By Erica Roane
It’s the Tuesday after a record is released, everyone knows what that
means, SoundScan reports come out. To no surprise, Jay-Z's American Gangster is number
one in the country, selling over 400,000 units in it's first week. Since they
produced half the album, Sean C. and LV are definitely ecstatic.
How do they
celebrate their contribution to the number one album in the country? Pop
bottles, sail on the French Riviera, or hey go on 106 & Park and kick it on
the couch. Not even. These two want that staying power, therefore they
celebrate by doing the same thing that got them to the top. In the studio,
grinding.
Super producers Sean and LV know how to buckle down. This
work ethic and focus has allowed these two to break barriers and draw top music
executives into their world. Sean and LV are sick enough behind the boards that
Puffy got at them for their beats and is even considering them to be his new
"Hitmen." They also maintain separate careers outside of production (Sean C. is
an A&R for Universal and LV is Fat Joe’s DJ) proving to all that yes, it can
be done.
Taking a short break from the music to talk to AllHipHop.com, Sean
and LV exude confidence in their material and their musical direction. They elaborate on the obvious Jay-Z questions and shed light on Puffy's involvement with their production. Most importantly, they discuss the dedication to their craft and let the
world know that at the end of the day, “It’s just music baby. ”
AllHipHop.com: Wassup guys congratulations on the album, foremost. How
did you get involved with the American Gangster project?
Sean: Thanks,
Puff called us when he was in Saint-Tropez on vacation talking like “Jay-Z wants
to work with me on his new album and I want ya’ll to work on it with me.” So when
he got back, we were all in the studio playing beats and what not. Puff then
calls Jay and is like “I need you to come down to the studio. I never tell you to
come down, I need you to come down here now. “ Jay got there in record time, I
mean like 15-20 minutes He was only supposed to stay for 15 minutes but he
stayed for about 2-3 hours and listened to like 30 beats. He left and came back
2 days later with 2 songs. One was “Sweet” the other was “No Hook” That there
was the start of American Gangster.
AllHipHop.com: When you worked with Jay, was there a lot of in-studio time spent with
him?
Sean C.: There was such a short time to get the album done. He would
come to Daddy’s House and we would play him the beat, he would go back over to
Roc the Mic [studio], do his vocals, send it back to us. We would just add what
we had to add to [the beat] then send it to him. Afterwards, we would just start
working on the next track. We just kept going back and forth and that’s how a
lot got done.
AllHipHop.com: Real quick, can I get a list of the songs on the album that you all
produced?
LV: “Pray,” “Sweet,” “No Hook,” “Party Life,” “Roc Boys,” and
“American Dreamers.”
AllHipHop.com: Puffy is listed as the producer for the tracks that you two actually
produced. What percentage would you say that Puffy actually contributed?
Sean
C: He helped put everything together. He was in the studio with us working on
material. Puff also helped formulate things, and make the records big. He
made [the tracks] sound epic and more like a movie. He would even guide the
musicians. Overall, the production on the project was a collaborative effort
between the three of us.
AllHipHop.com: Working with Puff in production, people are considering you two to be
his new "Hitmen," are you trying to take things back to the Bad Boy Era?
LV: No, we're just taking it to where it needs to be at. Right now it needs
to be on number one. We just trying to
make good music.
AllHipHop.com: Ok, let me rephrase myself, are you trying to take it back to the time
when Bad Boy was all over the radio and you heard nothing else
Sean C: Hell
yeah! But this time we gonna take it where its Grind Music Hitmen.
AllHipHop.com: What direction are you going in musically with Puffy?
LV: We going
everywhere there is no where we can't go in music. We have a lot of versatility
in us.
AllHipHop.com: What where your first hits?
Sean C: “Can't Knock the Hustle” with me
and my man Knowbody. "Get Off Nigga” with Puff or “So Good” with Ne-Yo.
LV:
When I first heard my hit on the radio it was “Terror Error”by Terror
Squad
AllHipHop.com: Do either of you write lyrics as well?
Sean C : No, I don't write
rhymes baby. (Laughs)
AllHipHop.com: From what I understand you did some work on Ghostface’s new album, how
was that?
LV: It was cool. We did 6 tracks on his album, six is our lucky
number right now. Its different from American Gangster . Its Ghostface so we had
to get in his realm.
AllHipHop.com: LV you're also a DJ, Fat Joe’s DJ at that. How do you balance that
and producing? Is there a conflict of interest?
LV: Nope, no conflict of
interest. We giving everybody smash m*********ing records right now. We gave Fat
Joe a smash hit with J. Holiday. You just gotta make it work, work all the time,
that’s how you get that money. (laughs)
AllHipHop.com: Sean C., with you being an A&R for Universal Records as well as a
producer, was it difficult to be taken seriously as a producer?
Sean C.: I
don't know. I haven't seen that. The A&R thing is the A&R thing. I'm a
producer first. I'm not completely on the corporate end, I'm creative.
Like that’s how I've always been and that’s what it is.
AllHipHop.com: Looking at where you started from where you are now, what is something
you wish you would have known about the industry that you know now?
Sean C: I
don't have any regrets because everything that happens is a learning experience
to help you for “this time.” That includes the good and the bad, its all
good There is no such thing as luck, its preparation equals
opportunity.
AllHipHop.com: Do you both either record beats separately?
Sean C: Its all a
collaborative effort. We have different personalities that’s what makes the
record. Somebody may find a sample and chop it, another person may work on the
drums. We in the studio with two MPC 4000s at all times
AllHipHop.com: Working with artists all across the spectrum, what would you say is
the biggest difference between rap and R&B artists and the way that they
record?
LV: Hip-hop artists rhyme over the beat and R&B artists need
melodies. But the way that music is now R&B artists sing over Hip-Hop
beats.
AllHipHop.com: With the mixtape being so prevalent in Hip-Hop, have you guys ever
done a mixtape or would you consider doing one, like an R&B vibe?
Sean
C.: Nah, we have never done a mixtape, but hey, why not?
AllHipHop.com: How do you feel about doing remixes?
Sean C: If you don't like the
original beat send us the vocals and tempo, we'll mix it up for you. You need to
make a good record, if you need to remix it then go with it. Come to think of
it, I haven't heard a remix in a long time.
AllHipHop.com: Back to your music. “Roc Boys” is the new
single of American Gangster, how do you feel about that?
LV: Great But
that’s already here, I'm thinking about the next single, I'm hoping “Party Life”
is the next single.
AllHipHop.com: Speaking of the party, have you heard Roc Boys in the club yet?
LV:
I heard it in Miami over the weekend. That s**t was ridiculous
Sean C:
For my birthday we all went out and partied to it. It was me, LV, Jay, Puff,
Mario Winans, D Dot. We had just finished the album and mastered it.
AllHipHop.com: How many bottles did you pop that night?
Sean C : I don’t know but we popped
the biggest bottle of Patron ever.
AllHipHop.com: What other projects are you working on?
Sean C : Cassie, Nas, Fat Joe. We
got our hands full right now baby.
LV: Trust me, its not a coincidence that
we’re here.