From Rick Ross’s “B.M.F.” to Waka Flocka Flame’s “Hard in the Paint,” producer Lex Luger has hooked up some of today’s biggest artists with certified hit records. Now, Complex caught up with the Virginia beatsmith to discuss working with Kanye West on his and Jay-Z’s recent single “H.A.M.” The producer admits that he was actually scared to work with the Chi-Town legend.
“When Kanye [first] called me, he said he wanted to fly me out to New York so I flew out a month late,” he recounted. “I didn’t want to fly out there at first. It was coming too fast for me, really. How I go from Milwaukee in the basement to Kanye—one of the biggest artists out right now—wanting my sound, wanting me to do his record? I was scared. But I went down there because it felt like an opportunity. He told me he loved my drums. He said with my drums and his sound, it would go perfectly. And I was ready to do it. But at the same time, I had to work. I felt like I wasn’t on Kanye’s level. I went back and I worked for about six months, I didn’t talk to Kanye or nothing. I called Gee Robinson because me and him cool, I sent him some stuff, I sent Kanye some more stuff, just going back and forth. Me and Kanye are still working.”
Luger also talked about his recent production on Wiz Khalifa’s single “Taylor Gang.” He explained that the beat is actually from up to three years ago, and while he won’t be contributing any other beats to the PIttsburgh emcee’s major label debut Rolling Papers, he will link up with Wiz for his next project.
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“That particular beat [for ‘Taylor Gang’] is an old beat,” he said. “That’s probably from ‘07, ‘08. I had Wiz’s e-mail because Wiz has always been kind of like an Internet guy. He’s always been all over the Internet, so when he first was really popping I hollered at him. And then he reached out to me and wanted to do some work with me. I had heard the song about a year ago. It had leaked out, but no one knew it though. And I guess he remastered it and put it out now. Wiz just got back with me recently and let me know that everybody likes it, and that he want to put it out there. And I was like ‘Yeah, go for it.’ But as far as being in the studio together, we haven’t done anything like that yet. That song is going to be on his album, but it’s going to be the iTunes bonus. [I don’t have other songs on his album] because his album is so close. But I talked to him, and he said he’d give me at least three [beats] on the next album.”
