DJ Toomp Talks New Jay-Z And Kanye Albums; Taking An L To Dr. Dre
Award-winning producer, DJ Toomp, just touched down from Hawaii this past Sunday. Who'd he leave behind in the sandy state? Mr. Kanye West.
The Atlanta beatmaker shared with VIBE that he recorded four tracks with West for his fifth album, Good Ass Job. “We’re putting [together] a masterpiece, it’s crazy. It’s going to be another classic,” he promises. [Kanye’s] rapping, he’s going real hard.”
Though Toomp doesn't know an exact date for the Chicago MC's anticipated release, he guesses it might show face at the top of 2011 and assures that it will be another classic.
Toomp also mentioned receiving requests to work on Diggy's Atlantic debut and just wrapped up a record with songwriter Rock City for Rihanna’s Rated R follow up.
But the most exciting of all Toomp’s coming projects—Jay-Z's 12th studio album. "Guru reached out to me when I got to Hawaii. I’m bout to go back in with Jay real soon. After that tour, it’s almost like what else [is there for him] to do? “
Although Toomp lost early to Dr. Dre during the first round of VIBE's Greatest Producer Alive Tournament, he still shared his opinions on the competition. "That’s great to put me with Dre. I’m very privileged. Shit, yall just put me up against a champ. I don’t know what the numbers were like, but I betcha I went out swinging," he says with a laugh.
"We both are great producers. He might have sold more records, but my discography is longer. You can give it to Dre on that lineup. [But] I got way more joints out than a Shock Gee, more than Quik. Come on now. I will slaughter those guys careers for real. Name more than two songs David Banner produced."
On the note of discography length, Toomp explains that in producer debates, most fans tend to focus on the amount of records sold, rather than the amount made.
"There’s a lot of producers who have done a trillion more songs than Dr. Dre, you can name five groups that Dre produced and they sold a lot of records, but if you go into somebody like Teddy Riley, its about 20 or 30 artists.” He continues, "I think it's really about who put in the most work. People look at him as an executive/producer, so you’re going to give him more props."
So minus the executive edge, who could truly take on Dre on the boards? "It’s a gang of them, I could go for days. Sometimes you have to ask yourself is this about rap or is it just about producing period? Because Rodney Jerkins is a beast. I got a list of em. It’s a long list. Definitely no disrespect [though]."
While it's safe to say that Toomp's personal pick isn't Dr. Dre, he points to OG, Rick Rubin, as the crown-holder. "That boy Rick Rubin is just incredible, he’s really that guy for real. He done showed and proved.” —Tracy Garraud
