The White Shadow - Instrumentals 2 (Promo Video)

New White Shadow instrumental album with instrumental versions of tracks from Destiny, Victory, The Oracle, Iron Fist, and more. Buy it here:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/instrumentals-2/id429502500

Craig G, Castor P. Soul Theory & White Shadow - Miracle (Musicvideo) (2011)

Chief Kamachi - Chuck D (Music Video) (2011)

New Chief Kamachi video, and digital single available now on ITunes. Cuts by me, The White Shadow on this banger!

White Shadow Interview - Metal Israel (2011)

Another new White Shadow interview for 2011. This one kinda different as the topics are everything from Horror movies to Metal etc. Enjoy.

http://metalisrael.com/2011/06/1541/metal-israel-exclusive-interview-the-white-shadow-of-norway/

Metal Israel Exclusive Interview: The White Shadow of Norway

Internationally acclaimed hip-hop artist and producer White Shadow Of Norway speaks to Metal Israel regarding his experiences growing up close to Norway’s metal scene, the effects of mass media on people’s sanity, metal influence in his hip-hop, breaking into the NYC hip-hop scene and a bunch of other topics. Check out his bio and discography here: http://metalisrael.com/the-white-shadow-of-norway-bio-discography/. No joke. It’s a fascinating read. A huge thanks to Metal Israel’s correspondent Bela Nagy, who is always providing MI with quality news and interviews. Sorry it took so long to edit, bro. DFL.

MI: You’ve got a fair 3-decade experience in the music industry…please summarize the milestones in your career you keep the most important…

WS: Discovering, and falling in love with music much thanks to my dad (RIP). Learning how to DJ, make beats, and produce well, and developing my own styles. Being lucky enough to be able to DJ at parties and clubs from when I was about ten years old. Winning the Norwegian DMC DJ battles in 88 and 89, and being in the world DMC finals the same years. Moving to New York in the early 90′s, and becoming a part of the NY hip-hop scene back then as well as rockin’ all the biggest clubs there, and producing and doin’ cuts on records. One of them “Hangin’ Tree” happened to end up in the Last Action Hero movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger. I guess Sony had the mad connects (laughs). Starting my own label Uncut Productions in 1995. Making, and releasing several successful albums on my own label, and get to work with some of the finest hip-hop artists of all time: legends and underground. Being able to still continue, and make dope music, and release records from now…’til infinity.

MI: You are from Norway, a country with a really huge heavy music history. As far as I know, you are influenced by it, tell us something about that…

WS: Metal was one of the genres I grew up on in the 70′s, and 80′s, and by the early 90′s when I moved back from New York Norway had sorta resurrected the Black Metal styles that started with bands like Venom and Bathory, and had taken it several steps further so I got into that from hangin’ out with some people who were into that, one of them a member of one of the most well known Black Metal bands nowadays, so I got to be around it without being in the middle of it so to speak, but close enough to it so that I heard about stuff like the church burnings, the killings, etc. before the media picked up on it, and when they did it all went haywire which is the exact opposite of what most people into it wanted, I mean, very few of them wanted it to become as mainstream as it did, and just about none of the core members burned churches, but you know how it goes once the media gets onto something, and blows it outta proportions, and yeah that’s exactly what they did, so at that time the police might pull you over if you was a guy with long black hair, and if you wore occult symbols and stuff, so it got crazy, and it’s funny cause all that madness is what made the scene interesting to people outside of Norway, but at the same time it broke up, and ruined the scene in a lot of ways like it’s hard to keep goin’ when you get shut down by the police all the time.
Same thing happened a lot with hip-hop, so I saw parallels between the two cultures though they were way different as well. They were both really underground in Norway in the early-mid 90′s., and really aggressive. They were the kids against a system and society which was apparently perfect but kinda Illuminati like with an elite state that was in control of all the money, and riches, and a society where everything was being laid out for you like go to school, behave well, get a proper education so that you can get a nice job and get paid well, get a wife, have some kids, etc…you know the routine, and if that isn’t something for kids to rebel against then what is?

Another thing I like about both scenes is the opposition against all authority, and that we don’t give a fuck but gonna do things our way outside of the system type attitude, so as far as Black Metal, I wasn’t right in the middle of it but close enough. I got to visit the Hell shop once but it was after Euronymous died so they were naturally closed down, but the Welcome To Hell album cover was still in the window along with the hours they were open. From noon til like 7pm I think, and a friend and I went to a second hand vinyl shop the same day that happened to have gotten Euronymous’ record collection in for sale just that day. Me I wasn’t all that much into Metal at the time as far as buying records and stuff, but I think my friend picked some gems from that collection.

Another thing that got me involved with people into Black Metal was my love for Horror movies. Up until the early 2000′s most of them were totally banned in Norway, and titles like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Cannibal Holocaust, the Argento and Fulci flicks, Faces Of Death, and so on would get you in trouble if you owned them, and of course you couldn’t buy them at the video shops cause they were all banned so there was an underground who would trade, and sell movies, that I was a part of…mostly buying a lot! (laughs). It was all VHS tapes, and dupes of them back then so some friends would have like 4 VCR’s running day and night copying movies, then they advertised in mags and papers and sold them. To some it became good business so the police would start becoming aware, and would be interested in shutting that scene down for several reasons. First they were banned movies, second, illegal bootlegs were sold, and third the dealers would make a lot of money, and finally of course they didn’t pay taxes either from that, so if the police heard you had banned movies they would raid your home, confiscate the movies, and press charges, so there was always this fear of if we’d get to keep our beloved Horror classics.

I never got busted but at some point most of my friends were so I stashed all my movies at my mom’s house in boxes for a while (laughs). It was totally ridiculous when you think about everything being available on DVD, and online now, but that was only the 90′s so it’s not long ago. What it was really about however was that the governments had finally found the ultimate scapegoat, and would blame any crime on Horror movies. Like..ok, so this kid raped his sister – he watched Horror movies all day. That kid went on a rampage and killed ten people…they found out he had watched Horror movies every day. Some politicians even claimed that Horror movies were a worse threat to mankind than nuclear war. You know what I mean. The hysteria was totally crazy! But there it was man…the ultimate scapegoat.
I’m happy that’s over with now, and that even the censors can see a masterpiece like say Cannibal Holocaust, or The Beyond for what they truly are which is great Horror movies, but back then they were outlawed, and you were looked at as a little crazy if you had too many of them around your house, and that’s the power of mass media for you. It can quickly turn into mass hysteria as it all started with TV documentaries about that kids rented the most violent Horror movies, and so they became a threat to their health according to the media, and then society as a whole because of that, but you know, as happy as I am that those days are over. It also made it special to know that you were part of something considered not all that normal by most people in society, and the fact that it was illegal but not THAT much I mean it wasn’t like you were a killer or a thief, but just a little illegal, added to the excitement of a bunch of teens to early 20′s like us back then.

MI: Metal music is still important in Norway, I mean the kids are looking for it, or you feel that the trends are taking over every year?

WS: I think there’s a scene for just about anything now including Metal. There’s not much Black Metal that gives me that same raw feel like the early bands with a few exceptions. I like that no holds
barred super aggressive, and lo-fi sound of the early 90′s the most, and it’s rare to find that much of it nowadays. Black Metal like most other genres became trendy too, and seeing bands like Dimmu Borgir on the top of the Pop charts here was a weird feeling, but at the end of the day I’m happy more people in general get into more underground types of music cause it shows people are developing their own tastes, and doesn’t just follow what the mainstream tells them to like.

MI: With your music, do you try to put out the same energic vibe as metal does?

WS: Yes to a certain degree, but I’m actually not a fan of too much fuzzy overdrive guitars and stuff in hip-hop. It can work but in most cases it really doesn’t so gotta be careful how much to include that in hip-hop beats, but kept moderate it can be dope.

MI: You run your own record label Uncut Productions. Why did you decide to cut any middle man?

WS: If you want it done right do it yourself, and if you can’t handle the whole weight make sure your team is your fam! (laughs). Uncut started as a label releasing my own mixtapes in 1995, then I signed a couple of acts and put out some cd-singles, then I put out my vinyl EP Back to the True School in 2003, then my albums, as well as I signed Mark Deez, and Infinito 2017 to one album deals. I like running it all myself cause I get to make all the decisions, if I fuck up there’s no one to blame but me, and if I do well there’s no one to pay but me.

MI: In the ’90s you lived in New York, doing it big as a club DJ. What are your experiences from that era?

WS: I went there in the first place to learn and experience where hip-hop came from, and why, so I got a much better understanding of that, that’s kinda hard to explain if you haven’t lived there for quite some time yourself, but hip-hop was much more a part of peoples’ lives there than in the EU when I lived there in the early/mid 90′s. You’d hear it from every car, building, store, you had cats freestylin’ on the streets, all the clubs was playin’ that real shit back then, and just being in the middle of it all gradually made me feel why it started, and why it developed in the directions it did. Plus being in The Bronx and seeing firsthand the poverty, the burnt out buildings, the miles and miles of garbage dumps right next to the main streets, hearing gunshots up the block, and feeling a general fear in the people there, and the same goes for Brownsville, Brooklyn especially, just made me feel that it was obvious that something as creative, and competitive as hip-hop had to originate in that environment cause you know the saying that people are at their most creative when times are hard, and they also push it to survive harder in such an environment.

I also learnt the music biz from the inside from hangin’ out at the major labels like Elektra, and Atlantic, plus some of the bigger hip-hop labels like Profile, Def Jam, and Tommy Boy, and it was during that time I more or less decided I didn’t ever want to be a part of the mainstream record biz but do it independently, cause I’ve always been more into music than business to be honest, but things were better even at the majors back then than now as you had A&R’s like Dante Ross (Elektra), Funkmaster Flex (Profile), Clark Kent (Atlantic), and those were people who knew hip-hop culture, and were parts of it as they either dj’d or produced, and they’re the reason why the majors signed the good artists in that era, and that’s all it takes really. You have to have people from the hip-hop culture on the inside of the big labels, and business cause how else are they gonna know if it’s hip-hop Hiphop or not?

That, low sales, and greed is why the majors sign the wackest shit now. Because it’s easier to manipulate those artists cause they want money and material things a lot more than a KRS-One, or Brand Nubian did, but times done changed, and for the time being the major labels and big corporations aren’t touching anything that even smells of real hip-hop or underground styles of hip-hop, so I guess we gotta force ‘em then (laughs) or better yet just do it all ourselves.

But you know, all that negativity, yeah there was a lot of that in New York, and at the time I lived there it was really dangerous as well, and especially hangin’ out at clubs when there was a hip-hop related party cause someone would shoot up the place quite often. There was a murder rate of an average of six crime related killings every day, and every other crime, and atrocity you can think up, but there was also a lot of love in New York, a lot of unity, and a lot of good times, and people in New York showed respect where due like when I got there all I had to do was show that I knew what time it was with hip-hop, and show that I had skills, and the love for it, and I got that love back so in a lot of ways I’d say it was easier to me to get into the core of the hip-hop scene there than I thought it’d be before I got there, and also not as dangerous.

Like, it was rarely the wild wild west you know what I mean (laughs), where you had to dodge bullets and what have you lol, but yeah it happened, but the most important to me was to finally find a music scene, and people that were into the same things I was, and find a big scene for it, as in Norway the scene was crazy super-duper small all the way up until around 2000.
I left New York when I had accomplished what I wanted which was to live in the place where hip-hop started, to get a deeper understanding of it, and to become a part of the New York hip-hop scene, plus of course kill it as much as I could DJ’ing, and makin’ beats, so when that was acoomplished it was time to move on. I had to get deeper into the art of beatmakin’ as well, and I’m the kind of guy who needs peace and quiet to be creative so I moved back to Norway, and have no desire to move back to New York cause I don’t wanna fuck with the memories of being there in what’s now called the golden era of hip-hop, but at the same time, New York is in my heart man, and I represent NY as much, if not more, than Norway.
Back then I’d recommend anyone heavy into hip-hop to go do the same but nowadays you don’t have to, I mean the golden era, it’s over. There’s still a lot happening though, and you can still go there and hear the old school artists rock clubs etc, but from what people tell me it isn’t the same as it was as when it was all new.

But to sum my long ass reply up! (laughs) Yes fam. It was quite the experience, and to a country-dude from Norway like me who was heavy into hip-hop it was like goin’ to heaven…or heaven, and hell at the same time. (laughs)

MI: You are part of the fresh album from Snowgoons, “The Iron Fist”. How you got involved in the project?

WS: We’ve been in touch since the early 2000′s, and produced records on some of the same labels like Grooveattack in Germany, and we worked with some of the same artists like Maylay Sparks, and Donald D. A few years ago we talked about doing a 12″ single together where we produced one side each, and it would feature various emcees from the US, however different missions, plus budgets, and vinyl sales went down the tubes as the internet, and digital dj equipment got bigger came along, so it never happened, but we’ve been in touch over the years, Snowgoons, and Sicknature produced on Mark Deez’s The Oracle album which was released on my label Uncut Productions, and so I returned the favor by producing, and doing cuts for a track for The Iron Fist album, and it’s most likely not the last time you’ll hear us work together. We’re all from Europe too, and we have similar styles of production, and the same vision when it comes to makin’ that raw hardcore hip-hop so us working together wasn’t a big surprise to most people I guess.

MI: Outside of the groups from Norway, what are your other favourite metal bands, past and present?

WS: I pretty much grew up on Disco, Funk, and Old School Hiphop so Metal is a side-genre to me, but growin’ up I was a fan of Kiss, Motorhead, AC/DC, Ozzy, Dio, Iron Maiden,Venom, Metallica, Mercyful Fate, Bathory, Slayer, Kreator, Morbid Angel, Megadeth, Guns & Roses, and the Norwegian bands TNT, Mayhem, Dark Throne, Burzum, and lately Gorgoroth, and Gahlskaag.

MI: At the time when hip-hop and metal/hardcore got mixed how did you think about them? In this case, I mean the likes of Anthrax/Public Enemy or the Judgment Night soundtrack…

WS: My first memory of that was Run-DMC’s Rockbox, King Of Rock, Walk This Way, etc, The Beastie Boys’ Rock Hard, Fight For Your Right, BDP’s Dope Beat, and when Public Enemy sampled Slayer’s Angel Of Death for She Watch Channel Zero, and I loved all that, but from when PE teamed up with Anthrax, and it became its own genre I think it started to become a bit mediocre, and corny like…ok, this worked well a few times, so yeah!..Let’s make a whole genre! (laughs). That was takin’ it a bit too far I think.

MI: And then what about the Limp Bizkit/Linkin Park’s?

WS: Nah, not feelin’ them at all. No disrespect, just personal taste.

MI: What are the projects you are workin on now?

WS: The Iron Fist album by The Snowgoons feat. Savage Bros. & Lord Lhus just dropped. I produced the track called Return Of The Fist featuring Virtuoso, my fam Grindhouse Gang’s album titled Militia Of Emcees also just dropped, and I produced the joint Crazy (Goin’ Bananas) on that, GHG is Mark Deez, Lord Lhus, Dr. ILL, and Powder. I also produced tracks on the new albums by Klive Kraven, La Dog, and Lt. Mana from Goldminded Records, and I released my Instrumentals 2 album on April 15th that you can get here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/the-white-shadow/id275601519?ign-mpt=uo%3D4 along with all my other albums. It’s got instrumental versions of tracks from Destiny, Victory, Iron Fist, The Oracle, and more on there. Right now I’m workin’ with a lot of different artists. Some will drop, some won’t so I’m not gonna namedrop for now, but I spend most my time now workin’ on my next producer album featuring various artists which will drop in 2012, maybe sooner.

MI: Last thoughts to the readers of Metal Israel?

WS: Rock on! Peace.

White Shadow Interview (Ghetto Radio) (2011)

Interview I did early this year with the Hungarian Hiphop mag Ghetto Radio:

http://www.ghettoradio.hu/index.php?p=detail&q=interview&id=63

English version right here so read on...

1. Aiyo Shadow, for the ones that don't know, please summarize a bit who you are and what you are all about in this hiphop game...

I'm The White Shadow Of Norway, beatmaker, turntablist, producer, and Hiphop activist in that order.
What I fight for is the return of real Hiphop, and the end of the commercial (c)Rap that's been polluting our culture for way too long, and trust me there's people all over the planet fighting, and we're gonna win. Just watch it! Sooner rather than later most people will know the difference between real Hiphop, and the commercialized fake version of it, and that will change the music industry on a whole, and once again Hiphop will be in control of it's own culture, and in the long run Hiphop will be a major part in changin' the world to a better place to be for all which is why it's so important. I know it sounds pretentious, and ambiguous (laughs), but it's the truth brute.

Back to me for a sec. I've been into Hiphop since 1980, been a DJ since 1978, makin' beats since the mid 80's, producing since the late 80's, have produced and done cuts on more than 80 records, and have worked with 100's of emcees during the last three decades, have my own label, Uncut Productions, since 1998, before that it was called Sucka U Wish Productions, have won two Norwegian DMC DJ battles, lived in New York during the early 90's golden era of Hiphop, and DJ'd all the top clubs there, and been the opening DJ for Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, KRS-One, Tribe Called Quest, Gangstarr, Masta Ace, and many more, been a member of the BDP Boogie Down Productions crew, KRS-One's brother ICU hooked me up, been a proud member of the Zulu Nation since the early 90's, and Bambaataa hooked that up personally after we met at a gig I played in New York, have released a lot of records on my label on vinyl, CD, and digital including my producer albums featuring various artists mainly from the US such as Joell Ortiz, KRS-One, Ras Kass, Kool G Rap, Craig G, Tash from The Alkaholiks, Reef The Lost Cauze, Chief Kamachi, Melle Mel, Supastition, Infinito 2017, GHG, Creative Juices, Arsonists, Pizdamen to mention a few. All my albums are available on ITunes @:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/the-white-shadow/id275601519?uo=4

I continue producing and layin' cuts for various artists from all over the planet, and this year so far I've worked with The Snowgoons, Craig G, The B-Boys Donald D & Brother B..we got a track in the makin' featuring Ice-T, Human Genocide Process, KHB featuring Joell Ortiz, and more. Always busy in the studio makin' new bangers, and puttin' in work cause music is my life, and Hiphop my lifetime mission. My next album release will be "Instrumentals 2" which drops on April 15th. I'm also workin' on the next White Shadow producer album, and am about half way there on the beats so far.

Despite all that I'm like The Jungle Brothers said.."I'm a Jungle Brother, a true blue brother, and I been to many places you'll never discover." Basically I'm a nice, down to earth, and humble guy who loves my family, friends, and music, and I'm a total music-nut at that (laughs). Music, and especially Hiphop makes life worth living, and it also saves lives.


2. How would you describe your sound and what makes you standout in the producer "competition"?

It's still a combo of the streets of New York, and beautiful nature of Norway with a lot of influences besides that too like movies, the universe, life, the dimensions, Hiphop itself inspires me, etc. Everything I experience I put into the music somehow. What sets me apart from a lot of producers is that I'm a turntablist as well so I do my own cuts on the joints, and people tell me I'm more versatile than most, like I can make epic orchestral bangers, dirty raw street shit, soulful jazzy stuff, spaced out and eerie beats, even club, House, Funk, and so on. I try not to get stuck with one style, but still people tell me they can hear a Shadow beat a mile away so I guess in all that diversity there's still my own style to it as well.


3. The fact that you are from Norway, how it affects your sound, your approach and influences?

When all's said and done it don't really affect that much, but I do have a combo of something cinematic like say a lot of strings and stuff in my beats, and sort of a warrior type sound to it as well which must come from the history of Norway, like the Vikings, and northern mythology which I'm proud of because it's our religion, it's the Norwegian religion, and ways of life since back in the days, like now you know Norway is the richest country in the world so most people here's livin' good, and that makes people lazy, but there was a time when we were straight up savages, you know how the Vikings conquered land and all that. Now, I'm a peaceful guy who hates war, but that era still fascinates me as it's our heritage so as far as Norway being heard in my music that must be it. I also sample from Norwegian records sometimes, but not all that much being that I'm from here really. As far as Hiphop I'm closer to the various scenes in the US because I've always been a fan of the east coast Hiphop from Furious 5 to Rakim to Jedi Mind Tricks, so even though Norwegian Hiphop developed it's own kinda sound, and scene over the years, I'm more a part of the east coast sound.


4. All i can say "The White Shadow of Norway" is one the illest name i ever heard. It got that mystic symbol vibe. How this name came together?

Thanks fam, I appreciate that man! That's dope you think so cause I been called a retard because of that name too (laughs)., but here's the story. I've had plenty of DJ names over the years, I actually called myself Peter Jones in the late 70's, funny cause you know Pete DJ Jones, Hiphop and dance music pioneer from Brooklyn, but I didn't know about him, I just thought it had a cool sound to it, switched it to Mike Jones a couple of years later, still early 80's, then out of all things I called myself Rapmaster Scratch which I'm almost embarrased to tell you cause that name does suck bigtime! (laughs), then in the late 80's I called myself DJ Fresh which was decent, then when I moved to New York I was lookin' for a new name, so my manager, and I came up with DJ Shadow, then the DJ Shadow most people know turned up in The Source on the unsigned hype column, so he got some fame so I had to change it again. People in New York kept calling me White Shadow anyway after the 70's TV show about the Basketball coach White Shadow, and I don't hardly know the basket from the ball, so it had to do with me being one of very few white Hiphop DJ's in New York back then who made noise on the scene as there was only a few of us, like me, Stretch Armstrong, Duke Of Denmark, a couple others, and that was it, so that became my nickname in New York anyway, then some other dude started calling himself that too later in the late 90's/early 00's, so D-Stroy from The Arsonists came up with adding the Of Norway to it in 2001, and finally I'd found a name that no one else is gonna grab hopefully. The White Shadow Of Norway.


5. You lived and been part of the New York hiphop scene for a while. Explain a bit those years...

I talked a little about that already, and I'm gonna save the details for my bio which I'm writing nowadays, but to sum it up it was a dream come true to be a part of the Hiphop scene in New York during the best era when the foundations for what Hiphop is now was laid, like the boombap beats, the scratched hooks, and skills on the mic on a deeper level was all developed during that era so to be in the middle of that, and a small part of shaping it was incredible. As a Hiphop fiend it don't get any better than that, and also to be able to play all the best clubs, and just play Hiphop the whole night was luxuary to me cause in Norway it was all commercial music. I mean, Hiphop didn't hit big here til the late 90's as far as a lifestyle for people in general, so just to be able to do that was incredible to me back then, so in a way it was the best time of my life, still I don't wanna repeat it. I don't really wanna go back at all cause it'll fuck with the memories, but yeah, New York was much like Guru (RIP) said that if you know what's good, and you got skills you'll get respect there, but "If you come to Brooklyn frontin, you'll get mushed quick".


6. You latest album is called "Destiny". Introduce a bit this material...

Destiny is my latest album on Uncut Productions. I did all the beats, and cuts as usual, there's 20 songs on it, and 50 featured artists like KRS-One, Joell Ortiz, Ras Kass, Kool G Rap, Kamachi, Planet Asia, Reef The Lost Cauze, GHG, Pizdamen, Venom & Cruz of HGP, and many more. If you like hard beats, skills on the mic, and crazy cuts you'll like my albums. You won't find one singin' hook, or any Autotune, or none of that bs. My albums are Hiphop for the people who are fans of basic Hiphop and would like to keep it that way. You can cop the album, and all my previous on the ITunes link above.


7. Besides the producer thing, you are a DJ as well. Are you still active in this field, how it looks like now?

It's been a while since I've rocked the clubs now cause I been much more into production in the past ten years, but I can still play well, I still do it on the regular, I still practice on the tables every day, and I'm into a lot of different music, I always stay up on whatever new music's hot, and I continue developing my skills to get better at it, and I know how to rock a party...any party, as I've played for all kindsa different crowds over the years, so if I feel like doin' it then maybe I'll return to the clubs, and DJ'ing part or full time again, but also maybe not, we'll have to see, cause you know I love the music, DJ'ing in general, and rockin' crowds, the parties, the girls, and all that's dope, but also I love staying at home, so I hate travelling, and having to get stressed out for hours because of delayed transportation, or coming to a club or venue where I have to spend extra hours to get the sound right, promoters always tryin' to under-pay you, or not at all, so it's a lot of stress too, so it's a double edged sword to me. A love/hate relationship, so...right now, I enjoy staying in the comfort of the lab, the studio, and just make records, so most likely I'll continue doin' that, but never say never again, but if I start DJ'ing again the first gig's gotta be special cause since I been away from it for a minute I gotta return with a bang, or at least in style you know, but I've done it so much, and played the best spots so I'm most likely done with it, but never know...like, I been saying my latest albums were gonna be my last now so many times not even I believe in it anymore (laughs), so I've come to terms with that it's a lifetime thing, and that I'll always be makin' music, and that I'll always be a part of Hiphop as long as I'm alive on this planet.


8. In your carreer, who are your biggest influences and mentors? How important is that to you?

My Dad (RIP) first of all. He was a guitar player, and singer, and is the one who got me into music, and DJ'ing in the first place, my Mom for staying strong and never givin' up no matter what she's had to go through, she's my role model no question. In the music world there's too many to namedrop like you know, anyone from James Brown to Kiss to Parliament/Funkadelic to Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5, to moviemakers like Stanley Kubrick, Roman Polanski, Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci, to the early Norwegian Black Metal bands like Mayhem, Darkthrone, and Burzum, to writers like Agatha Christie, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, to world revolutonaries like Ghandi or Malcolm X, to Thor, Buddah, Jesus, even Satan, movements like Flower Power, The Zulu Nation, Killuminati, and Desteni, and lots more.. Trust me, I have a lot of influences, but I don't look up to anyone like an idol or a God or any of that, and neither do I follow anyone or anything in particular. There's a lot of people, and stuff I respect, and like it always is in Hiphop, I take the best parts from all those influences and mix em up in the witches brew.

9. What are your plans/projects for this year?

Instrumentals 2, then the next White Shadow producer album featuring various artists but that'll probably not drop til 2012, most likely on December 22 (laughs), I produced, and did cuts on the next Snowgoons album, The Iron Fist, which drops on April 5th.. My joint on it's called The Return Of The Iron Fist, and features Virtuoso, and The Savage Brothers. I just heard the full track today, and man y'all got something to look fwd to. The whole album's gonna be insane, and every producer and emcee put in ther A-game. Top notch all the way! Besides that I'll be workin' on a lot of music on the side like last year, so I don't yet know with who, which is half the fun.


10. Any last thoughts to the readers?

Personally I'd like to thank everyone who cops, and listens to my music, and enjoys it, and if I can inspire others to do well in music, and life, I'm happy. In general I'd like to say that Hiphop is quite possibly the most important movement, and culture in the history of the world which makes it so much more important that we take good care of it, and pass on the good shit to the next generations. Pass the plugs like they used to say. Peace.

Interview: Bela Nagy

White Shadow Releases (2010)

Here's the complete list of tracks I either produced, did cuts on, or both, that dropped in 2010.

Alucard Feat. IDE - Cyclone B
Castor P Feat. Craig G, and Soul Theory - Miracle
Castor P Feat. Craig G, and Soul Theory - Kill Every Club
Celph Titled - Who Said That
Creative Juices - Open Bar
Infinito 2017 - Unapologetic
Infinito 2017 Feat. L.I.F.E. Long, and Breeze Evahflowin' - Eyewitness To Dopeness
King Hell Bastard - I Believe
King Magnetic, Jukstapose, and Godilla - 4th. Kind
LA Dog Feat. Apakalypse, and Mister Misfit - Collaborated Wisdom
Lord Lhus & J-Nyce - The Raw
Mark Deez Feat. Snowgoons, Powder & Dr. ILL - The Oracle
Mark Deez Feat. Sicknature - You Can't Touch My Steeze
Mark Deez Feat. Powder & Bigg Limn - Samurai Demons
Mark Deez Feat. Powder - Night After Night
Mark Deez Feat. Brods - Striking Gold
Mark Deez Feat. Snowgoons - I'm Here Now
Mark Deez Feat. Soul Theory - Tell The World
Mark Deez Feat. Archimedes - Lady In The Waterfall
Mark Deez Feat. Feat. IDE, Alucard, Powder, Dr. Ill, Melph, Nova Kane, Unk?wn, Sycksyllables, Godilla, Billy White, Ezekiel, Bobby Brewski, Learnz, Loak, Kas Solo, Fatol, Crucifix Payne, Damo, El A Kwents, Dante, and Domingo - Build & Destroy
Mark Deez - The Beast
Mark Deez Feat. Young B & Lil Loco - Warriors
Mark Deez Feat. Archimedes - Once Upon A Time
Mark Deez Feat. Line Solhaug - The Four Seasons
Mark Deez Feat. Kool G Rap, Canibus, and Big G - Boot Rap
Mark Deez Feat. Keko - Acid Aqueduct
Next Universe (Infinito 2017 & White Shadow) - Intro
Next Universe - Classic Regulations
Next Universe - The 100's To Wild
Next Universe - Good Verse
Next Universe Feat. DJ Graft - Side Note
Next Universe - Fantasy Politrix
Next Universe Feat. DJ Graft - Original Style
Next Universe - Basement Moment
Next Universe - Classic Regulations (Remix)
Next Universe - Outro
Powder - Games All Day
Powder Feat. Dr. ILL, and Mark Deez - Fatality (8 Bit Remix)
Salvador Sanchez - Work With Me
Son Of Saturn Feat. Atma - Jakobz Ladder
Son Of Saturn Feat. Killa Milla - Exhale Kali Yuga
Whichcraft - Behold The Pale Horse
White Shadow - Destiny (Intro)
White Shadow Feat. ILL Bill, Mark Deez, Dr. ILL, Venom, and Powder - Verbal Abyss
White Shadow Feat. KRS-One, Ras Kass, Joell Ortiz, and Kool G Rap - Underground
White Shadow Feat. Strange Brew - Re-United
White Shadow Feat. Powder, Cruz DurrtyJada, Swann, Klive Kraven, Dr. ILL, and Mark Deez - Book Of Shadows
White Shadow Feat. Passionate, Ghetto MC, Jukstapose, and Tug McRaw - Burn In Hell
White Shadow Feat. Respect Tha God, Swann, Lord Willin, and Burnt MD - Combat Zone
White Shadow Feat. Awkword, C-Rayz Walz, and Chief Kamachi - Imperialism
White Shadow Feat. Son Of Saturn - Nefarious Apothecary
White Shadow Feat. Ghetto MC, Jukstapose, and Traum Diggs - Warrior Society
White Shadow Feat. Thirstin Howl III, and Mic Stylz - Thirsty Stylz 2010
White Shadow Feat. Lt. Mana, LA Dog, and Mister Misfit - Organized Revolution
White Shadow Feat. Son Of Saturn, Life Scientist, Amun Morb, and Unk?wn - Innervasion
White Shadow Feat. Bigg Limn, DChesron, Logik Locksmith, and Wichcraft - Savage Vendetta
White Shadow Feat. Respect Tha God, Godilla, Lone Ninja, and Natural Profane - Liquid Swordplay
White Shadow Feat. Zeps, Reaver, and City - Winners
White Shadow Feat. EQ, Planet Asia, Block McCloud, and Reef The Lost Cauze - Check The Perspective
White Shadow Feat. M-Dot - No Money Down
White Shadow Feat. Mark Deez - Dedication
White Shadow - Destiny (Instrumental)
White Shadow & Niklas - Santa's Rap 2010
Wyze Mindz - Crazy

White Shadow Interview (Viberated) (2010)

White Shadow is a beatmaker/DJ from Norway, whom I learnt about during a completely unrelated conversation with a friend on Live Messenger, even though he has been practicing beatmaking for more than 20 years. Searching the interwebs, I ascertained that an interview with him would atone me for all those years of ignorance. So here it is !

You have selected the difficult role of producing beats instead of raping, which is a mass phenomenon. How "unfair" do you think this is for you, considering that in the majority of rap albums, the success is associated with the rapper and not with the producer?

Well, the rapper might be famous, but the labels and producers get the money (laughs)! Nah, for real, it takes the DJ (producer) and the MC, to make a great hip hop record. The MC is usually the front man on stage and the records, and sometimes I think that it may be unfair, because all they have to do is write and rhyme, while producers do everything else; but to write a really great verse can take a lot of effort, hours, days, weeks, so I respect the emcee a lot, but yeah, most of the work is on the producers.

We have to make the music and make sure everything sounds tight, and usually a lot of work is needed after we get the recorded lyrics, for them to sound great. You'd be surprised if you heard some of the unmixed verses, by your favorite emcee's even, because a lot of them need tons of work before they sound good. Of course, I'm not gonna namedrop cause that would be disrespectful (laughs).

I have a lot of love, and respect for every emcee I've worked with, and everyone else with skills too, but sometimes it takes a lot of work to be a producer,and if the end result doesn't make the emcees happy, they'll yell at you and will try to make you change shit too, like they're the producers (laughs)! Most emcees like their vocals LOUD and upfront, and that's cool as long as it doesn't kill the music.

Sometimes I think emcees only listen to themselves on a record, while the producer listens to the overall soundscape, and is more focused on placing everything right within that, but it's a collaborative effort nonetheless. Dope producer and dope emcee on the same page creatively equals dope record.

Dr Dre / Pete Rock / DJ Premier / Rza / Kanye West. Could you rate them, starting from your most favorite?

1. Pete Rock
2. DJ Premier
3. Rza
4. Dr. Dre
5. Kanye West

A minimal beat can give the rapper the "space" he needs, in order to put his talent in it. Do you believe that a more "difficult" beat will "restrict" the abilities of an MC?

No. If it's a great emcee, he will take a musical beat with a lot of stuff goin' on in it and write the rhymes around it, even makin' the topics of his verses fit with the sounds in the music.

Up until now, what is the genre of music that has offered you the greatest samples for your productions?

All in all, it's been soundtracks and library records. I've milked them all dry, so I've moved on to other things since then, which will remain a secret for now (laughs). Also, usually the wackest records have the dopest samples. There might be just 1 bar that's any good on a whole album, but that 1 bar could be the next super banger!

Have you ever said to yourself, "Damn, that's a beat I wish i had produced", talking about someone else's track?

I dunno, but when I heard that Necro had sampled from a Fulci soundtrack for the first Missin' Linx 12" "Loc'd Down", I knew I wasn't the only one using stuff from Italian Horror soundtracks no more, so it was time to get a move on(laughs)! Sometimes I've thought like "Fuck, they beat me to that sample!", then I've had to flip it or dump it. The Half by High & The Mighty was such a beat, you know with the "Cat People" sample. There was a track on Dr. Dre's Chronic 2001 album as well with a sample that I'd used years before that dropped, and The Hatred by The Snowgoons was another.

Actually, the title track on my album Victory (featuring Craig G and others) used that sample but then I found out, so I had to dump it and make a new beat for that, cause there's no way I'm biting anyone, and especially not my man DJ Illegal (laughs), so that had to be changed! I've been critisized, also, that I took the AOTP "Narrow Grave" sample from a Dutch group called, (I think it was) U-niq, and that AOTP, and myself stole that sample from them which is bs.

I had never heard that record, and my man Villa messed around with that sample for years before I made the Narrow Grave beat -which was actually an extra beat I put on to fill the CD-, that they happened to want. I could probably make a whole album like that with samples others put out before I got to do it, but then again, I got to use a lot first before anyone was onto them as well, like the Profondo Rosso theme, Suspiria, The Beyond, Red Queen Kills 7 Times. I used most of that Horrorstuff first, and I won't rat on who used it after, no (laughs).

The hardest way to make music is using samples and breakbeats. If you combine samples from different records on the same beat and make breaks sound tight and more bangin' than the originals, that is the hardest way to make hip hop music, period.

As for beats, I wish I had made..., no not really. I've always been into doing my own thing, and building my own styles inspired by others, but I never wanted to bite nobody's style, so no. In the early days of me producing (in the late 80's), I admired 45 King a lot. The way he built those beats, I still don't know exactly how he did it. Also Pete Rock, in the early days when he would layer samples like maybe use bits from 5 different breaks to make the drums, then take small parts of various records like, a bassline from one, then a horn sample from another etc, and makin' them all sound like one piece of music. The Bomb Squad and Sir Jinx did that a lot too, and it takes a crazy amount of talent, music knowledge, and time.

Do you think that it is more difficult to produce a smash hit song or a hardcore rap beat and why?

It depends. Like 5 years ago, I guess a hit was easier because all you had to do was bang out a simple but catchy hook on a synth and add 808 drums to it, but now, the markets are so flooded with that stuff that it's not a guaranteed hit anymore. There are probably more artists out there now who try to make hits through a formula, and still fail, than underground hip hop producers. It's really not that easy to tell what will be a hit or not anymore. Also, that has more to do with who's got your back than the (actual) music, meaning, if you have the support of a big label in which you are the number one priority, then you will most likely become a hit, because they got the money and the network to make that happen.

But, musically, the hardest way to make music is using samples and breakbeats. I don't mean like looping a bar straight, putting it on top of a break, and call it a day; if you combine samples from different records on the same beat and make breaks sound tight and more bangin' than the originals, that is the hardest way to make Hip hop music, period.

Who is your favorite MC? More than one option is allowed!

My favorites of all time are Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee, Rakim, KRS-One and Kool G Rap.

Rumors says that 9th Wonder produces beats through the FL Studio software. How do you find it as a way of making music?

I use Fruityloops too, so I have nothing but love for it. Before that, I used the SP-1200 (and it's a classic) and I love it, you know. But the short memory especially, makes it hard to use to keep up with production nowadays, so I switched to software, a couple of years ago. I have made my best beats after I did that, so I'm not lookin' back. The fact 9th Wonder was using it (and Little Brother's first album sounds like it was made with an SP) and he produced for Jay-Z using Fruityloops, is one of the reasons I decided to say fuck it, let me try that, and see how I like it.

And I love it, so no disrespect to FL, or any good software, or the MPC's, and SP's. As long as they're good to work with, and get the job done smooth and easy, I'm happy.

Give us a picture of your recent album, Destiny. Are you satisfied with the final result and the way people accepted it?

Destiny is my new producer album that was released on Halloween, this year. It has 20 hardcore Hiphop joints on it, featuring 50 emcee's from the US, UK, Canada, Holland, and Sweden, among them Joell Ortiz, KRS-One, Ras Kass, Kool G Rap, ILL Bill, Chief Kamachi, Reef The Lost Cauze, Planet Asia, Block McCloud, Grindhouse Gang, and many more.

None of that R&B singin' hooks, weak synths, or dumbed down lyrics on it. Strictly hard shit, for those of us who appreciate real hip hop, with no commercial interruptions. You can buy it on Itunes, and it's doing great. Nothing but love and props from the fans of hip hop, and well, a little hate too, but that's to be expected because some people will always be jealous when you have a great record out, you know, but fuck them. They can hate and call me names until their face turns green, I don't give a fuck. But mostly love from the B-Boys, and B-Girls, and that's what matters.

Also, I've got a lot of great press on it. It's all over the biggest hip hop sites and radio stations, as well. So far I'm very happy about it, and I think it's my best album by far.

How tiring is it to dig unstoppably for new sounds, in order to produce beats? Was there ever a moment when the time and the cost made you reconsider it?

It can be very tiring because everyone wants the hard bangers, the kind of beats that will rock well on stage and I like to make a lot of laidback, dark, eerie, spacey shit as well which hardly ever gets picked, though; those are my own personal favorites. Everyone wants the bangers and it can be hard to always have those available, because they're flyin' outta here fast all the time, but I'm usually on top of it.

I will sometimes make a beat, especially with the artist who wants it in mind too, but yeah, I've spent years, and a fortune diggin', and still do, and I reconsider it every day my man. Every day I think I might quit tomorrow, then I'm back at it again, and it's all good.

Coming from a country with great tradition in other genres of music, how strange is it for you to make rap, in a place where metal is part of everyday life?

Not strange at all really, but in the early days the hip hop scene here was really small. The other Scandinavian scenes were much bigger so we had something to prove and worked really hard to do so, and that's why there are several producers, especially, who are doin' big things and are from Norway. A very small, but highly competitive and hungry scene of producers are from here.

There are certain links between the black metal, and hip hop scenes here too; for me personally, because I used to trade horror movies with some of those guys back in the days and some were childhood friends from my hometown (who were into hip hop too), so I was close to the early days of that, with all the church burnings and all that craziness. I was close enough to smell the smoke without getting burned, so to speak. There are also links between hip hop, and black metal because both scenes were small, alternative, and agressive, as in ready to go to war for what we believed in. We even did for a minute, which went outta hand, but fortunately died down, but it was all part of the reason why Norwegian hip hop, and black metal became noticed and successful.

Any comments about Vibe Rated?

Thanks for a dope interview! Peace, and respect to all the hip hop heads in Greece, readers of your magazine, and yourself.

Interview by Monkey Barz.

http://www.viberated.com/arthra/synenteukseis/item/904-interview-white-shadow