Golden Child

Checkin in with your boy, Golden Child, the 17 year old hip-hop producer from Crooklyn, NY… If you don’t already know, just
peep this video or play Saints Row- one of the joints he has produced (Jin – G.O.L.D.E.N.) is on the game…
So
how did you get into making beats and hip hop in general? Did you have
someone showing you the ropes or did you just gravitate toward it on
your own?

I definitely have to shout out my older brother
for getting me into the whole hip-hop thing. He started DJing in high
school and continues to DJ and produces a little in college too. I
guess I got into the whole hip-hop thing heavily about 7 years ago.
When I saw my brother DJing and starting to mess around with sampling
and production I just had to do it myself. I taught myself all the
ropes and was using a free Mac program to do all my beats. After about
a year I got my Akai MPC-2000XL.


I
heard that MF Grimm gave you your name…is that true? How did you
react when you knew a legend like that had just given birth to your
name?

(Laughs) Yes in fact it is true…I met this rapper
who is signed to MF Grimm’s record label and he passed some of my stuff
on. When Grimm found out that I was not even 16 at the time he blessed
me with the name. I had to use it being that a living legend like Grimm
gave it to me. It’s not the most original name, but it has stuck. I’m
trying to think of something a little more catchy and original.

So
you got someone like Grimm giving you props, but have you pretty much
been doing your thing on your own? Like where did you make the beats
for the Jin CD?

Yeah I’ve been doing this as a solo
operation since I started…and my operation has pretty much stayed the
same. I make all of the beats in my room with my computer, keyboard,
MPC, and turntable. When I was doing the Jin album we mixed down all my
beats in a studio. I’m hoping to build my own someday soon so I can do
that all in my room.

I
don’t know if you’ve seen Madlib’s most recent cd (Beat Konducta Vol
1-2), but there’s a foldout flick of his record collection and studio
and it’s crazy. Does your collection rival it??

I
actually haven’t seen the album jacket, but I’ve seen Madlib’s setup in
a magazine article before (or maybe it was on the Stones Throw
website..). Yeah his collection is absolutely ridiculous. Mine doesn’t
rival that…but then again I’ve only gotten into collecting vinyl over
the past year or so. Once I make some more money I’ll be able to invest
it back in to that and hopefully some day I’ll have thousands of
records of my own. Right now my collections in the hundreds and I just
keep them in my room and my basement.

Ok,
that was an absurd question but seriously what are you trying to do
with your collection? Do you use records a lot or are you mostly doing
stuff with the computer? Where do you get most of your samples from?

That’s
a good question…these days with MP3s and everything online it is easy
to sample from the computer. I like to do both, depending on what
samples I can find online versus what I can find on record. In my mind,
nothing beats sampling from a record…the quality is better and its
just got the original grimey feel to it. I try to get my samples from
all over the place…I’m down to pretty much sample anything. It’s
really all in how you flip it.

You’ve
said you got lucky before by way of getting in with Jin and his
manager. Are you currently running with any dudes trying to put stuff
together or are you just doing your own thing entirely at the moment?

I
was definitely lucky to link up with Jin and his manager for that
project. Right now I am not really working with those guys, but am
focused on strengthening my own collection of tracks. I am in the
process of working out a deal for an instrumental album which would be
sold in stores and on iTunes, so that’s pretty exciting. I’m not gonna
drop any names but the guy who’s helping me get this album project
together is pretty well known and worked on a lot of huge records
throughout the 90s…he used to work with Rawkus.

You ever go to Fat Beats? What do you think of it?

Absolutely…We
actually filmed part of Jin’s music video for “Top 5 (Dead or Alive)”
in there and I got to be in that film. Kool Herc was DJing in the
background and it was crazy.

Dope…Ever
listen to any of those dudes who stand outside the door? I know Jin has
said he used to be there, and I think Papoose has said that too. What’s
up with that? Maybe I should give them a try…

Yeah
that’s apparently the spot that Jin got picked up by his current
manager…I never really drop in on those freestyle cyphers but dudes
are forever trying to sell me their CDs out there. Sometimes I tell
them that I’m Jin’s boy and they’ll hand me one for free.

Do
you think going to a demanding school has helped or hindered your music in
any way? Do you still find plenty of time for music in between school,
commuting,etc.?

I don’t think that it has had a HUGE
impact on my musical path..There are days when I have time for it and
days I don’t. I think that would be the case wherever I went to high
school. I wish I had more time, and I can’t wait until I can hopefully
just do this as a profession and bang out a ton of beats per day
instead of a few per week.

Anything we should look out for from you in the future?

Definitely look out for the Golden Child instrumental album…check
http://www.myspace.com/thegoldenchild
for updates on that and the latest tracks from yours truly. I’m really
trying to branch out and work with some up and coming artists that I
feel have what it takes…At the same time I’m looking for a manager to
get me connections with a lot of people you already know of. All it
really takes is one big song!