Is your current
single lagging on the charts? Do you want to get your radio spins up? Then you
might want to refurbish that song with a re-mix. Look no further than DJ/producer
Ron-G.
As a youth, he
took on the title "Youngest In Charge" and he not only took charge
– he changed the game. “Ron G is definitely more than a DJ, he’s a producer,
re-mixer and percussionist," said one urban publication.
Also known as "The
Mix Tape King," Ron G has rocked celebrity events, release parties and
even does his thing on a New York radio show.
However, the DJ
has transformed into a producer that has crafted beats for A-list artists such
as LL Cool J, Kelly Rowland, J-Lo, R.Kelly, Fat Joe, Michael Jackson and Mary
J. Blige.
AllHipHop.com
caught up with Ron G who discussed everything from the state of hip-hop to his
relationship with Tupac and Biggie.
AllHipHop.com:
You have created a craze with your blends. People hear about re-mixes but few
know it stems from the blends that Ron-G started.
RG: My blends were
kind of like re-mixes and the energy that blends made caused it to be called
re-mixes. If you listen to the first Jodeci, Mary J Blige records those were
actually blends. They were hip-hop beats blended with other hip-hop melodies.
They were really blends but they were called re-mixes.
AllHipHop: What
are some of the latest projects for Ron G?
RG: Right now,
I just did a song with Michael Jackson that R. Kelly wrote ("One More Chance"),
I just did a re-mix for Beyonce ("Me, Myself and I"), I also did J-Lo
and LL Cool J ("All I Have"), I did Kelly Rowland remix for ("Stole")
and Jagged Edge (Heaven Re-mix).
AllHipHop: You
were also the first one ever authorized to release a freestyle or recording
of 2Pac on a mix-tape.
RG: Yeah that song
is called "Deadly Combination" featuring Big L and 2Pac on Rawkus
Records, that record actually went gold. It’s amazing now to look at what everybody
is doing, including Eminem. I did that several years ago taking vocals from
different rappers and combining them together on one track. The 2Pac and Big
L song also had Biggie on there but I couldn’t get his vocals cleared so I had
to take it off. That combination back then was so huge, I’m bugging on what
they are doing now because I did it years ago and they are just catching on.
AllHipHop: How
did that come about you getting 2Pac to spit on your mix-tape?
RG: Pac came to
my studio with Stretch (R.I.P). It was amazing because he wrote his verse in
10 minutes. That verse goes down in history, he wrote what he felt and he predicted
his death and how it would happen. Just listen to his verse:
Follow me tell
me if you feel me/ I think n*ggaz is tryin to kill me/Picturin’ pistols,
spittin hollow points til they drill me/ Keepin it real, and even if I do conceal/
my criminal thoughts, preoccupied with keepin steel/See n*ggaz is false, sittin
in court, turned snitches/ that used to be real, but now they petrified b*tches/
I’m tryin to be strong, they sendin armies out to bomb me/ Listen to Ron-G,
the only DJ that can calm me/
The situation was
crazy because he left my studio that night then went to the studio in midtown
and that is when he got shot. A few weeks later I was doing a party in New Jersey
and the Outlawz stepped to me and said, "Pac said he knew you ain’t had
nothing to do with that and he sends his love to you." After that I was
happy, as hell and he has been my road dog forever. I have been supporting him
since. For a person to do the things he was doing and still move the way he
was moving and be able to think the way he was thinking and write the rhymes
he wrote in the amount of time he wrote it was incredible.
AllHipHop: One
of the greatest of all times, who will never die just like 2Pac, is Biggie Smalls.
How do you feel when you hear your name over and over again mentioned on the
classic "Juicy" record?
RG: I’m going to
be real with you, you’re the first person I sat down with and talked in depth
about this situation between Biggie and Pac. Biggie was personally my friend
(short pause). It was a time in my life when Biggie was here
and I was broke and going through a huge amount of problems. I didn’t have a
dime; I bought cars only to have them stolen. There were only two things I had
to keep me going, that was Biggie and my studio equipment. I was sitting home
doing beats trying to remain focused and I called Biggie and told him my problems.
He told me, "bring me something over man." I brought some beats over
and two days later he just gave me a check for $10,000 and he never used the
songs. That $10,000 put me where I’m at today. I don’t know if Puffy or Ms.
Wallace knows that but B.I.G. did that for me and that is why he will always
be in my heart. Rest In Peace B.I.G. He done something for me no rapper has
ever done. That $10,000 he gave me allowed me to put some food in my mouth as
well as buy
another piece of studio equipment.
AllHipHop: You
never felt the urge to intervene being that you were friends with both Pac and
Biggie?
RG: I was never
put in that position because after the situation with Pac things changed. I
never saw Pac again. I seen Biggie on a few occasions. After that everybody’s
lives changed including mines. Detectives were coming to my
house every other day. It was real, it was bugged out. It was something I really
couldn’t understand. I think the situation was bigger than themselves. I just
thank God for giving me the blessing to work with these guys and learn from
their experiences in the game. I learned from the both of them.
AllHipHop: What
is the state of hip-hop and what do you think about the 50 Cent phenomenom?
RG: Yeah 50 Cent
changed the game. He made it so people got to do a whole lot of grinding themselves.
No one was showing him love. I was doing blends of his songs when he was signed
to Columbia. Unfortunately, now n*ggas is sick. Rappers is quitting…rappers
are stressed.
AllHipHop: Why?
RG: When Biggie
was here he made people feel good, because I’m a fat n*gga. So when I listen
to Biggie I saw me. Now that 50 is here, you don’t have to look like him but
similar to him. You have to be appreciative of hip-hop, of
people who follow hip-hop. Look at the rappers who are not shaped like him,
look at all the rappers who didn’t do through what he been through, look at
all the rappers who don’t have the streets credibility. Now you got rappers
like Mos Def who don’t care cause they don’t have to do that. Then you have
(I’m not gonna say no names) rappers who once were in the top ten league, he
came and sat on their face and stepped on them like " n*gga what, I’m here
now".
AllHipHop: What
are you doing now to adjust to this 50-phenomenon?
RG: Rappers are
sick behind that. I myself had to tone up. My daughter loves 50. It was to the
point, where I said, "you know what, I got to start working out now, I
got to start wearing tank tops and I gotta go change my chain." Everybody
who loves hip-hop is loving 50 Cent, if not they choose another rapper to like.
75% of the people who listen to 50 got something on them to remind them of 50.
That is powerful. Just like when Biggie was here I went out and started buying
kangols and royal blue gators. My wife was wearing diamond necklaces. My time
was Biggie’s time. But, now that 50 changed the format and image of hip- hop,
you can’t just be a skinny n*gga no more. That is why rappers are sick!