They say behind every great man is a great woman, well behind every great producer there is a person standing in the wings possessing just as much talent and enthusiasm as the ‘name’ he assists. In the case of So So Def label boss Jermaine Dupri, his wingman is LRoc, a Liberian born musician.

Born James Phillips, LRoc was created to make music. With a brief spell in the US Army, it was during this time that LRoc knew that his passion for music was unbridled. Locating to the southern music haven of Atlanta, LRoc took to establishing himself as a vital asset to any recording studio.

Having developed a strong relationship with Lil Jon who was at the height of his Crunk reign, LRoc was positioned appropriately within the confines of Atlanta’s Hip Hop royalty. Now with his own company established and an ever expanding resume, it looks like it won’t be long before his name has a regal ring to it either.

HipHopDX: How did you get involved in music to the extent that you have?
LRoc: It was definitely a passion as I started playing at the age of five, and I am 44 right now, so it’s been all my life. I served in the US Army in Germany, and I was there for a couple of years and I was always in bands and had writing partners. We performed the songs we wrote on stage, but it was my fourth year in the service [when] I decided to get out and do music full-time and I juts went for it. I moved to Atlanta for that purpose which was in around ’89 when L.A. [Reid] and Babyface were moving here. I had been to Atlanta a few times and liked it and I just grew with the music scene down here. It was fun and inspiring to see how things progressed.

DX: Yeah, that must be interesting to see how things have actually grown down there.
LRoc: Oh my god, it is just amazing. I was on a panel yesterday for the Grammy's as I am a Grammy member and we were talking about how Atlanta is big in the music scene, but membership is low for the Grammy's and I remember one year when all the urban artists performing at the Grammy Awards were from Atlanta, back in the early nineties. I am fortunate to be a part of it, as I am not sure if I have had a big break or if I am just growing and building.

DX: Well the south has always seems to boast artists and producers etc that grow together.
LRoc: Yes, but you will get those people that will come in with just one hit and then fade away. But I think for me, the growth and growing in a community where it is not just about music but about relationships were a strong foundation. You know you build relationships and are able to work more from growing along with it.

DX: You have worked along side Jermaine Dupri for quite a while, how did you meet up with him?
LRoc: Well Lil Jon used to work for Jermaine and when I started working with Lil Jon, long before I worked with Jermaine. I was doing remixes with Lil Jon for Jermaine and then the Crunk era started to pop off and Jermaine was restructuring his company. A mutual friend knew Jermaine was looking for a keyboard player who could write with him and I was referred. I got a two way from him one morning saying, "This is JD," and he told me what he was looking for. So we met up and I explained to him that all the records of Lil Jon’s he had been hearing was me on the keys, my remixes over the years. I gave him my manager’s contact and he handled it from there.

DX: It's interesting as my last two interviews for this column have been with the mentors of Kanye West, Rodney Jerkins and The Neptunes, whereas here I am talking to you, someone who has in a sense been mentored. Has this been instrumental in your music career?
LRoc: It’s a great thing but I was doing it a long time before I met Jermaine, but it has boosted my career to get on the major projects that he is already doing. It is almost like riding a train that is already moving and going somewhere. The credit has helped my career so much and I continue my journey as a producer working with Lil Jon and Jermaine and doing the stuff that I do has made it easier. It has been a lot of hard work though.

DX: Well yes you still do what you do, regardless of whom you know.
LRoc: Yes you still have to deliver and go to the studio with this guy who has been making hits for years and I have to come in every day and deliver all the time, as this is his reputation. It is comfortable, easy even as I am glad with what I do, as I have been doing it for so long and the chemistry is good and it has been working.

DX: You are down on your discography as producer on the Nelly track "Stepped on My J's." When you look that track up on the net, it is Jermaine Dupri’s name you see. How much do you have to contribute to a track before you get your credit?
LRoc: The brand is So So Def, you know so it is Jermaine Dupri [click to read] that gets the credit. When I get a call for a session with Jermaine Dupri, because I am signed to his company, that session is automatically a co-producer credit as that is the way we work. Like he has a sense for the kind of record he is trying to do and we sit down and talk and then I create the music and the melodies, the keyboards and the bass line. Then he will do the drums to what I do. Instead of him sampling a record, I create the loop or we may use a remake, where I re-create the remake, like "Pulling Me Back" [click to read] by Chingy. There I recreated the music. He will set the direction of the record and I will go in and create around it. Continued on page 2 »