The TRUTH About VA Producers.

Many say: "it's in the water."  And yes, maybe the water has something to do with it.  I mean, we ARE by TONS of water.  However, I tend to think that it lies in the fact that we were all influenced by band and/or bands.  Some of us played in churches, and many of us played in marching bands.  As a child, I recall some of my greatest moments being those Saturdays on which I knew we were attending a Norfolk State Football game.  While the game itself was interesting, it was the band that I was waiting on.  Doubly exciting were the days of their homecoming, when we got a chance to see the band early in the morning at the parade, and then again at the game.  After the game, we'd come home and ACT like we were the band....more specifically, the drum section.

In addition to the band influence, our parents were avid music fans.  They came up in a time when music was evolving.  That's why we are able to continuously appreciate those records that were defining moments in our childhood.  Personally, my father was (and remains) James Brown's biggest fan (dad played drums in the marching band, too).  Therefore, we went to the concerts, and I'd sit and listen to those records over and over again.  As I got older, it was revealed to me that I was pretty much the only other person that could touch his record collection- AS A CHILD!  Therefore, when sampling came around, I realized that I had the majority of the records being used in the house already.

My mother was a music major, and played instruments and sings as well.  Therefore, I couldn't escape the music bug, and wouldn't want to.  This household setting is not unfamiliar in this area.  You throw in a few uncles or parents who dj'ed as well, and there's your hip-hop child.  These like minds, or products of these environments here in the area have all crossed paths along the way, as we all bring these similar experiences to the table.  It can be heard that the focus continues to be on the DRUMS whenever you here something done by a producer from VA.

There's much more to be said about this topic, and rather than try and tackle it all in a few paragraphs.....I'll save some for later.  Maybe even a book.  I think it's worthy of it.