With a roster of hits that include Jay Z’s “Song Cry,” Fabolous’ “Breathe,” Jay Electronica’s “Exhibit A,” and a number of other Hip Hop heavy records, New Jersey producer Just Blaze found himself welcoming an entirely new set of fans thanks to this year’s unexpected “Higher” collaboration with house/electro producer Baauer.
Just Blaze recently chopped it up with Examiner.com following his set at the 2013 North Coast Music Festival and addressed his nearly 20 years in music as he spoke on his newfound fans.
“I’d say there are Just Blaze fans pre-‘Higher’ and post-‘Higher’,” he revealed. “It’s great. I’ve been making music since I was damn near born. For me to be a producer and be on my sixteenth year making music is a blessing. It’s not many people that can say that they’ve done that. You have me, Tim, Pharrell, Swizz, and Kanye. I’m probably forgetting somebody but those are the main ones. I’m not equating myself to any of them but we are the few that have made a career out of this. You have a lot of dudes that are in and out in two or three years…I’m on sixteen years and I’m appreciative of it. I’m appreciative that somehow I’ve always found a way through the years to capture a new fan base and continue to remain relevant in some space and still make a living doing what I love–to me that’s all that matters. It’s not about making a ton of money, even though I do well.”
The Jersey beatsmith later found himself breaking down the electronic dance music (EDM) phrase and also expressing his distaste for the phrase he feels isn’t appropriately used, when asked if he’s moved on to making beats through the use of software rather than hardware.
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“Even when I was using an MPC an MPC ran on software. If I was using an SP-1200 an SP-1200 ran on software. If I was using an ASR-10 an ASR-10 ran on software. The whole phrase ‘EDM’ which stands for electronic dance music, I don’t dig it,” said Just Blaze. “We’ve been making music electronically damn near since day one. You can dance to Hip-Hop the same way you can dance to house and trance but they don’t necessarily classify Hip-Hop as EDM. I just don’t like that phrase. At the end of the day it’s all electronic and it’s all made with hardware and software.”
After getting his break in music, producing for various artists at Roc-A-Fella Records, Just Blaze has gone on to work with a variety of artists including Christina Aguilera, Kanye West, and Maroon 5. Most recently, he lent his production talents on the good kid, m.A.A.d city track, “Compton.”
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