Can you introduce yourself? My name is Dae One. I was born in Northern California and as a kid I moved to Southern California. I currently live in Hawthorne, in the Los Angeles area. How old were you when you made your first beat? I started playing with keyboards as a young kid, just messing around at age 10. I didn’t start taking it seriously until my mom bought me my first beat machine/sampler when I was 17. That’s when I made my first track. I love great music, but honestly, the reason I started making beats was because at the time I was trying to rap and I just couldn’t find producers that could make beats the way I could hear them in my head. So I took it into my own hands and just started trying to make beats on my own. Who has been your favorite artist to work with? Why? I’ve worked with a lot of great artists but just because of his creative energy, I’d say Bishop Lamont. My favorite rap group of all time is Outkast, so I’d love to work with them one day. What equipment do you work with? I’m more of a hardware kinda guy. I use my MPC 2000XL or MPC3000, a FantomXrA Triton, a Nord Lead 2, a Motif Rack, and a few other top-secret gadgets. But there really isn’t a right or a wrong way [to produce], it’s just about findout what works best for you and perfecting that. What’s your favorite beat you’ve produced so far? That’s a hard question. I don’t know if I could pick one favorite, because in a way they all take something out of me that I like in one way or another. But the record I did called “Be Cool” on Bishop Lamont’s last mixtape The Confessional with Xzibit, Glasses Malone, Ras Kass, and Mykestro gets me a lot of good feedback. If I had to pick one, that’d be it. Who’s your favorite producer? For me it’s a toss-up between Dr Dre, because of his sonic balance and rich sound, and J Dilla because of his creativity and incredible ear for sampling. Those are my top two. I can’t choose just one. Do you mix your own beats or work with an engineer? Yeah, I mix my own beats so they’re just the way I like them. I’m so into the music, I have to do it that way. Production is all-around to me. You’ve got to know how to do it all to be great. Any last words? Never let anyone tell you what you can and can’t do. Follow your heart and work hard to make your dreams come true. Know what you’re getting into. Artists, learn the business if music is what you want to do. This is not a game, this is big business. How can artist get a slap from you? Hit me up on my myspace page at www.myspace.com/120daeone or contact my management by email at marlor@sbcglobal.net.
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