#282: DJ Toomp

This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal, we went to Means Street Studio in Atlanta to sit down with the legendary producer DJ Toomp about his hall of fame career! Toomp discusses growing up in a musical household in Atlanta, the son of a soul singer, seeing a 60 Minutes segment on DJing in the early 80's, catching Fresh Fest when they stopped through the A, and how he made a name for himself through turntable routines and rocking parties. We get into his time in Miami working and touring with 2 Live Crew, what he took in in terms of production and how to run an independent label via Uncle Luke, his contributions to the New Jack City soundtrack, and the hardest lesson to learn as a young kid in the music business. Toomp talks about returning to Atlanta, then a R&B-heavy city, developing his own sound, trying to fit in with The Organized Noize crew, trying to win over executives at LaFace, and collaborating with local artists like Lil Jon, with whom he worked for free. Toomp recalls the full confidence, the unique flow and the vivid wordplay that a young Clifford Harris brought to the table when they first met, how the whole package reminded him of Jay-Z, the work they put in on songs like 24s, the long drives he made with Jason Geter and T.I. to NYC to try and sell LA Reid on a bigger vision, and after they parted ways with the label, how they proved their legitimacy by taking over not only Atlanta, but the South, resulting in a bigger and better deal with Atlantic Records. And of course, Toomp shares incredible recollections about his collaborations with Tip, Jay-Z, Kanye, Jeezy, Rick Ross and Pitbull, the crazy circumstances behind a doomed sampling of Prince, what record he considers to be way ahead of its time, who he offered What You Know to first, and so much more!