Quick question: what do Beyonce, Jessica Simpson, Gwen Stefani, Pink, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Macy Gray, Kelis and Keyshia Cole all have in common?

Give up? Damon Elliot.

He’s been called the greatest producer you never heard of. And even that presumptuous title sells him short. Producing is just the beginning. He’s also written songs for several movie soundtracks with pictures like Malibu’s Most Wanted, Mean Girls, & Fat Albert already under his belt. At the impressively young age of 33 Damon Elliot has created a career that would make your favorite producer jealous. Put simply, Elliot is the total package. First there’s the music industry pedigree (he’s the son of classic recording artist Dionne Warwick). Then there’s the business savvy, (an imprint on Interscope and now his own label). Oh, and let’s not forget the Hollywood connection (he’s quickly becoming the go-to guy for movie scores). And if that isn’t enough to make your day than consider the fact that he’s written or produced (or written and produced) for projects totaling a combined 68 million records sold.

That’s a lot of records. HipHopDX quizzed the music genius himself for our latest installment of Industry 101: an in-depth look at the music industry through the eyes of artists, producers, and decision-makers. If you want to learn how it’s done, then pull up a chair and pay attention. Class is in session.

HHDX: A lot of people call themselves producers these days. What does the title “producer” mean to you?
Damon Elliot: Well to me, I’m kinda old school. I grew up watching producers like Quincy Jones and Bert Bacharach work with my mom. Now, the word producer now is used so widely when really to me it’s a very direct word. A producer to me is a songwriter, and also somebody who actually produces an album or a song, meaning that he’ll write the song, he’ll coordinate artists, if it requires a group pf musicians he’ll put the artists together. Like a Quincy Jones. That’s what I think of when I think of a classic producer. Of course, nowadays you got guys who go out and buy a couple pieces of equipment and mess around a little bit and they submit songs and they call themselves producers. But really, out of respect for the word, it’s a little deeper than that. I really respect the word “producer”.

HHDX: Lot’s of producers talk about how their inspiration comes from outside of the studio. Is that the case with you?
Yeah. I’ve been inspired by the strangest things. Most of my inspiration comes from outside of the studio. That’s what art is, it reflects life so if you’re not living and seeing things, and being a part of the world, I don’t think you can come up with great production. Look at movies and musical scores and even albums: Nine out of 10 times an album is a story of an artist’s life, and where they are at that point time. It’s your job as a producer to take what that artist is trying to say and kinda interject what you’re going through and hopefully some of the greatest albums happen when the producer and the artist are online and both going through the same stuff. Art really reflects life. That’s just what it is.

HHDX: A lot of people don’t appreciate the hectic often 24-7schedules that many producers have. Can you describe your average workday?
DE: My average workday? There is no average workday! (laughs) I mean really, there is no 9 to 5. It is a 24-hour commitment. There really is no downside. Thank god I’ve had a little success, and what that means is that I’m being called upon for all types of events- you’re meeting people, more faces, then during the day you’re making calls and setting up sessions, and it’s around the clock. Your phone is always ringing, and you’re always in front of a console and your always in creative mode. And that’s what it is. If anybody tells you that it’s set hours they’re doing something wrong. (Laughs).

HHDX: Considering the wide range of artists that you’ve worked with, does that help or hinder you when it comes to taking on a new artist?
DE: Man, it only helps. Because I can take experiences that I’ve had, for instance like with the Beyonce’s…well I can’t say that cause there’s only one, with Beyonce, and Pink, who’s totally the opposite end of the spectrum, and the Gwen Stefani I can take a little bit from each experience that I’ve had and mold the situation, especially with a new artist. New artists come in green. For example me and my partner we started a label called Beverly Hills Confidential, and we got new artist called Jenay (just signed her), and she’s 15 years old. She’s like play-dough. She’s got her experiences that she wants to bring to the table, but she’s very green. So it means like I can take instances from Pink’s situation or Beyonce’s situation and incorporate some of this and some of that. It only helps- you have to have that experience to create something new.

HHDX: We’ve all seen the show, but what’s it like working with Keyshia Cole?
DE: It’s just like her damn show. Keyshia is interesting, I found Keyshia…there’s a couple things they don’t mention on the show, but it’s all good. I found Keyshia. She was out of Oakland, you know she had just gotten to L.A., and she was in a girl group. Meagan Goode was working on a movie called Biker Boyz, and I was working on a movie called Malibu’s Most Wanted. So I was kinda in downtown L.A. and Meagan calls me and says "I have this girl you have to meet, she’s my friend and come on over, please Damon I’m not wasting your time." So I went over the set and it was really late and I was tired, but I went cause I love Meagan, because she’s like my little sister. So I went over there, and Keyshia was in the trailer and she was just singing, like just singing her heart out. And I’m like, yo, this girl’s got something. So I offered her, right there, like you gotta come to the studio. She’s like, (just like she is on the show) “nigga I ain’t coming to the fucking studio with you right now! I don’t know you… “ So I’m like cool, here’s my number, call me if you’re interested. She played the waiting game, and called me and we went in my studio in the valley and cut 10 songs. I was working on Mya’s album at the time, so I introduced her to Mya, who became a serious mentor to Keyshia, and Mya kinda took her under her wing and really helped facilitate a lot of the deal because (A&M Records President) Ron Fair was my partner at the time on Mya’s album . So I played a single called  "Love" for Ron. And the rest is history. She got signed right there on the spot. We took her to Jimmy Iovine and he loved it. She has not really changed since, (most people change with stardom) she’s still the same little girl from Oakland. And I’m very proud of her for that. We’ve had our arguments, and our differences, but we’re past that. And everything is cool. And I’m proud of her. When I watch the show I just laugh, I’m not a part of it, which is funny because I really started her whole shit, but it’s like watching her just brings back so many memories, cause that’s exactly how she is, that’s the real Keyshia. That’s why I named her album The Way It Is, cause it really is the way it is. What you see is what you get. I think that’s why she’s been so successful.

HHDX: Wow.
DE: Yeah man, Megan deserves her due credit, a lot of times people forget who hooked them up in the beginning, you know, and its sad, but I’m not one of those people. If Megan had never made the call I’m not gonna say that Keyshia wouldn’t have made it, but I am gonna say that I had more drive and I believed in her more than ANYBODY in the beginning and we worked very hard to get Keyshia where she is, and I say that as a collective effort.

HHDX: They’re calling you the best producer you’ve never heard of. With so many producers in hip hop and R&B taking center stage in the music and the videos etc., how do you feel about the distinction between producer and artist?
DE: The reason my label is called Confidential, is that that is exactly what it is. I’ve learned even from my mom, who celebrated her 45th anniversary in the music business. I think you do what you do, and do it well. The fame comes, you don’t need to search for it. If you’re truly an artist, than more power to you. But if it’s because you got a hit record or a number one single and your getting approached by labels and kinda feel like you gotta fall into that world, then I’m against it. 100%. I think certain producers make great artists. Certain producers are producers because they suck as artists. Straight up. As a producer I live through each artist. Its kinda like a daddy who lives through his children. You live through them, you watch them play football and you watch your son run the ball and you’re sitting there yelling at them. That’s kinda what most great producers do. Not all of us have great looks. Not all of us are skinny. Not all of us can dance. You know?

HHDX: Sounds like you might have somebody specific in mind.
DE: I don’t mention names, man, people will figure it out. (laughs)

HHDX: I think they probably will. At what point did you start to feel like “hmm… maybe I’ll start a label”?
DE: After Keyshia blew up so big, and all I had was an imprint on Interscope. And I was like, I have Confidential on Interscope and it looks good on her album, but it doesn’t really amount to anything. Imagine if it were my own label, it woulda been a lot better financially. And also I’d have a lot more creative control, which is very important. So it’s an opportunity to do what I love and really not have to answer to anybody, its kinda cool.

HHDX: I know you’re young, but how’s the technical side of beat making and production changed since you’ve been in the game?
DE: It hasn’t really changed much for me, other than equipment that’s made it easier. Like sampling, back in the day sampling was a challenge man, you got an mpc-60 which had maybe 3 seconds of memory stereo and maybe 10 seconds if your sampling mono, whereas now your using protocols and your have 4000’s and 3000’s and the even the 2000’s have hours of sampling time. They’re so many programs and plug-ins and programs for the computer that now you can kinda cheat a little bit, before you had to really start from nothing; now you have more to go from. But I’m old school: I like going into a room with my box, and a couple of drum sounds, and making a record.

HHDX: What’s the biggest difference in trying to put together a movie score versus working on somebody’s album.
DE: Movies are WAY different than an album because they’re visual. Scoring a movie is really kinda easy cause you have set times and set details that you work off of, whereas with an album you have way more freedom- as long as you fill in that minimum of 42 minutes of total running time. Usually you have more time on an album to do what you wanna do. They give you set scenes, and you do what you need to do.

HHDX: Ok, let’s say I’m a rookie producer, better yet I’m one of those guys that you mentioned before: I’ve got some equipment, I’ve got some ideas, maybe some beats or whatever… what is the first thing that I need to do in order to get people to take my stuff seriously?
DE: The first thing you need to do is look yourself in the mirror and make sure that you’re 100% comfortable with what you’re doing. Because I’ll tell you: if you’re not 100% behind what you do, you’re not gonna make it to step 2. Because the minute one person comes in and clowns your work (and I guarantee someone is gonna clown your work) whether it’s good or bad, you have to know that you’re the shit. Not cocky, but confident. That’s the most important piece of advice. I’m not gonna say “sample the right stuff” and “make sure you handle your drums”, because none of that matters. There’s a lot of producers out there who are making it real big because they’re confident. And there’s a lot of producers and songwriters out there who will never make it because they lack confidence. Don’t give a damn what most people say and what most people think; as long as you stay humble and you stay on your grind, you’re gonna get that shot. And I’m speaking from experience. There’s been quite a few times I’ve had to look myself in the mirror and say “You know what, I am good”. There were a lot of demos I sent out in my earlier days because I’m so left, and because I do different styles. Me and Pharell have had this conversation because he’s a little bit left. So that’s my piece of advice. You gotta have celebrity skin, that leather thick skin.

HHDX: Something that I don’t think that a lot of people realize is that just because an artist gets a songwriting credit, it doesn’t mean that they actually wrote the song. How does the publishing game really work? Who out there is really writing and who is not? And this time I want some names.
DE: You want some names?

HHDX: Names.
DE: You want some names of who’s not really writing?

HHDX: I want some names of whose getting songwriting credit on their album, when they’re really in the studio like “let’s say “them” instead of “they”… and then they get a credit.
DE: I’m a fighter, so it’s all good, so I’ll let you know. Basically every session I’ve been in control of that shit. I let them know from the gate, if you come through with “we” instead of “I”, you will walk out with your “we” instead of “I”, and if we choose to use that “we or I” are not gonna share publishing with you. There’s a few songwriters out there… I mean, to name names is one thing, because I have not really seen it, so I can’t really put people out there. I have heard the rumors about people who come in and add a hi-hat or maybe a snare drum, and then take 50-100% of people’s publishing. But I haven’t been in that position to see it. Maybe because people are intimidated because they know that I’m not going for the oke-doke. So I can’t really speak on names, but when I do hear stories of people saying someone took my publishing, or somebody only wrote one word, I blame them. I blame the person that lets it get done to them. Every song that comes out has a piece of paper that goes along with it that you fill out. It’s called the publishing slip. There’s an artist agreement, and there’s a production agreement. And if you so choose to roll with the punches and not pay attention, then you kinda deserve what you get. And that’s a million dollar mistake. A multi-million dollar mistake in some cases. So I don’t really sympathize. You wrote the song, how come you didn’t get credit for it? How can someone steal a song from you? I don’t understand. Unless they physically walk in your studio, walk out with the masters and put it out without you knowing about it- that’s one thing. But I don’t think that happens. I think people are hungry and greedy in the beginning, and they think: as long as I can just get in with this person, I’m cool. I’ll settle for five grand or ten grand now, as opposed to waiting for the song to come out. Because no one believes in a song until it’s a hit. Some of the biggest songs in the world, I guarantee that there’s been people who’ve passed on it. In the beginning someone might offer you a check for 5 or 10 grand, because they’re taking a gamble too, because no one can really pick a hit. They can guess, but nobody can pick a hit song and be 100% right. Nobody.