Havoc has been in the game for the better part of two decades, holding it down as one-half of Queens, New York duo Mobb Deep. But he’s not happy with the way that the culture has progressed over the years.

During an interview with Converse Rubber Tracks, Hav recalled how he first got his feet wet as an emcee and only picked up production because others were charging too much money for beats.

“I definitely started off as an emcee first. That’s how I started, that’s how I came into the game,” he said. “Basically, how I became a producer was we couldn’t afford the beats that these producers were charging a million dollars for a track. We invested in a little bit of equipement, starting making tracks and it just had a life of its own. It was crazy. It was a lot of pressure, but I love pressure. Pressure creates diamonds, so I just did it.”

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He shifted his focus to how the culture has evolved over the years, stating that he’s not happy with how artists focus more on singles than albums. He considers music today “not really a special event anymore” because there’s less risk in creativity.

“The ‘90s was something that’s indescribable. It’s almost like a family thing. Looking back on it now, you miss those times because it was more effort put into the music. The music was album-orientated. Now, it’s just single-orientated. Now, it’s so many producers out there, music is just like that. It’s not really a special event anymore. Not to really criticize the game like that, because it is what it is, whatever. If you want to make money, then OK, you’ll just make these cookie cutter beats. But if you want to stand out and just leave your mark on the world, you’ll make something that sounds different and take a risk. No risk, no reward.”

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