If producers were basketball players, Hi-Tek would be Robert Horry. Even if he doesn’t sell the most jerseys or get the endorsement deals as the stars do, his track record is undeniable: whether he’s working in Hip Hop purist territory (Talib Kweli, Mos Def) or commercially viable circles (G-Unit, Snoop Dogg), Tek keeps winning. Getting his start in the '90s with then-indie powerhouse Rawkus Records, the Cincinnati native has evolved into one of the industry’s only true crossover producers, bringing in bread both as an in-house producer for Interscope and as the mind behind Hi-Teknology 2: The Chip, Babygrande Records’ highest-selling disc. In an interview with HipHopDX, Hi-Tek talks about technique, staying low-key and working with Talib Kweli.

HipHopDX: What kind of direction did you go in with the new album, compared to the last?
Hi-Tek: I think this album is more street. I definitely wanted to do that and get back to where I was raised. I don’t really get the chance to do that, except on like a 50 [Cent] album, or [Lloyd] Banks, or any of street-oriented albums that I produce for. … I still kept it Hi-Tek, I just wanted to show that side of me. … Me and Kweli are about to get into this Reflection Eternal album, so I wanted to give that a chance to give back to the streets, because that’s where I was born and raised. That’s where I came up, in the hood in Cincinnati. I just wanted to get a chance to show that cats from the hood have talent too, and are artistic too, and at the same time, I wanted to show that side of me through my music. It’s still Hi-Tek. I think this album is more well-rounded.

DX: “My Piano” is a real emotional song. How did it happen?
HT: I made the beat, came up with the concept, Dion wrote the hook. We actually both wrote the hook, it’s like a Spanish sample up under him singing, but we basically changed the words. Actually, yeah, Dion came up with the concept of “My Piano,” and I was basically giving him the vibe on what I wanted the song to be about. I think it’s like putting a puzzle together, man: I made the beat, he came up with the hook, and after that it was a wrap. We just had to write the raps after that.

DX: One thing about your production, especially with this album, is that it’s real emotional. With lyrics, it can be easier to show those emotions, because someone can just say them. How difficult is it to capture those emotions through your beats?
HT: When you hear an album from me, you’re basically hearing a lot of music over time. Some beats I kept because I knew it was special, and I always wanted to do something with it until it came the time where I had a budget and a whole setup for me to actually put this music out. It’s not hard for me. Every beat I put emotion into, I don’t care what style it is. It’s all emotion, and it comes from the heart.

DX: The way your beats hit me a lot of the time, it’s not like, “This beat is crazy.” But rather, “This beat fits the song perfectly.” How are you able to get on the same page with so many artists like that and make them fit that well for each one?
HT: That’s what a great producer does, and that’s what I like to do. I like to make albums, not just here today, gone tomorrow music. Making a top to bottom album is like painting a picture. Rather than be that song where you’re like, “Oh, that’s crazy,” it’s the number one single or this and that, I think that when you hear my music, you’re hearing it as a whole. When you listen to the album, you’re listening to it as a whole, and you basically judge it based on that fact.

DX: You’ve always stayed out of the spotlight. Even with your beats, they accent the artist more than they accent your actual production. Have you always been reserved like that, or did you decide to take that approach one day?
HT: I think that me being from small city created that, and at the same time, I’m not a spotlight type of person. I’m real humble. I just like longevity. I think we live life real fast…and I just like to take my time. Take my time out for family. I just like to live a regular life, and just my music in between. The music business, I try not to let it control me, and I just try to live my life. I try to enjoy making music, because sometimes when you’re moving too fast and you get caught up in the industry, you begin to not like making music. That’s one thing I never wanted to lose, I always wanted to enjoy making music. That’s just my way of approaching to accomplish that, by staying low key and staying in the studio.

DX: Like we talked about a few minutes ago, you’ve got versatility that allows you to work with a lot of different artists. Who have you worked with to where initially, it was difficult to get on the same page?
HT: I would say Kweli. It really wasn’t too much of the same page. I think we both had the same drive, but we come from two different stations, two different backgrounds. Just musically, I think we had the same direction, but it was all about putting that chemistry together. When the Reflection Eternal album came out, it was really like three years of hard work in us really creating a chemistry. And even then, we argued. When we finally wrapped the album up, we still had our differences, that’s why we never really made another album, because we had so many differences. That comes from having so many different visions in music, but at the same time, we had the same vision. We had the same drive. We’re both talented within ourselves. I think Kweli brings just as much to the beats as I bring to the raps, it was just us working together and different personalities. I’d say that’s the best project I ever did, and the person I think I accomplished the most with, but at the same time, we’re different.

DX: What’s the next Reflection Eternal album sounding like so far?
HT: Right now we’re in the early stages, we don’t have that much recorded. I have some ideas, I’m pretty sure he has ideas. We’re just trying to clear up the schedule so we can get really into it. Continued on page 2 »