Grammy award winning producer Rockwilder has
announced that he too would jump into the rap fray like Irv Gotti, CEO of Murder
Inc. “I said if Irv Gotti can do it, so can I,” the producer said
to AllHipHop.com.
The rapper-turned-producer first gained underground
recognition in the group Crossbreed, who were featured on Redman’s Muddy Waters
album and a number of Def Squad songs. Eventually, Rock left the rap game to
focus on production instead and Crossbreed fizzled out.
But, when Gotti that he would record a rap album,
Rock said he would take his career back to its roots.
While he was a serious emcee, Rock doesn’t aim
to spit the entire way through his upcoming album so he plans to release a compilation,
similar to Dr. Dre’s Chronic.
"I’m probably not even going to say anything,”
he said laughing, “You would be surprised. I’ll probably just do a joint
and let all the fellas do their thing."
Rockwilder insisted that he would rely on his
stable of artists for the majority of the verbal gymnastics.
"I got people I hand-picked for two years,”
he said of his still-unknown crew. “I got sick joints."
At presstime, he said he was considering releasing
the project either independently or possibly Interscope, who was making attractive
offers. He also hoped to release the compilation the first quarter of 2003.
The producer said Redman’s upcoming project
on Def Jam would take priority over his own. "With the whole Redman, it
was the whole timing of [Malpractice, Redman’s last CD] that didn’t work.
Red is kind of comfortable doing his 500, 000. " The longtime collaborator
of Redman said the rapper’s next opus would be more successful that the
previous, which received mixed reviews.
In the music game for nearly a decade, Rock said
he has learned, through the years, to craft complete songs, not just beats.
And, he admitted, working with legendary duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis didn’t
hurt.
He said, “Its like I am thinking right now
and I sat down with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and that’s what really got me
on. Then I started working on the Janet album. I came in there with like 60
tracks, but all them tracks didn’t work. But it was the tracks that I made while
I was there that that taught me [how to produce]. I was like ‘Damn, Jimmy Jam,
you sending me back to hip-hop with this [R&B tracks] – this whole bridge-chorus
thing.”
The producer’s career climaxed last year
when he received a Grammy award for an updated version of Patti LaBelle’s
"Lady Marmalade," one that he said he appreciated.
“I came back and did that song with Missy
and won a Grammy. I can’t believe I won a Grammy. I couldn’t believe that,"
he said.
Rockwilder has produced for the artists like
Janet Jackson, Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, May J. Blige, Pink, Redman and the late
greats Big Pun and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes.