{"id":611761,"date":"2024-03-07T20:30:10","date_gmt":"2024-03-07T17:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/tony-seltzer-is-pushing-underground-rap-into-new-zones\/"},"modified":"2024-03-07T20:30:10","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T17:30:10","slug":"tony-seltzer-is-pushing-underground-rap-into-new-zones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/tony-seltzer-is-pushing-underground-rap-into-new-zones\/","title":{"rendered":"#Tony Seltzer is pushing underground rap into new zones"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a27146363e9a\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a27146363e9a\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/tony-seltzer-is-pushing-underground-rap-into-new-zones\/#The_Brooklyn_producer_talks_co-producing_working_with_Wiki_on_14k_Figaro_and_how_his_new_album_Pinball_with_MIKE_came_together\" >The Brooklyn producer talks co-producing, working with Wiki on 14k Figaro, and how his new album Pinball with MIKE came together.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"deck\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Brooklyn_producer_talks_co-producing_working_with_Wiki_on_14k_Figaro_and_how_his_new_album_Pinball_with_MIKE_came_together\"><\/span>The Brooklyn producer talks co-producing, working with Wiki on <i>14k Figaro<\/i>, and how his new album <i>Pinball<\/i> with MIKE came together.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"content_blocks\">\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-260438\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left image\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/IMG_7404_whryrt\/tony-seltzer-photo-by-lauren-davis.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/IMG_7404_whryrt\/tony-seltzer-photo-by-lauren-davis.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/IMG_7404_whryrt\/tony-seltzer-photo-by-lauren-davis.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/IMG_7404_whryrt\/tony-seltzer-photo-by-lauren-davis.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/IMG_7404_whryrt\/tony-seltzer-photo-by-lauren-davis.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/IMG_7404_whryrt\/tony-seltzer-photo-by-lauren-davis.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/IMG_7404_whryrt\/tony-seltzer-photo-by-lauren-davis.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/IMG_7404_whryrt\/tony-seltzer-photo-by-lauren-davis.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/IMG_7404_whryrt\/tony-seltzer-photo-by-lauren-davis.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/IMG_7404_whryrt\/tony-seltzer-photo-by-lauren-davis.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/IMG_7404_whryrt\/tony-seltzer-photo-by-lauren-davis.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Tony Seltzer is pushing underground rap into new zones\"><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      Tony Seltzer. Photo by Lauren Davis.<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-260435\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>            In November, Tony Seltzer visited Atlanta for the first time, more for business than pleasure. He\u2019d recently been in the studio with Bronx r<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>er MIKE, where the pair had recorded a song so good it planted the seed for their collaborative album <i>Pinball<\/i>, released just yesterday.<\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>            \u201cAfter MIKE and I made \u2018R&amp;B,\u2019 that was when we started talking about really putting together a project,\u201d Seltzer tells me over the phone on Leap Day, a week ahead of the album\u2019s release. \u201cThis dude <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jelanijmiller\/\">Jelani [Miller]<\/a> is from Atlanta, who I know from the videos he\u2019s done for [Atlanta rapper] Tony Shhnow, and he specifically has <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Ti-2igGwwF0\">that early 2000s video look<\/a>, like MTV or BET.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_block paragraph triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-260436\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left video\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"video_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"fluid-width-video-wrapper\" style=\"padding-top: 56.25%;\">\n<p>    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"R&amp;B (prod. Tony Seltzer)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/d7W0aK84SfM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n \/\/trackYouTubeVideo('260436');\n<\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-260437\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>            \u201cSo we set up a video shoot while MIKE was on tour with Earl Sweatshirt and Alchemist, they were passing through Atlanta and had a few free days there. I figured while I was there, we had an extra night \u2014 might as well book a studio and see what comes of it, y\u2019know? And Tony [Shhnow] ended up pulling up\u2026 It was just super natural and made a ridiculously good song.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>            That song, \u201cOn God,\u201d sports a pair of slick guest verses courtesy of Shhnow and Sweatshirt and a gently tolling bell over shimmying claps and a pool of reverb. It\u2019s a tidy microcosm for the slack posture and omnivorous outlook of <i>Pinball<\/i>, which weds MIKE\u2019s refreshingly low-stakes raps to some of Seltzer\u2019s hardest knocking beats. There\u2019s the stuttering rhythm of \u201c100 Gecs\u201d and the sinister bloops of \u201cYin-Yang;\u201d even those few songs more aligned with MIKE\u2019s soulful M.O., like the groovy \u201cUnderground Kingz\u201d and the <i>Sesame Street<\/i> bounce of \u201cLethal Weapon,\u201d do so with a playful twinkle. \u201cHis sound is pretty different than my sound,\u201d Seltzer says. \u201cRecently, I guess he just wanted to try something new.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>            Tony Seltzer\u2019s sound can be hard to pin down. He mostly works with rappers, but he\u2019s also collaborated with singers like HAWA and Eartheater (who says over email, \u201cI love Tony! He\u2019s responsible for some of the heaviest kicks and bass in my music!\u201d). Even within hip-hop, his collaborations range from DJ Lucas and Lucki to Mavi and Hook. Real heads will probably recognize his name from various collaborative projects with Wifigawd, KEY!, and Wiki over recent years, though Seltzer has quietly notched a number of major label placements with Rick Ross, French Montana, and Rich The Kid thanks to his close working relationship with Harry Fraud. He\u2019s friends with other high-profile producers too, like Kenny Beats, but more often than not his coproductions come out of sessions with longtime <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/brickthemag.com\/blogs\/archive\/a-million-styles-per-hour\">co-conspirators A Lau<\/a>, Laron, and Vinny Fanta.<\/p>\n<p>            \u201cTony and I met in 2018 and I instantly knew there was a connection,\u201d British producer Jam City tells me over email. \u201cHe&#8217;s one of the few producers where I know I can sit back and let the beat go in the right direction. I love how he always picks the most unexpected loops I send him. His sense of groove is pure New York \u2014  it&#8217;s got an attitude and swing that&#8217;s sorely lacking in a lot of rap.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>            On the phone, Seltzer and I chopped it up about how he started making beats, producing with his older brother (Carlos Truly of Ava Luna), the recording process behind <i>14K Figaro<\/i> with Wiki, the first time he met MIKE, and how <i>Pinball<\/i> came together.<\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-260454\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>            <b>The FADER: Tell me a little about the music you grew up with.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>            In the household, we grew up with a lot of different stuff. My dad on his radio show played classic soul, R&amp;B, 60s and 70s funk. But then also a lot of jazz, classical, reggae \u2014 my dad especially is a huge 70s reggae fan. And then also, kind of late for himself but, he got into dad rock over time, so things like Led Zeppelin and Yes, prog rock, stuff like that. But then I personally grew into, because I played drums, more extreme metal, mostly because of the drumming. But I graduated from being in elementary school and listening to Slipknot to getting into more extreme death metal and black metal. And then obviously rap music I always listened to since I was a little kid.<\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>            <b>In <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.talkhouse.com\/brothers-carlos-truly-and-tony-seltzer-remember-their-musical-origin-stories\/\">one of your old interviews<\/a>, you said that when you heard <i>Flockaveli<\/i> it sounded like metal beats slowed down.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>            I would say my hip-hop upbringing was more East Coast, smooth sound. I was huge into Big L \u2014 when I started making beats, I was always focused on sampling jazz, and getting vibraphone and Rhodes, really smooth stuff. Obviously, I\u2019m a huge J Dilla fan. That\u2019s really what got me into production. But hearing <i>Flockavali<\/i>, that was the first time that it clicked for me like \u201cWhoa.\u201d That style had been around for a while, but I feel like Lex Luger took it to the next level in the intensity of those beats. It sounds like you could go beat each other up in a moshpit to it.<\/p>\n<p>            <b>You used to produce under the name Yung Gutted, and you were making more complicated beats with more elements. Then you pivoted to producing for rappers. Can you tell me a bit about the transition from Yung Gutted into the Tony Seltzer stuff?<\/b><\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>            With the Yung Gutted thing, I definitely cornered myself with the aesthetic of, like, black metal, death metal, horror movie aesthetic, which at the time I thought was really revolutionary. Then suddenly everyone was doing it \u2014  not everyone, but it wasn\u2019t as revolutionary as I thought it was. I wanted to be able to step outside of that sound, not having to sample something that sounds evil or dissonant.<\/p>\n<p>            Also, I released a lot of instrumental music [as Yung Gutted and] I wanted to work with rappers more. I love listening to instrumental hip-hop beats \u2014 especially at the time, the LA beat scene and Flying Lotus and all that stuff was really big. There was just more of a draw to the instrumental hip-hop world, but then I gotta say, I got bored with it and felt I wanted to work with rappers more. And needed to recognize that you have to simplify things a bit for artists to be able to put vocals on top of something \u2014 can\u2019t fill up all that space.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_block paragraph triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-260455\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left video\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"video_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"fluid-width-video-wrapper\" style=\"padding-top: 56.25%;\">\n<p>    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"I Need (feat. Hawa)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FbXRFmWuX68?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n \/\/trackYouTubeVideo('260455');\n<\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-260456\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>            <b>90% to 95% of what you do is with rappers, but there are these moments where you\u2019ll work with HAWA, who is kind of a rapper but also a singer, or like Eartheater, who has bars but is a singer. What are you looking for in a collaboration that isn\u2019t strictly hip-hop?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>            I listen to a lot of different kinds of stuff. I always considered myself being able to produce R&amp;B music, because a lot of R&amp;B, especially since the 90s, is essentially very similar to hip-hop production, you know: sample chops and programmed drums, and it veered away from having a live band and being more produced in that sense. <\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>            With HAWA and any R&amp;B artists that I&#8217;m working with, it&#8217;s very similar to producing [for rappers]. We often will start off with a beat, something that someone could have rapped on, but then we\u2019ll, usually more than a rapper, go a little bit more in-depth into the sequencing and changing things up and post-production and turning it more into a through-written song. And I often do a lot of R&amp;B co-production with my brother [Carlos Truly], who is just more in that world. And he&#8217;s a really good instrumentalist, so he helps bring things together. <\/p>\n<p>            With Eartheater, we meshed well together because she was seeking heavier beats. I was able to find the middle ground between something I would show to a rapper and something I could push the limit on a little bit more that she could sing on.<\/p>\n<p>            <b>I know you and Eartheater co-produced <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=YAEe8zXMZ2o\">that Coucou Chloe remix<\/a>, and talking about co-producing with your brother makes me think about your <i>Hey Tony<\/i> album, where you\u2019re co-producing with a lot of different people. And obviously, you work with A Lau and Laron and Harry Fraud all the time. What do you like about co-producing with other people?<\/b><\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>            At this point, I can say that I prefer producing with other people more than sitting in the studio alone. Not that I&#8217;ve lost my passion for making beats alone, I still do it. But I just like having other minds in the studio. It also adds a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social<\/a> element and every co-production with a different person \u2014 I&#8217;m bringing my flavor, and then they&#8217;re gonna bring their flavor. So it may be a Tony Seltzer beat, but it&#8217;s gonna have their sound on it as well.<\/p>\n<p>            And working with my brother, if I know that I am going to be working with an R&amp;B artist coming up or someone who can get on a beat that has that sound, I&#8217;ll work with him. Everyone&#8217;s got their different sound and just brings that to the table. And on the MIKE project, most of it is co-produced with other people.<\/p>\n<p>            <b>Are those co-productions with MIKE or other people?<\/b><\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>            I didn\u2019t co-produce any with MIKE. I\u2019m speaking for him here, but it seemed like he wanted to go completely the opposite of his usual route and sit back and let me take the reins as far as production. For the most part [with] any co-productions, I separate my studio time into making beats at the studio and then doing sessions with artists. So for this specifically, a few days a week I would be making beats with friends, and then the rest of the week MIKE would come through and record on whichever ones. There are only two songs that I actually made the beat while MIKE was sitting there.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-260457\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left video\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"video_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"fluid-width-video-wrapper\" style=\"padding-top: 56.25%;\">\n<p>    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wiki &amp; Tony Seltzer - Lilypad (Official Video)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fYpiGu2jDbs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n \/\/trackYouTubeVideo('260457');\n<\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_block paragraph triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-260458\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>            <b>You\u2019ve <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/rmpp.squarespace.com\/episodes\/161-tony-seltzer-interview\">spoken in interviews<\/a> about how when you collaborate with artists, especially on an album-length project, you try to push their sound forward or that they push your sound forward. How did you and Wiki push each other recording <i>14K Figaro<\/i>?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>            With Wik, I think I pushed him in the way that my beats tend to be pretty energetic and kind of intense with heavy drums And I think, because he raps a lot, he has a lot to say, it\u2019s a matter of finding the right things to say and not overcrowding it. But then also on the other side, because he\u2019s rapping so much, and has so many bars, I felt like he pushed my production even further and made the beat change and do switch-ups. <\/p>\n<p>            <b>Thinking about the project with MIKE, you guys have been working together for a pretty long time, since very early in his career. How did you guys first meet and start collaborating?<\/b><\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>            We met initially at XL Studios when Wiki was signed over there \u2014 pretty sure it was Wik who introduced us. That was when MIKE was working on his first project, and he just recruited me. I think we did a couple of sessions and I left him with some beats to write to, and I ended up getting a couple of songs on that first project <i>God Bless Your Hustle<\/i>, and Wiki\u2019s actually featured on one of those songs. But then from there, MIKE went on to mostly produce his own stuff, and his sound is also pretty different than my sound. I was always a huge fan and that\u2019s been the homie forever, but I never was really pressed to try to get in the studio with him again, just because it felt like a different direction artistically.<\/p>\n<p>            But then recently, I guess he just felt like he just wanted to try something new, and started coming to the studio. When he first said he wanted to do a session, I started to get beats together I considered more his vibe, not so heavy on the drums, more sample-based. But when he came, he was like, \u201cNo, I want the hardest beats.\u201d And literally the first song we did, which ended up being the first track on the project [\u201cTwo Door\u201d], is probably the hardest beat that he could have picked: it has a Memphis sample and really, it\u2019s almost like a Yung Gutted beat, really dark [with] super heavy drums. So we just locked in for this new sound.<\/p>\n<p>            <b>That definitely struck me about the tape, that it doesn\u2019t feel the same as a lot of stuff MIKE does, even though he\u2019s a guy who can rap on any kind of beat and make it sound crazy. The other thing that struck me was just how brief the album was. Nowadays, people are so used to really short songs as a way to hide that the ideas behind a song aren\u2019t fully developed, but here it felt more like \u201cwe\u2019re going to go until we\u2019ve said what we needed to say and get the fuck out of here,\u201d almost like a bank heist.<\/b><\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>            We did that intentionally \u2014 honestly, we were just having fun with it. I think there wasn\u2019t much thought going into it: whatever beats I made that week, I would play for him. When he got to the studio, he picked the one he liked, he would write to it, make a sick verse, maybe put a hook on it, we record it, throw it together, <i>boom<\/i>, it\u2019s done. Keep it moving, very fluid, just having fun with it. And I think the same thing throwing the album together, it\u2019s just like, let\u2019s just make sure we like the songs and feel happy about it. It doesn\u2019t need to be too in-depth, because obviously, MIKE projects are very crafted. These are still serious songs, serious subject matter, but [<i>Pinball<\/i> is different].<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-260459\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left video\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"video_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"fluid-width-video-wrapper\" style=\"padding-top: 56.25%;\">\n<p>    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Underground Kingz\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WL0WckFbp6I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n \/\/trackYouTubeVideo('260459');\n<\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_block paragraph triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-260460\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>            <b>Across <i>Pinball<\/i> you guys dive into a bunch of different sounds. And one of the beats I was just blown away by was \u201c2k24 Tour\u201d with Niontay. I saw on your <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=k5SSre8PgQs\">Rhythm Roulette<\/a> that orchestral samples can be hard to work with because they\u2019re too full. Can you tell me about the beat for \u201c2k24\u201d and why that felt more workable?<br \/><\/b><br \/>That one was Laron, he had that sample already chopped up beforehand. But what you said about orchestral samples being too full, I think because of that, I was like, \u201clet me just go completely bare with the drums,\u201d super empty. And that way, it gives the strings a lot of room to breathe. And then whenever a rapper does rap on top of that, we&#8217;ll give them a lot of room.<\/p>\n<p>            And yeah, as soon as we made that beat I knew, not necessarily that MIKE was gonna rap on it, but that was getting used. Sometimes I&#8217;ll make a beat, I&#8217;ll say, \u201cI like the beat but I don&#8217;t know if any rapper will actually get on this.\u201d That beat, immediately when we made it, I was like, \u201cSomeone&#8217;s getting on this in the next week, I can tell,\u201d and that&#8217;s exactly what happened.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_block paragraph triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-260461\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left video\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"video_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"fluid-width-video-wrapper\" style=\"padding-top: 56.25%;\">\n<p>    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"2k24 Tour (feat. Niontay)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zR1HHgxOxR0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n \/\/trackYouTubeVideo('260461');\n<\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-260462\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>            <b>When you think about the beats on <i>Pinball<\/i> and the beats on <i>14K Figaro<\/i>, versus the stuff you were making five years ago, or when you first started working as Tony Seltzer with Vinny Fanta, what are you most proud of in terms of your artistic development?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>            I think that I\u2019ve established a sound with the beats themselves. And I don\u2019t want this to come off the wrong way, but it\u2019s not super hard to make a good beat that someone can rap on. But I think that what I\u2019m most proud of myself is being able to turn the beat into a song with somebody and really bring it together. And then take what they\u2019ve recorded on top of it and go further and think through the vocal production and the song sequencing and just figuring out what the right thing is to take it from a beat with a rapper on it into a fully contextualized song.<\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"author\">\n    <span><br \/>\n      By <span class=\"credit_name\">Vivian Medithi<\/span><br \/>\n  <\/span><\/div>\n<p><script async defer src=\"https:\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thefader.com\/2024\/03\/07\/tony-seltzer-mike-pinball-wiki-14k-figaro-producer-interview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Brooklyn producer talks co-producing, working with Wiki on 14k Figaro, and how his new album Pinball with MIKE came together. Tony Seltzer. Photo by Lauren Davis. \u00a0 In November, Tony Seltzer visited Atlanta for the first time, more for business than pleasure. He\u2019d recently been in the studio with Bronx rapper MIKE, where the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":611762,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/c_limit,w_1024\/c_crop,h_533,w_1024,x_0,y_67,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/IMG_7404_yjfvyb\/IMG_7404_yjfvyb.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[122284,70532,148713],"class_list":["post-611761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-beat-construction","tag-hip-hop","tag-tony-seltzer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=611761"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611761\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/611762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=611761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=611761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=611761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}