could
do without the politics involved behind the scenes and on the
mic sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I have no beef with groups
and individuals that want to use hip-hop as a platform to
express their personal views, but yo...don't expect me to lap
up the undocumentented information like some mis-guided youth
looking for an answer to life's problems. Life is unfair. Deal
with it and move on playa. Do I see hip-hop a religion? Nope. A
culture? That's up for debate. A hobby? I won't do hip-hop like
that. Hip-hop in my opinion, is an art. I want to do quality,
not quanity, I'm not about to abuse this wonderful artform. I
know too many cats that are in this musical genre for the wrong
reasons. Ignorant bastards.

Do you have any hip hop quotables that you live by?

"It not where you are it's where your at!"

Any song lyrics ever touched you?

"Young World" by Slick Rick at that time touched me. "Moment I
Feared" also did it. Slick is just a good story teller with a
dope voice.

What organizations online have lent their support to you, and
your music?

Redline! Give it up for Redline!

Tell us about I.C.U. and your involvement, past or present,
with them.

Ok...I'm going to play politican and choose my words carefully.
At one time I lent my support, in many different ways, to
I.C.U...even as far as taking a 24-hour bus trip to visit
members in San Francisco two years ago. I had Dabri's back and
he knows this. However, Dabri's tactics became questionable. I began to question his intentions...

Was this whole I.C.U. thing just Dabri's personal project to
position himself higher on the hip-hop food chain?

Was the organization contributing to Tack-Fu Productions like
Tack-Fu Productions was contributing into I.C.U.?

Was the direction of the organization going to really benefit
everyone involved in the long run?

The answers are:
Yes, no and no.
Dabri had really good idea, I wish things could have worked
out, but I had to move on.

Where can fans purchase your albums online?

I recommend two sites:
http://www.bpdistribution.com
http://www.hiphopinfinity.com

Where can fans find your website?

http://www.geocities.com/tack-fu

What does it offer?

Production tips, artist information, insights and opinions,
reviews and some good articles. The content is the strong
point. Plus, more links to where you can purchase the Tack-Fu
CDs. (some Candian sites carry the release)

Any last words?

Naw, that's about it. Peace.

Interview By HipHopHotSpot.Com

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