Behind The Beats: The Audible Doctor

First and foremost could you provide a brief information about yourself as a multi-talented artist?

I am The Audible Doctor, I make beats, I DJ and I rap...and sometimes sing...I'm a member of The Brown Bag AllStars and I managed the Fat Beats New York store for years...

I read that you are affiliated with Brown Bag All Stars. How does it feel to work with a talented collective of artists?

Yeah, it's great to be around people that keep me working harder. Everyone in my group has their talents and are very good at what they do, it makes me feel like I have to stay on my A game to not let anyone down. It's also good to have a bunch of creative people around me to bounce ideas off of...at the end of the day we're all friends so they'll let me know if one of my ideas is garbage. There's no yes-men in The Brown Bag AllStars which is rare nowadays.

2010 was a great year for you as evidenced by your production work with BBAS and producing tracks with Joell Ortiz and numerous others. How did the collaboration come about with Joell Ortiz and which beat makers provide the most inspiration to you?

The Joell placement was random. I stumbled into it...I released a beat tape named "The Crackers EP Vol. 1" and it somehow made it's way to a studio in queens. Joell's manager was there recording someone when he heard the original version of that beat. He tracked me down and ended up emailing me through my website and the rest is history. The Just Blaze feature happened the same way...Joell used that joint on his free EP "Farewell Summer" and Just Blaze heard it. Just liked the track but wasn't a fan of the mix down so he offered to mix it down himself...he threw on some adlibs etc and that's how the album version of that track happened. The music speaks for itself, people forget that a lot, they think it's all about who you know, and to an extent it is, but if your music is good, it will attract like minded artists.

I'm inspired by a lot of producers, Just Blaze is a huge inspiration, Large Professor, J Dilla, Marco Polo, M-Phazes, Oddisee, Madlib, Exile, I can't even think of everyone off the top of my head but my favorite producer of all time is DJ Premier. There are a lot of really dope up and coming producers too...

Did the experience of working at Fat Beats allow you to evolve as a beat maker? Which artists or beatmakers frequented Fat Beats and did you have the opportunity to interact with them?

Absolutely, being there I saw and listened to everything, I learned what works as a producer just as much as what doesn't work. And I picked everyone's brain when they came in. I had no shame. Lots of producers, artists, label reps etc came in on a regular basis. Fat Beats is where I met a majority of the artists that I'm currently working with. It's funny, lots of bigger artists and producers would still come in to buy records and support. DJ Premier came in frequently for years until the store closed down, DJ Spinna did the same...anytime he came in he'd buy something. Even the president of Atlantic Records would shop there fairly regularly, it was good to see people of that caliber still supporting the little guy.

How long have you been making beats?

I've been DJing, rhyming, and making beats for roughly 10 years but I didn't get really serious about it until I moved to New York in the last 7 years or so. I've always been into music though, I just didn't have the confidence to take it seriously until recently.

I have encountered beatmakers that will send beats but they can not present the feelings or emotions of the produced beat. How important is communication between beatmakers and emcees? Have you ever been disappointed with the finished product presented to you (by emcees)?

I always feel like my beats have a strong emotion embedded in them, when I send beats to people I might have a theme in mind, but I'm usually pretty open about it as long as they follow the feeling of the beat which is usually pretty obvious. That's part of how I make beats, if I can't connect to it on some kind of emotional level I usually scrap the beat...that being said, yes, I've definitely had an emcee fuck up one of my tracks haha...I don't hold back though, I let them know that's not what I was looking for and try to guide them in the right direction. Communication is very important in any collaborative situation but I usually work with artists that are on my same wavelength so I don't have much trouble with it.

Hip-Hop relies on people being able to adapt to the times. What qualities makes The Audible Doctor stand out amongst the rest?

I actually don't know haha. Everything I do comes from an honest and genuine place. A lot of music these days is based on image and an unrealistic lifestyle that I doubt anyone really lives, I try to avoid all that. I try to come from a real place with my music and I'm hoping that's what makes me stand out. At the end of the day I try to make something you can feel, something you can connect with on an emotional level.

I believe that once a person becomes comfortable their productivity suffers. With that being said, What are you currently working on for 2011? Which artists would you like to work with in the future?

I absolutely agree with you and that's one of my biggest fears. I think once someone becomes comfortable they get lazy and worse than that, they don't realize their work is suffering. That's part of the reason I'm so hard on myself, I try not to settle or feel satisfied with anything out of fear that it will hurt my work...that's also part of my problem though, I always have 20 projects going at once and they're always evolving. I can never focus on one so it takes forever for me to release projects.

But if all goes well, in 2011 I should have an EP with Soul Khan (of The Brown Bag AllStars), a beat tape with J57 (of The Brown Bag AllStars), and album with Magestik Legend (as the group Audible Legend), an album with maticulous (as the group Audimatic) an instrumental EP and a solo EP coming out. Most of these projects are finished or at least mostly finished so I feel comfortable that they'll all drop in 2011. And I have a few bigger projects in the works as well but I don't want to speak on them till they're more finalized.

Check for "The Spread EP", that's coming soon...it's an instrumental EP that will be made available for free download with the idea that any artist can take the beats and record to them. They can then send me the songs they make and I'll pick my favorites to re-release as the vocal version of the EP.

What are some of your interests outside of hip-hop?

Ummm....70's soul music...sleeping...eating...that's about it...

Any final words for those reading this interview?

Yeah, thank you very much for the interview and to everyone reading, if you love something, please support it. It can't survive without your support. Buy something. That is all.

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The Audible Doctor Official Website