The Home Grown Radio team returned to the Generation Now studio for an interview with the multi-platinum Atlanta producer, DJ Toomp. Toomp is described as a founding father and a pillar of Trap Music.
The Grammy-award winning producer breaks down the origins of Trap Music saying that the name for the Southern sound came from T.I’s “Dope Boyz”. When Tip saw the impact of the song, he took it to the next level and named the next album with DJ Toomp production, Trap Muzik.
DJ Toomp has since expanded his collaborations with artists such as Jeezy, E40, Mariah Carey, and most notably with Kanye and Jay-Z. The Southern producer shared with Chuck and Hed how he connected with Kanye through Jeezy and his song “I Got Money”.
Originally, Kanye had jumped on the remix of “I Got Money”, but Jeezy was not fond of it. Instead the trap rapper decided to connect Ye with Toomp and see where they could take the sound. From that came “Can’t Tell Me Nothing”, and DJ Toomp had brought the southern beat to a different height in Graduation. That session also brought “Good Life” and “Big Brother”.
Toomp gave Home Grown Radio a memory trip into the studio when Jay-Z was recording American Gangster. For one, Jay had told Toomp he was only able to share three beats, and one of them was “Say Hello”. When it played, everyone in the studio knew it was one of the ones, from Jermaine Dupri to No I.D., and Jay-Z made the same face from his viral head bob meme. Did you know Jermaine Dupri is the background vocals singing “Say Hello, Hello”?
Listen to the full episode below and hear the advice Toomp gives for upcoming producers. The legendary producer breaks down how streaming brings more value to catalogs, the Freaknik festivals, and why musicians should embrace A.I.