Nia Beckwith



You’ve probably been listening to that hot joint "Get By" (Talib Kweli) over and over again but failed to realize who crafted the head banger beat in the background. Let this Roc-A-Fella producer/artist tell it and it’s probably his work that has you getting your roll on. Yes, he’s one of the Roc-A-Fella Dynasty’s finest and one of Chi-town’s own, Kanye West.

His beats have perfected the lingering sound behind so many. From the likes of hip-hop legend Jay-Z to the soulful sound of songbird Alicia Keys, its goes without saying if you haven’t been checking for Kanye’s next composition of sound superiority you don’t know what your missing.

It’s no secret that hip-hop rules the world, what part do you play in it?

I’m here to find out what people are not listening to and try and bring it to the forefront.

When did you begin writing music in addition to lyrics?

Well, I’ve been rapping since the third grade and writing since the seventh grade. When Casio keyboards were real popular, I really did want to make music on it.

What all do bring to an artist?

I just try and go into the studio and make them a type of beat that still represents them. You know my sound is real dirty period - but its melodic, that’s the reason why it still makes it on the radio. I also try and bring hooks that represent the artist. I’ll just vibe out with and artist and do something like ride around town with them and catch their vibe.

How long have you been with Roc-A-Fella ?

I’ve been signed as an artist for a year, but I’ve been doing beats with them for over three years.

Did you have any offers before you touched down with Roc-A-Fella ?

I had offers from Capitol Records and every other major label would say, ”We don’t believe you can rap. If you can then why won’t Roc-A-Fella sign you”… It was a Catch 22. I would say they do want to sign me and they’d be like – “Yeah Right”.

Who’s your favorite artist on the Roc to work with ?

My favorite artist to work with Jay-Z, but my favorite rapper on The Roc is Beanie Singel.

What’s the title of your new album going to be ?

The College Drop Out. Basically it’s the zero that made the most zeros. That’s just saying don’t let anybody dictate to you what you need to do to be successful. There’s mad people that graduated and can’t find a job in their major and all the folks that I know went to school for 2 and a half years now have all these students loans they have to pay back once they get their “real job”. If I could 1% of college dropouts to buy my albums I could sell over 10 million records.

So the first album is going to be called the College Drop Out. The second one is going to be called Late Registration. The third one Graduation. And the forth one Good Ass Job, because that’s what you get after you graduation…(he laughs)

What kind of vibe can we expect from the album?

Real reality based. Its just like all the TV shows we’ve seen over time with different themes over the years and now we turn around and see all these reality TV shows. They’ve started blowing up every where and now everybody wants to do a real TV show, showing this is what we really go through. That’s what I would say, this is what I really go through. I’ve got reality-based songs.


Now your single “Through the Wire” is in rotation right now. Will you have another single out before your album drops?

Through The Wire is the first single. Everybody says, oh yeah that’s just a buzz record, but that is going to be my first single, but I am going to have another song come out right before the album.

What release date are you shooting for ?
Sometime third quarter.

Any special collaborations to look for?
I have a song with Mos Def, The Harlem Boys Choir, and Freeway. Then I have other songs with Ludacris, Jay-Z, Jamie Foxx, and ODB.

Now we know a lot of rappers use the words “bitches and hoes” in their music.
In your music, do you use those words?

I use it real sparingly…my momma raised me to never call women bitches.

How does it feel to be both a producer and a rapper?

I can have a song on the top of my head and as soon as I get to the studio I’m gonna make a beat for it. It’s a dream come true.

Did you ever aspire to do anything else besides music?
I wanted to do almost everything. I wanted to draw, make video games, all kinds of things.

If you weren’t in the music industry what do you thing you’d be doing?

Trying to get into the industry…

In light of rapping and producing, what other ventures can we expect from you?

I’ve been meeting with some people from MGM right now, so eventually television and movies.

Who else have you worked with outside of the Roc A Fella family?

Dilated Peoples, Alicia Keys, Monica; I just did Monica’s new single “Knock Knock” and Ludacris’s new single “Stand Up”. I think I have DMX’s first new single, its called “The Dog is Out”. And of course I did some tracks on Scarface’s album “The Fix”, and I did three tracks on his new album so far. I’ve also work with Mos Def and Talib Kweli.

Are there any female artists that would like to work with ?

I’ve worked with every female artist.

What R&B artists would you like to work with ?

Well right now I have my own artist, John Legend. That’s most important thing I’m working on other than my project.

How does a Kanye West track begin and end?

It can begin in my head or in a record store and it can end up sitting on a B tape for years or at the bank, one or the other.

How many albums have you been featured on to date?

I have been featured rapping on about 3 albums. About every five albums that get released I will have produced something on one out of five.

How do you feel about bootlegging, good or bad?

It’s really bad because it hinders album sales. People take advantage of the artist by bootlegging. What we have to do is some how make bootlegging wack, so people will look at you like – You got a bootleg tape? Kind of like how bootleg clothes are wack.

Chicago has a lot of artists and producers that are widely known. How do feel about Chicago’s recognition? Do you think its over looked or just hasn’t had its time to shine ?

I feel like yes there are talented people in Chicago but some haven’t made the right decisions on their part to put themselves in the best opportunity to be able to be seen. It’s a matter of somebody having talent and not being able to make it. Like someone saying – I refuse to leave Chicago and there’s no music industry in Chicago.

How do you feel about the beefs in the industry today ?

It’s a phase, and you’d think people wouldn’t want to heat that type of music, but it seems that some do.

50 years from now, what do you think people will say about your time spent in the industry?

They’ll say that I was there, influenced a lot of people, and that I always continued to be creative. I’ll be a household name.
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