Raptalk.Net is proud to announce the beginning of a beautiful new feature we are adding to the website. Continuing with our often publicized interviews, we are adding a "In the Studio" segment to the interview features. "In the Studio" will see us hook up with artists who give us the run down, track by track of their up coming or recently released albums.

As many west coast heads should know, one of the left coasts finest legends Tash released his second solo LP, Control Freek yesterday, June 30th 2009. Three of our favorite people in the world, Knoc-turn'al, J. Beam & Knawledg (shouts out to Ripacut and Dez as well) collectively known as the MathMadix played a major role in the creation of the album. 

Is their a better way to start off our "In the Studio" segment than to sit down with Knoc-turn'al, J Beam and Knawledg to break down the new Tash album? I don't think so!

J. Beam produced 5 tracks on the album, mixed down many of the rest, dropped a verse and loaned his vocals to two others. Knoc-Turn'al comes through with not one, not two, but three guest appearances, one of which also features a nice verse from Knawledg.

Read on to get the entire break down on the new Tash album...

Raptalk.Net: “The Book Ch. 1”

J. Beam: Tash recorded this record at my house. I just mixed this joint. Someone else made this beat though, I just mixed it.

Raptalk.Net: “Go West.”

J. Beam: I think someone from Europe produced this one. They sent it to me and I just tweaked it a bit. I remember putting some deeper drums to it. I kind of freaked it out. I didn’t have a fully tracked out session for this but I finally got to freak it a little bit. It wasn’t banging like the rest of it was so I had to go in with it and put some bigger drums to it. That song turned out better than I thought it would. It’s a cool record.

Raptalk.Net: “Get It” featuring Del Tha Funkee Homosapien.

J. Beam: I produced this one. It’s funny how this one came about. I made the beat while Tash was out here. It was one of the beats I didn’t think Tash would like. I had just made it and it was real basic. I played him a ton of beats and he picked this one, the one I was working on. He got down on it. He was trying to figure out what to do with the hook. It was one of those studio moments where we just needed a hook. Tash would tell you, he can rap for days so as soon as he gets the hook, the song is done super quickly. The hook is the tougher part for him. He was asking me what he should do with the hook and he was getting frustrated. He started rapping and free styling and in his rap he was like, “go girl, go get it” and I said there you go, that’s the hook. He was like ok, you go say it. So that is me on the hook for that record. We came up with it and I was there and he told me to go ahead and do the hook. It turned out real fly.

Raptalk.Net: For those who don’t know now you know, that is J Beam on the hook for the “Get It” record.

J. Beam: Oh yea. It’s all good. That beat is a slapper. Its so dope, I like that a lot. Del shot his part over. I’ve always been a fan of the Hieroglyphics crew. I enjoyed fucking with that record since I got Del and Tash on it. I grew up listening to the both of them. That song is an all around good deal.

Raptalk.Net: “How Hi Can U Get” featuring B-Real.

J. Beam: I think E-Swift made the beat for that one. They sent it to me and I just mixed it up. I tied it all together. Tash recorded his verse at E. Swift’s house. B-Real recorded it wherever he was at and shot it over. Over here in Phoenix, we meshed it up. We took everyone’s verse and made them all right. Mixed it up and there you have it.

Raptalk.Net: “Wet Paint” featuring Kokane.

J. Beam: Didn’t touch that one.

Raptalk.Net: “Pull It Outcha’ Pocket”

J. Beam: That’s too much bass; that’s what I would have named it but they called it “Pull It Outcha Pocket.” It’s cool how we did this one because we were in the studio just starting songs from scratch and everything. This was probably the forth time Tash came out here and stayed at my crib and we got busy. I had him on this little handheld mic through a PA system in my studio. We do a lot of live shows with a band and everything so I have a PA system in my studio. He was on there just rapping and he said something like “too much bass for this motherfucking place” and I was recording him off of the PA. I just took that little part “too much bass for this motherfucking place” and I just did my part. I remember being in the studio with Tash for this record, I was smoking a lot and he was drinking a lot. I did the little hook on there too, “hold up, wait, I know y’all love that 808.” I did that over here. We banged that one out real quick. It’s a simple joint but it’s all bass. If you haven’t heard that one with the sub-woofers, you need to pop it in the whip and that shit bangs.

Raptalk.Net: “Started With a Bang” featuring Fameus.

J. Beam: Didn’t touch it. I actually recorded a different version of this song. I liked the other version better but it’s all love. It’s just multiple people working on one project. But there are multiple versions of this song.

Raptalk.Net: Maybe will see that pop up on a mixtape.

J. Beam: Oh yeah, definitely. It’s really dope.

Raptalk.Net: “Push the Button” featuring Khujo Goodie.

J. Beam: I got to mix that one. Big ups to Maestro, he did the beat. I really like this song a lot. I was happy to be apart of it. Maestro trusted me enough with the beat to mix it. Everyone speaks highly of me and I’m thankful for that. A lot of producers are picky about this kind of stuff so I made sure it was good with him. He gave me the thumbs up with it.

Raptalk.Net: “A Penny for my Thoughts” featuring Samuel Christian.

J. Beam: I mixed it. Didn’t make the beat, but I mixed it over here. A lot of the songs were mixed here at my studio in the same spot. That’s what makes the album flow so well. Once I got done mixing it, I would send it out to Tash and E. Swift. I told them to be critical and they would call me back. E. Swift told I to turn the vocals up just a little bit on the whole record. It was straight. I did it and everything was hood.

Raptalk.Net: “We Do This” featuring Knoc-turn’al, King Tee & yourself, J. Beam.

J. Beam: A record originally titled “I’m Drunk.” That song bro, it’s funny how it came about. That was the first song I ever did with Tash before I was even homies with him. We did this when I first started working with him. I already had this song done with Knoc. I was out in Texas working with Knoc for this record. It was Knoc’s birthday and a person we know gave us a gallon of Hennessey. We were in the studio drinking a lot. Knoc was super fucking faded. That was my cue to get him on this beat I was storing to the side. I had it there and I knew I was going to get him on it; I just wanted the timing to be right. He was super loaded so we put that beat on. He did the hook and his verse. Six months later is when we got Tash on it. That was the first joint I got to do with Tash and I figured he’d be good on it with the whole alcoholic theme of it and it’s about getting drunk. I’ve always been a big Alkaholiks fan.

Raptalk.Net: Let’s get Knoc-turn’al to speak on this one.

Knoc-turn’al: The “I’m Drunk” record basically came about with me and J. Beam did the beat. We were at the studio in Texas; Mr. Cox from Equity Records has a studio up there. We were out there. We had a gallon of Hennessey, an ounce and we were doing what we were doing. The thing about that record is that after I finished it, J. Beam went back and wanted to use it for his album but he gave it to Tash as a favor.

J. Beam: I was bumping Tash’s “Rap Life” album before I could even make a dope ass beat. I remember sitting in my studio with a busted ass beat machine. This is when I was first getting into it really heavy. My beats were not knocking at that point. To be able to produce the follow-up to “Rap Life”, it’s all good.

Raptalk.Net: King Tee got added to this record as well.

J. Beam: King Tee, its all love. I know he put Tash in the game and he’s a well respected dude.

Raptalk.Net: “Right & Wrong” featuring J-Ro & A. Jammali.

J. Beam: I think I mixed this one. They recorded that out in Europe while on a little tour. That barely made the cut on the album as far as time. That was one of the last second records while Tash was out in Europe. I did all of the mixing on the album when Tash was out in Europe. He wasn’t even there to give me his opinion. I just had to do it and send them to E. Swift. Everyone would creatively listen to it and hit me back with some small changes. I would switch it up and send it back them, then to mastering.

Raptalk.Net: “Bubble Up” featuring Knoc-turn’al.

J. Beam: You know we did that one. Man, big ups to everyone on that joint. Everyone just stepped in and did their part. My room mate Dez Tillman AKA Guitar Zan. This dude is a phenomenal guitar player.  Y’all need to hear what I’m working on with this dude too.

Raptalk.Net: He plays in the MathMadix live band.

J. Beam: Yeah, he’s apart of the Math [Madix]. He’s as real as it gets. He plays a lot of stuff on my tracks. He’s the only dude I trust with my beats. I get him on a lot of my stuff, he’s that good. I get him on guitar for so many different things. When I already got beats, he steps in and puts the icing on the cake.

Raptalk.Net: “Bubble Up” is a great record.

J. Beam: Oh ya, I love it. That is probably my favorite song on the record. I gave Tash that beat maybe 8-9 months before the record came out. We did a lot of songs but he just never got this one done. He used to call it the Peewee Herman beat (laughs) but he liked it though. He always referred to it as that. I didn’t even know if he was ever going to do anything with it. He came here on his last trip out here to finish up the album. He laid down his verse and he had a hook on it. I kept it but only at the very end of the song when he says “We bubble up” and anyways, we took the hook and I had Knoc come into town. Knoc came here for a concert we did out in Phoenix. I wanted Knoc to do a hook on it and Tash wanted Knoc to get down on it too. We had Knoc do the hook and it was instantly popping. I knew right away that the song got better. I already liked it a lot but it needed a catchy hook. Knoc delivered on that hook, and then he dropped a verse on it too. That beat, it’s just knocking bro. Me and Dez Tillman knocked it out on there.

Raptalk.Net: Touch on this one Knoc.

Knoc-turn’al: Certain times, I’ll definitely try and give people a concept for a song. Songs are all about concepts. That song, “Bubble Up”, Tash had the right concept but I just wanted to increase it. It was a matter of ok, the great concept was already in place talking about bubbling up, but he [Tash] wasn’t willing to go outside of the box as far as the hook. So all I did was just “blup blup bubble up” and start stacking it. We turned around and made some bubble sounds. I just began singing the hook after that to make it a complete hook. And then I did a verse on it. And that is not to take away from anyone’s talent. Tash already had the great concept and he was already bubbling up before I got on it. I just tried to increase it.

Raptalk.Net: Beam, I feel what you were saying earlier because the record is dope, but I understand what you mean in terms of what Tash was going through. The beat is knocking but it’s definitely something creative to the point where you don’t know what to do with it.

J. Beam: Right, right. Tash is used to simpler beats than that; this beat is a bit crazy.

Raptalk.Net: It’s very complex. I’m sure when Knoc came in; it made things easier because that hook fits that song so perfectly.

J. Beam: Oh yeah. “Blup Blup”! I’m stoked on how this joint ended up coming out. That’s probably my favorite joint on the whole album because that’s my favorite beat. I’ve had that beat done for a long time bro.

Raptalk.Net: “Closer”

J. Beam: I don’t think I messed with this one. I might have mixed it, but it doesn’t sound familiar.

Raptalk.Net: “City’s Out” featuring Knoc-turn’al & Knawledg. I know you call this one “Speakers Thumping” though.

J. Beam: Yeah, “Speakers Thumping.” That’s a MathMadix joint right there. I and Knawledg originally made that joint. We talked about getting Jayo Felony on it. We talked about getting Knoc on it and he did jump on it. Tash was out here working on the “Control Freek” album at my house and I had Knawledg come over because that is my big homie. We do all our music together pretty much. We get busy doing shows out here. We’re from different parts of town out here so we collectively have such a big fan base out here. We have lots of friends here and just people who like our music. We really do what we talk about and we’re not gimmick dudes. You really see us out here doing shows and shutting down parties. We get it popping out here like we’re supposed to do it.

We did this joint and I love this fucking song, it’s banging. It also appears on the “In a Class Of Our Own” album which is the duo album me and Knawledg have coming out. That’s the J. Beam and Knawledg project which is done, just like I told you before we started recording. We just had some issues with the artwork but apparently I have that wrapped up. As soon as I get the artwork wrapped up again, it’s done.

Raptalk.Net: I actually have Knawledg on the line as well, what’s going on Knawledg? Let’s get your take on this record.

Knawledg: One evening, real late we were loaded off of Hennessey. I was sitting in the studio with J. Beam. He put this beat on and it was so west coast. It was just one of those itchy ball beats. It made me feel crazy and I just knew this shit was the business. I just went right there and laid that hook down: “boom boom boom, speakers thumping.” That shit was the business. I laid my verse down quick because I don’t even write no more. I just laid that shit down real bad. We sat on that anyways. I was originally going to throw it on my album and I still want to use it for my album but I doubt that.

Tash was in town and he had just done a show with us, the first show we did with DJ Quik. The next day we were chilling and I played this record for him. He went bananas when he heard it too. He went in and fucking laid the bridge and his verse, he murdered it. After that, I had told him that Knoc is my dog. Tash wanted to work with Knoc as well. I just linked that shit up and got Knoc on there, and we did the “Speakers Thumping” joint.

(Raps verse) “street avenue or boulevard/rolling in my car/speakers banging hella’ hard/I don’t give a fuck middle finger to the law/listen to the subs/my trunk rattling/my trunk rattle in/every other corner that I bend/no seat belt with a strap so I guess you can say that I’m still strapped in/bump my shit in the CD deck/you could hear me beating from a block away/but you can’t see me yet/this that west coast shit for the riders/and low riders/roll down the window the car look like a sauna/listen to the beat/listen to the tires screech/you know my seat leaned back/amp attached to the speakers/15 inch woofers banging like hoovers/boom!” that shit is the business.

Raptalk.Net: Knoc, you appear on here as well so give us your take.

Knoc-Turn’Al: “Speakers Thumping?” I really don’t remember too much about that one because I think I was off two gallons of Hennessey (laughs). But when I woke up in the morning, I liked the song. I didn’t know Tash was going to use it for his album, but that “Speakers Thumping” was crazy. I remember what I did but I don’t remember how it went down, I don’t remember the specifics. One thing I can say as an artist is that I respect Tash as an artist. He’s an alcoholic you know so I and he were out there getting blitzed. The last time I went to Phoenix recently and I met up with Tash, we were chilling. We got so blitzed and we got into it a couple of times. It wasn’t anything serious; we didn’t come to any fists or anything like that. Even though we argue, he’s older than me and he’s older in the rap game than me as well, so we argue a little bit on some “who do you think you’re talking to?” type stuff but we never came to blows. The funny part about that is at the end of the day when I got on the plane, Tash greeted me off and everything was fine and beautiful.

J. Beam: You can catch the “Speakers Thumping” joint on the “In a Class of our Own” album, that’s what we call it but it’s called “City’s Out” on this Tash album. We actually shot the video for this at Frank Sinatra’s house recently. A lot of dope MC’s and producers were out there with us. The Beatnuts were out there, Phil Da Agony, and tons of cats. We had a good time; E. Swift was out there too. We shot the video for that.

“Speakers Thumping” is just super fresh; it has a different kind of beat. That’s my version of the west coast, driving around in your car. It’s not for nothing but that, just cruising around. That’s the different between west coast and east coast music in my opinion. On the west coast, we cruise around and we have stereos in our car. On the east coast, it’s just different. There aren’t too many cars driving around with sub-woofers and stuff. It’s more about trains and subways with your headphones on.

Raptalk.Net: You’re definitely right on that. Personally if I could step in, this is my favorite record on the entire album. Y’all shot a video for that?

J. Beam: Yeah, we did. Basically for the Tash album, they ran with the “New Bikini” as the single for the summer time kind of joint. The video is like a pool party scene. The video should be done actually.

Raptalk.Net: Yeah, the video came out today.

J. Beam: Did it?

Raptalk.Net: Yeah, it debuted today.

J. Beam: Nice. I haven’t seen it yet.

Raptalk.Net: It has a nice summer theme to it, around the pool with video girls and water guns.

J. Beam: Did you watch the whole video?

Raptalk.Net: yeah, I watched the whole video.

J. Beam: Did the “Speakers Thumping” intro come in?

Raptalk.Net: Nope, I didn’t catch that.

J. Beam: That’s how we originally shot it. I don’t know if they’re just releasing the first part of it right now. We went out there and shot the “Speakers Thumping” video and it was supposed to blend two videos in one. I don’t know what they ended up doing with it.

Raptalk.Net: It may be a different edit.

J. Beam: Right.

Raptalk.Net: Regardless, we can’t wait to see that video because that record is crazy.

J. Beam: Yeah, it’s dope. I had a lot of fun going out there for the video. Tash has nothing but good people around him. He is trying to help get me in the game. I’ve been doing this for a long time but he definitely speaks highly of my work and links me up with a lot of hard working and respected people in the industry.

Raptalk.Net: Next up is “New Bikini”

J. Beam: I mixed it, and kind of co-produced it with E. Swift. He did a good job on there. He did the beat. That was the shot clock type of record. I was kicking it with E. Swift and we called it the shot clock buzzer beater joint. You can’t turn in a song at the last second more than that song. It barely made the cut. He sent it to me and everyone liked the record a lot. They sent it to me. It definitely could have not made the album very easily but I liked it, so I went in and changed the drums for it to knock a little more. I just put a little mix on it. It was easy to work with because it was already a dope beat. I just made it blend with the rest of the record by adding my signature drums to it. It’s a dope record.

Raptalk.Net: “Don’t Wanna Kill U” featuring King Tee, Styliztik Jones & Osin.

 J. Beam: Didn’t touch that one.

Raptalk.Net: “Liquor Store Run” featuring J-Ro & Montage One.

J. Beam: Nothing to do with that one.

Raptalk.Net: That brings us to the end of the album.

J. Beam: Yeah. There was quite a few J. Beam beats on there.

Raptalk.Net: Absolutely. Do you have any last words?

J. Beam: I just want to say what’s up to all of the people at www.raptalk.net and all across the internet. Look out for that new J. Beam and Knawledg album, and any of the MathMadix projects. That new Knoc-turn’al is coming soon. Big ups to Tash, “Control Freek.” We’ve been at it hard. It’s a wrap and it’s done, and in stores. We have a J. Beam solo album that has been on the backburner for a minute but I’m about to bring it to life. We have Nate Dogg, Knoc-Turn’Al, Tash, and Tha Alkaholiks on there.

Raptalk.Net: Let’s get Knoc and Knawledg to give some last words.

Knoc-turn’al: This is Knoc-turn’al and what I would like to say is, “if you don’t know me by now, you don’t ever ever ever know me.” And the funny shit about that is, look for “The Book of Knoc” and “
Knoc’s Ville” coming soon. Be ready for the new MathMadix album, “It All Adds Up.” J. Beam, and look for Knawledg and Ripacut too. Tash, more power to you; keep it up and keep doing what you’re doing. And lunatic, you keep doing what you’re doing because I appreciate you. Raptalk.Net is a brilliant place to be – stop playing.

Raptalk.Net: Knoc just gave y'all a little "Book of Knoc" snippet and you don't even know it!

Knawledg: Big ups to Tash and Tha Alkaholiks. That’s my fucking dog right there. West coast all day. Big ups to Knoc-turn’al, that’s my motherfucking brother, he knows what it is. MathMadix until the casket drops. Big ups to you Lunatic. Holla’ at your boy.

J. Beam: The J. Beam and Knawledg “In a Class of Our Own” album is done and about to drop. Definitely look out for that. I’ll premier a record with you for that real soon.

Raptalk.Net: I’m here when you’re ready.

J. Beam: I appreciate it. It’s all good.

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