Strange Music recently caught up with producer Heartbeatz to discuss his work on Rittz’s upcoming album.
In this interview Heartbeatz discusses a few different topics including how long he has been producing, how did working with come about, Germany, and much more.
You can read the full interview below.
To get that classic sound we hear on Top Of The Line, Rittz took on multiple producers. One producer who made a handful of beats goes by the name of Heartbeatz, and comes all the way from Munich, Germany.
Heartbeatz may be a familiar name, as he’s the name behind Rittz’s newly released “Propane” featuring MJG and Devin The Dude. He also produced “Cold Blooded”, “Just Say No”, “Nostalgia”, and “Is That That Bitch”, though those haven’t been released yet. Despite the time difference, Heartbeatz was kind enough to chat with us about the work he did on Top Of The Line.
You’ve been making beats for many hip hop artists throughout the years, including Scarface, Devin The Dude, Bone Thugz, and now Rittz. How long have you been making beats?
I started producing about 7 years ago. Back in ’09.
How did you link up with Rittz for Top Of The Line? Did he approach you?
Yeah. I’ve been listening to Rittz since very early on. I never thought we’d end up working together. Rittz’s good friend Rowdy Bizzle got some of my beats online and played them for Rittz. Rittz ended up emailing me to see if I could send him over some beats and here we are. That’s basically the whole story.
That’s awesome. So, how involved was Rittz with these songs? Did he tell you what kind of music he was looking for, or did you have an idea?
When he started working on Top Of The Line a little over a year ago, he emailed me a huge list of reference songs and the things he liked about them. I tried to really catch the vibe of those songs, while producing my own sound.
Do you have any personal favorites that you’ve worked on?
So far, I haven’t heard a lot of the songs except for “Propane” of course, so I’m really looking forward to the 6th of May. As far as the beats go, I’m really digging the “Nostalgia” beat. I’m really looking forward to hearing what he recorded on that.
I’m also really looking forward to hearing that final product. The response to Propane has been huge so far. When you’re making that beat, do you immediately think it’s going to be a big success?
With Propane, I produced that beat with an R&B sound in mind, so it was really surprising to me when I heard that Rittz picked that one. I can’t exactly tell you how that beat came together because I don’t really remember to be honest. I probably just messed around with the notes and came up with the melody. It was finished in early October 2014, so a lot of time has passed since then.
That’s a long ways. So, you’re based in Munich right?
Yeah, I’m located in Munich. I just moved here and recently got a new job.
It’s been a few years since I’ve been to Germany. I lived in northern Germany for a summer in 2012 and know Germany has a huge club/dance scene, but I didn’t really get a whole lot into the hip hop scene. What’s it like in Munich or Germany as a whole?
The hip hop scene in Munich is huge. I think it’s probably even the second biggest hip hop scene over here.
I know you’ve got artists like Peter Fox and Seeed that have blown up over the years. Who are some of your biggest influences?
Hmm. Probably my biggest influence is Pimp C. I’m a huge fan of his production work. He used a lot of live instrumentation. Personally I’m also a big fan of G-Funk.
Are there any projects your working on currently?
Right now, I’m working on an EP with Trakk Sounds from Houston and the album I’m working on right now Kray, a really talented underground artist who’s done a few songs with Bone Thugz, they’re doing a lot of stuff together.
Awesome. Have you been in contact with any of Strange Music’s other artists?
Not yet. Rittz is really the first one. I hope to work with more artists from Strange Music soon.
Anything else you want to say to the fans?
Shoutout to Rittz and Strange Music. It’s a pleasure working with y’all!
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