By Clyde Njoroge, Atlanta Bureau Chief
Feature photo provided by Mojo Krazy
DXCEGAME Media recently had the opportunity to sit down and chop it up with one of the producers signed to PDE Music, Mojo Krazy. A Georgia native, Mojo first started making beats in 9th grade after downloading FL Studio, playing around with the software, and testing his work by rapping over it. By 2016, he shifted from rapping on his own beats to fine-tuning his production quality. Since then, he’s worked with the likes of Young Nudy, Gucci Mane, Lil Keed, and Foogiano. Here’s some of our conversation with Mojo and DXCEGAME Atlanta Bureau Chief, Clyde Njoroge.
Follow Mojo Krazy: Beatstar, Twitter, Instagram
Interview has been edited for clarity.
Clyde:
So when did you first get interested in producing?
Mojo:
I been interested for a long ass time. I had downloaded FL back when I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing. At some point, back when I was in college in like 2016, some of my niggas started rapping, but I ain’t like the way I sound so I kept producing instead.
Clyde:
When did producing become a career prospect?
Mojo:
As soon as I felt like I was getting fye wit it. By that I mean I was able to put somebody else on a beat and it still hit. From there it just took off. I didn’t even choose the name originally but one nigga’s tag was “Mojo that motherfucker craaazy” and it stuck.
Clyde:
What was your first piece of recognition?
Mojo:
I ain’t got it yet. Even though I’m working with well-known artists and I’m signed. What I want is to get my name out there independently, not just with who I’m signed with or working with. I want my name to mean something on its own.
Clyde:
How do you feel about being affiliated with PDE?
Mojo:
Them niggas and I got an understanding that work well for everybody in it. The work is fun. Shit be feeling like a movie.
Clyde:
What are your plans with PDE? Do you think you’ll remain signed?
Mojo:
I know I’m not gonna remain signed forever but I’ll always fuck with PDE. Even before I signed there was a mutual recognition and mutual grind so it just clicked. Whether I’m signed with them or not I’m always gon’ work with PDE until that shit over because they held me down just as much. Even before this shit Nudy was my favorite rapper so this is just a dream come true.
Clyde:
Do you perceive a different value in being signed vs. remaining independent in the Internet Age?
Mojo:
These days being independent is becoming more and more the move. With the label, you always gotta pay your part and the label still owns part of you. Regardless of the amount of promotion, money, and marketing the label puts into you, at the end of the day it’s not always immediately beneficial to the artist, they gotta advance their career themselves. At a certain point it will be time to leave the label and without a career built by how you leveraged yourself, you gon’ have nothing. Once you pay all that money back to your label, what else do you got? You done bought cars and shit, chains, spent money at the strip clubs, all type of stupid shit. That shit will be gone quick. If you don’t understand anything in the business or how to do tax write-offs you ain’t ever gonna see that money again. At least going independent you keep 100% of the profits and you actually learn all the necessary things it takes to be an artist and be your own manager until you start to build your own team.
Clyde:
How do you feel about the state of producer rights and recognition, particularly in the context of music that has been officially released with your credit?
Mojo:
I feel like you always gotta know what you’re getting yourself into and whenever you sign papers for these labels or representatives you have to know what your intentions are, what you imagine the label’s intentions are, and what that means legally. The most important thing that never gets thought about is the legality of it all. If there’s one word of advice I’d say it would be to have somebody like Pat the Lawyer. At the end of the day it’s all about leveraging your position. How hard is the song? How hard are you as an artist? If it’s a feature will the project ride with or without you? As soon as the label knows they don’t need you they won’t hesitate to cut corners and leave you down bad.
Clyde:
How has your industry experience influenced your opinion of the business of music?
Mojo:
Honestly, I haven’t had that much exposure, but with the experiences I’ve had I can say that you can never have expectations. It’s genuinely about overworking to achieve what you want. If you ain’t grinding, then shit ain’t gonna happen for you. I’ve seen countless artists with hard ass music that won’t take that jump to put out music. These days, things like mixtapes don’t really mean anything anymore. You drop music on all platforms; everything damn near an album now. Folks most likely only keep calling their shit mixtapes these days because they not confident in their work, and they can anticipate the critics being on their ass ‘bout what they drop. The necessary grind consists of not just being meticulous with your craft and sound, but also creating your image as an artist, promoting it, and either creating your own platform or maximizing the opportunities granted to you by being put on a platform.
These days, being independent and going all the way with promo—shooting videos, using influencers or platforms like Tik Tok, and especially paying DJs for play time—is just as, if not more important than having a label behind you. The real easy way to do it is just have a catchy ass melody and get that shit popping on TikTok. It doesn’t matter how ass the song actually is. If it blows up on TikTok, its likely gon blow up on Twitter next, then Instagram, and next thing you know you got a #1 single.
Clyde:
Do you think that the music landscape itself is becoming oversaturated because of that?
Mojo:
Hell yeah. I feel like folks feel like they don’t have to put any work in to blow up these days. I’m not saying it just because I don’t like their music, but honestly subpar shit is having its success and I can’t explain why. There’s so much shit out there that shouldn’t be working, but niggas is still getting paid off of garbage and industry plant-esque shit. Eventually the bullshit is always gonna wash away because people will get tired of hearing it, but in the mean time niggas is really running with the bag they got. I’m not even gon’ cap; no disrespect to folks that are on that, since they still getting that bag. My only thing is that in my view, thats more of an entertainer. Like DaBaby is a prime example. All of his most popular shit has a similar framework–to the point where niggas calling him monotonous–and then when he tries to switch up his flow the slightest bit folks start clowning on him? I think he is an excellent entertainer but at this pace right now his music career doesn’t have that clear trajectory that we used to seeing.
Clyde:
How do you feel about the transition from traditional hard copy sales into streaming revenue from the position of being someone that gets paid from what I assume is majority streams?
Mojo:
It’s so intricate and complex it’s almost too hard to wrap your head around. For me, I’ve used it as a point of motivation. On the one hand I know that if somebody listens to a song I produced, I likely won’t see that money or if I do it’s a miniscule amount. However, that’s one more person that knows who Mojo Krazy is. Folks can get a taste of your style without having to commit to buying a full project. Just off of that you can amplify your work and name. Whether it’s making beats and selling them on Beatstars or just dropping shit on YouTube for anyone to rap over, people will find your work and hear it, and in a way that’s the most accessible way to promote yourself. Thinking that just streaming sales will keep you afloat as an artist ain’t gon work. In my mind, streaming services are just as if not more of a part of the marketing game as it is to the actual business. Streams may not get you paid, but they will sometimes help create your platform for you.
Clyde:
Let’s transition into the local music community. I’m wondering what you think of the current scene right now and also what you think local, less spotlighted communities can do to further amplify their own approach to music production?
Mojo:
I’m always tryna work with who I find hard, especially in the local scene. It don’t matter how much clout you got or how much of a presence you hold, if your shit is lame it’s not gonna hit. What I really wanna do is lock-in at a studio one day. Maybe book 24 or 48 hours in the stu and whoever wants to cook or learn something can come by and join the project. It’s an opportunity to learn but just as importantly to network. As much as being a good producer or artist is important you also gotta have the folks behind you to spotlight it and get the word out. A lot of these kids usually got the talent or potential without the knowledge or network necessary to let them be successful. Whoever wants to push up they can come. If you don’t then you miss the opportunity; I can’t make anybody do anything but I’m tryna have the whole block doing something profitable like the old Gucci Mane recipe.
Clyde:
Do you have specific artists you want to work with in the future?
Mojo:
There’s hella nigas I wanna work with. Y’all might not know this but a lot of the big niggas folks wanna work with I’ve already done songs with. I been in the studio with Gunna, Thug, Keed, and 21 so I feel like my feet been getting wet each time I hit the studio. With that being said, not all the shit we be working on sees the light of day, whether it’s clearing samples or some other shit.
Clyde:
Do you do any sampling in your productions?
Mojo:
I want to, but I ain’t tryna pay niggas. I know everybody want their money but I’m not at the point to fuck with those exorbidant prices right now.
Clyde:
What type of shit would you want to sample?
Mojo:
Definitely Triple 6 Mafia, Project Pat, I like all that Memphis and Texas shit. Or especially some old G funk. But I’d personally rather pay a young nigga and push the boundaries of music as opposed to showing homage to something old. I’d rather do it myself, find someone young and new, or even work with someone like [Jabari Storm]. Me and Amanze actually did a song with Nudy, it’s just still in the vault.
Clyde:
How do you choose beats?
Mojo:
I feel niggas that be trying to perfect their shit but at the same time you can’t linger in the same sound for too long. You just gotta know where the rhythm goes. I never try to premeditate my beats. I just try to hit the studio every time a new melody comes to mind.
Clyde:
What’s the recording process like for you? Is it listening to a compilation of beats, writing lyrics, then recording as much as possible?
Mojo:
We just be chopping beats up and gassin. It be me, Twin, Nudy, shit the usual just chillin and smokin then somebody gon’ play some beats. After hearing a couple beats, Nudy go in the studio, spit the lyrics then move on. He don’t write. He might listen to that bitch one time not even all the way through and he’ll go in the studio, just freestyle, and then the engineers and I do the mixing. The music move too fast these days to be writing music. You just gotta go in and run it.
Clyde:
You think you wanna bring your platform on a national stage working with all regional rappers or just primarily the Atlanta scene?
Mojo:
I definitely wanna go national. No cap I wanna fuck with a few niggas from Detroit. Rio Da Yung OG, Veeze, and Babyface Rae. Let me say Michigan niggas, not necessarily just Detroit. Niggas be tryna get me to work with like Youngboy and shit but I can’t do that because that ain’t the type of sound I be tryna make or can resonate with. I ain’t into producing with that pop framework in mind and I’m not tryna do that regardless of the amount of money. Unless it’s Drake.
Clyde:
What about the Michigan sound attracts you?
Mojo:
Them niggas unique. That shit on some smooth as hell but they be talkin that shit. I like YN Jay’s flow and approach the most. Some of them be mad aggressive though like Sada Baby. Sometimes them niggas be yellin so much you can pretty much tell they be off some uppers or something.
Clyde:
Back to Atlanta, what’s special about the Atlanta scene?
Mojo:
Man, Atlanta is and always will be Black Hollywood. Atlanta is the music capital of this country and it’s even influencing the rest of the world. It doesn’t matter which artist is on top right now either the lyrics or the beat is gonna have some type of Atlanta influence in it.
Clyde:
How long do you think trap music is going to be a dominant sound? Back in the day there was niggas like Bubba Sparxxx laying the foundation but not really getting national recognition, but even that’s like early 2000s and a more niche Southern community. And even things like popular country music has a whole 808 bassline on it.
Mojo:
Forever. Trap music has been evolving and finding new flows. 10 years ago you wouldn’t find trap pop or trap rock. The versatility of trap music is endless man. It won’t stop until the sound is played out but that doesn’t look likely any time soon.
Clyde:
Well I appreciate you taking the time to sit down with me and chop it up. Are there any other things you would want to say?
Mojo:
Like I mentioned you can find me on Beatstar, and you can also hit me up on Twitter if you tryna shop. Dr Evil coming soon… if it ain’t out already by the time this interview drop. Shoutout my niggas my family & the artists & producers who know what the fuck goin on. We all gone make it there soon just stay down & walk with a nigga. This shit 4L not 4 Now.