Be The Judge By: Kon Lam Date: Monday, February 16th, 2009

With over a decade’s worth of experience in the music industry, and a laundry list of who’s who in the industry he’s worked with thus far, Omen is one of the most sought-after producers on the scene.  His most recent work includes provide beats for names such as Ludacris, Drake and Jelleestone.  Omen’s stoic demeanor is contrasting juxtaposition to an intense approach he applies to his music which has garnered wide critical acclaim.  Despite a world of experience under his belt, Omen is only ripening at the age of 28.  With a vision of redesigning and revitalizing the landscape of hip-hop and popular, the Harlem producer looks to secure his name amongst hip-hop’s elite.  Taking his time to familiarize his work with the hip-hop world, Omen plans to drop his debut album entitled Be The Judge as a producer/rapper in Summer of ’09. 

SoundHustle sits down with Omen to discuss his current and upcoming projects, how he approaches his music and why he chooses to abstain from using samples.

SH: Thanks for sitting down with us.  How are you doing?

Omen: Good, thank you.

SH: Let’s get into it.  Tell us about yourself and how you came about to becoming a producer.

Omen: Basically, I’ve been in the game for about ten years now.  I’ve worked with many different artists.  When I started producing, it was just me doing it for the team.  I had to learn everything by ear basically.  Between that, I had my hand in drawing.  I wanted to work for Marvel Comics.  I got really good with beat-making so I stuck with that.

I was really into illustrations – I wanted to paint pictures.  To me, the beat is like a picture, it’s the landscape for the artist (rapper) to paint their story over.

SH: One of the things you abstain from is sampling beats.  What made you decide that?

Omen: In all the fairness, I started off using samples.  I started off by using the MPC.  I had no keyboard or anything.  The studio we were at limited what we had to work with.  Finally, I told the studio that we should get a keyboard.  When we got that, it really diversified the sounds and we weren’t limited by using only samples.  Samples are really good to use if you dig out a gem.  When that happens, then it’s fun to use.

But having fun making beats is one aspect.  The other aspect you got to look at then is the publishing.  You got to understand licensing.  You got to pay to clear the sample and you got to give up publishing.  Once you do that, you lose out on so much.  So that was when I decided to stop using samples.

On top of that, you give up artistic control to create your own work and creating your own sound.  I like to take my beats to another sound, and you limit yourself when you use sample.

SH: I hear many producers drawing comparisons to what it would be like score a movie to making a beat and working on an album.  You actually scored for the Roc-A-Fella movie, Paper Soldiers.  What are the similarities between scoring for a movie and making a beat?

Omen: An album is like a movie.  The album is a book before it is adapted into a movie.  Like a movie, an album should have a clear beginning, middle, and end.  An album should feel like one piece and have you in a zone.  So to make a beat for an artist is like putting together one scene out of their movie.

SH: What are differences, if any?

Omen: If you are scoring for a film, you’re only putting in music for 30 seconds – at most, a minute.  So a song is more complex in a way.  It’s a different format you got to work with.  As a composer for a movie, you just have to have a good way of turning a mood into a sound.

SH: You have worked with many artists.  How much creative control do you have in what the artist does with your beats?

Omen: It depends.  If I’m working with Jay-Z, or even Ludacris, because I’m a new producer that they’re working with, they’ll have more say.  The longer I work with an artist, the more input I’ll have in what they do in the studio.  It’s always good to suggest things.

SH: Given that certain instrumental will elicit a particular mood out of you, do you expect the artist perpetuate that in what they say in the song?

Omen: I make beats based on how I’m feeling.  Once you shop it around, an artist will pick that beat up if they feel the same way, and the beat should beat reflect their choice. 

SH: Have you, or do you ever see yourself refusing to sell a beat based on creative difference?

Omen: Not yet.  If an artist is willing to cut a check to purchase my music, that’s everything I’m apart of.  It’s good to sell a beat.  It’s good on the resume and it keeps me working.  My beats are my art.  There might come a time when an artist might buy my beat and strip it down, add to it, take things away.  I might put my foot down on that.  If they are buying your beat, they should respect your craft.  I’d rather give it to someone who fully appreciates my work.  And I feel like I’m at the point in my career I’m at the level where it’s not a money issue.  I’m more concerned over the value of the track it can become.

SH: What is characteristic of your beats?  What is definitive of the Omen sound?

Omen: Usually it’s a beat that’s real sinister.  It’s something that takes you in a zone; it’s that energy and it has that mood.  What I put into it is introspective.  My sound is introspective.

SH: What inspires a good beat for you?

Omen: I look up to producers who can take it to something new.  I strive for that and whenever I hear a new sound, I try to create that.

SH: What is your work ethic like when making a beat?

Omen: I’m a perfectionist, but in a way that I’m a realist.  I don’t go over the top with it because it takes away the honesty of a track.  It’s like free-styling.  You sound different when you free-styling to when you’re reading off of a piece of paper.

SH: Tell us about some of the upcoming projects you have lined up.

Omen: Be The Judge is an album I’m putting out July 21st.  It’s going be my formal introduction into the hip-hop world as producer.  I rap on it too.  It’s a compilation, but it’s one that’s a lot more conceptualized.  There’s going to be more of a story behind it.

Some people I got lined up for the album is Drake, Travis from Gym Class Heroes, Ludacris, Devon the Dude, Jelleestone, and a couple others.

SH: Thanks again for sitting with us and good luck with the album and everything else in the future.  Do want to offer any words of advice to young aspiring producers?

Omen: Stay determined.  Don’t get discouraged too easy, don’t get over anxious, and work hard.   Take your time to make your contributions to the world because that’s what it’s all about, the world’s go to accept where you are coming from.

www.bethejudgealbum.com

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ReneeSophia 2009-05-07 03:27pm

Nice interview. Omen gives out alot of good points. On a sidenote: It must suck for producers to create a hot beat but the artist who flows on the track isnt showing the beat justice.

 

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