Interview
conducted by Niamaru for 2Pacaveli.de on
December 4th 2003
NIA: First
of all, thank you for the interview I
really appreciate it! I've read on your
homepage that you are originally from
Sweden. Can you tell the german fans a
little bit about your earlier years, your
background and how you got in touch with
the music industry?
QD: When my parents got a divorce when I
was 3 years old, I moved to Sweden with my
Mother, I used to visit the US here and
there, I stayed in Sweden until I was 16.
I got into music through Breakdancing, I
was a breaker, did some tours and a lot of
events, when i'd used to go to jams I became facinated with the DJ's equipment,
that's how I slowly got into making beats,
because I loved the technical side of it,
buttons and wires etc. In 1986 or so I
moved to Harlem NY, I worked with old
school artists such as T La Rock, so I got
my foundation in NY, then I moved to LA
and hooked up with Dre and Eazy and that's
where I met Cube, while he was in NWA.
When Cube left NWA I ended up hooking up
with him and producing songs for his
albums, thing skind of took off from there,
shortly I hooked up with LL, and others
and the momentum led me all the way to
working with Pac. originally when I left
Sweden to pursue a career in NY I would
have been satisfied to work with just one
semi famous rapper, so everything that
came about is a huge blessing.
NIA: You worked on the comedy show "The
Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air". In Germany it
was and still is a huge success. What
exactly was your job on the show?
QD: I did music for the show, I scored all
the episodes, you know the end theme music
and all the little music bits in between
scenes or when someone is dancing, that's
the music I'd compose for the show, it
taught me how to play live and be
versatile, they may ask you to do Reggae
and you have no choice but to do it or get
fired, sometimes even country music, so
that was a great training ground for me.
NIA: Is there anything you can say about
any of your upcoming projects?
QD: We're finishing up BEEF 2...coming
2004, I'll give you other projects when we
get closer to release, lot's of good stuff
coming out from QD3 Ent in 2004.
NIA: As you might know I'm the webmaster
of a german 2Pac website, so let us talk
about Makaveli. First off, please tell us
how you hooked up with Tupac.
QD: I met him at Echo Sound, a legendary
studio in LA where we all got started, I
was supposed to work with Pac there but
som ething went down where he had to leave,
then much later my sister gave me his
hotel room info and I sent him some beats
and he felt them and that was it.
NIA: You worked with a lot of artists like
Ice Cube, LL Cool J or Too Short. Was it
something special to work with Tupac, did
he work in a different kind of way then
other artists in the music-, and
especially the rap-buisness?
QD: Yes, Pac was unique, full speed ahead
all the time, plus Pac made it look so
easy to write rhymes, he's write while
talking and clowning around, he was very
in touch with his creativity, and he could
not tolerate anyone slowing him down, no
one. It was the best sessions I can
remember ever having. The speed at which
he worked was unbelievable, everything you
heard is true.
NIA: Is it true that he wrote one song in
less than 20 minutes?
QD: Almost everytime, if that, from what I
remember he used to listen to the song 3
times and be done writing, many rappers
could not get on his songs because they
simply couldn't write fast enough, by the
time they we're half way through one verse
Pac would have written a whole song, many
a sad faces leaving the studio with Pac:)
NIA: You produced some classic songs like
'Lost Soulz' [name of our community], 'Heaven
ain't hard 2 find' Hellrazor, and the
incredible Cali Love Part 2 called '2 Live
and die in L.A.'! Which one of the tracks
you've produced for Pac is your personal
favorite?
QD: Not to be conceeded but I like them
all, ironically one of my faves is the Lil
Mo' 'Niggaz Nature Remix' on UTEOT, many
didn't like it but I felt that one, other
than that I'd say 'Live & Die' or 'Letter To
The Prez.' Also 'Soon As I Get Home'. By
the way, the 'Hellrazor' track was done in
10 minutes, they gave me the vocals and
the track just poured out, the whole deal
including mix was done in 4hours from
beginning to end.
NIA: And what is your all time favorite
Tupac Song in general, and which one
touches you most?
QD: I like 'Who Do You Believe' In a lot,
also 'Dear Mama'.
NIA: We all know that Tupac wanted to
release the "One Nation" album, did you do
any productions on that album?
QD: Nope, I heard it, it sounded different
than anything I've heard from Pac, more
rough in the NY sense, dirtier sound, not
typical Pac at all.
NIA: Do you still have unreleased 2Pac
tracks? And will you produce Tracks on the
upcoming 2Pac Album, which is said to be
the last album released with unreleased
material on it?
QD: I can't speak on the unreleased tracks,
in regards to future records, I haven't
heard from the Estate yet, so I don't know.
NIA: Could you tell us a little bit about
the relationship between Tupac and your
father and how it developed?
QD: It started out a bit rocky, but Pac
really won him over one time when they
we're set to meet at a very nice hotel for
some business, and Pac showed up in Hip
Hop gear, as soon as he showed up he
turned right back around and went back
home to change into a suit, Pops realized
at that moment that Pac had a lot of
integrity. They are both generals so once
they connected it was all good.
NIA: Do you remember a typical situation
with 2Pac? Something special in the studio
or things like that?
QD: I just remember how honest Pac would
be with everyone, if he liked you, it was
all love, if he didn't, you'd know, he was
honest, so one of the moments that struck
me was when some girls came to the studio
and started lying to impress him and he
escorted them to the door saying that they
we're fucking up the vibe by being fake.
NIA: You are not only a music producer.
You also produced movies like for example
the new "BEEF" documentary which can be
find in some stores in Germany now and "The
Freshest Kids". Definitly a Must-Buy for
every 2Pac Fan ist your documentary about
him called "Thug Angel - The Life of an
Outlaw". How did you get the idea for it?
QD: Well, I'm getting up there in age as
far as the music business is concerned and
one day I was watching a music channel and
I felt that none of the Hip Hop coverage
was as accurate as it could be, so I
decided to make a series of films that
would be done from an insiders perspective
so that 20-30 years from now if anyone
wants to see what our culture was all
about these films would show you first
hand. It's really a labor of love, I've
been in Hip Hop since 1982, first as a
breaker, then as a producer, now finally
I'm blessed to be able to be in a position
to documument some of what i've seen, this
is like my gift back for what Hip Hop gave
me, it allowed me to find who I was as a
person. Thug Angel came about because I
just felt there was another dimension to
Pac that people haven't seen and it was
such an injustice to him and his legacy.
NIA: And how did it feel to work with
these close friends of Tupac? What was the
atmosphere like during filming?
QD: It was many different things at once,
tense, beautiful, sad, happy, all the
above, overall it was intenst as with
anything Pac related, lots of ups and
downs, but it ended well, and that's all
that matters. When we we're almost done
with the film we had our first screening
for the crew of us producers incl Leila,
tracy, the dirctor and myself, and towards
the end of the films the lights in the
room started going on and off out of
nowhere, for quite a while, then they
stayed on a full brightness, we all just
looked at eachother like "Pac must like
the film :)" it was crazy.
NIA: You also worked with the Outlawz,
they did some cuts for the Thug Angel
Soundtrack, how is it to work with them
and will you produce some tracks for their
upcoming album?
QD: It's always good to work with the Lawz,
they work fast like Pac as well, come in
and lay their verses and their out. I'm
looking to get on their new album.
NIA: Can you tell us something about
Napoleon? He also got a little brother
called Muszamil... Will you work with them
in the future?
QD: Napoleon is making some amazing
positive transformations in his life, he
has transended his old self and devoted
his life to Islam, I really respect that
and look to support him on that mission
however I can and have told him as much.
It's always nice to see someone find the
light, their true essense. He's been
through a lot and I wish him the outmost
success in life. Gotta' lot of love for
him and his bro, good cats, in fact, I'm
going to interview Napoleon for BEEF 3,
it's going to be the most powerful movie
yet.
NIA: What are your thoughts on "Chart-Rappers"
like 50 Cent or Eminem? And do you think
it's ok that they are featured on 2Pac
tracks or produce his songs instead of
people that actually knew Tupac and were
close 2 him?
QD: I'm trying not to get involved in that,
however the Estate wants to do it is what
I accept. If it generates more Pac fans
it's all good.
NIA: What are your thoughts on the "7 Day
Theory" and all these other alive theories?
QD: I don't really have an opinion, I
personally do not subscribe to them, all I
know is his passing was a huge loss and so
far no theory has brought him back.
NIA: You do not have to answer this
question but what did you do when you've
heard that 2Pac was shot in 1996? And how
where your feelings when you have heard
that he died? If it's to private that's no
problem...
QD: When I heard that he'd passsed it
really sadened me because Pac gave the
people he worked with so much hope and
energy, he made us feel like we could do
anything and when he passed it took some
of that hope away. Normally I try to take
death as the way of the universe and try
to trust that there's a reason and that
it's all in divine order, but Pac was so
for the people and I know that he could
have done some even more incredible things
for the community had he lived but at the
end of the day I trust that it's indeed in
divine order. I was living in S.Central LA
by Slauson at the time and one of my boys
rolled next to me on my way home on
Slauson Bl and said your boy Pac just
passed away, and my heart sunk, I went
home and smoked some bud and cried to be
honest, he had made such a positive
impression on me that I was really looking
forward to many years of good music and
work with him, we we're supposed to score
Gangrelated together...even though he was
a supposed Thug Rapper, Pac had a very
innocent or naive energy sometimes that
definetly let you know that all he really
wanted was to see the community get on
track, so when he got shot over some petty
bs it felt so senseless.
NIA: Is there anything else you would like
the german fans to know?
QD: Hmm, let's see, I'd like to thank the
German fans for diggin' the music that
we've been blessed to make. I grew up in
Sweden so when there is a response to the
music over seas it hold a special place
for me, so thank you for listening and
aprecciating our work. Look out for our
future releases from QD3 Entertainment,
one of my inspirations for them is that
when I was growing up in Sweden I would
have died to gain more access to these
artists, so that's what I try to offer
with these DVD's, access for those who
don't have it. Peace, QD