HHDX: How important was knowing the basic fundamentals of music, you know learning to read music and play instruments?
Nitti: It was real important for me because I actually play instruments by ear, I don’t read music. To me, playing by ear, it was all about understanding melody. I understand melody and that makes a difference as my ‘kicks’ have to match the keys of the music. Understanding melody and music, it all has to blend together.

HHDX: Why do you choose not to sample that much? Is it a personal choice?
Nitti: Because it takes up too much time and to me sampling is not original. I don’t get impressed by no producer that samples a lot. To me you are taking something that was already a master recording and you are using someone else’s ideas from scratch. To me being a producer is coming up with something from scratch. Don’t sample nobody’s melodies, make your own. I get in there and make my beats from scratch all the way. I don’t get impressed by sampling Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, that is A, B, C shit to me.

HHDX: When you say time I assume you mean for clearance?
Nitti: Yeah that takes both time and money. You know if you sample a record and Earth, Wind and Fire are sampled, they are probably going to look for 75% of that record and they actually deserve 100% as it is their record, as it is their song behind it. You took something that belonged to them that sounded good before you started recording it. I think they should make a law to ban sampling as then all the real producers would come out and until then all the producers that sample, I will respect them but they do not impress me as they are doing nothing new.

HHDX: You also mix down some of your stuff don’t you?
Nitti: I don’t mix all my stuff but I do mix some, like I mixed "It’s Going Down". I started off mixing as I would just stay in the studio after making the beat and I would just make it sound better as sometimes beats sound real dusty and shit. I like to clean it up and make sound as clean as a CD you would buy in the stores and that is all that is.

HHDX: You have a hefty resume with most of the artists you work with being from the South as well. Is that just the way it is going or is that you have a Southern sound that people from the South gravitate towards?
Nitti: I mean I have a Southern sound and I am going to represent the South until the day I die. But I don’t want to sound like Just Blaze and I don’t want to sound like Battle Kat as they do their sound and they rep their way. That is what they are known for doing and I want to be that producer that when you want that South sound, you gotta come see me. It is a brand new day, producers have a sound that people want to get and I am going to be seen in the exact same way. It is not just going to be just in Hip-Hop, it can be R&B, it can be pop, it can be whatever but it will have a south swing to it. Continued on page 3 »