Since 1989, Steve Below’s production has appeared on many of your favorite artist’s albums. Lil Boosie, Webbie, and Young Bleed were a few of Below’s first projects. Later, he provided the backdrop for UGK classics like “Swishas and Dosha” and Bun B’s “Right Now,” featuring Pimp C, Tupac, and Trey Songz. But in between those productions, Below still worked 9-5 jobs until the next call came. OZONE sat down with the producer to find out what it’s like to make a classic while still leading a “regular” life. Who were your immediate influences coming from Dallas? Watching Yo! MTV Raps, BET, and Donnie Simpson. We had Nemisis, Ron C, D.O.C. He was the one that came out and showed everybody this could be done on a nationwide scale, aside from the obvious ones like Run-DMC. Back then it wasn’t about what Coast you were from, it was about the music. They inspired everybody, like, “Hey, we can get into this too.” When did you start producing? Around 1996. I grew up in Dallas, but it wasn’t until I left and went to Southern University in Baton Rouge that I started meeting people in the business. I met Curt B, who was doing beats. We’d be sitting around in the apartment trying to make something that would pop. Curt B is one of those cats that could make friends with anybody. He started telling people about me, like C-Loc. I was fortunate to watch Nappy Perez work on the first Young Bleed album, and then I worked with him on the Concentration Camp’s album The Holocaust. I did five beats on Young Bleed’s second album; that was my first national placement at the time. Next, Curt B introduced me to Mel, who is coCEO of Trill Entertainment. We started hanging out and then working together. He was looking for artists. I met Pimp C through him. When Trill first signed Lil Boosie, I worked on his first album For My Thugz. When things quieted down, I moved to Atlanta and hooked up with Pimp [C]. He was working with an artist named Young Smitty. We would just be in the basement making beats; we came up with some
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good songs. We dropped a Smitty album but it had to come out through another label because Pimp got locked up. We had to regroup when Pimp got locked up. I moved back to Dallas and got a regular 9-5, but I would still come home and do music. I shot to a high and then hit a low point, but I never got discouraged. Rappers tend to hide when they come down from being in the spotlight, but producers can still maneuver with no ego involved. Bouncing back depends on your personal character and how bad you want it. There were days when I was discouraged and asked myself if I wanted to be working a 9-5 for the rest of my life. How did you get back in the game? I got another chance to work with Trill Entertainment on Webbie’s Savage Life album. But when people heard the tracks I did on UGK’s double-album, that’s what did it. I did “Swishas and Dosha” and the “Like That” remix. That motivated me to keep going, because to stop after getting to that point didn’t make any sense. What was it like working on an album of that magnitude? Prior to that album you didn’t hear about Pimp C working with a lot of outside producers for UGK albums. I’m not gonna lie to you, it was a lot of pressure. Before I even submitted any tracks to that album, they had already gotten beats from Swizz Beatz, Jazze Pha, the Blackout Movement, and Lil Jon. So I was about to be in the company of folks with platinum, mega-hits. But Pimp used to constantly tell me I was jammin’, so that helped a lot. The “Swishas and Dosha” beat was a turning point in my career. People always tell me that’s the song they listen to when they’re having a long day.
about business. We’d just ride around and talk about music. Tell us about your work on Bun B’s Trill OG. I met both Pimp and Bun at the same time at Mel’s house. I played some beats for them and they bobbed their heads. From there I developed a relationship with [Bun’s manager] International Red. I called Bun and told him I thought he was going to make a classic. He said he wanted to make the album that everybody thought he could make, but hadn’t made yet. Bun brought me down to a spot and put me in a situation where I could be comfortable and just work. I produced the intro, “Church,” “Right Now,” “Lights Cameras Action,” “Get Down For Mine,” “Show Money,” and some extra songs that are on the deluxe edition. What was it like producing “Right Now”? I was already a fan of everybody on that record, especially Tupac and Pimp C. Their music was already embedded in my soul. I was a huge Tupac fan. Most of the time when I make beats, I have Tupac in mind anyway. When the opportunity arose - I wouldn’t say it was easy - but I felt like I was ready. It had to be a song that both the young and the old would like, and it had to sound like something both of them would rap on, so it had to be musical. When I was making that track, I had pictures of Pimp and ‘Pac in front of me, talking to them. I know that sounds crazy, but I couldn’t mess this up. I wasn’t the only person to get my hands on it; they gave it to a couple other producers too. It brought out my competitive spirit. I said, “Nobody is taking this one from me.” //
Did that open a lot of doors for you? After that album came out, we had so many things we were going to do, but when my brother Pimp C passed away, a lot of those things fell flat. Even after that album I was still working a regular job. I got paid, of course, but we all know that just because you do a couple beats on a big album doesn’t mean you can retire. I kept doing my thing. Me and Pimp were really good friends, before I even got a placement on a UGK album. It wasn’t just
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