I've been recently trying to figure out which song inspired me to start beatmaking eighteen years ago. To be honest, I'm still not quite sure, but for some reason, the song "Keep It Thoro" by Prodigy seems to resonate the most. I'd say I'm 80-95% confident that was the song.
H.N.I.C., Queensbridge, & Hip-Hop
In 2000, I got a bootleg copy of Prodigy's debut album, H.N.I.C., an initialism for "Head Ni**a In Charge". After writing the previous sentence, I'm now 95-99% confident it was "Keep It Thoro" because I know I started beatmaking in 2000. Anyhow, this album sparked my passion for hip-hop and I began digging deeper into Mobb Deep and their origins, Queensbridge Housing, in New York City. Known as North America's largest public housing development, it also birthed legendary artists, such as Nas, Tragedy Khadafi, Marley Marl, MC Shan, Cormega, Blaq Poet, Metta World Peace, and etcetera. My obsession with hip-hop continued to thrive since.
A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-Al-Al-Al-Al-Alchemist
"Keep It Thoro" also introduced me to one of my favorite producer, Mad Skillz, aka Mudfoot, aka Pigpen, aka The Alchemist. I've been following his work since and fortunately he's been very active. I'll get into the details about his influence on my production another time. The point is that Alchemist produced the song of the day. He sampled the intro from "Music People" by Jack Mayborn, which can be heard below.
Jack Mayborn - Music People
So, there it is! The song that most likely inspired me to start beatmaking. After hearing the instrumental of "Keep It Thoro" eighteen years ago, I thought that I could potentially do better. I'm still not quite there yet.
"I'll throw a tv at you, crazy" ~ Prodigy
On June 20, 2017, Prodigy passed from complications related to his sickle-cell anemia blood disorder, a condition he was born with which causes permanent physical pain. RIP Prodigy.