New York Hip Hop in 1996 was reminiscent of the city’s Yankees, untouchable. One man who could be considered to have vice captaincy in New York City at that time was Deric Angelletie. Leading Puffy’s Hitmen out onto the field, he hit nothing but homer after homer. Biggie, Puffy, Mase, and Faith Evans all benefited from what this Brooklyn slugger was capable of in at Daddy's House Studios.

Always one to encourage the next man or woman up to do their thing, it was D Dot who pushed Curtis Jackson out to the masses in 2000 on his Madd Rapper Tell 'Em Why U Madd album. His tenure of managing Kanye West may have caused a little friction between student and teacher, but real men do real things and D Dot wasn’t about stealing bases as he discusses in this interview. Now as he embarks on a new inning in the life of the Madd Rapper, D Dot is depicting Brooklyn unity is at its best.

HipHopDX's Producer's Corner caught up with this former Hitman and got the 411 on his protégé, the unveiling of his alter ego and just who we might see on that "Brooklyn Let’s Go Part Two."

HipHopDX.com: So the Madd Rapper is back, not that you ever left of course. You came back with a bang with Brooklyn Let’s Go Part One. Why did you choose to go with that track?
D Dot: It's funny because people are saying I am back and that was really just a record, me being who I am. All these year,s I have got down with all the new up and coming artists before the world gets to hear them and realize who they are. I like working with the next level artist. The "Brooklyn Let’s Go" record was just that. I am from Brooklyn, and New York Hip Hop and east coast music has been taking a lot of criticism so I figured the best way for me to make a splash was with the new up and coming guys. I like all those guys, and I think they are all very talented, there are a lot of great rappers around, but I did want to show some love to my hometown. There are so many rappers out of New York, and particularly Brooklyn, that are trying to make it. Me being an older guy I feel like they deserve a shot at other ways as well as making a single and then their careers being over.

DX: Is there another album in the works?
DD: Yes and no. As a producer, I like to release records to see what the people’s reaction is to the records and also to let people know that I am still here and I am still relevant and have the ability to make them happy. But if the fans are not asking for a new Madd Rapper album, I would hate to drop one and it doesn’t do the sales and the numbers which people are expecting for an album produced by me. I want the fans to want it and I want there to be a creative demand for it.

DX: Nowadays the fans are able to reach artists a lot more through different platforms primarily through the Internet, do you think that they have more of a say in dictating the way music goes?
DD: I wouldn’t say they have much of a say. I would say we are able to reach more of them and they are able to get more music in a timely fashion and in more abundance. So you have to consider their opinions as they have the ability to now sit at home as opposed to getting up and going to a store and only buying one or two albums. Now they have the ability to buy three or four on the Internet for a lot cheaper and download four or five for their own listening pleasure. Now we have comment pages and we have all these ways to have a relationship with the artist, we get to listen to their opinions a lot more. But I don’t necessarily think they dictate what the artists do per say.

DX: Do you read the comments that people leave on the sites where your music is placed?
DD: I mean, yeah I read some of them. It is very important to know both negative and positive. You know I have never made a record that the whole world has just completely embraced without their being one hater or one person who had a negative comment. You know with "Brooklyn Let’s Go," people either liked the verses and hated the beat or loved the beat and hated the lyrics, or they hated Papoose, they hated Maino or "Madd Rapper sucks." You are never going to please them all. But you get someone like me; I know who my fans are and how to target them. Obviously now, if I am going to put out an album, I am going to target the fans that want it as opposed to forcing it down peoples' throats. Now the fans let you know where they are and how they want they music and that makes it a lot easier. Look at Lil Wayne; he has that appeal right now. He knows who his fans are and he targets them. He is not trying to make a "We Are The World" type of record, he is not trying to satisfy nobody but his core fans. Continued on page 2 »