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What inspired you all to make the jump from producers
to artists?
Play N Skillz-Well
actually we had a couple of rappers that we worked with
and we had a little production team and we were working
with different artists in our area and the artists just
didn't have the same motivation or persistence as us.
We were ready to get it--live in the studio all day every
day. So we had to let them go and we had so many beats.
We owned our own studio and we just started playing with
the mic. One thing led to another and one song led to
50 songs and you got us. Also we were doing beats for
a lot of people in the music business from Petey
Pablo to Lil
Flip and everybody we ran into thought
we should take the rapping thing more serious and they
motivated us. The fact that these other rappers we were
dealing with weren't as motivated as us also motivated
us to grab the mic.
Prior to that point in time had you considered being
rappers?
Play N Skillz-No.
We wanted to stay behind the scenes and play the back
role because your life changes when you jump out and grab
the mic and the pressures of being a rapper so you kind
of gotta live that life. We thought it was going to be
a difficult transition but it was actually a natural transition.
How long have you all been a production duo?
Play N Skillz-First
off you know we're brothers so everything we do we do
together. We dj'd together and that crossed over to the
producing thing and we rapped together. Three years on
the professional tip and we've been making beats playing
around for 4 or five years.
Here is a question. I have two sons and I see how they
interact. Is it harder or easier working together knowing
that you are brothers.
Play N Skillz-As far
as making the music we actually can't even be in the same
room when we are doing the beats and stuff but at the
end of the day I would say it's much easier because there
is nothing that can separate us. There isn't a bad business
situation that can piss one of us off and make us never
want to see each other again. We don't fight over the
money. It's brothers. We'll be mad for a couple of hours
and come back and work it out. There is nothing like doing
something with your brother. We can count on each other
we know that both of us are going to be there and half
of the motivation for us to even be in this business in
the first place is to help our family out so we have a
bigger responsibility than me and him. Me and my brother
do this music for our parents and our family.
Can you tell me about your role in the MTV movie Rumble?
Play N Skillz-We're
actually playing ourselves. It's pretty cool. Of course
it has Ciara in the
movie. The chicks from 3LW, Jennifer Pena and umm I forget
the other two actresses but it's about two volley ball
teams from LA--one from the Hollywood part and one from
East Los Angeles. The Hollywood school burns down so all
the girls have to come to the East Los Angeles school
and play on their volleyball team. So they didn't already
get along. They had to make themselves get along. Our
part in the movie comes when the East Los Angeles school
is going to take that Hollywood girls out. Ciara and the
other girls come and see us perform. We get to perform
our street single "Latino's Stand Up." In the movie
we just played ourselves.
So you've found success as producers and now you are
going to be rappers did you ever worry that if the album
didn't do well it might affect your production business?
Play N Skillz-No we're
fully confident. We would have never took on anything
like this unless we thought it would be a step forward
for us as a production duo. Actually, all it's done is
put a face behind our beats which is a very important
marketing tool. Now people get to see the face behind
the production duo Play N Skillz. I think the pressure…there's
some. When people hear the album they will be very impressed
with how well it was produced and put together that there
will be no hold backs. We're not going to judge it on
record sales or whether we sell a million records or 100,000
records we are going to judge it on what the material
is about.
 Interview
copyright Dorrie Williams-Wheeler, and Thabiz.com 2005
Dorrie Williams-Wheeler is the author of Be
My Sorority Sister Under Pressure and the Unplanned
Pregnancy Book for Teens and College Students. She
is the founder of Thabiz.com
and Imissthe80s.com
and writes for the Rap,
Teen, and 1980s
section at Bellaonline.com. She is an ASCAP member as
a writer and a publisher. Please contact Dorrie for advertising
inquiries, lyric writing inquiries, reprint rights,
paying entertainment jobs,
or general comments.
Visit Dorrie on the web at www.sparkledoll.com
or e-mail her at webmaster@thabiz.com.
May not be reprinted, copied or distributed. You may link
to this interview.
Interview copyright Dorrie Williams-Wheeler, thabiz.com
October 2005.
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