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9th Wonder - It’s A Wonderful Life
Interview by: Serge Fluery
 Hip-Hop has always been pretty easy mathematics. Good lyrics, plus solid production, equals great success. If you're an extraordinary lyricist, then the people will love you for it. But if you're an exceptional beat technician; odds are you'll be more famous than the first guy out of your crew to lose his virginity. Sometimes though, the pairing of an MC with a track that complements him/her, can be a lot harder than it seems.
 Occasionally you'll hear street critics usher statements like; "damn, that beat was hot, and he wasted on a whack-ass n***a!", or other things like; "yo, he be spittin', but his beats are trash!" Being able to find that balance between the two worlds can be crucial, but once its found, the outcome can catapult both the MC and producer to new heights of fame.
North Carolina's very own 9th Wonder, happens to be reaping the benefits of producer stardom. Come on now, really; if [you] produced songs for multi-platinum artists like Jay-Z, Destiny's Child, and Mary J. Blige, don't you think you'd be at the top of everyone's check list as well? Even with such a star-studded resume, he still finds time to collaborate on whole entire albums with MC's such as Buckshot (from Black Moon), Murs, and the always underrated Jean Grae. And although he's no longer the resident sound-provider for Little Brother; the group that brought us "The Listening" and "The Minstrel Show", his soulful and infectious rhythms are still in high demand.
Nobodysmiling.com : What's good 9th, you seem to be on the hustle lately.
9th Wonder : Yeah man, you're my sixth interview today.
Nobodysmiling.com : Damn! Really!
9th Wonder : [laughing] Nah, its all good.
Nobodysmiling.com : So how did you first get into producing?
9th Wonder : Man, when I decided I didn't want to work for nobody. I mean, we all in a sense work for somebody; but I wanted to do, what I wanted to do. Just the joy of doing something I wanted to do, for a living. I see people that really hate [their] job, and I love my job. Like I'll say things to my wife like; "baby I'm working!" and she'll say; "you ain't working!", "this is fun for you!" [laughing]. But I'm really working though. It just so happens I've paid my dues, and my dues happen to be fun; know what I'm saying. So that's just the way it is.
Nobodysmiling.com : Was it hard getting some of the artists you wanted to work with on Dream Merchant vol. 2?
9th Wonder : Yeah it was, I didn't get some of the artists I wanted to work with. There's a lot of legalities in things man, and a lot of money situations that I just didn't have the pockets for. I didn't have the pockets for a lot of the artists that I really wanted, but that's no disrespect to the artists I got. I'm happy with the ones I got, and we gonna rock; and that's how it is.
Nobodysmiling.com : So you and the artists you worked with were pretty much on the same page during the project?
9th Wonder : I've been shoveling beats out for a long time, for people to pick from. Where they'd be like; "I don't want that beat, I want this beat." Now it's my time to be like; "take this beat, and you got to rap on it!" [laughing] I never really had a chance to do that before. Only artists I had a chance to do that with, was Murs and Buckshot.
Nobodysmiling.com : Speaking of that. What makes you want to produce whole albums for other artists? Do you look for a certain something in them?
9th Wonder : Anybody that knows me, knows I'm stuck in between 1988-1996. I've tried to get out of that, but I can't. I'm a current person, but I'm stuck in that time. I know that there are other people that are stuck in that time with me.
Nobodysmiling.com : I'm trapped in that era too! [laughing]
9th Wonder : EXACTLY! There's nothing like listening to an album with a consistent sound all the way through. We're used to that, we're used to listening to records where you can put in your car; and just ride to. I make music for your car, I don't make music for the club. I make it for your car. If you have to ride all the way across town and back; that's what I'm for. One of the best ways to do that, is if you have a consistent sound all the way through.
Nobodysmiling.com : How did you first get into teaching about Hip-Hop at your old school, North Carolina Central?
9th Wonder : I had couple of friends that were teachers in the area, and it started from there. I went to school to teach anyway, and a guy introduced me to the person who runs the Hip-Hop Initiative over at North Carolina Central. He was like; "yo man, ever thought of teaching a Hip-Hop class?" Then I was like; "yeah! lets try that!" Then me and Play from Kid-N-Play got into the mix at the same time. So then we came up with a curriculum, and we rolled with it. The best times of my life are walking into that auditorium, and looking at those faces, as I play records and set up the turntables. That's the best feeling in the world.
Nobodysmiling.com : So what does your lesson plan consist of?
9th Wonder: We cover Hip-Hop from a historical standpoint, from 1973-1997. We start from James Brown to Cool Herc, and we take all the way up until the day The Notorious B.I.G. died.
Nobodysmiling.com : I think that's pretty much the best time in Hip-Hop in my opinion. From 1991-1997. Man, if they had that course at my school, maybe I would have graduated! [laughing]
9th Wonder : RIGHT! Me too brother, me too! [laughing]
Nobodysmiling.com : There were rumors about you singing a production deal with Roc A Fella. Is there any truth to that?
9th Wonder : Nah, no truth at all, brother. By the time I did a Jay-Z record [pauses] come on, you know how the story goes. It gets to one person, then another, and another. By that time its so fabricated, that it don't even make any sense. I never signed a production deal with Roc A Fella. If I did, I'd have a Roc Chain. You ain't never seen me with a Roc Chain, man.
Nobodysmiling.com : What would you say you learned by working with Jay-Z on some of his projects?
9th Wonder : I learned a lot from him, know what I'm saying. I learned that he really doesn't write on no paper. [laughing] He really is the best rapper that ever lived. [laughing] That's what I learned from him, and that's just my opinion, man. But I think he's the best rapper that ever lived. [laughing] Just the way he came off in the booth man, it was just so phenomenal. It makes you sit there with your mouth wide open, and makes you say; "WHAT!, NAH HE JUST DIDN'T DO THAT!" One thing he showed me without telling me [pauses] he was like; "9th, this is only the beginning for you." I think that was the most important thing to me.
Nobodysmiling.com : How did you first hook up with Jay?
9th Wonder : We came in contact through Young Guru. Young Guru was a fan of "The Listening", and he bought the CD over at Fat Beats. Then he talked about me around the studio a lot, and one thing lead to another. We had a mutual friend by the name of T. Smith, and T. Smith introduced me to Young Guru. Then Guru told me to come to New York, he got on the phone and I was floored. I didn't know what to say. So now Young Guru, along with six or seven other cats in the industry, are my best friends.
Nobodysmiling.com : Talk about your relationship with the Boot Camp Clik
9th Wonder : No pun intended, me and Buckshot did "Chemistry", and it meant a lot to me. Because I know how to separate best from favorite. I feel that Jay-Z is the [best] rapper to ever live, but I feel that Buckshot is one of my [favorite] rappers to ever live. Nothing beats; [starts to rap some Buckshot lines] "I woke up in the morning/hopping the train/I found my man/he had an "L" in his hand." Nothing beats that man! Ain't a record you can play that can beat that! Even the "Buck 'Em Down" remix; [raps another Buckshot line] " To the weak/what we do/buck 'em down word life." Nothing beats that. So that meant a lot to me. Listening to those Boot Camp records over the years, I think I was able to not remake their sound; but make a 9th Wonder/Boot Camp sound. Because there's also a 9th Wonder/Murs sound, a 9th Wonder/Little Brother sound, and a 9th Wonder/Destiny's Child sound; see what I'm saying. So I think was able to pull that off for Boot Camp.
Nobodysmiling.com : Speaking of Little Brother. Even though you're no longer with them, do you plan keeping a working relationship?
9th Wonder : I don't see any problem with that, man. I think no matter what happens between [us] now or in the future; I think we'll still be able to do records together. But at the same time, still put out good records of our own. If they can help me, or I can help them flood the market with music, its a good thing. Because [we] know as first generation Hip-Hoppers, what we like. It might be different from what a 15 year old likes, and that's just the way of the world. I'm not mad at a 15 year old for liking what [they] like. But for me, I want to be able to reach my peers. I'm 32 years old, and my peers like Hip-Hop a certain way. I'm thinking they do anyway. So whether we do it together or we do it apart; we're going to do it. So you might hear some records from [us] and you might not, but I don't think good music is going to stop.
Nobodysmiling.com : Everyone wants to know: Are you still using just the Fruit Loops beat program? [laughs]
9th Wonder : Yeah, I'm a big believer in "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." I'm always traveling to different cities and I go to the same restaurants, brah. I order the same thing, and n***as be MAAADDD! [laughing] They be like; "come on man, change it up!" I'm like; "for what?" "this is what I like", "go do what you like, cause this is what I like!" [laughing] But it just so happens, that other people like it too; and that's how I feel about my music.
I'm not the only person that likes it, as you can plainly see. The one thing I can say about Fruit Loops that I've done either consciously or sub-consciously; is that I've made young boys sit in the house, and want to do something creative, without having to spend a lot of money. That means a lot to me. When I hear them say; "I be rockin' in my room, and my mom be trippin'!" "but I be rockin' just like you 9th." Man, that's heavy. So if I can influence kids to do that, instead of going out and doing something stupid, then I'll use Fruit Loops forever man. For real.
Nobodysmiling.com : Even though you're well known, you're not in the spot light like a lot of other producers. Any particular reason why?
9th Wonder : I don't rap, man [laughing] Kanye and Pharrell they're accomplished rappers, they can rhyme. I can't rap. [laughs] Being that I can't rap, there's no need for me to be in the front, or be in the video. If I'm in the video, I'm going to be doing something stupid. Like you may see me walk by the camera, and wave. Or you might see me doing the "Whop" or the "Cabbage Patch", and you'll be like; "man that 9th Wonder is a fool!" "he's on the television trippin'!" Me doing the beats is enough. [smiles]
Nobodysmiling.com : It also seems like you have a lot of New York-based influence on your production. Is that fair to say?
9th Wonder : That's the thing man, the biggest misconception [pauses] please print this in big letters. The biggest misconception that Northerners have about Southerners when it comes to Hip-Hop; is that we've been listening to crunk music for 20 years! When you was listening to Black Moon, I was listening to Black Moon, when you was listening to MC Lyte's "Cha, Cha, Cha" I was listening to MC Lyte's "Cha, Cha, Cha." All that snap and crunk music all started in 1998, from a mainstream point of view. The first record I ever bought, was Biz Markie's "Going Off." But the first one I ever heard was "Planet Rock."
So from 1982-1997 what do you think n***as was listening to down here?! [laughing] We was listening to the thing y'all was listening to, so that's where all my influence comes from. So within that, I wanted to go with I was taught, and what made me feel good. I'm really big on what makes me feel good. There's a lot of people out here that's making music. They might be feeding their family, and I'm all for that; because that's a black man doing something positive. But for a lot of people, the music doesn't make them feel good; the music just makes them money, and that's it. I have this opportunity to make music that makes me feel good, and make money at the same time. That's a great thing, brother. I never go to bed at night like; "I can't believe I just did that in the studio today, BUT I'm getting a check!" Some people can sleep with that, I can't. I got to do something that's going to make me feel good inside, [starts singing happily] and make money. I want to be able to do that. It's a hard road to accomplish, and it might be hard; but it can be done. So I'd rather do that, then anything else.
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