Somethin’ For The People – Interview

Somethin For The People is made up of Sauce, Fuzzy, and Cat Daddy. Even if you don’t remember the track “Your Love Is The Shhh”, I’m certain you’ve heard a few tracks that these cats have masterminded with such artists as Brandy, Will Smith, and Adina Howard.

I could go on and on about their skills, giving more props where they are due, but instead we’ll get into my discussion with the three guys who make up this dynamic producing/hip-hop crew.

Where are you guys?

Cat Daddy: LA.

I’m in New York and it’s finally nice out.

Sauce: We were just there and it was hot and then like twenty minutes later it started raining.

Is it weird that the album has been done so long and now you are finally getting a chance to talk about it?

Fuzzy: Yeah.

Sauce: Yeah.

(everyone laughs)

When did you finish the album?

Fuzzy: Hmm. Beginning of the year.

CD: It’s been done since before Christmas.

Were they waiting for the summer?

CD: Yeah. They wanted to get a little momentum with the single before the album comes out.

How did you guys get into the industry?

Sauce: I started off deejaying and doing beats for rappers, then I slowly got into producing and playing keyboards.

CD: I started pretty much the same kind of way. When we all met in 1990, we just started working together, writing songs all the time. We got a break from Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy. Our first song and paid gig was with Samuelle.

Did you fall into it or were you seeking to produce and write?

Fuzzy: We were seeking to do it.

A lot of talented people try to get into doing that but it’s tough to find the break.

Sauce: Yeah, exactly.

Were the guys you met someone you knew or did you just meet them?

Sauce: Luckily it was someone we knew.

CD: Sauce and Fuzzy knew Tom and Denny and then I met them. We all knew them and they knew we did music. They were kind of giving us an opportunity to do something.

What is it like going from producing and being behind the scenes to having the group and being in the forefront?

CD: It is a trip because initially when we got into it we tried using being artists to promote us as producers. The deeper we got into it, especially at the label because they don’t care about promoting you as producers.

Is the producing, the label, and everything else something you do entirely together?

Sauce: Yeah. We have a production company. We just actually signed a production deal with Warner Bros. It’s a three act deal. So we are developing three acts that we have.

That is the coolest gig in the world because you don’t have to worry about doing shows for the rest of your life.

Everyone: Exactly. (everyone laughs)

Fuzzy: Once we can lay our albums to rest, we can slow down from doing ourselves and focus on the acts we have.

Is it weird going from producing this album and then needing to push it, whereas usually you are able to produce an album and then move on to the next project?

CD: Very weird. For what it is worth, that is how we did it when we first started in the business. We’d produce a few songs, turn them in, and then move into the next project. But when you are doing an album for yourself, you have to go out on the road, do promotions, take photos, and it’s just a lot of details.

The second album had a theme behind the title. Does the title Issues have a meaning behind it?

Sauce: Basically the songs deal with a lot of different issues.

Do you ever come up with beats where you are like, ‘We’d better keep that one for ourselves’?

Sauce: We are always writing and coming up with new songs. Sometimes we do have to take beats and save some of the good stuff for us. (everyone laughs) We don’t be trying to give it away.

Do you ever get artists coming in and they hear something and are like, ‘Hey, that beat is tight. Think I can use it?’?

Sauce: Yeah, but that is what happens. I mean, that is what has taken us so long in releasing our record, because we had to stop and do songs for Will Smith and Adina Howard, so all those gigs pay a lot better than doing it for ourselves. (everyone laughs)

Have you ever come up with a song or beat where you were like, ‘Damn, we should have kept that’?

Everyone: Nope. (everyone laughs)

Fuzzy: The thing is, when you are artists, you know you are going to have songs that won’t be singles, but sometimes that song that wouldn’t be a single for you could be a single for somebody else. So that is when your business mind has to kick in. We have to be very selective about what we keep and what we give away.

Sauce: Being producers, that is our livelihood. When you think about it, we have all these songs on this album and we could have probably sold each of them for fifty thousand a piece, so it’s a tough decision but you’ve got to do it.

When you are working, do you know who you are going to be working with well in advance or do you just come up with a track and know it’d be hot for someone?

Sauce: Sometimes you think about that after it is done. A lot of the time, we go in and custom do something for an artist.

How does the writing process work for the group?

Sauce: We all have different duties. Fuzzy does a lot of the vocal production and me and Cat do a lot of the music stuff. It’s an assembly line. We’ve been doing it for so long, it’s just natural.

When did you start this album?

Sauce: Back in ’98. But then we had so much production stuff in between. We finished it at the end of ’99, so that is the longest we’ve ever spent on an album.

So you had to keep coming back to the album.

CD: Yeah, but it was good because it gave us a chance to sift through the songs we had early on that were wack. (everyone laughs)

Guys, I really appreciate the time.

Everyone: Thanks.

Sauce: And enjoy that sun out there.

I know. What do I have? About five minutes?

CD: Don’t forget your umbrella!

+ charlie craine