“We Were Hustlers Before The Labels Were Looking For [Southern] Acts”

Written By S. Samuel

SOHH recently caught up with Atlanta producer Nitti Beatz to discuss the South's continued dominance on much of today's rap music.

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According to Nitti, cities with smaller networks such as Atlanta have allowed artists, writers and producers to forge ties that help advance the city as a whole.

“The music scene is small out here, and everyone is constantly in the studio right now … one thing about Atlanta, is we got like a million studios. So there’s more rappers coming up now, more producers … there are so many people that have that dream of making it that its easy to find people to work with.” (SOHH)

Nitti went on to add that the currenty industry slump has served only as a minor roadblock to a city that is used to fighting to be heard.

“We don’t wait for the major labels to look for us, we put alotta free music out there and make them hot on our own,” says Nitti. “You have to consider the state of the industry right now, the labels are getting smaller, but in Atlanta, we were hustlers before the labels were looking for [Southern] acts and we’re still some hustlers.” (SOHH)

When asked if music relationships eventually develop into genuine friendships, Nitti said he preferred to keep things strictly business.

“I look keep anyone around me comfortable, but I try to keep things mostly on the business side while keeping enough of a friendship in there where there’s a mutual respect. As a producer, I try to stay neutral with everybody. I never try to worry about who’s beefin’ with who — the way to maintain respect is to give respect and keep things mostly business.” (SOHH)

Last year, New York rapper Saigon previously discussed the difficulty East Coast artists encounter while trying to build a buzz.

“All of us got caught up in the emergence of the South movement,” Sai said about the delay of New York rap newcomers. “All of us came on the scene when the South was really makin’ their move to take over. The record companies was like ‘F*ck the New York n*ggas, the South sh*t is where it’s at.’…All labels look at are radio spins really. If you can get a record up to 400, 500 spins on your own, they gonna come give you a record deal right away. They don’t even have to listen to the song, they just need to see how many spins you got. Us from New York, you’re not gonna get 500 spins on your own unless your name is Jay-Z.” (Q The Question)

Check out some footage from a past Nitti Beatz below:

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Written by S. Samuel

Steven Samuel is the co-founder of SOHH.com.

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