Audio Marco Polo
Port Authority

Marco: Hello? MP3: Hey, is this Marco? Yep. What's going on, man? Doing great. Thanks. Right on. So yeah man, I just want to talk a little about the new album you've got dropping and some of your history and whatnot. Cool. Port Authority is coming out soon. You've got a lot of legendary cats on there. What can you tell us about the album? I mean, I know you've done some stuff before, working on other people's records and your own indie stuff but is this considered your official-type debut? Definitely. I mean, I had an instrumental album that I put out a couple years ago, with Rasco's label, Pockets Linted out on the West Coast, but that was really small scale. It was thrown together. It was mostly beats. So some people might say that was my first album. I don't see it that way. This is like, to me, my official debut as a producer working with all emcees, no instrumentals. So this definitely represents my interests like a producer/artist.

I mean, basically from the album what I tried to do is—definitely one of the inspirations was Pete Rock's Soul Survivor, number one. That's like a classic album to me. And that was definitely one of the things I was thinking about when I was making this album. I just wanted to make good music that I wanted to hear being a fan and then when I connected with a lot of these dudes like G Rap and Buckshot I really picked beats from a fan's perspective like what do I think they'd be best suited to rap on.

So everything was picked accordingly and I was really involved with each song and I just got it to the point where I had enough material and connected the dots and made it flow like an album. So you're really trying to stay away from cats calling it a compilation because I really feel like it's more than that. It's more like a cohesive whole. Exactly, if you listen top to bottom and it flows with the interludes and you've just got to, you know. Nice. And you've been in New York for how long now? I would say about four to five years. Okay, but you were originally from Canada? Mm-hmm. Coming to New York, with the music in mind, is that the main reason that you relocated? Absolutely. I mean, I didn't even really do any producing in Toronto, maybe like one indie 12-inch with this kid a long time ago. And before I even really started producing or had a reputation for producing I moved to New York to try and make it happen, I kind of skipped the whole, you know, trying to build anything in Toronto. Then I was just like let me just start with the foundation.

And I had a friend in Queens and he offered up his basement and he was like, "Yo, come out here. Do your thing. You can stay in the basement." So I took him up on the offer. And then I got an internship at The Cutting Room, which is a really big studio in Manhattan. But I ended up doing a lot of bitch work, getting coffee, cleaning studios and answering phones and then actually got a real paid gig there and that's when I really started to connect with artists when they come through and shopping my beats to them. And now I know that Ayatollah was sort of like a mentor for you when you got to New York, right? Yeah, I mean, I never really did anything with him musically but he was just a friend I met through Lou, who was the person who let me stay at his crib in Queens. We just became friends. And when I first came to New York before I moved I would go around to sessions with Ayatollah and that's how I actually got the job at The Cutting Room because he was there a session for, I think it was the X-Ecutioners when they put out their album. He did a remix.

And so I went through there and I had sent a bunch of resumes out to studios and The Cutting Room wasn't on my list, so I just happened to go in there to see him and dropped my resume off. So actually going to see him started—you know, I got that job at The Cutting Room. So it was crazy how that happened. Are you still working there as well or are you just doing the music stuff full time? I've been gone from The Cutting Room for about two years now and it was kind of a good thing because there it was more like a management/engineering position and I'm a producer and I just want to focus on that. So now I got my home studio set up just for all my beats and recording and, yeah, I've been doing my thing here for a while. Right on, man. And are you pretty much exclusively MPC or do you use computer based programming at all or what's your set up like? For production it's strictly MPC, the 2000XL, my turntable and my records. And I have ProTools but that only comes into play when I'm tracking beats, recording vocals and mixing. But, yeah, I definitely don't use ProTools to make beats. I know that you've done some stuff in the past with some of the Beat Society competitions and whatnot, are you still doing the live beats on stage type of move or are you just mostly focusing on studio stuff now? Well the Beat Society is more like a live showcase rather than a competition and I've done like five of them and, yeah, I mean, I'm definitely still down. That's the label that signed me, Soulspazm, runs Beat Society as well. So usually they show me love and put me in a lot of the shows so there's probably going to be some in the next six months and you'll probably see me in a few of them. So I'm definitely always involved with that. I love it. So that's still going on. I know you've also done a bunch of stuff with Boot Camp. You did some beats on their last record. How did you link up with those guys originally? That was actually—I met Buckshot in L.A. doing a Beat Society. So that was one of the positives of the Beat Society. I was down there and he was in town and just happened to be working with another producer and he came to the show and he set up a session with DJ Rapmatic [ph] at his crib for Rapmatic to play some beats and I just happened to be with Rapmatic. So we went over there, Rapmatic played him some beats and then I didn't want to get in the way of any of that, so when they were done and Buckshot left I just passed him a CD. So I went up and got his info.

I didn't hear anything from him for like three months and then he finally hit me back. He was like, "Yo, you recorded five joints for the Boot Camp album. You know, Dru Ha is going to call you and play them." And I was praying that I hadn't sold the beats and luckily most of them were cool. And since then I've been real cool with Boot Camp and Dru Ha and we seemed to click. Are you going to be working on some more stuff with those guys in the future? Definitely, I have a song on the new Heltah Skeltah album. I have no idea when that's going to come out. And I have another solo joint with Buckshot. I have another song with the Boot Camp that got cut from The Last Stand but they're going to put it out on a compilation called Casualties of War. And Buckshot's on my album too. Yeah, that's dope, man. Now obviously you got connected with a lot of different emcees from New York and also from Cali with Rasco and whatnot. Do you have your own sort of crew of your own artists that you'd like to put on as well or are you more just like a hired gun or what? I would definitely get behind an emcee's album. One person I'm working with a lot right now is my man Torae. He was recently on a joint with Skyzoo over a Primo beat called "Let's Get It Done." And his new single is going to be like a double DJ Premier produced 12-inch. Me and him have been working a lot. He's on my new mixtape, the Newport Authority. And we just started working on his album.

Besides that, who I consider crew, Supastition is definitely in there, another emcee that was on my album and we do a lot of work, and Copywrite, O.C., those are a lot of dudes that I consider inner crew that I'm always working with aside from when I get hired to do stuff. I know a lot of producers sort of like to get on the mic occasionally as well. Is that you, or are you pretty much sticking to just the beats? The only time you can hear my voice is on the intro of the mixtapes and the interlude on my album where I say, "Word," twice. But I leave the rapping to the professionals and that's a good thing for music. (laughs) Yeah, that's probably a good call. Yep, definitely. Right now, the past couple years, the producer has become more of like a high-profile position in hip-hop. On one hand, like, The Neptunes and Kanye and Lil Jon but then even in the more indie realm, you got cats like Alchemist and 9th Wonder and whatnot. Are there any other producers out there that you really, not necessarily influence you, but that impress you with the stuff that they're making? Definitely, there's a lot of cats. I mean, there's the obvious legendary dudes like DJ Premier and Pete Rock, Erick Sermon. And as far as new cats, like Jake One is definitely somebody I check for, Kev Brown. Those are a couple dudes that definitely influence me.

I'm not really feeling the whole—see, I agree with you on the whole producers have kind of taken the spotlight. They're kind of like the new emcee and I'm like, it's cool but I really feel like it should be the other way around and producers roles are to lay the foundation for the emcee to kind of be the face of it. And I'm kind of anti the whole shout out of the producers. It's happening so much and I think we need to reverse it back to the emcee, you know what I'm saying. Yeah. When you're hearing like, "Jazze Phizzle!" all the time its kind of corny. Yeah, you know, "Just Blaaaze!" and all that shit, like it's cool the first time but it's even got to the point where I've told people who I'm working with, "Don't shout me out." Like, it's cool and I appreciate the love. In the beginning it's dope, you know, it definitely helps the promo and that cosign, but cats don't want to hear that. I'm the same, like I just want to hear music. Just rap, you know what I'm saying. Yeah, totally. I feel you. Now your style, even though you're from Canada originally, you definitely have that kind of New York flavor with your tracks. Thanks, man. Is that something that you do consciously or is that just always how you've made your beats? It's just always how I've done it just because I grew up on the East Coast listening to that sound, that whole boom-bap, '90s type of rap. That's what influences my sound. But when I sit down to make a beat I definitely have some of those things in the back of my mind but I guess it just happens naturally, that's what I sound like. Cool. So I know it's tough in terms of being a producer but are you going to try to do any kind of touring once the album drops? Definitely. We're working on something right now with Masta Ace and eMC, his new group. He's got a new group with Punch N' Words and Strick. Yeah, I heard something about that recently. Yep. They've got an album coming out this year. I've got a joint on there and they're going to be headlining a tour, probably doing a bunch of dates across Canada and I'm trying to incorporate a mini Beat Society, Marco Polo and Friends type of thing, to open up for them. Nothing has been confirmed, but we're definitely trying to make that happen. And if it does happen it would be like me, Mr. Attic and Moss who are other producers from Toronto. It should be pretty dope. That sounds good, man. Do you DJ as well? No. I'm the only producer that don't DJ and it's killing me right now. I'm about to start DJing. Right on, man. So May 15th? May 15th is the release date, yep. Okay, and then it's Soulspazm but also Rawkus? Or what's Rawkus's role? I see it on the promo. Yeah, I mean, Rawkus is definitely repping it like their release and it is, but I'm actually, technically signed to Soulspazm records, who has a joint venture distribution deal with Rawkus. Got you, okay. So Rawkus, luckily, they just fell in love with the album and they're really getting behind it and they're kind of repping me and I'm repping them right now. So it's kind of worked out dope. Nice. So I've got one more question for you. This is something that I always ask, whether it's like multiplatinum superstars or like cats on the come-up like yourself. There's so many people out there, everybody that doesn't want to be a rapper wants to be a producer and everybody is trying to get on and whatnot. Somebody like yourself that came from Canada, which isn't exactly known for blowing up the spot with hip-hop, and now working with all these legendary artists and definitely getting a big buzz, what kind of advice would you give for the younger cats that just got their first MPC and are trying to get it popping? Own your craft, first and foremost. But, I mean, it definitely helps to have connections but the work ethic's got to be there. You've got to be prepared to make beats every day when you buy your sampler until they're good. And surround yourself with people that you trust, no "yes" people. So when you're making something wack they're telling you, you know what I'm saying, because with a lot of these new programs it's just made it real easy for anyone to bang out a beat and it's definitely affecting the quality of what's coming out.

So I would definitely say own your craft and listen, respect where it started, where it came from and try and put that into the music and get your work ethic up. If I didn't move to New York, none of this would have happened. I sacrificed social life, family, for like two and a half years, even to this day, like I work nonstop every day. It doesn't stop. And the moment you slack, somebody is making beats and shopping them to an artist that you could be working with. No doubt. That's good advice. And you're doing stuff with Grand Daddy I.U. too, right? Yeah, definitely. Nice. Is he doing a comeback record or what? He's one of my favorite cats. I know he put out a single like a year ago or something? Yeah, "Mack of the Year." That was dope. That's my homie. We did a joint called "The Veteran." It's on my new mixtape. Yeah, I've heard that. That's tight. Thanks, man. And he's definitely—he's working on a new mixtape right now called The Script, which is going to lead to a new album called Stick to the Script. So I definitely want to shout him out. And he is definitely working and you'll definitely see more collabos between me and him coming. That's what I like to hear. Well, yo, thanks for taking the time to do this, man. Hey, no doubt. Thanks for hitting me up. I appreciate it. For sure. And where can people find you online? I'm at myspace.com/marcopolobeats and the website is marcopolobeats.com. You can also check the rawkus.com website. Well good luck with everything and thanks for taking the time. Thanks a lot, man. All right, take it easy. You too. Peace.