“Quincy [Jones] told me, ‘If the power goes out on you, you can still play. If the power goes out on the majority of those involved in Hip-Hop, they’ll have to stop what they are doing.‘” – Terrace Martin The musical career of South Central Los Angeles native Terrace Martin started at the young age of eight when he first began to learn how to play the saxophone. Although he steadily practiced for hours everyday as a youth, it wasn’t until he transferred into the music program at Locke High School in Watts, CA that he began to hone his skills under the tutelage of the school’s respected music director Reggie Andrews. Terrace was later able to break into the Hip-Hop business as a musician and a producer, working with the likes of Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Game, Wiz Khalifa, Nate Dogg and many others. As a member of the Snoopadelics (Snoop Dogg’s live band) Terrace teamed up with his boss to form a production team called N*ggarachi, in which the duo produced for different acts. Other mentors that Terrace has gone on to work with include DJ Quik, Teddy Riley, Dr. Dre, and his musical idol – Quincy Jones. A master of the saxophone, Terrace often blends his Smooth Jazz sound over tightly constructed Hip-Hop beats. After releasing free projects such as the original Locke High, Signal Flow, Here My Dear, The Love EP, and The Sex EP – Terrace is now set to release his next album Locke High 2 on October 25 via iTunes. The young musical genius sat down with AllHipHop.com to talk about the inspiration behind the new album, and how he almost got sued by Kim Kardashian this past summer. Read on! AllHipHop.com: You’ve named two of your albums after your old high school. Why is that? Terrace Martin: I came over to Locke High School in Watts from Santa Monica High School. The East Side has a different way of thinking and living than the West Side where I’m from. It’s about survival on the East. Living in a concrete jungle like the projects where everything is built the same and looks the same is mind washing. I saw the areas of my life where I was spoiled. I had friends that were happy just to be with their families on Christmas, and here I was upset because I didn’t get the new Super Nintendo. At this time, I’m playing music because I know it and like it, but I noticed that the East Side kids were doing it to try to help their families’ situations. Being around that mentality made me feel the same way eventually. I moved up from practicing eight hours a day to 13 hours a day. I practiced Jazz, and the gangsters would calm down when I played. They always told me my music was an escape for them. The Jazz spots on Central Avenue was all that the Black community had in Watts during the ’30s, ’40ss, ’50s, and ’60s. Everybody played there – Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra. I didn’t know this until I went to Locke High. That’s why I felt a connection there. All of the musicians that I was trying to be like went through Watts at some point. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZS1GurPMDg&w=560&h=315] AllHipHop.com: When did you begin to transition from Jazz to Hip-Hop? Terrace Martin: One of the gangsters that I went to school with told me that he loved Tupac’s music, so I learned how to play “I Ain’t Mad At Cha.” One day at school, I decided to play it for him. After playing the song for a few minutes, I noticed that I had an audience of about 17 of the hardest kids at school, and they were all singing and enjoying it. That’s when I knew that I could reach people through Hip-Hop. Jazz was intriguing for my generation, but it didn’t have the same powerful impact that Hip-Hop had. I learned to respect both cultures for what they are. Some have tried to mix the two without understanding the language of Hip-Hop, and it sounds a bit corny. You have to understand the language and the feel of both Jazz and Hip-Hop in order to infuse them together. I grew up in the same neighborhood as DJ Battlecat, and we happened to share the same barber. I knew Battlecat from the music that he made with Domino out of Long Beach. I constantly stopped by the barbershop to see if I could try to catch him. One day he pulled up, and I played some beats for him. Soon after, he invited me to the studio and asked me to bring my horn. So I go and I’m playing on one of his songs while sitting next to other producers like Jellyroll and Blaqtoven at Battlecat’s studio on Crenshaw and Adams. That was the beginning of our work together. He was my hero because he was the closest thing to success that I knew of personally. He was on the radio and from the same ‘hood – and to me that was huge. There was a guy who frequented his studio named Marlon who also played guitar for Snoop Dogg. I was at the spot making beats and improving. One day, Marlon took my beats to Soopafly who oversaw a lot of Snoop’s music. I was going through a tough time and had to sell my personal equipment in order to survive. When Soopafly found that out, he gave me a check for $20,000. I bought some dumb stuff with that money, but I also made sure to go out and buy a drum machine and some equipment. After that, I was able to hook up with Snoop Dogg. Terrace Martin ft Wiz Khalifa Kendrick Lamar – “Do It Again” [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2HeOkYraFk&w=420&h=315] [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVnroyCfZHM&w=560&h=315] AllHipHop.com: You’ve worked with your musical heroes starting with Battlecat, Soopafly, DJ Quik, Teddy Riley, Dr. Dre, and finally, Quincy Jones. Terrace Martin: Teddy is […]
