With Twelve Reasons To Die II, the collaborative project between Ghostface Killah and producer Adrian Younge, being released today (July 10), Younge spoke with AllHipHop.com about his expectations for the newly-released album.
Since Twelve Reasons To Die II serves as a sequel to Younge and Ghostface Killah’s 2013 album of the same name, the producer was asked how he feels about those who may think the duo are tampering with a good thing.
In response, Younge explained that his goal with Twelve Reasons To Die II isn’t to make an album similar to its predecessor, but to instead create “a better product.”
“I’m one of those people, unless you’re going to try and make it better. And that’s what I’m actually trying to do. I’m trying to make a better product as opposed to making a new derivative version with the purpose of just selling records,” Adrian Younge said.
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Younge later spoke on what he feels he could improve on from the first album.
“It’s one of those things where I make music for myself and hope other people like it,” he said. “So, from that perspective, I don’t feel like I fell short. I feel like it was a natural progression from part one. I feel like I wanted to do was go in a darker, deeper direction. I feel it’s more captivating than the first and, the thing is, some people don’t want music like that. They just want music they can bob their head to. It’s a turn off, and so it might not make some people like it as much. And it’s funny because there are people that didn’t like the first Twelve Reasons to Die because they don’t like my production. So you never know. The only shortfall that people could find in part two is that it’s a deeper and darker album. If some one doesn’t want it to be deeper and darker, then it’s a shortfall.”
In addition to speaking on Twelve Reasons To Die II, Younge detailed his relationship with RZA. He referred to the Wu-Tang Clan member as both a friend and mentor, and says he still learns a lot from him.
“Working with RZA [too], I’d idolized him so much before I met him and became friends with him,” he said. “And he mentored me. I still learn a lot from that dude. It’s crazy because I never ever would have expected I’d be in a situation where, with all the things we’re talking about knowing, he can come to my studio and I can be like, ‘that beat is sampled’ or he can tell me what he did for this certain sound on 36 Chambers or Return to the 36 Chambers. It’s a special relationship that I have and I admire luminaries like RZA, Premo, and all those types of people.”
