Fade
The Beat Strangler
Administrator
illest o.g.
Cold Truth is one of IllMuzik's [hard]core members. Besides being a dedicated moderator (and unwillingly in charge of the discipline), he's also a highly gifted and prolific producer. I invite ya'll to read what he has to say.
Hallo Jason, what's good? Please introduce yourself to those who don't know who you are (are there any?!)
Well, I am Cold Truth, 3 year member and moderator. I produce hip hop like everyone else here.
I'd like to welcome you back to our armed forces. Can you please describe what happened.
Well, I lost my job, which was my main internet source. But that proved to be the beginning, because I went through an ordeal with an ex girlfriend that really pulled me in many different directions. That didn't wind up going in my favor and began a very difficult depression. My little brother, who I worked very hard to help since we were kids, put himself back in prison. The business I started did not fair well in my first go round, I lost my car, my PC crashed, the room I rented got robbed, I had to move, etc. Basically the month of October and November were the worst, because I didn't have any money, unemployment denied me, and I had just dropped $2,000 on a business that wasn't going anywhere at the time. I lived off $3 a day for that month or so. Things have gotten much better since, I got a good paying job, I got my apartment, and overall my mind is simply in a better place now. I'm good now.
Tell us: How was your childhood? Were you a happy teenager?
Haha wow, loaded questions today. In a word? NO. My childhood was fucked up. I still remember eatin' rice for a month and a half straight. I used to get beat by an uncle, until cops got involved. My mom had her little boyfriends and a husband who would try and do the same, but those guys always got it back. I remember having to set one dude to fire when I was 7 to get him off my mom. I remember jacking their wallets when they were sleeping to buy food. My mom was usually on meth or coming down from it, and so I had to take care of the kids. I learned to cook, wash clothes by hand and shit like that, when I was 6. The first time my mom threw me out of the house, I was 9. That was also the age I got jumped the first time. That shit has happened a lot. We were homeless after 8, and from then on it was motel after motel, and when she ran out of money she got a shopping cart, put us outside with her and waited for anyone with a fuckin' heart to pick us up. We were basically her ticket to food and shelter. At one point she abandoned us in the hotels for about 3 days - twice - in the motel with nothing. No food, nothing. No diapers, no formula for the baby, nada. I've pretty much just fended for myself, and for my siblings from the jump.
When I was 13, we got removed from the home and sent to an aunt's house, who did the same shit except she got $444 per kid, and at 6 kids, that's good dope money. She threw me out several times. I can't count how many times I'd wind up freezing my ass off on the porch because of her. From there it was foster homes for two years, and I would go AWOL every few months. Social workers don't listen for shit, and once you get a rep for being "violent" and "incorrigible" - even if that "violence" stems from being tired of doing the right things when people would fuck with me and getting no help. I had that rep from the moment I got put in the homes, because I went to these places and these cats would fuck with me, jump me, jack my shoes and test me.
You can't hold your head up and let people do that shit to you. When I get into my little conflicts with members on the site, this is the era that sparked that element of my personality. I left for good at 16, and I didn't look back until 2 months before my 18th, so i wouldn't have any problems afterwards. That's a whole other story right there, but I did meet some good people who helped me a long the way at that point.
How long have you been involved with music? How did you get into it? Has music influenced your life to a great extent?
Since about 14. I tried to become a b-boy, but that shit wasn't happening for me just yet. I loved electric funk. Soulsonic Force, that was my shit right there. "Play at your own risk" was my b-boy jam. I wrote poems, love songs, shit like that and a friend would sing them. That guy encouraged me to freestyle one night into his little tape recorder, and it began there. Shit was horrible but hey aren't the first ones usually that way? When I turned 18, as I said before, I met some good people. An elderly couple took me in and they saw me carrying around this American DJ catalog, I wanted an MPC and a Synth so bad... so they copped a DR 202 and SP 202 for me. They dropped around $1200 on me. I'll never forget that. That was some ol' dangerous minds type steeze right there. Just, no good reason other then to make me happy.
Around that time I picked up Soundbombing 2, which is basically the genesis of me as an artist. It changed my whole perspective on rap. I also heard The Roots' "You Got Me" in that period and between that beat, the joints that Hi-Tek did on SoundBombing, and Dilla's work on "Like Water For Chocolate", my entire mindset was changed forever. All my early beats were trying to follow those up, trying to emulate those sounds, except I couldn't get the "You Got Me" sound down. Yet. Later I bought an MPC, and a friend copped an XP 30 and Cold the composer was born.
What's your creative process? Do you get inspired easily?
Nope. I always, always, always start completely blank. I never have an idea when I start a beat. When I do, the end result is nothing like the vision I had so it doesn't matter anyway. I usually step sequence a basic, 1-2-1-2 drum pattern first. I load up a piano or Rhodes patch and search for a chord that sounds good at the moment. I'll take that chord, and dissect the notes in the scale and that's where the melodic elements come in.
Usually that rough sketch sits for a while before I come back to it. I stay working on unfinished tracks, because if I can't get it right, I won't settle for it. My bass is usually composed after the main melody, and then I start tweaking the drums and bass to match. I usually have good syncopation between my kick drum and bass line. Usually, lol.
From there..... It's mixing. Lots and lots of filters. Filters and EQ, reverb and that's about it. When it comes to guitar and Rhodes sounds, there is a lot of effecting going on there - delays, tremelos, flangers, etc'.
Everything gets listened to, and tweaked accordingly. Beats are rarely done within hours, in my case. I can't do the whole 15 minute beat thing. It's just not me.
5 essential tips\tricks?
- Match your bass drum to your bass line! This is the glue that holds it all together.
- Don't be afraid of critical, honest feedback. Learn how to take people's words to heart and actually try applying the changes people suggest. Lord knows much of my sound developed by getting those extra opinions, and I let up on some things I didn't want to - at times with much better results.
- Filters are your friend. Especially in the keyboard realm. There are times when pristine presets work best, but by and large, filters and EQ add texture to a sound that is otherwise lacking.
- Throw out the so-called hip hop rule book. If it sounds good, go for it. At the end of the day a dope song is what matters most.
- I can't stress this one enough - use the whole stereo field! This is your best friend in the whole wide world!
I use: a generic Yamaha MIDI keyboard, Cubase SX, Waves Gold, and Kontakt, mainly. As a rule, I do not sample, and when I do it's a loop that I find that screams out to me. I honestly do not get much satisfaction from it. As far as the whole debate, I say fuck the debate. It's tired. Anyone who has the audacity to tell another person what is the "right" way for them to create needs to shut the fuck up. On both sides of the fence. I say use whatever skills God has blessed you with and do whatever motivates you. If that's keys, then use that. If it's a turntable, use that. If it's an ukulele and some spoons, then get down with your bad self. I don't care. Everyone should create in a way that feels natural, and in the way that best suits their talents. I am a composer by nature, but my favorite producers are sample based. Dilla, Hi Tek, Ayatollah, RZA, Alchemist, Havoc, etc'... All sample based. I compose from scratch. Big whoop.
Future plans? Maybe a debut album?
LOL, well who knows, I mean I've been trying to do that for three years now. I have a project half written but I am stuck and it's been done in phases, so we'll see. We'll see if I can get my delivery game to match up my writing game. I will say that I will be working with Bosta soon. He's gonna blow the fuck up, mark my words.
Why did you choose 'Cold Truth' as your pseudonym? Does it reflect your personality?
Well, all my friends say that I can be kind of callous at times. LOL.... so I guess. But honestly, it's just the nature of life, isn't it? Life, itself, isn't ever that kind; your parents, your friends, they may try and spare your feelings at times, but real life just hands you shit on a silver platter and tells you to enjoy it because that's all you're getting. So in essence, it's a reminder to me of where I come from. I learned everything in life the hard way. I learned to be a man on my own two feet. Nobody taught me how to fight, to defend myself, to fend for myself; nobody taught me how to fight for something, either. I learned that on my own. The hard way.
How did you find IllMuzik? What does IllMuzik mean to you, on a deeper level?
A friend was a brief member and told me. He was my then production partner, but he got the boot, lol. Ronnie, if you read this, the pussy was NOT that important.
On a deeper level... you know what? I got a lot of support here during some dark times. Pgyal, she must have sent three emails. That meant a lot. Dantson called me up here and there, cross country. Classic and I always talk about real world things. Mercury Waters has been there, Wings has been there, Deuce, I mean it's a lot of relationships formed here that have substance to them. Sure, Cleverwon is a jerk, but he's OUR jerk. lol. I dunno, it's just a place where, if we had a barbeque, everyone would chill like they knew each other for years. It's having crew. I see other sites where people blow up and kind of turn on the people that helped them get to that place, but I honestly don't see that here. I'd be surprised if someone blew up and didn't show that love still.
What is the craziest thing you have ever done?
Hmmm... Really broad question. The guy I lit on fire.... yeah that's gotta be it. I can't think of much crazier then setting a grown ass man on fire for hitting your mother - when you are 7 years old.
Would you ever consider joining the army?
Hellllll and no, without damn good reason.
What's in your CD player at the moment?
Slum Village's latest. That, and Thrice. I have two disc mans.
Express your opinion:
- Life Vs. Death - Life is the most precious thing known to man.
- Males Vs. Females - Both need to get over themselves.
- Suicide - Heartbreaking.
- Heaven Vs. Hell - Well... Where would you prefer to spend eternity?
- Iran - powder keg.
- Hip-Hop in a few years - Same as today, honestly. There isn't a paradigm shift on the horizon.
- Homosexuality - It is what it is. Whatever gets you there, I guess. I don't condone it.
- Aids - TRAGIC.
- Samba - Dilla!
- Intolerance - This is a can of worms right here that I will not open here.
- Individualism Vs. Conformity - Individualists are conformists, except they tend to conform to a much smaller regime.
- Family - All important.
- Ultimate message - My walk with God needs to match my talk of Him.
- Church - Misconstrued by insiders and outsiders alike.
- Crunk - I tried, man. I really did.
- The best hip-hop album: Fugees - The Score.
- The best hip-hop song: Proceed by The Roots.
- The best song you have ever created: Ummmm I'm partial to my beat for Bosta's 'Life Song'.
- IllMuzik's 2 most helpful members: I haven't been here in so long, God and Formant.
- IllMuzik's most annoying member: Has been banned for some time now.
- IllMuzik's best 3 beatmakers: Honestly, everyone has their better moments.
- IllMuzik's best moderator: Fade is the most neutral.
- IllMuzik's most productive member: Seems like TheMucka.
- IllMuzik's best emcee: Mercury Waters..... Sorry to Bosta, Agent Smith & Stress.