We had the opportunity to interview the up and coming producer, Andrew U The Perfectionist. He’s worked with several heavy hitters in the game including Fabolous and Red Cafe. Andrew U gives us insight into where he’s from, the state of hip-hop, who he would like to work with in the industry and much more. Make sure you guys hit the jump to read the interview and find out more about Andrew U The Perfectionist.

To start, give our readers a little info about who you are, where you’re from and when you started producing tracks.

Whats up UMB? (Urban Music Blog) I’m a music producer by the name of Andrew U The Perfectionist…my full name is Andrew Ukpabi. I’m from Long Island New York, and I started producing tracks when I was 18, but it was really my early age exposure to music classes and instruments that helped my ears develop for the things I am doing today.

When you were coming up, how did you try and separate yourself from the other producers out there?

I am still coming up and I still try and separate myself from the other producers out there. The only difference is that what I used to do is no longer what I currently do. When I first started-I thought if I made “the best” beat I had every right to be up there with the handful of super successful music producers. I would send out a few Cd’s with overwhelming excitement and anticipation for the results. Can you believe that I actually thought each CD, was a one way ticket to a successful, and fulfilling music production career? When you’re in over your head and your expectations don’t match reality, life tends to give you one big slap in the face and I received that reality check.

I can laugh about it now- but I know most of those Cd’s were never opened, most of them ended up in the trash. It was frustrating. Today I separate myself from other producers by looking at this like a team effort and a day to day journey. My father always stated to me that “No man is an island” He tried to emphasize to me- the paradox we human beings face when we try to establish ourselves as affluent, independent, individuals. The irony in embarking on a mission to be affluent and self sufficient is that we actually need the minds, work, and input of other people to put ourselves in such position. Human beings are interdependent by nature. We need the interaction with one another to achieve certain levels of growth. Have you ever seen wolves in the wild? A wolf is one of the most self-sufficient animals and yet they choose to hunt in packs. They will actually kill independent wolves. Somehow these animals know inherently that avoiding interaction with each other is a direct threat to their survival. The music business, and even life is like a frozen tundra.

It’s a great experience and adventure when you have some kind of support and a team, but it is cold and lonely without that team. I started out doing this on my own and I did get very far, but today I appoint professionals and we formulate ideas the way an army would formulate an attack on another country. Aside from all the big name professionals you might see my name associated with, I formed a partnership recently with Caesar and his company Gallic Wars Mixtapes. This operation keeps me in touch with the flow of underground artists and it also keeps me fairly relevant to the public. I trust the owner because he runs it like a king would run his domain. I like to call it my “ear to the streets” Every day I work directly with publicists, managers, dj’s, and record label owners just so I can advance to that next level. I know that a well organized team can accomplish things with an almost god-like efficiency and speed. My team is what separates me from many of the other producers out there.

When did you feel like you “made it”?

I’ve had my moments. As a youngin I was content with getting 500-$600 a beat but when I began receiving upwards of $2,000 a beat from underground rappers with no label budget- I thought I was doing it big because I know my clientele did not have that much money. If they were coming out of pocket for my product I had to be doing something right. I was also certain that no other person around my age in my college was making that kind of money week to week. And if they were, it definitely wasn’t from a passion they worked from the ground up. It was either from their parents or from selling drugs. The self-made success which I experienced could be a bit much for a teenager. So you know what happened next? I splurged. I bought myself Armani jackets, Burberry scarves, new sneakers, jewelery. Then of course afterwards I was wondering if that was all there was to it. It was like “ok what now?” but then I received even bigger checks.

This time I didn’t splurge on silly accessories. Instead I invested it, found myself a nice place and bought a new car with the money I made. After that I didn’t say what now because I realized I was growing and that at this pace soon I could be truly experiencing the joys of being in a completely different space. After that I said ok “Lets go” And no joke man that has been my line throughout the beginning of 2008 to now. I say “Lets Go” because I want people to embark on the journey with me in their own way in their own lives. Lets go is like saying lets all go out, get it and make ourselves the best we can be. Its just a more informal and inclusive way of saying Carpe Diem. I still haven’t had that final “I’ve made it” feeling and I don’t know if I ever will because my desires, ambitions, and goals are forever changing. That is part of being Andrew U The Perfectionist ……its just an integral part of who I am. Also-Have you ever noticed that when desires, ambitions and goals become stagnant, life becomes somewhat dry and boring? I know some producers out there that have ridiculous catalogs. Swizzy has what…. 96 million sold? and he banked 17 million last year alone! If someone as financially successful as Swizz Beats is still on his grind at 2AM in the morning there is really no excuse for me or any other up and coming music producer to be idle. So I haven’t “made it” I’m still “making it” and I will always be making it.

What are your feelings about the current state of hip-hop and where do you see hip-hop going?

I feel as though Hip-Hop is still alive and doing well. You just have to search high and low for it. 9th Wonder, Primo, Pete Rock, RJD2, Large Professor…(Forgive me if I left anyone out) But all these producers are still in effect bringing back that classic sounding Hip-Hop. You just have to actively look for and listen for their work. When people say “Hip Hop is Dead” a lot of them are referring to the fact that classic hip-hop of back in the day is not favored in the mainstream markets of today. That may be so, but it doesn’t mean hip-hop is dead. Nas probably just said that to get people talking. He’s an intelligent rapper and naming his album with controversial themes has been his trump card as of late. Tastes are just changing.

Maybe one day we will go back to the time where lyrical prowess, and soulful drum beats are the in thing. Todays mainstream hip-hop is not where my heart is but as a producer I see nothing wrong with keeping in tune to the changing markets. A big dynamic today is that there is less consumerism and more criticism because these days EVERYONE is a rapper and EVERYONE is “stacking bread” “popping shots” and “slaying fat booty models” right? Myspace, You Tube, and affordable digital technology has given everyone the opportunity to rap. You have some people who will come out with one mixtape, and perform on a few stages and they’ll tell you “they came a long way” Came a long way from what? like wheres the record deal or distribution deal at? They’ll take minor moves and swear to everyone they are headed for Jay-Z level success. They couldn’t be further from the truth. Hip-hop is doing just fine. Record stores are shutting down but that’s ok soon everything will be digital.

The word CD will be nostalgic to us and ancient to our children. Hip-Hop isn’t going anywhere its just broadening its horizons. At one point Hip-hop was very clearly defined. These days you have so many different kinds. First we started naming it “East Coast” and “West Coast” then “South” “Mid West” now we’re getting to a more universal sound. I also noticed that as debates unfold and the elections get closer artists are rapping about Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Sarah Palin, and John McCain. Hip Hop is truly becoming universal….And this discourse was predictable. Since Hip-Hop is run by businesses I predict it will follow the dollar and the ever changing tastes of consumers.

If we had to look on your ipod, what artist would we find? What do you find yourself listening to most often?

I personally refuse to buy an Ipod. I have an MP3 player. When I see an Ipod going for something $100 dollars and I see an MP3 for $20. I must ask myself what makes the Ipod worth 5 times the cost of my MP3 Player? The Ipod has a screen and other capabilities like plug-in (if you buy the other part too!). But lets stick to principle- if you bought this thing just to listen to music you were ripped off. I don’t care if Steve Jobs Apple and mainstream media tell me that everyone has one. I think its silly to buy something just because everyone else has one. On my MP3 player you will find some Linkin Park, 9th Wonders beats, 50 Cents singles, Dr Dre’s beats, DJ Premiere, Mobb Deep, Jay-Z, Chamillionaire and of course Gallic Wars Mixtapes. I always listen to what my affiliates put out. Stuff like that. I listen to hip-hop and rap music most often but I love rock music. I also like pop music so long as its not super cheesy and all cliche’d out.

You’ve worked with some major dudes in the game, Fabolous, Red Café, & more, what was it like working with them. Who would you like to work with that you haven’t worked with yet?

When I first received the news that I would be working with Fabolous and Red Cafe I was ready to go-Big Dev is their engineer. I communicate and market myself everyday so naturally Big Dev heard one of my beats. Dev then hit me up immediately saying “Faboulous and Red Cafe want this beat” I sent them the beat and he calls me up and instructs me to lower the levels, tweak this, and tweak that. So I listened to him and sent it over trusting Dev’s experience and wisdom as an engineer. These guys truly know the business and that is why they succeed. You’ll never see that street fam team not getting it in. They always get it in. Its 2008, sales are declining and these guys are still getting it in. I’d like to work with Freck Billionaire.

I recently sent Animal Steele some records for a mixtape they’re coming out with. We’ll see how that goes. Other than the Street Fam team I’d like to work with HOV. Jay-Z-he’s the guy almost every producer wants to work with. I want to continue working with Remy Ma and Jen Turner when Remy’s case is wrapped up. I also want to keep working with Sha Money XL on beats, and continue shopping around with the guy. He’s always busy doing these big producer events. Giving everyone an opportunity. Big up to Sha- I want work with people who can influence my sound. I’ve kept in touch with this manager named Zach Katz. This guy despite his success is one of the most kind, humble and helpful individuals I’ve ever spoken to. He manages J.R. Rotem and JR’s is the hottest producer out right now next to Timbaland. JR’s been killing the charts with smash singles. I definitely want to work with Zach and J.R. Rotem. Beluga Heights has really good ethic. I love my current affiliates and the way my career is going and adding these guys to my team….. working with people of that caliber is something I always hope for because its life-changing. Your network truly determines your net worth. And its not all about money. Aside from money. Your network of friends, family, associates and even acquaintances speak volumes about the kind of person you are and hope to be.

You own your own company, EEC, tell us a little more about what that is and what’s been going on with it.

EEC stands for Echilon Enterprises Corp. I incorporated EEC as a freshman in college and slowly grew it into what it is today. Under this one corporation I do music production, I have an online convenience store, an online telecommunications store, and a real estate marketing company. I like the way I set it up because for most of the businesses I don’t even have to be there. All I have to do is invest money into advertising them and they produce revenue while I’m doing something else. Echilon Enterprises Corp. is my machine. A lot of people bank on one idea to make it big. I trust in my skills as a music producer but when I bring in checks I like to have somewhere else to invest it. That is where my company EEC comes in. As soon as I make money from production I take that money and invest it into advertising for the companies.

As a result of the advertising- those companies usually bring in more money. I try to keep myself within an upwards wealth cycle where I’m always saving something. The hardest thing is always making that first initial kick or start up investment money. I don’t like to dip into savings, or what I already have. So I wait until I bring in a big check then I split that check between investments, savings, and I put the smallest amount into leisure or fun. I’m young so I feel its wise to plan and save now so that later when I get older I can lay back with ease. The company is running smoothly, I have very little overhead aside from maintenance. I’m content with what I get out of it but I’m still focused on progressing. There is always more progress to be made.

What are some of the projects you’ve currently been working on or have scheduled to start work on in the near future?

I have a big project coming out with Nick Brown from MTV’s “The Real World” My affiliate Gallic Wars Mixtapes is releasing a mixtape with him so I’m submitting fresh material for that. Murda Mook-I’m doing a record with Murda Mook for a mixtape he’s working on. I’m going to be working with St. Laz on some fresh material. I’ve worked with Laz before and his grind is official. I also contacted Big Dev recently to work with him on coming up with a single for Red Cafe and he’s ready to go. I sent out tracks for Rihanna, Diddy, and Bow Wow. Some of those beats I made fresh and others I picked out of my catalog. I’m also working on records and doing drops for “DJ Ghost The President” from Brown University. Brown University was nominated for having one of the best college radio stations by MTV.

I’m also doing records and drops for DJ Avelanche, a radio DJ in the northwest that is on Sprint Radio, US Cellular, Move Radio and The Nokia Network. Besides these music industry placements. I’m working on my album titled “Super Producer” I’m not using any other distribution except digital right now. The title of the CD will be called “Andrew U The Perfectionist” Super Producer Vol 1. It’s going to be a CD where I can show some of my skills and release some underground beats the fans haven’t heard. I can easily write and rap but I’m mainly a music producer so the first CD will have scenes, unreleased beats, and a few songs with some of my affiliates and underground artists. I believe that in this business you can never stand still. If you stand still the public will quickly forget about you. You always have to be doing your interviews, talking to the public, promoting your product, showing up at events, taking photos, making beats, honing your skills and more.

Whats a typical day like for you?

A typical day for me is a lot of work. I wake up 6 start work at around 8 in the morning promoting and networking with people throughout the day and I don’t finish until 9. I do a By evening I start making beats or playing around with sounds. When I go to bed I’m usually still not finished it just carries over into the next day. I’m always marketing and talking to people and making music. I do have my moments where I relax because that’s very important but most of the time I’m working on something. I see all these people saying “I grind 24/7 and I don’t sleep” Thats nonsense. If they didn’t sleep they wouldn’t have the energy to keep working as hard as they do. I have some no sleep nights but without some form of rest- you might as well forfeit your next day.

You won’t be working at your optimal level if you don’t rest when you need to. A typical day for me isn’t hectic because I like to work at my own pace. I work hard but I don’t get down on myself if I don’t get to one of my objectives for the day. I tend to write out these ideal to-do lists which often times are left undone. I accomplish most of what I want to do, but theres always something else to do. I believe in working hard. Having a balanced steadfast commitment to what I do is preferable over a hectic day. That is my method and it makes a typical day enjoyable for me.

Anything you want the readers to know before we wrap up?

First I want to give a big shout out to Urban Music Blog for reaching out it’s been fun sharing my experiences with professionals such as yourself. The readers can add me as a friend on myspace. My link is www.Myspace.com/AndrewUThePerfectionist I will gladly respond if they want to ask production related questions or even just discuss music. I thank the readers for showing interest in my career, and what I do and I hope my words have informed and inspired them. Lets Go!

This entry was posted by understandfresh on October 8th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Under: andrew u the perfectionist, interview.