Dub-L was the first dude I ever met that produced beats on a computer and not a dedicated hardware sampler. That was revelatory to me in 1995. To call him a mentor of sorts wouldn’t be too far off: he was in fact the cat that hipped me to Cool Edit 95, the first piece of software I ever used to make beats with (including my debut album Destructor and my 1999 release with Tajai, Projecto: 2501.)
If you’ve ever heard Aesop Rock’s early work, Music for Earthworms you’ve heard Dub-L’s beats.
I interviewed Dubs years ago for The Giant Peach but after a server snafu I thought the interview was lost forever…Until I found an archive.
Here it is for you now, my 2003 interview with Dub-L reproduced in its entirety:
Dub-L was one half of Priority / Sm;)e recording artists, The Controls and produced some of the hottest cuts on Aesop Rock’s, “Music For Earthworms.”
The Giant Peach got a candid chance to talk with the Dubs and and catch up on his new release with DJ JS-1, “Ground Original” as well as a backstage look into the projects that got him to where he is today.
Giant Peach: OK, so a little background info on yourself: Name, where you reside and what you do?
Dub-L: I’m Dub-L from New York City, born and raised on the Lower East Side. I produce records and DJ, I also rhyme and make out with girls as much as possible.
GP: Word. Back when I met you, you were down with the same talent pool as Blockhead, Aesop Rock and a few others. The collective was known as The Overground.
D-L: Sure, The Overground was really where we all developed our producing and rhyming. It’s crazy to think that all of us would go on to do the things we do now. I guess we all stuck with it and at least we had each other to listen to our shit. I’m proud of everyone in the crew cause I told them that we could do something for real, although now we mostly do all our own shit it’s still cool to know that we all came up together.
GP: What was your first lead into professional recording? Was it with the Perspexus demo?
D-L: Oh shit, you know too much! Perspexus! For the people that don’t know, which is everybody, Perspexus “Balm EP” was the cassette demo that got me signed to Profile / Sm;)e records. The group, of course, is now known as The Controls. That was first official shit anyone in my crew did. It was like a huge deal, I was like 20. Getting signed was like the biggest rush.
GP: How did The Controls thing pan out for you and Ann, the lead singer of The Controls? Is the group still together and do you have anything planned?
D-L: I learned a lot from being signed, things move a lot slower than you can imagine and are controlled by other people. I was signed by DB, a big jungle DJ from London. He was the guy who saw the vision for our group, but then he gets another job somewhere else and now you got Replacement Fool #1 in charge of your project. I later learned that Profile was being sold to Sony and Sm;)e would remain. It got crazy over there, there where guys that use to be secretary-intern-type now in charge of my shit. By the time we were ready to do a second album, the label was like rubble. They told us they weren’t gonna put out anymore records from anyone any more, so that was that. I was sorta sad but at the same time that shit was a hassle. I gotta lot of good shit out that deal though: all my equipment, money, my publishing deal with Wu-Tang (thanks RZA DIGGS) and a whole bunch of studio experience. Me and Ann kinda went our separate ways but you never know, I’ve been thinking about doing another Controls album. But with someone else.
GP: Getting signed and having label backing really opened up your recording to a higher level, didn’t it? Your tracks began to sound truly professional with the mixing, and the compression…
D-L: OH FO SHEZEE, I went to the best studios in the city to do that record. All 2-inch tape, no digi song on it. I felt like it might be my only opportunity to ever really get to do a whole album on tape, and I think I was right. Now with all the digi things out who would want to fuck with tape? It’s a whole different world now than it was 4 years ago; anybody can do a record in their crib. So it really just comes down to how well you record and mix and how hot your shit is.
GP: Around the same time you were recording The Controls album, you brought Aesop (Rock) into Greabar Studios and began laying vocals down for what would become “Shere Khan” on The Controls album, as well as some of the stuff on Aesop’s, “Music For Earthworms”…What exactly happened after “Earthworms”? Your professional relationship with Aesop just seemed to disintegrate…Despite those cuts being some of the freshest available at the time?
D-L: Thanks, so nice to hear so…I was working at a studio called Greabar in NYC, and that’s where we did all of “Music For Earthworms” except The Controls songs on it. “Shere Khan” was on The Controls album first and “Coward of the Year Remix” with Percee-P was The Controls’ first single, and also the first record Aesop was ever on. I love Ian (Aesop) but I was busy and we each had our own visions. I think there are other factors that made it hard to keep working with him. I love all my peoples but everyone is trying to do something for themselves. Sometimes those kinds of situations create negative energy.
GP: After Controls, your next release was a 12″ with Jemini The Gifted One. Is that correct?
D-L: Jemini. Yes. That’s my mizzle, I had a tape of him freestyling on the Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito show in like 98. I loved that tape and at some Controls show at 88 Hip-Hop[.com] he was just chilling. I attacked him on some, “Let’s do some shit!” We did some shit like the next day. That was the first record that came out of Greabar and the last. We still do stuff–Actually, we hang out more than anything. We got plans for an EP with just me and him rhyming. He’s on Dub-L’s In Town which is my new solo shit…He’s also like my security guard, him and his boy SLICE.
GP: So, that was in…what? 2000? 2001? What’s been going on since then? I haven’t talked to you in a minute. It was funny: I was in a record store and saw this record with a cartoon illustration with, like, you and JS-1 on the cover swinging-in on some shit. I laughed and thought to myself, “What’s this fool got up his sleeve?” The guest names on the record are phenomenal.
D-L: Son, I swing out of choppers all the time! Wah? Yo don kno? Yo, actually that’s the 4th single from the “Ground Original – Level One” record that’s out now. I met DJ JS-1 at Graebar when Percee-P brought him in to do some cuts. He was the best cut guy I’d seen so I asked him to do some shit on The Controls record. He also played live with us most of the time, so did Aesop. After The Controls shit, he went on tour with Suger Ray and Orgy and hooked up with Rahzel and got all big time and shit. So, he started calling me and flipped it like, “Yo, now you wanna be down with me?” That’s my nizzle fo shiz, we’ve really spent the last 2 years making this record and I’m really happy with it. We also got tons of things in the works and we aren’t trying to steal the spotlight from each other. It’s a real joint effort and that’s what is going to come out in the music.
GP: Dope man. And all the releases are on Fat Beats, right?
D-L: Most of them. Fat Beats definitely has been real good with everything so that helps, having the largest all-hip-hop distributor in the world having your back is nice.
GP: And you’ve been producing most of the songs? Or all of them?
D-L: We do a lot of stuff together, actually. I have a lot of production and studio experience so I mix all the songs. Some beats are all mine and J will do the cuts and some are ruffs that he made and I kinda hook them up. Drums are one of my strong points, also tuning and shit. But if he got some hot chops or samples and someone picks the beat, it don’t matter who did it, we share the credits. He usually comes up with the concepts and shit. He also got most of the guys to get on the album.
GP: Nice. Well yo, what’s up with Dub-L in the future? Anything you can disclose or is it still under wraps?
D-L: We gotta couple things in the works. One thing might be something like MONSTERS!!! And that’s all I’ll say. Anything bearing the “GROUND ORIGINAL” logo. I just released my solo CD, Dub-L’s In Town featuring Professor X from the X-Clan, Jemini The Gifted One, J E R (The Overground) and DJ JS-1. Look out for the debut Chase Phoenix album produced by me and Blockhead. Also, look for upcoming production for Rahzel’s next album, Common, Ill Bill, C-Rayz Walz and who knows.
GP: Tight man. Any closing words?
D-L: Yes, I love Catherine Zeta Jones.
You can check up on Dub-L at dub-l.com and JS-1 at djjs1.com. To peep more info on the Ground Original – Level One record featuring all-new original material from KRS, Rahzel, Pep Love, Casual, Masta Ace, Big Daddy Kane, Planet Asia & more, hit up fatbeats.com.