Interview with RichHustle313

RichHustle313 was picked Flipper of the Month for January 2009, below is an interview I done with him.

OPENING

Tell us a bit about yourself, your name, age, where you’re from, and anything else?
My real name is Matthew and I am from Detroit, MI. I just turned 20 today, February 24, and I’m doing the fool tonight, so if you come from where I come from then come and fucks wit ya boy tonight. But other than that I on my grown man and doing it real big in my city.

MUSIC

Where did you get the name RichHustle313? What does it mean?
I got the Rich Hustle thru years of changes; I went from Kodakk Kidd to Rich Porter to S.W.A.T. But my name was initially Mr. H, which is my initials: (M) atthew (R)ichard (H)ughes. Then it went to Mr. Hustle. And I think I had seen somebody with that name so I just turned it to Rich, the first half of my middle name, and Hustle, which is what I do on a daily basis.

What genre(s) of music do you produce? What’s your favorite?
I produce as of right now Hip Hop, R&B, Rap, Gangster, Pop, Crunk, Crunk & B, Hip Rock, and Underground. I listen to everything from Oriental to Classical to Hip Hop to Contemporary. I just love listening to anything that has a rhythm.

How long have you been producing? What first got you interested?
I have been officially producing music for the past 4½ years. I became interested when I first started playing the piano by ear when I was 10. I played Fur Elise after hearing it and seeing it done two times and ever since that day, I’ve just been hooked.

What’s your inspiration?
My inspiration is the world I live in and everything I witness in it. The way I feel is another big part in what makes my music the way it is. I put my all into every beat I produce even if it’s as simple as the “A Milli” beat. Also my inspiration in the music industry would be Timbaland, The Neptunes, The Runners, DJ Premier, Just Blaze, Polow Da Don, Cool N Dre, Jazze Pha, The Alchemist, The RZA, and many others.

Do you Sample, Compose or Both? What do you prefer?
I sample and I compose…I prefer whichever one I feel like doing at the time. I don’t limit myself to just sticking to one style… I base my beat off of diversity; you can tell when you hear a Neptunes or Just Blaze type of beat because they have built their styles, well me, I don’t have a certain sound because I want people to be surprised when they hear something from me.

Do you use software or Hardware to produce? Which Software/Hardware? Which do you prefer?
At the moment I only FL Studio XXL 8 Producer Edition, I have yet to use any hardware, except for me playing a melody or two on my Casio keyboard then transferring the sound to my computer via piano roll in FL Studio. I’m going to get a keyboard controller and MPD24 very soon just to have a different feel for making beats.

When did you decide you wanted to take your music seriously?
I decided that I wanted to take my music very seriously was back in 10th grade when I met up with one of my homeboys named “Dutch,” now known as “Duffle Bag Dutch” or “Dutch Obama.” He was the rapper and I was the beat maker, back then. The more we grew the better we became and just decided that we wanted to make this a permanent situation. Now he raps n makes beats and I rap n make beats. But we are both at the top of our game. You’re going to hear from us very soon, so be on the lookout.

What are you trying to do with your music? Do you want to help your community? Are you trying to get rich? What is your goal for your music?
I’m trying to be one of the top producers in the world…. That is my goal to be a Super Producer that does projects for many, many artists; in many, many genres. I plan on opening up my own Record Label and Production Company that has everything to do with music; from beats to promotion to DJ packages to artists’ development to video shooting to model searching and so on. I plan on giving back to my community and make money at the same time. I’m going to open up a place where people can come to get away from everyday life, just to relax and kick back, and not have to worry about not being able to enjoy themselves. From recreation to tutoring to dance classes to computer classes, you know like an inner city development building. My goal for my music is to be heard all over the world, I want to be able to go to Australia and people there now my name as well as the crocodile hunters’. I want to be able to go overseas to Brazil or Africa and hear the people scream my name at a concert.

Do you have any kind of management, publishing or distribution teamwork behind you? If so what are their responsibilities?
I’m opening up my own management and record label named: “Beatz N Barz Productionz” and the reason I picked this name is because that is what I bring to the table, hot beats and cold bars. I am affiliated with a couple producing teams and record labels, but I’m not trying to sign any contracts just yet.

What are some accomplishments that you have achieved, and are most proud of?
My accomplishments are that I have been doing beats for a couple years and I just turned 20, and I have done over 750 beats. All of them fire and not just one style, I like to switch up my style to keep you on your toes and interested. I’ve done Mixtapes all over Detroit and I now have a couple beats on an up and coming artists signed to Universal, Big Gov; my big homie album. I have a couple of joints going on there and I have done a couple tracks for local Detroit artists.

Have you ever made any contact with big time people in the industry and do you keep in contact with them?
I have had contact with DJ Magic Mike, Flo-Rida’s A&R, Obie Trice’s manager, and one of Cassidys good friends, and I keep in touch with them to a certain extent. For the most part their own life gets in the way of them kicking it with me, especially since I’ve been in school I haven’t really been having time, but this spring I’m going to Florida to work with them.

CRAZYPELLAS / INTERNET

Can you tell us how you found CrazyPellas?
I found out about Crazypellas.net thru a Google search for VST Plug in suggestions and somebody had a thread up about that and ever since then I have been a member of this website.

Has this forum helped you at all in your musical journey?
It has just been an easy and fun way of competing and having fun, as well as a good source of info if you need something. I enjoy my time on here.

What made you post your music online?
I started posting my music online as the same any other producer would post their music online…To get feedback and try to sell it. And to give my fellow listeners a sneak peek in how it going to be when I finally make it.

Do you feel like the internet is helping you as an underground producer?
It is helping well enough because you can pretty much do whatever you want to do and get positive and negative feedback that helps you critic and fine tune your skills, unless you don’t care what the viewers and listeners have to say.

IN CLOSING

Do you have any upcoming projects, events or anything?
I have a couple of projects coming up like my mixtape, “Amerikan Swagg,” some video shoots, a lot of artists with my beats on their mixtapes. I am going to set up a performance at a local club soon.

10 years from now where do you want to be?
I am going to be somewhere with a nationally known name and household musical focus. I will be the next best thing that comes to music and give hip hop a face lift.

Any shoutouts you want to give out?
I would like to give a shout out to the almighty God, the Major Players, my family, my friends, all my Detroit artists, and my Black Guvernment family. Anybody else that I forgot, I still got love for all of ya’ll.

Any final things you want to say?
Just be on the lookout for me because I’m coming full force and I’m going to take over this game…believe it or not. Anybody want to do a collab or anything you know how to do it on here but pm me and we can get something started. I need all of my fans out there and others yet to be amazed by my talent to keep me in your prayers and continue to support me while I break thru the door and force my product amongst the public, Please and Thank You!!!!

Finally, thanks for taking the time to do this very detailed interview!

You can check RichHustle313’s beats in the Homemade Beats, and the Battles forums on CP, and his Soundclick.