In a recent interview with XXL, producer Just Blaze explained why after so many critically acclaimed hits, he has not embraced a solo format. According to the New Jersey beatsmith, his extensive work with Roc-A-Fella Records essentially supplants the need for an original album. In addition, he said there’s a significant financial advantage to not producing an entire album.
“If you look at my body of work with Roc-A-Fella, it kind of was [my solo work],” he explained. “A lot of them other producers who have done stuff like that, it’s no disrespect, but a lot of them don’t have that under their belt, where they can say, ‘I’ve done 100-plus records with that kind of artist.’ And on top of that, I’m not a star. Those things are cool, niche products [but] they never really sell well on a large scale…it’s one of those things where [I] put something out, maybe sell 100,000 or I focus my energy on doing these records with this label for Roc-A-Fella or whoever and probably make 10 times the amount of money that I might make otherwise.”
He did offer a solution for those who can’t go without him producing a solo project. He joked to the magazine, “I always tell people if they want that compilation, get your favorite 20 songs that I did, put em on a CD. There you go.”
The new issue of XXL hits news stands this week.
