The Renegades, the duo of Reazy and Mev, signed with DJ Khaled in late 2010, and within a few weeks, they had their names on a We the Best hit single. That record: "Welcome to My Hood," one of the South's all-time biggest posse cuts, featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Plies, and T-Pain.
Born and raised in Miami, The Renegades found themselves working under the city's biggest music influencer, in Khaled, who soon introduced them to one of Florida's hottest talents: Ace Hood. They immediately caught an intuitive vibe with Ace and began working on the first of Hood's Starvation mixtape series, of which we're currently waiting on the fourth installation.
In early 2013, shortly after Starvation 2, Reazy and Mev split up and went their separate ways. Reazy stayed with We the Best and maintained his close working relationship with Ace Hood, producing 5 tracks on Starvation 3, released at the beginning of 2014. Around this time, needing a change of scenery, he also moved to NYC. The move hasn't affected his standing within We the Best or his partnership with Hood, but it has allowed him to recreate his sound and start pushing his own independent movement. This year, he's produced for Ace Hood, K Camp, Snootie Wild, Young Dolph, as well as a handful of artist you might not, but definitely should, be aware of. He's also got an absolutely massive collab planned for Khaled's upcoming album, I Changed a Lot.
Reazy recently came through the HNHH offices to chat about being mentored by Khaled, why Ace Hood is the definitive street rapper, the star power of K Camp, and what he does to continually update his sound.
We the Best, DJ Khaled & Ace Hood
While fighting to get a foothold in the sprawling Miami rap scene, The Renegades had landed a few production credits on mixtapes from smaller We the Best artists such as Red Rum and Rich Kidd. One day, Reazy got a call from Khaled, which he recounted, using his adept Khaled impersonation, "'Yo, this DJ Khaled!,' and I'm like, 'Yo, who's playing with my phone?' And he was like, 'Nah, this really Khaled! I wanna have a meeting with you. Come to the studio." Upon meeting Khaled, they gave him a hard drive full of beats, one of which would soon become "Welcome to My Hood."
"I could never forget that," says Reazy. "Just to have one of those records -- I grew up, like, hearing 'Cash Flow' and all the records that Khaled had and Ace had, like, 'Damn, I love this music.' And when the tables turned, and I felt the presence in the city, it was almost like, I'm thinking about it now -- one of those feelings that's once in a lifetime."
Though Reazy has had comparable placements since, and will continue to do so for years to come, he'll never forget his first big record; "It's that moment that you know what you're supposed to be doing."
As outsiders, we know Khaled for the plethora of hit records he's released since the mid-'00s, his continued ability to unite several stars on the same track, and, of course, his redundant but irresistible ad-libs over each one of his tracks.
Reazy, who's spent countless hours in Khaled's studio, describes him as one might think of Diddy: a man with an unteachable sense of knowing what a hit sounds like and how to produce said sound using the talented friends at his disposal. "Being in there with him is gonna put you at the top."
In addition to being mentored by Khaled, Reazy's early experience in the studio with Ace Hood also helped him set a bar of tireless creativity for himself. True to its name, the Starvation series is a showcase of Hood's relentless hunger. Upon testing out their collaborative chemistry, they continued recording for 40 to 50 days straight, coming out with over 150 songs.
"Ace is literally what he calls himself. He's like a beast. He gets in the studio, he catches his vibe -- he'll pull out 5, 6 songs in one night. He's that guy," said Reezy of the man with whom he's currently prepping Starvation 4. "You'll have what they call the backpack rapper and the rapper that is very intelligent, and then you've got the 'urban.' The real definition of an urban rapper is Ace Hood. Someone who really can rap, but is super urban -- Ace Hood!"
While working on Starvation 3, Reazy decided to begin his career as a solo producer. "I just felt like from the start of our career, I was doing the bulk of the work, and for Starvation 3, it just became me and Ace in the studio." "You have to do what's best for you. I have nothing against my partner Mev...but this was what my heart was telling me that I needed to do."
Hood hasn't had a prolific 2015, at least by his standards, but Reazy confirmed that Starvation 4 will arrive this year ("pretty soon"). The only record that will for sure be on there is June's "H.O.E. (Hell On Earth)," complete with a haunting beat from Reazy Renegade.
His Unique Sound
"I hate to say it, but most of my n*ggas in prison or jail / They told me it's tough to believe in a God when you living in hell," raps Ace Hood to begin "Hell On Earth," following a soundbite from a 1995 2Pac interview in which he compares himself to Jesus. Reazy, in one of his most masterful productions, creates a wailing choir in the background to that properly creates an infernal aura surrounding Ace's apocalyptic words. A rumbling bass lingers underneath and is every so often punctuated by a bang that induces an image of fire and brimstone raining down on the Miami streets.
As mentioned, Starvation 4 is on the way, and Reazy is confident it will be he and Ace's biggest project yet.
Most of Reazy's productions aren't as theatrical as the above "H.O.E.," though his staple is creating a mysterious mood that exists outside of the club and the streets -- not to say his beats still don't bang in both locations.
He recently produced three songs on K Camp's debut album, Only Way Is Up. On the first night they linked up in Miami, they recorded "This Way," which finds Camp slowly crooning about his typical subject matter, reveling in his youth and his accumulating bankroll. Reazy's production, comprised of careful hi-hats, an eerily soft synth melody, and the occasional vocal sample, gives a depth to Camp's words that otherwise wouldn't be there. As Camp describes his current high, it's implied that today's glory often comes in the wake of yesterday's pain.
Reazy also produced the last song on Only Way Is Up, "Control," which begins with a recording of Camp's dad apologizing for "being a daddy and not a father." It's a fitting finale as well as another instance of Reazy using an unintelligible vocal sample to stir up a powerful emotion. Reazy says his knack for discovering and distorting vocal samples comes from his time producing EDM and listening to underground electronic music from the U.K. Indeed, many of his beats that feature such samples linger in the electronic world as they come across as full compositions -- as dialogues between the emcee and his instrumental.
He also had some kind words to say about Camp's prospects in the game, comparing him to the man of the present (and foreseeable future) -- Future. "Look at Future. I feel like it starts the same way. Cause the first time you heard Future, you was just like, 'OK, this guy can carry a melody.' Until you hear what he really did -- when he found himself, and when he mastered his craft. Look who he is right now."
Speaking off experience, Reazy recently had a chance to work with Mr. Hendrix, as well as a few other southern legends, during the recording sessions for I Changed a Lot, DJ Khaled's upcoming album. Reazy produced track 2 on the album, "I Ride," featuring an incredible lineup of Future, Boosie Badazz, Jeezy, Rick Ross, and, of course, Khaled. "Don't get me wrong, I still have the anthems," warns Reazy. "Welcome to My Hood" part 2?
New Artists
Reazy remains signed to Khaled and We the Best, though he has recently embarked on a path of independence -- not to necessarily build his own brand -- but to keep his inspiration flowing and thus retain his experimental spirit.
"As a musician, the key is to always be learning. How can you learn if you're doing the same thing? You have to find somebody new, and learn from them, and then learn from another person to keep you're knowledge growing. When I'm working with these younger guys, I'm actually learning from them."
Since moving to NYC, he's built a close working relationship with up-and-coming New Jersey artist Young N Fly. Like K Camp, Young N Fly has already developed the ability to crank out the "subtle banger," though with more East Coast energy about his sound. When working with Young N Fly, as with artists such as the Raider Klan-affiliated Young Simmie -- who speaks to Reazy's continued presence in Miami, Reazy approaches a collaboration with no other end than to bring out his own unique sound in sync with that of the artist he's working with. The result is often far more exciting than had he set out to rework the ingredients of your typical banger.
Listen to a few of Reazy's other recent records below.