King Los has released mixtape after mixtape, documenting his journey to 'Becoming King,' as he calls it, and increasing his fan-base with the release of each project. Although the rapper thinks that the journey to 'Becoming King' will be a lifelong one, he is persistent and relentless in his pursuit of it.
The Bad Boy rapper is prepping his Becoming King mixtape, which will be his first since The Crown Ain't Safe in 2011. Fans were obviously thirsty for new music from the rapper, and he satisfied them when he delivered his "Intro" track.
The song is hard-hitting and fast-paced, with a modern twist, and Los sounds unrelenting on it. It was a track we had to know more about-- and so it's featured on Track Breakdown this week.
The unique production was tailor-made for Los by J. Oliver and Flight Sch., the former a frequent collaborator with the rapper, and the latter new to working with Los. Los obviously knew what he was doing though when he set these two up to work together-- the result is great.
We hit up both King Los and the two producers to talk about the making of "Becoming King Intro," and how it all came together, plus we got a detail or two about the mixtape itself. Read both sides of the story, directly from the source, by clicking through the images above.
If you haven't heard the "Becoming King Intro" yet check it out below, and let us know what you thought of the single.
los
FROM KING LOS’ PERSPECTIVE
On his first reaction when he heard the instrumental for the "Becoming King Intro":
My first reaction was to jump in the booth!!
On what inspired the song concept for "Becoming King Intro":
My ambitions to become one of the most respected artists in the game. I've learned a lot of lessons in this business and have evolved. My whole career has been a journey from the business side to my artistry. Its all about my growth and taking my fans along for the ride.
los 2
On if his constantly changing flow was tricky to record:
No not really, I love when a beat tastefully switches up and allows me to do the same with the flow.
On what drew him to use this beat as the intro:
I knew how I wanted the intro to sound so I got J Oliver and FlightSch in the studio and broke down what I was looking for, they delivered it perfectly. The beat definitely builds up anticipation for what's to come. It's like when you watch a movie and it gives you a feeling of suspense and what's coming next. " Becoming King" intro definitely prepares my fans for what’s in store.
los 3
On how he went about writing the intro:
We were building the beat in the studio together so once it was far enough along I just starting going in. Without using a pen or pad I just go where the beat takes me.
On how his "Becoming King" mixtape will differ from his previous tapes:
All my mixtapes were about different points in my career. Becoming King is about where I am now. It's about my quest to make my imprint on this industry and rising above adversity. I want to inspire people to work for what they want and pursue their dreams. Trials and tribulations come but you have to endure and embrace the struggle in order to grow.
los 4
On the journey to 'Becoming King' and how long he thinks that journey will take:
I definitely believe that "Becoming King" is an on-going journey. I could be a multi-platinum selling artist and still feel like I haven't reached my destination. I will constantly be looking for ways to challenge myself.
los 6
On how being a new father will affect his rhymes:
[It will affect my rhymes] in the sense that I believe that being a father is one of my greatest accomplishments and I want to be a role model to my son. That makes me want to work harder to achieve my goals and hope that I can instill that in my son.
On his favourite line/verse:
There are some dope lines in the record but I'd have to say that my favorite part from the track is the beginning, being able to speak to the listener about my outlook on what it takes reach your goals.
j. oliver
FROM THE PRODUCERS, J. OLIVER & FLIGHT SCH.’S PERSPECTIVE
On if they’ve worked together before:
Flight Sch: Well it was the first time I actually met Jay in the studio in Phoenix. Los was real keen on gettin’ us to collaborate on that beat, given the different styles of music we both came from. It was great because we knew right then how we wanted this intro to sound and we had it in minutes!
Jay Oliver: When I flew into Arizona, Los brought me to After Platinum studios and
introduced me to Flight School and said, "you guys are both geniuses and I want
ya'll to work on my Intro together." He made us watch this Will Smith Youtube
video that was crazy inspiring...and from that I knew the direction I wanted to
go with it and from there Flight school felt the epicness..and me and Flight School
are very musical so we didn't want to lose that. Flight School is very
knowledgeable about "difference makers" of a track . He added the elements
that I wouldnt even think to add..therefore broadening my knowledge and helping
me to learn, really transforming my sound to a whole different level. This was
our first time and first beat together, it was one of the most epic moments in
my life.
flight sch
On if they had worked with Los before & recording in-studio together:
FlightSch: I had just gotten signed to After Platinum then, that was back in June last year and it was only days later when I met Los. We did have a couple of demos laced down but yeah that was pretty much the first time I had the opportunity to work with Los. Definitely an honor working with a great!
Jay Oliver: We all worked on this track in the studio together. The first day I landed in Arizona we got straight to work...and after the 2 or 3 hours of working on the record we played it for Los, and he snapped. I'm talking about NO PEN NO PAPER ...TOP OF THE HEAD. Ive worked with Los my whole life, people who know me and Los know we are pretty much brothers that's big bro and I’m little bro, But Ive never witnessed what we saw Los do in that studio that day ever...I always been a believer of Los...we been through it all, but when I tell you this record changed my whole outlook on how I live life and do music its real. Sent chills through me. You couldn't begin to understand the epic magic in the studio that day.
On if they have more tracks with Los on “Becoming King”:
FlightSch: Not right now though. It was just on "Becoming King" for me.
Jay Oliver: Um as far as me and Flight School is concerned, no the intro track was the only track we did together that’s on the album. I believe I have about 4 or 5 tracks on Becoming King. The only other co-production track I did is with my bros Mitzfitzsoundz ..who just recently produced “Top of the World” for Joe Budden featuring Kirko Bangz on his latest CD. But I produced a lot of records for Los for Becoming King...I've always been Los' go-to producer, we worked hard on this project and had long, long talks and late nights....I'm about being legendary...and so is Los..We do this because we were destined too. King life.
producer
On if the intricacy of the track and the modern sound throughout the beat is typical in their production:
FlightSch: Well I have a great admiration for orchestral sounding records and have tried emulating them on a couple of FlightSch records I produced too. And Jay being the maestro of hard-hitting hip-hop beats, we clearly understood our strengths and we just knew how everything was gonna form up. It was great workin with Jay and I’m guessing we both learned a thing or two along the way.
Jay Oliver: Um, me, yes. One thing about my production is I never like to keep it simple or boring...I love when music switches up. So I tend to have drops in my production to make you be like, "What the hell just happened?," or you’re like, "Def didn't see this coming." I like for musical composition to always keep you wondering and guessing what’s coming next.
producer 2
On what equipment was used to create the beat for the “Becoming King Intro”:
FlightSch: Jay and I worked with Logic & Reason for this.
Jay Oliver: Flight school uses Logic and I just learned how to use Logic so we used Logic...only thing was I was a Reason user when I started making beats, when I was 16, so I rewired Reason to Logic and use both of them at the same time.
On their go-to machines:
FlightSch: Well honestly in this 2.0 age, everything has moved to being digital. We have everything we need in our little Macbooks and Mac Pros. It’s crazy how we have it all this easy really. Haha, oh and my Akai MPK49 too.
Jay Oliver: I use Logic and Reason Combined...still waiting for my tutorial On the "Mashine" from Mr.Porter, a good mentor of mine. But as of now its Logic and Reason.
On their musical influences:
FlightSch: I have many, many influences all the way from the composer John Debney to The-Dream to Quincy Jones. Just too many to name really. I guess being open and receptive to every kinda genre just allows us to have a much more mature take on music altogether.
Jay Oliver: My musical influences growing up have always been Eminem and Cool and Dre. It’s weird, I know, but when I was in high school that's who I looked up to and who influenced me. Now when it comes to my production, my musical influences that pushes me to be legendary and the best the worlds seen is my family and my city, Baltimore.