Introduced to hip-hop at an early age and subsequently christened into the game by the legendary Kool G Rap, Dr. Butcher’s twenty-plus years in hip-hop has found him not only rubbing elbows with fan favorites, but also wearing a variety of hats behind the scenes. Be it as an executive producer, a deejay or even spittin’ his best 16-bar salvo, Dr. Butcher not only has an envious hip-hop resume–he’s got longevity in his back pocket!

How’d you come by being called Dr. Butcher? I know hip-hop tends to take a no-prisoners attitude., but “Butcher” almost seems too graphic.

I inherited the name from Kool G Rap who took the name from an old 70’s horror flick. G-Rap was looking for a turntablist to offset DJ Polo and initially chose a well respected deejay from our neighborhood but the dude backed out of the situation for personal reasons. When he received word that I was pretty nice on the turns he stopped by to audition me. I showed him some stuff and he jokingly told me to hang up the microphone and to pick up the headphones because my new name would be Dr. Butcher…ha!l. Yeah, I was a rapper at the time.

So its safe to assume you’re certainly not a vegetarian (right?)

Never assume…ha! ha!. Seriously, I’m not a strict vegetarian but my meat intake is limited to fish, turkey and chicken.

Deejaying and producing records. How do the two talents/disciplines differ? How do they complement one another.

I don’t think there is a difference. They both require disciplined ears. Producers hear melodies and deejays hear scratches/mixes. Basically, they are one in the same.

And do you have to be good at one to be great at the other?

Does a person need good genetics to become a body builder? No, but it doesn’t hurt. The same goes for dj’s and producers.

Who would you say was a major influence on you in becoming the producer you are today?

My direct influences are, the late producer Paul C, Large Professor, DJ Premier, CJ Moore, and The Beatnuts. Those guys stayed on top of me and pushed me in the direction of music production.

Indirectly, I would say Dr. Dre, Giorgio Moroder, Quincy Jones, Tomita, Herbie Hancock and Kraftwerk. I love synth programming and I admire producers who create unique sounds for use in there music.

Aiight..time to gloat. Who have you produced for?

I don’t know I’d call it gloating but…..LL Cool J, Kool G Rap, Akinyele, X-ecutioners, MF Grimm, FUBU, EA Sports, Spike Lee Productions, Volvo, ESPN, and Fuel TV, to name a few.

How does an indie artist (or any artist for that matter–major label signed or otherwise) make it in a climate where the music is basically free?

They can’t…ha! ha!. It’s either American Idol or nothing…ha! ha!.

Honestly, that’s a million dollar question and if I had the answer you and I would be doing this interview from my beach house in Krabi, Thailand….Ha!

I think music is alive but the business of music is dead. Why buy when you can download? Experienced artists understand that the bulk of there income is generated via merchandising and performances. I would suggest that up and comers put focus there.

Tell us a little about your role as an X-Men and your time spent with the X-Ecutioners? What was the different dynamic in either group

I don’t know if I had a “role” per se. We were dj’s with common interests who meet regularly for battle purposes. We each possessed a certain ability that the others would feed from. I focused my skill set on what we now call beat juggling and scratching. I took interest in helping the other members prepare for competitions.

My role with the Xecutioners was limited to producing. Along with Sean C, I took a back seat to djing and put on the executive producer hat so that the group could focus on scratching and creating.

As an old skooler do you ever find yourself missing the days of physical CD sales vs. the various formats of music available today?

Again, it’s all the same ish homie. Yes, I love jewel cases and album covers but that was past. I don’t have a problem with the current formats. I applaud ingenuity.

My beef is with the record companies and media groups that still refuse to pay royalties. That part of the game hasn’t changed. Let’s think about it. What does it take to sell a ring tone? If there are zero production and manufacturing costs then why are artist paid royalty rates similar to those of recording contracts?

I need to write a letter to President Obama requesting that he call a congressional hearing…ha! ha!.

Is old skool a bad word in your eyes?

No, but in the eyes of the younger generation it has a negative stigma attached to it. I think they view Old Skooler’s as someone who is washed up. Truth be told, that may be the case in many situations but a wise man would view an old skooker as someone with a vast amount of experience from which he can gain knowledge.

As a kid I would have done anything to get pointers from Grandmaster Flash or D.ST. I laugh at all of these rappers who copy Hov but now claim to be better than him. I can’t respect that type of arrogance. I say, be humble and let the public make that claim but hip hop no longer promotes humility.

For the last two ½ years, all kinda raps cats been saying’ “hip-hop is dead” or “hip-hop needs to be resuscitated”. (Of course there’s opportunities for it to be better) but, in your opinion what does hip-hop really need?

Hip Hop isn’t dead. It needs a body cleansing. Once the body has been purified all functions will be restored to normal.

It’s that simple.

Has hip-hop become too politically correct?

I don’t think so. We’ve been stuck in the 90’s for 15 years. Cat’s are still rapping about strippers, cars, mansions, chains and money that they don’t have… I know it sounds cliche’ but yes, “it’s time for change”.

Tell us a little about your latest project “Ringtone Madness”.

Ringtone Madness was a collection of 5 – 6 beats that I put together in about 20 minutes a few years back. The tracks were originally for Rob Swift who had a ring tone deal on the table and needed some additional tracks in order to fulfill his commitment. He asked if I could put together some throwaways so that he could close the deal. We didn’t take ring tones seriously and viewed them as easy money. For that reason we had NO intention of giving away heaters. The deal was done, we got paid and moved on.

Years later the tracks resurfaced and Domination Recordings asked if they could re-release them. I agreed and voila’ you have “Ring Tone Madness”.

What is still good or great about the art form of hip-hop that motivates you to be actively involved?

In general, I’m always motivated by music. I have the luxury of creating what it is that I want to hear and no longer need to rely on what’s playing on the radio. I have 25 + years of hip hop living inside of me. Does that mean that I don’t listen to current hip hop, no. I’m a lyricist at heart and love spitters like Corey Gunz, Graph, Slaughter House, Bishop Lamont, Jewelz Santana, etc. As a producer I will always be motivated by those types of rappers because they fit my style of production.

The Lyrical Lounge would like to thank, Dr. Butcher for taking the time out and granting us an interview. Corona, NY’s finest turntablist/deejay/producer might be a little “old skool,” but that does not mean he can’t learn a few new tricks! Or demo a few new one’s himself..

Be sure to checkout his latest contribution to the hip-hop canon “Ringtone Madness”  on Domination Recordings

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 20th, 2009 at 12:35 pm and is filed under Culture, Interview, Jonathan Birdsong, Music, The Lyrical Lounge (Hip-Hop), sidefeature. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site. Your comments will be moderated but will appear as soon as humanly possible.