About a year ago, I went online in search of a Maschine tutorial. I came across something more. The AGgotbeats youtube channel. Later changed to AGgottbeats with two t’s. Everything I now know about Maschine was learned by watching his tutorials.  Many of us got to know AG by simply asking him a question. The odd, but welcomed part to me was that no matter how many times a person hit him up for help, he always got back to you. –LOYALTY

     Some of us learn slower than others. Some of us just don’t feel the manuals. Enter AG. He never picks and chooses who he’ll get back at to help. He always seems to have your back. No matter how many times you ask a question. He keeps trying to hit you back until you get it right. –TRUSTWORTHY

     If he missed something, he doesn’t go on some great rant about who he is or what he’s done in the past, thus making it impossible for him to be wrong. “Thank you for bringing that up”, “My fault”, are just some of the responses he makes. –HUMILITY

     Yes Loyalty, Trustworthiness and Humility are the key’s that have built one of the fastest growing online communities now known as MaschineMasters.com. It is my honor to bring you the first of a new series called: “The Interview”. Today we are also honored to interview the Key Master, AGgotbeats, our homie, our brother or put simply…AG, first. As it should be. 

So take a break from the studio as we break through some of the anonymity and get to know your boy AG.

Check it out:

Rushaa:  My man AG! How is the new year starting out for you?

AG:  So far so good.. A lot of plans for this year so I’m excited.. I’m blessed!

R: We’re gonna dive right in.

R: I have to say this first. I’ve been there since the start of the YouTube days. I remember getting my Maschine, and coming home. I went straight to YouTube to see some tutorials. Opened the box, smell the inside of  the box (you know I’m not the only one that smells the new toy’s)lol…

AG: Haha.. the ol’ sniff test! If it smell good it must be good, right?..lol

R:  You Know it cuzin! lol But what caught my eye was how the video looked. Simple. I click ’em. And it’s my boy AG talking about samples and old school drum sounds. You remember those videos right?

AG:  Mos def.. how could I forget!

R: It was a voice, a Maschine and a hand….thats it. You choose not to be seen. Why?

AG:  It originally started out just doing a couple of test videos to see if it was something I even wanted to do.. Cause I had no plan on what I would talk about.. who was my target audience or nothing. (Just do it) is what I told myself. But it started taking off once I started focusing on the tutorials.. who knew! So it became more about the information and I felt it was no need to reveal my secret identity.. lol

R: Ok real talk dog, are you Batman? Don’t lie to us dog! Lol

AG: Lmao.. it would dope to be getting some of that superhero money.. I mean I love what Im doing and everything but.. haha

{At that point I was pulled out of the room by AG’s butler and told never to ask this question again….WTF?!}lol

R: Real talk though, I think we all feel like we’ve known you for years, you our homie, and the videos were and still are, straight to the point, and explained flawlessly simple. Why did you decide this was the way you wanted to do these videos?

AG:  It wasn’t premeditated, like I said it just kinda happened this way and I stuck with it.  As far as the info goes.. Here go one of those “Mama always told me lines” lol..  Nah, I was raised to treat people the way you want to be treated.. I try to apply that in every aspect of my life.. So I guess you can say I just replaced “treat” with “teach”. 

R:  That’s what’s up..

R: People can really take note of how you seem to try and answer each and every question sent to you. Even if its to say thank you. I think it’s EXTREMELY humble of you brother. Give us the reason for going the extra mile when dealing with people.

AG:  I genuinely like helping people.. Sometimes maybe a lil too much but thats another topic.. for real though, if it wasn’t for the people I can’t say I would still be in this.. Always feel the need to kinda express my gratitude.. not sure why, guess its just in me.

R: Ok. Lets get into AG’s past. What music were you raised on?

AG:  Raised on?.. well my Grand Pops was a die hard James Brown fan.. I mean die hard! I remember waking up on Sunday mornings to him blasting JB’s hits and coming around the corner only to see him sliding cross the floor, lip syncing.. “cuttin a rug” as old folks use to call it.. lol but my Moms generation was into a lot of 80’s soul, party music.. Mtume, Mary Jane Girls, Rick James and Teena Marie R.I.P, Guy, Keith Sweat, Allison Williams, who was our neighbor growing up.. yea but its a lot more that Im forgetting.

R: Did you learn any instruments as a kid?

AG:  Yea.. Started off playing the drums in 4th grade.. then in 6th went to the glockenspiel…not sure why, but thats where it stopped.. Had found a new love.. Basketball! But as for my music today, them drums is still very much important.. gotta be right!

R: Who inspired you musically when you were young and how did they do so?

AG: I remember my first bootleg cassette (unknowingly) Public Enemy – It takes a Nation.. My brother got Big Daddy Kane – Long Live the Kane and we would alternate. But that was just the beginning.. I was official a head yo.. It wasn’t really one particular artist.. Im more of a genre type brother.. Ima sum it up like this everyone that ever got play on Yo! MTV Raps… lol that was my shit! Golden era hip hop…

R: Who inspires you today and how?

AG: Hmmm, it changes every so often.. you know Premiere, Pete Rock, J Dilla R.I.P., Q tip, Questlove, Alchemist, SkiBeatz, 9th, Illmind, Apollo Brown, Boon Doc the list goes on and on.. mainly hiphop/soul producers.. not in hiphop but can’t leave out Raphael Saadiq.. he’s freakin DOPE! and glad to see my Richmond brother D’Angelo make a coming back. But Im really inspired by a lot of my youtube subscribers and MM fam.. They bring out the best in me too when Im focused on the music.

R: How do you apply that to your production?

AG: I may want a different swing in my drums so I would listen to one of them.. Might like the way someone chopped a sample so I would try to apply that technique to a sample Im flippin.. just all depends.. bits and pieces from everywhere.

R: Some people feel a producer and a beat maker is the same thing.

AG: I would have to disagree with that statement… To me they are two totally different roles in music. In my opinion a beatmaker is one who makes a beat and submits it to an artist.. A producers can make the beat but he is responsible for making the best song out of what is present.

R: Which one are you?

AG:  I would say Im more of a producer.. I think my tracks are ok alone..but I used to rhyme so when making beats I make them with lyrics and hooks in mind.. its never just about the beat for me.. when I get with the artist 9/10 it turns into a good song.

R: Which one do you think we have more of today and why?

AG:  Not sure because I don’t know a lot of the behind the scenes.. I think the real producers was like Quincey Jones to Dre to Puffy to Jermaine Dupri to Timbaland, Neptunes etc. can’t speak on today though.. I would say Kanye, Swizz maybe 40.. to name a few.

R: Ok bro, I dig your sound. To me it’s got that warm, clean sound to it. It feels like original hip hop with some up to datedness (thats a real word) to it. I’m digging it, your fans feel it.  You love hip hop. Can it be safe to say that?

AG:  Yea man love love love hip hop! It just evokes a feeling in me thats hard to match.. getting a lot more into the neo soul thing too though.. but hip hop has to be at the root of it.

R: Get ready for this AG. Think about these questions now brother…lol…

R: What is HipHop?

AG: Hip Hop is life.. its a voice to life.. its a visual to life.. its everyone’s story, struggle what have you.. its us

{As AG finished, his butler found me in tears in a fetal position, tightly grasping my Maschine due to the beauty of his definition of HIPHOP}lol

R: Why do you love hip hop?

AG: It kept me informed, whether it be good or bad it was like our channel 6 news.. it pretty much raised me, not to be compared but I would never stop loving my Parents..it had a similar type influence in some critical stages of my upbringing.

R: What’s missing from hiphop?

AG:  I think “mainstream” hip hop is missing that social involvement.. seems like its all about me and my click.. Its not really bringing people together.. not saying everyone needs to be singing kumbaya.. but its that purpose of being here.. something that everyone feels connected to thats lacking. Thats my honest opinion.

R: So true. Do you think all the music out today, rap wise, is hip hop?

AG:  Nah.. not really, let me rephrase that.. not the kind of hip hop I’m use to.. I think it has evolved and maybe this is the youth’s version of it.. Kinda like when we were listening to RUN DMC back in the days and our parents would look at us like “You call that music? That aint no real music.. huh. Listen to this.” So its just the next generation.

R: Uh oh G… This is the big one. Is Hip Hop dead?

AG:  Nah Hip Hop isn’t dead.. it just depends where you look for it.. Its like a t-shirt I seen.. ‘Hip Hop ain’t Dead it lives Underground!’ Its dope to see these vets still making quality music like Nas, Jay Z, Raekwon etc.. make me still feel like I’m young lol.. lets me know we can still do this music thing as long as the passion is still there…..

I have to say, this is one of the tightest interviews, period.  And guess what? Thats Part 1. In the next installment, we’re headed to the studio son! I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time MaschineMaster.com family,

I’ll holla at cha later

Rushaa

Click Here for Part 2