Havoc has produced for Mobb Deep, Nas and Foxy Brown, among others. Despite these accomplishments, the Queensbridge rapper-producer has several songs he wishes he would have produced.
One of them is Nas’ “One Love.”
“At the time that it came out, it was like—that sample was like unheard of,” Havoc says of Nas’ 1994 cut during an interview with XXL. “It was like, ‘Who the fuck did that shit?’ You know what I’m saying? [Laughs] Like, you still don’t really hear samples like that to this day. So, you know, Q-Tip flipped it. He did his thing on there.”
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Another song Havoc says he wishes he produced by Dr. Dre’s “Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang.” Havoc says that song made him step up his own musical output.
“Now we had some competition,” Havoc says, reflecting on the impact of Dr. Dre’s 1992 cut, which features Snoop Dogg. “And it wasn’t a game. They were getting major airplay in New York, you know what I’m saying? So motherfuckers knew that they had to step their game up as far as production was concerned, for sure. You know, but I just did what I did. That worked for me. But I could tell on the scene of it all—on the New York scene—I could tell that cats probably tried to step their game up, or try to incorporate live instruments onto their songs.”
To see Havoc’s full list of “Havoc’s Five Favorite Beats He Wished He Produced,” visit XXL.
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