We got hyped-up when we found out that a world-renowned super-producer like Dame Grease, aka Damon Blackmon, would take time out of his schedule to interview with us. Not only that, it was fun talking to him because of his passion for music and the fact that we got to hear a clip from an exclusive track during the call. Dame Grease’s discography speaks for itself and his involvement in the rap game is what dreams are made of.

Dame Grease has been the man behind the success of so many artists we have listened to over the years. He’s an example of the American Dream and the fact that if you put your heart and soul into what you do, chances are, success will follow. In Grease’s own words: “It’s all work.”

Background

Dame Grease has created, produced and marketed an unprecedented amount of albums throughout his career. These albums have generated over $200 million in revenue for companies such as Def Jam, Sony Records, Universal, Rocafella, Interscope, Koch, Priority, Jive, Atlantic, So So Def and Columbia Records, just to name a few. A variety of these projects have surpassed the “Gold” (500,000) and “Platinum” (1,000,000) sales levels and earned industry recognition through Grammy Awards, Soul Train Awards, Stellar Awards, Billboard Awards, and BMI Awards. A plethora of other projects have been used by major networks and companies such as FOX Pictures, Sony Pictures and the Gaming Industry .

Grease production gained popularity amongst two of the most talked-about rappers today Max B, and French Montana. Akon has signed French Montana to his Konvict Record label, and Grease is in talks with the LOX for their next album. Jadakiss named Grease one of the Top Five producers he will be working with for his Dead or Alive album. Aside from ushering the success of such artists, Grease has been labeled “The Street Ambassador” for his overwhelming and anticipated “street Cd’s” and “mix tapes making waves right now.” Mixtapes In Motion: A.B. & Dame Grease – Cold World, DJ Seiko, Dame Grease & Max B, – The Bloomberg Series, Dame Grease, Max B & Big Mike – Goon Music 1.5 The Doomship. Dame Grease, French Montana, & Max B – Coke Wave, Allhiphop Dame Grease Presents Wave Gang.

Notable Facts

• 50 million records sold
• Scored 3 major films Never die Alone, Cradle to the Grave and Exit Wounds
• Mixtape Ambassador with over 50 mixtapes (Gold Status) on the streets
• Over 200 million video views worldwide via YouTube, OnSmash, WorldStarHiphop and countless others
• Spearheaded the career of established artists such as DMX, EVE, SWIZZ BEATS, THE LOX.
• Executive Producer for the next LOX album
• Established new virtual hip-hop Group “The Auto-Tunes”
• Dame Grease Software (in pre-production)

Holla at Dame Grease at,

Twitter: twitter.com/damegrease
Myspace: myspace.com/damegrease

Dame Grease also has a mixtape contest going on right now at,

Ning: damegrease.ning.com/

Interview

Hipsterwave: Is this Dame Grease?

Dame Grease: Yeah. What’s good baby?

Hipsterwave: Not much man. Okay, first question, what were your influences growing up and how did you wind up producing hip hop?

Dame Grease: My influence is my parents, you know. My mom was into disco dance, and my pops—before he passed away—he was in a band also. So, they were from the 70’s, so you know there were a lot of basses and guitars and live singing and stuff. So I was always influenced from that. They kind of lost me as I was growing up, so I got reintroduced to music, like let’s say in the form of gangster rap.

Hipsterwave: How did you come up with your name? A good friend of mine wanted to know if you you came up with your name while cooking, or what the story is behind your producer name?

Dame Grease: Nah, it’s funny. Actually, friends have called me Grease ever since I was like 10-years-old. You know what I’m sayin’, and the first part is from my name. When I got the name I was younger, so everyone started calling me that. It’s a solid name.

Hipsterwave: So it just stuck?

Dame Grease: Yeah, it just stuck.

Hipsterwave: Alright, so what equipment do you use?

Dame Grease: On equipment, I use everything. By everything, I’m talking about all keyboards and all software programs. I got GarageBand, I got FruityLoops, I got Reason, I got MPC 3000s. You know different keyboards: Tritons, Motifs, Phantoms. So I use a little bit of everything. I don’t really have a set instrument or a set piece that I use because I don’t like to have myself limited. I could actually create with live instruments also. So, I don’t really have to have a set piece or instrument.

Hipsterwave: Oh okay. So you work with anything that works, basically?

Dame Grease: Exactly.

Hipsterwave: Anything to create the sound that you want.

Dame Grease: Yeah, I could plug anything up and use it and make a Grease hit.

Hipsterwave: So you make your own sounds from scratch? Like how would you do that?

Dame Grease: Always, actually. I make my own sounds from scratch. That’s how a lot of my music sounds the way it is, because a lot of my stuff is customized. Like with my drums I get my sounds unique and spend time modifying them until I’m satisfied. You can hear my same signature sound from the first year of mixed albums to the maxi mixtapes right now. So, I like to keep the sound personal. I tweak it.

Actually, I can’t tell all the stories yet, but I’m currently designing a software product with a major equipment company so all the kids can download the software and buy the software. That’s just a little plug for you.

Hipsterwave: We’ll be on the look-out then. Okay, so what was it like working with DMX and the Rough Ryders and the other hip hop artists in the late 90’s?

Dame Grease: It was cool. It was all like a training day. You know what I’m saying? I was just getting into the game, the work we were doing, the talent was actually being displayed throughout all of New York city, soon to be the whole United States, soon to be the whole world. It was cool. Like, it’s the same shit we do now. We started from scratch, started bangin’ out–up on the musical element–they brought a vocal element, and we all became known.

Hipsterwave: Right, and you met all those guys like Nas, DMX, Jay-Z, you name it. What was it like working with guys like that and what do you do for your end? Like what is your process, you know, in the studio? And then, how does it work, because I don’t really know what goes on at the professional production level.

Dame Grease: Nah the process is quite simple. Well, for me. It’s like, usually we’ve got a beat—that they fuck wit’—you know that they like. They choose it, like a track out of my shit. It’ll end up going to a big studio, track it out, they just do it, make it hot, and you make history.

Hipsterwave: Alright. The next question is, what are some things you do for musical inspiration?

Dame Grease: Life. Life inspires me. My life actually, I ain’t gonna lie. Everybody wanna film reality shows. Man, I got a crazy, wild life and that action keeps me with my fire. So it’s like you know how some people fall off? I could never fall off ‘cause I’m not dead [laughs].

Hipsterwave: Right.

Dame Grease: So life inspires me.

Hipsterwave: So it’s just so busy and so much going on that it’s just…

Dame Grease: Yeah. That’s what I do though! All my music is a stop-motion of life. Meaning, every piece of music I’ve made is a part of life that I’ve frozen. Like, I capture time. That’s what all my music is. So, I’m like a little different. Actually I’m not a producer, I’m a time-capturer. I just put life into the music. That’s probably why my music is always timeless. I kind of do a different approach to it.

Hipsterwave: Like a musical photo or something?

Dame Grease: Yeah, that’s exactly what it is.

Hipsterwave: And then it influences everything that’s out there because you’ve got so much clout.

Dame Grease: Yeah, you know?

Hipsterwave: So then, what is some of the music that you listen to in your free-time?

Dame Grease: I don’t. I listen to my shit [laughs].

Hipsterwave: [laughs].

Dame Grease: I ain’t even gonna lie. I don’t know if that sounds cocky or whatever it’s gonna be, but fuck it. I don’t listen to other shit. I listen to my own shit.

Hipsterwave: So it’s just…

Dame Grease: I might get an urge to listen to—I’ll keep it real—I might get an urge to listen to a Bob Marley record. Something that’s refreshing. That’s why I make my own refreshing music. It’s kinda funny, ‘cause see the questions you ask are the reasons why I do it. Like, people always say something: I make it. I give them the answer. The thing that’s inside their heads: I make. That’s what I do. I make them refreshing music. So, at the same time, I wanna listen to refreshing music… Actually, I got something right here I made last night. Tell me if you can hear it. I’m singin’ and all that shit. Shit is hot. Tell me if you can hear it… [track clip plays]

Dame Grease: You hear it?

Hipsterwave: Yeah. That’s crazy man. Is that Auto-Tune on the vocals?

Dame Grease: Yeah, that’s me. That’s me on the Auto-Tune. See, I got another name: I’m Dame Grease the producer, Dame Grease the Wave Rapper, but when I’m doin’ the Auto-Tune, my codename is Blanket Jackson.

Hipsterwave: Blanket Jackson?

Dame Grease: Blanket. I am Michael Jackson’s son. I am Blanket.

Hipsterwave: [laughs] That’s crazy, I thought it was Weezy at first.

Dame Grease: Nah, that’s Greasy [laughs].

Hipsterwave: Man…

Dame Grease: That’s Blanket. That’s like the whole new sound I got. I got like three of them on the radio. I got the N.O.R.E., Jim Jones, the Uptown, I got the Auto-Tune on there. I got the other joint, the mami “So Hot,” with me and N.O.R.E. on there. So, I got like wild joints on the radio. Like me and my lot and besides my underground shit. I just finished doing two tracks with Mase. Some hot joints and currently I’m on the phone with Yayo, so I’m about to get Yayo and 50 Cent right. They’re in touch with me. I’m the last person with the sound, so working with me makes sense.

Hipsterwave: Yeah. That’s crazy. So, how do you see the future of hip hop and what you’re doing?

Dame Grease: I dunno. The future of hip hop is me. [laughs]

Hipsterwave: The future is you?

Dame Grease: Yeah, just all coming back around man.

Hipsterwave: Okay, so who are you influences now?

Dame Grease: I’m all influence. Ain’t shit out here now. All this music is wack out here right now. You know what I’m saying? Besides me and my team, like ain’t really nothing poppin’ that’s really exciting. I like exciting things. I like T-Pain, T-Pain is exciting. You know what I’m saying? I like exciting artists. I come from the era of exciting artists, like DMX and shit, the most exciting motherfucker out. Max B: exciting. I like exciting artists. All these too cool n*ggas? I don’t like too cool n*ggas.

Hipsterwave: Okay. Yeah, T-Pain I think is cool. So what do you have in store? I know you just played me that hot beat of yours, and I didn’t even know about the Blanket Jackson project, but what have you got, like coming up?

Dame Grease: I got my R&B artist, Tanya aka T6. That’s my main focus. She’s my artist from Harlem and Connecticut. So, I’m putting her stuff out. Then I’ve got like a slew of mixtapes. I put like four out last week, I’ve got like 10 coming out this week. I got a CD & DVD release coming out. Yeah, so I’ve got a few things in store.

Hipsterwave: Alright, and the last question for you, because I know you’re busy, is what advice can you give to new producers?

Dame Grease: Sign up with The Lot. Sign up with Vacant Lot. That’s the advice I’d give to young new producers.

Hipsterwave: And that’s it?

Dame Grease: That’s it.

Hipsterwave: Cool.

Dame Grease: Check me out on Twitter. I’m on the Twitter daily talkin’ shit, so if people wanna holla out? Holla out. They wanna holla about that money? Tell ‘em to holla out.

Hipsterwave: Alright, well I really appreciate your taking the time out of your schedule to talk to us man…

Dame Grease: Nah, it’s all good. I’m about to go shoot this video right now man. It all works in time. It’s all work.

Hipsterwave: Right. Okay man, well good luck with the video shoot.

Dame Grease: Thanks.

So this post is a dedication to one track (with a bonus), more than focusing on multiple songs by an artist, because we feel that the track “Somebody’s Watchin’ Me,” is the best track to ever come from the 80’s R&B singer Rockwell, (born Kennedy William Gordy on March 15, 1964 in Detroit, Michigan). Rockwell is a former R&B performer who was signed to the Motown label.

The coolest part about this track, which you may or may not remember, is the fact that he got Michael Jackson to sing on the chorus. Plus, Jackson fit into the track really nicely. Of course, that’s just complimenting Michael Jackson’s ability as a musician, which is pretty trite by this point in time. However, we recently noticed that the track is featured in Geico commercials, which reminded us of the fact that we were revisiting this song way back in March 2007, so we were ahead of the curve on that one. That tends to be the case though. For instance, when Jaguar featured a track in 2006 by artist Prefuse 73 (a post with highlights forthcoming) from the Prefuse record “Surrounded By Silence,” we had first heard and actively listened to in early 2005. So, Jaguar can suck it.

“Somebody’s Watching Me:”

Prefuse 73 – “Bad Memory Interlude Part One:”

We just came across a handful of Ben Gibbard cover songs on YouTube today. Too bad we haven’t been able to find higher quality audio versions yet, but they’re still great as is. See? Even hipsters notice pop-icons for all those mainstream haters out there. It’s okay to observe mainstream things, or even like them. You can still keep your identity and uniqueness in the process. :-)

Ben Gibbard – Complicated (Avril Lavigne cover):

Ben Gibbard – All Apologies (Nirvana cover):

Ben Gibbard – Thriller (Michael Jackson Cover):

Ben Gibbard & Colin Meloy cover Blur’s “End Of The Century:”

Ben Gibbard rants about the Black Eyed Peas:

Death Cab For Cutie – All Is Full Of Love (Björk Cover):

Soulfire Sessions – Chris Su – All Is Full Of Love (Björk Cover) (just figured we’d throw this one in here even though it’s clearly not Ben Gibbard. Ravecore!):

“Chris Su – All Is Full Of Love (Björk Cover):”

Ben Gibbard and Red Bull for the win:

It’s Theophilus London baby, aka Thelonius Kapps. If you don’t already know, Theophilus is a hipster rapper–if you want to put him in a box like that–and his influences include Michael Jackson, Prince, KraftWerk, the Smiths, the Ramones, Coldplay, Quincy Jones, New Look, Lauryn Hill, Ace of Base, Post-Punk Era, Plaid, Boat Shoes, Disney World Paris, Camera Necklaces, Black Vintage Clothing, Red Stripe Beer and Chips Ahoy, Morrisey & the Flowers in his BackPocket. The music posted in this entry is all available on Theophilus’ Myspace page, but you would have to download and deal with .zip archives if you want to go that route. Besides, why not let us pick out the hottest selections from the digital releases for you?

On the label Normrex Records, the mysterious label which only has a Myspace page and a website that points to it. Also, we only know of a few releases from the label–and even though we have met the label’s owner, Travis Stewart–no word on when exactly in 2009 we will see some of the juicy releases we’re anticipating; for instance, the long-anticipated Machinedrum record, “Want to 1 2?” that has been discussed by fans since 2006.

At any rate, back to the discussion at hand. Theophilus is friends with Jimmy Edgar, Machinedrum, ie.merge and the whole Normrex crew. As a result, lots of the instrumentals on Kapps’ tracks were produced or mixed by our favorite Normrex artists. There are a few exceptions, but as a result of the Normrex relationships, Theophilus raps over a number of unique tracks (see below mixed with the photos. So, now it’s time for our standard photo and audio montage. Of course, some of these photos are press and others are taken by Jimmy Edgar, who is also a professional photographer as you might have noticed in our post about him.

“The Vault:”

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“Blindfolded (Preview):”

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“Invisible Man:”

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“Forever Begins (feat. Common):”

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“Die 4 You (Feat. Prince):”

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Photo: Daniel Warrington.

“Starscream (Feat. Theophilus London):”

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“Leader of The New School (Produced by EdIT):”

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“Call Tyrone:”

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Machinedrum (left), Kapps (right):