Interview: Nick Speed – City Sounds

Detroit based producer, Nick Speed, was born in Los Angeles. At the age of three his family moved to Washington DC and at the age of six again to Detroit. Music has been a part of his whole life. Over the years Nick’s production credits have appeared on projects ranging from some of Detroit’s rawest underground talent to 50 Cent. We’ve recently caught up with Nick to speak with him about his thoughts about music and the industry and check out some of latest projects..

“I basically came out the womb with a record. My favorite toy was my fisher price record player.”

L.F. - With the current condition of the music industry, and the media, what do you think is the most important thing that needs to be changed in the relationship of music and people?
Nick – Quality of music needs to be improved. I would say that that has a lot to do with the decline of record sales. Most people like four or five songs off an album now a days. When, there was a point where they would probably like your whole album. People want that one song that they can connect to or relate to and really their satisfied with that now days. I always liked listening to a whole album for it to tell me a story. Or for it to have an overall theme or something like that. I look at albums and shows, everything almost like a play. Like you have a beginning, middle, and an end. So you want to be able to have something that everything is almost stitched together like it’s seamless at the same time. Its all documenting a period in time, it’s all a time capsule.

We are also in the era of free music now too. So you have to give away a couple albums of free material to get your buzz up before you probably can really sell anything. You have to let them try it out and see that they really like it. Then your product becomes more valuable to the people. Like I said overall quality is what I believe can improve the industry.

L.F.  – As a producer, artist, and a fan, what has been your greatest lesson learned in life relating to your lifestyle and career?
Nick – One, is that however much work you were doing before you got to that point where people knew you, that was just practice. You’re going to have to work harder than that if you want to stay relevant and hot in the game. It’s September now, and whoever came out in January, their material is old now. Just based off of the day to day thing. A lot of people have disposable songs almost. People are satisfied with just hearing it one time and that’s good with them. They’re not willing to buy it necessarily.

Also you got to watch the paper gangsters. By paper gangsters, I mean the people who make the contracts up. You can sign your whole life away and never receive a penny. You want to make sure your paperwork is right. And get yourself a great lawyer. I was fortunate enough to have Louise West who is my lawyer. I’ve seen her name on all types of albums. When I first met her I knew she did like Missy Elliot’s deal, and Kanye’s deal, and Timberland. Those were the kind of artists I saw myself fitting into the vein of. Before anybody heard me, them being producers and artists, I figured she might know how to market me and get me to the right people that could know what to do with my talent. And hopefully believe in me. So getting somebody who believes in your talent genuinely it doesn’t matter if you’re even a big fan of theirs. If they believe in you, they’ll be able to use their connections and walk your material right into the office of whoever and you can get heard.

Don’t be afraid to give your music out. Always have an example of your music or your talent. Always have an example of your work with you. I always try to network a lot. I’m making sure I got a connect with them so when the time comes I can always call them and they’ll remember me and they’ll be willing to hear what I have to offer to them. But have it together don’t just call and say yeah I got something coming. No you just hit them up and say bam! This is exactly what I want you to do its already on paper. I already thought this out. They see how organized it is then they’ll probably be more willing to check you out.

Sometimes you got to go through people who already know this person. Like you need that stamp of approval or you need just that stamp. I’ve been basically stamped by 50 Cent, so that has taken me a long way. 50 Cent invested in me and took a chance on me before anybody knew who I was based off of what he heard on the CD, no personal relationship or anything. So you sometimes need that stamp of approval of someone people trust. Like people trust Russell Simmons, they know he has a good eye for talent. You may not have heard of his new artist, but they must be good if they’re with Russell.

I love how the music itself, tells a story. When I listen to Motown songs you know you don’t know who all was playing on those records but you just know you heard some kind of little sound in the background like a tambourine sound. It might just come in one time, but your like wow, what was that about? You have to just listen and hear what was going on. You can use your imagination with music. That’s what I like about music.

You get to use your imagination. I’m very imaginative. I have a big imagination. I can go any where with music I can be who ever I want to be at any time. Any way that I feel at any time I could express with the music. It doesn’t even matter what you’re saying. If it’s true to you its gonna sound good. So my motto in my studio is just hit record I just want to capture the moment. It’s a time capsule. That’s how it tells a story. Were just using the technology that we have available to us right now, to capture that. same as a videographer or a photographer anybody like that, we’re just documenting the moment. Were in a room together right now we’re documenting it right here with this. That’s what I like about it.

L.F. – What has been you’re most memorable moment through out your career?
Nick – Definitely one of the most memorable moments was when I first heard the song with 50 on it. I was literally at work talking on the phone to the people at G-Unit. I’m ringing up customers, ringing up candy and pop and chips and I’m listening on the phone to them playing 50 Cent rappin over my track. And then on top of that he was actually giving props to the track at the beginning. He actually said “I’m fuckin wit this-this that classic shit-that gangsta shit.” I hadn’t even heard 50 give props to a beat on a track before. For that, to be my first song in the industry he called it classic. That was like a crowning moment. He took me to another level right there. I felt myself jump to another level within my body. Man that’s a blessing. Just the whole way that I got my deal and everything was just an incredible thing because before I had even talked to the people over at G-Unit they were already familiar with my work. I was like, “Wow!” How am I on their radar?

And my man Proof, he gave me my first check in the game, maybe ‘04. Or paid me the most that I had ever received for a beat at that time. I might have got a little street money from some beats. A couple hundred or so, but he really used my song on the album put it out world wide. And really paid me for that. That was definitely another great moment in my musical career.

Then there’s like me getting that phone call for the first time. Somebody called me like, “man you on the radio right now” It was one of my solo songs too before I did anything. I turn on WJLB and I hear my own song that I produced, that was incredible man. I wasn’t expecting that. I might have dropped off the CD down there months before that. I don’t know how it happened, but it worked. They started playin it and the next thing you know they had me down at the radio station giving me an interview. My first song on the radio was my own song it was called, “Perfection.” I included that song on Detours, it was the last song.

There’s been a lot of other moments. The door has been opened because of what I’ve done. You know it only takes one song to get to the point where people are willing to listen to whatever else. For me to come out in 2005 and still be relevant in 2009 is a blessing.

For more info go to:
www.myspace.com/nickspeed313

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