Swizz Beatz: On To The Next Mountain

With so much success being celebrated, the night belonged Philanthropist/Producer Swizz Beatz. Swizz, now 31 years old, has maintained his relevance in an industry that often ‘On To The Next One’ like the single he produced for Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter. On this night, he would be given the SESAC “Inspiration” award in recognition of his […]

With so much success being celebrated, the night belonged Philanthropist/Producer

Swizz Beatz. Swizz, now 31 years old, has maintained his relevance in an industry

that often ‘On To The Next One’ like the single he produced for Shawn

“Jay-Z” Carter. On this night, he would be given the SESAC

“Inspiration” award in recognition of his philanthropic work over the

years. And who was more qualified to present him with this prestigious award

than Hip-Hop Trailblazer, Russell Simmons?

AllHipHop.com was given the

exclusive access to sit down and break bread with Swizz Beatz as he

received his award.

AllHipHop.com: First of all,

congratulations on all of your accomplishments over the years. Millions of

people volunteer their time to help others. However, only a few contribute at

the level you have. Talk about your roots in giving back.

Swizz Beatz: It started very young for me, being raised by my

grandparents. While living in the South Bronx, my grandmother was in Tenant

Patrol. The Tenant Patrol was given duties to handle in our building; my

grandmother was the head of that. When I would come home from school, she would

have me help the older ladies with bags. When anybody needed help, I was always

on deck. From then, this just comes naturally.

AllHipHop.com:  Let’s do some more “Then and

Now”. Talk about the man you were coming into this industry as well as the

man you are now, looking towards the future.

Swizz Beatz: The Swizz Beatz I am now is actually Kaseem Dean. 2010 is

what I consider my graduation. Who I was before now was young, a student (which

I still am) in the beginner stage, and I’ve been through a lot. And what I’ve

been through helped me to graduate. I don’t regret anything. So gathering

everything up, I am in my thirties now. I came into this when I was 17. So 2010

is my graduation where I take everything I’ve learned and I apply that to

educating and giving back. I am helping in the Art community. I am raising the

bar in the music community by traveling around the world. I’m a messenger that

stands strong nomatter what.

AllHipHop.com: You and I sat

down a few years back before the release of “One Man Band Man” and

talked about how Hip-Hop fans would receive you as a solo artist. You brought

the fact that songs like ‘I’m a Hustla’ ‘New York Sh*t’ ‘Bring’em Out’ and most

of DMX hits were actually your songs before other artists ask to use them. Is

‘On To The Next One’ another example?

Swizz Beatz: ‘On To The Next

One’ was definitely for my album. It was the last song on Jay’s album. He’s

JAY-Z, so I don’t mind falling back and playing the producer role. That also

happened with the ‘Iron Man’ song for Busta. My three son came up with the

concept for the song simply by playing with his Iron Man toy, in the studio.

Now they are playing that song on the radio. I respect Busta. He is a great

friend beyond the music, so I let him have it.

AllHipHop.com: What’s next for your career?

Swizz Beatz: Great music. The

unexpected. I want to do what’s fun for me.  I don’t mind taking the risk. I don’t play it safe. I don’t

care what people think. I am an artist. It’s similar to painting on canvas. It

is my interpretation of my life. You can see that in my hard work, in

everything that I do. Even in being a great father, this is how I live. Some

people won’t like it, some will; that’s just the balance of the world.

Russell Simmons presenting Swizz Beatz with the “Inspiration Award” at The 2010 SESAC Awards in New York CitySongwriter of the Year, Nate “Danja” Hills & Swizz Beatz at The 2010 SESAC Awards