The Norwegien producing duo known as “Stargate” have certainly been making quite a name for themselves recently. From producing the first two singles off Wiz Khalifa’s Rolling Papers, “Black & Yellow” and “Roll Up,” to producing “Firework” by Katy Perry and “What’s My Name” by Ri-Ri & Drizzy, the duo is clearly in high demand. They recently sat down with Complex magazine to discuss producing for Wiz as well as the possibility for future collaborations with artists. When asked about working with other rappers they responded:
“Obviously we’ve got the Rihanna and Drake record so we’ve dabbled in it, but we haven’t made full-on hip-hop records until Wiz. We’ve done some Nas stuff (‘Not Going Back’ and ‘America’), back in the day, too. We have such versatile tastes. I’m just as excited by making a Rihanna record, or a Beyonce record, as I am by making a hard rap record. It’s all music to us, so we always felt that we could do it, but no rapper came through our door looking for us to do a song together. We’ve done some stuff with Norwegian groups, but to make real hip-hop you’ve got to come to America. We always wanted to do it, but all we needed was a break. I think a lot of the established guys, they have their own people that they’re comfortable with. I think what we needed was to get with someone new, that was open minded and excited by what we do, and that’s what Wiz did. He’s a smart guy. We’re excited. We have people coming to us all the time now. Jay-Z actually came up to me the other day and said ‘I need one of those ‘Black and Yellow’ beats for J. Cole.’ [Laughs.] And then he said, ‘Shit, I need one of those ‘Black and Yellow’ beats for myself.’ So we were like ‘You know where to find us.’”
Although I don’t think I would endorse Jay-Z on a “Black and Yellow” because of the connections is draws in my head to the pop/rap beats we saw on Blueprint III, I would certainly embrace J. Cole on such a beat. After hearing songs like “Higher” and “Problems” it’s clear that Jermaine’s lyricism cannot be overshadowed by a catchy mainstream beat intended to get some radio play. As for Jay, let’s get back to having Kanye and DJ Premier producing most of your albums.
