Just Blaze is hustling and he’s making moves in circles that Hip-Hop enthusiasts were unaware of.
He’s down with the controversial Baauer, who crafted the unlikely hit song, “The Harlem Shake.”
Recently multiplatinum super-producer, know to his mother as Justin Smith, spoke with Lee Hawkins of The Wall Street Journal about his new songs ”Higher” and ”The Harlem Shake,” co-produced by the now widely popular EDM/Trap producer, Baauer.
In the exclusive interview, Just Blaze took the time to break down the songs and detailed the thought process behind the release of the singles which have now garnered millions upon millions of views.
Defying traditional ideas behind the release of a record Just Blaze and Baauer created juggernaut of a song by catering to world of club DJs
“I actually just came off of a 20 city tour, myself and my partner Baauer, you may have heard of him he has the whole s**t that has everyone going nuts, we did a 20 city tour. The interesting thing about that is, the tour was conceived before that record blew up. We sat down and talked about the possibility of going on the road and doing a show together and in the process of that we said, ‘Well you know what? Lets do a record together.'”
“So we sat in this room about a month ago and we came up with this record called “Higher.” And we knew that it was cool, but I dont think that either of us really anticipated what was going to happen there.”
Using portions of a Jay-Z sample that was given to them for their tour, Baauer and Just Blaze combined synths, organs and tweaked drums to create a multi-layered composition that is now world renowned.
“Traditionally if your are releasing a record through a traditional outlet like iTunes, Amazon record stores or whatever, sometimes people who release music on the internet release records on Monday because journalists and PR people are back at their desks, bloggers are at their desks, we sat here on a Thursday night at about 4 in the morning and I was like,”Lets release this tonight.”
Despite some people in their camp thinking that Baauer and Just Blaze should hold on to the record, Just Blaze wanted to release the record for DJs to play at parties immediately.
Preying on thirsty DJs looking to add to their Friday and Saturday partyy sets, Just Blaze and Baauer dropped the record at 4 a.m. on a Thursday morning only to wake up to thousands of views and downloads.
For more information on the Wall Street Journal’s exclusive interview with Just Blaze, take a look at the videos below and learn more about how Just Blaze co-produced and marketed “Higher” and “The Harlem Shake.”
Just Blaze Interview: The Business of Beats
Justin Smith, known as music producer Just Blaze, who produces for artists such as Jay-Z and Eminem, talks with Lee Hawkins about his role in VH1’s DJ show, “Master of the Mix” and the lucrative business of beat-making and production. Plus he shows step-by-step how he built the beat for hit song “Higher.”
Producer Just Blaze on Creating the ‘Harlem Shake‘
Justin Smith, known as hip-hop producer Just Blaze describes how he and his production partner, Baauer, made the now world-renowned “Harlem Shake” song and dance go viral. He also discusses strategies for making a song a hit on the dance club circuit.
Hip-Hop Producer Just Blaze Builds a Beat
Justin Smith, known as music producer Just Blaze, who produces for artists such as Jay-Z and Eminem, gives the Wall Street Journal’s Lee Hawkins a step-by-step explainer on how he and his partner, Baauer, built the beat and production for the hit song “Higher”.
