RISE AMERICAS ARTIST SPOTLIGHT w/ STEREOTYPE

With momentum building behind the debut release of Rise Americas EP on Westbay Digital, I thought it only appropriate to highlight the incredible artists contributing to this project.
Kicking off is Miami based artist Stereotype. Rasied in hip hop, a well known promoter, Stereotype has extended his reach into the realm of production and to be honest, thankgod he did because his tunes are outta control. His collaboration w/ Will Miles titled "I Know Not Why" on Rise Americas Volume 1 is one of the highlight tracks on the EP for me, and just recently, I've signed another track of his for Volume 2. Just can't get enough...


Lets start at the top, when & How did you get into Drum&Bass?
ST: I only got into D&B recently. I'd say around 2003. A co-worker of mine at a music store played me a few things, mostly techy stuff. I was definitely feeling it. From there i just got online and started searching it out. Once i came across music from the likes of Calibre, High Contrast and Atlantic Connection i was truly hooked. What struck me was how D&B producers were able to combine beautiful melodies and soulful samples with the brute force of breakbeats and basslines.

How did you get into production? Was it Drum&Bass that sparked that interest or have you always been interested in making opposed to just listening?
ST: I've always been in love with music. In high school i would freestyle over instrumental tapes in smoked out hallways and cars. I loved poetry and I loved writing, however I'm a pretty low key person and being behind the scenes as a producer definitely appealed to me. One day I was reading The Source magazine and there was an article interviewing several well known Hip-Hop producers. I remember Pete Rock talking about how you really didn't need all kinds of expensive gear to get started. He mentioned a few small pieces of gear and basically said, it was way more important how you used your gear than the actual gear itself. I went straight to the local music store and my loving girlfriend agreed to co-sign on a store credit card with me. (Bless her soul) I bought a crappy little drum machine, a crappy little sampler and a Tascam 4-track recorder. That was about 9 years ago, and although it's been quite a bumpy and at times gloomy road, I've always known this is what i want to do with my life.

Where do you draw influence from and find inspiration?
ST: Growing up in Miami I've always been exposed to a vast array of cultures and musical styles. Bass has always been king around here. I was also very much into the Hip-Hop my cousins and friends were bringing down from New York and New Jersey. Golden era Hip-Hop if you will. D&B always felt like a smooth, natural extension of those styles for me. Honestly one of the things I love most about producing is when I'm able to take an experience or emotion from my life and translate that into music.

Whats next on the plate?
ST: Right now I'm most excited about my collab with Will Miles called "I Know Not Why" which will be featured on the 'Rise Americas' Vol. 1 EP on Westbay Digital. I just locked down one of my latest tunes for the 'Rise Americas' EP Vol 2 as well. I've also been working on an EP with Will. Apart from that I've got a tune with my long time collaborator Sopheye coming out on Sublife Recordings out of San Francisco. The flip of that release is a tune by another South Florida friend and colleague George Young. Got a few things scheduled for release on Urban Chemistry Recordings based out of Miami, and something due out on the Bassdrive's forthcoming label.

Any shouts or info you wanna hit us with?
ST: Definitely wanna let everyone know about Stank Love, which just so happens to be the premiere D&B event in Miami. We've been running almost a year and going strong. This month we will be holding our very first WMC edition and we've got a sick lineup in store. If you are in Miami for WMC you don't wanna miss this!!! It's going down Wednesday, March 24th at Jazid in Miami Beach. 1342 Washington Ave.

Gotta shout out the whole FLDNB crew, the Stank Love crew, the Substitutes crew, and my new mixing engineer Will Miles. He's really helped my mixdowns reach that next level. I highly recommend any producers out there needing help with there mixes hit him up at willmiles3000@gmail.com



MYSPACE