Most of Atlanta's most successful musicians were born in the city and haven't left since. The transplants that have been able to make it are mostly from the South, as Atlanta is really the only place in the region that provides any opportunity for a career in music. That's where C4 headed after he had seen DJ Spinz, also from the town of Augusta, make a name for himself in the Georgia capital.
"The real struggle, man." That's how C4 describes growing up in Augusta. "No opportunity. Just country. Go to school and get a job at a plant. That's what everybody do. But I knew I ain't wanna take that route."
Atlanta indeed proved to be a land of opportunity for C4, whose name comes from the piano note (and not the explosive). Though he was lucky to run into a few major players who helped him quickly earn a solid reputation in the streets. He crashed on Spinz’ couch until he was able to get his beats picked up by relatively well-known artists such as Travis Porter and Gorilla Zoe. An important foray into the scene came when he developed an immediate rapport with a rapper named Yung Fresh, who in the next couple of years, would change his name to Bankroll Fresh and become one of the most promising trap artists in Atlanta. Last month, in news that shook the city, Fresh was shot and killed outside of the notorious Street Execs Studio.
Fresh came by C4’s bedroom studio one day in late 2011, and the pair recorded “Street Money,” which would go on to become the inspiration for Fresh’s successful Street Money Worldwide brand and label. The song is filled with wild trap energy and is a powerful showcase of the early talents of both Fresh and C4. Ghostly sirens come in and out of focus as Fresh executes a relentless flow that mimics the non-stop punches of Gucci Mane but with a more youthful charm.
Speaking of Gucci, C4 was introduced to the Trap God by Yung Fresh, and just like that, the out-of-town producer acquired the city’s strongest cosign.
After becoming one of GuWop’s studio regulars, C4 recalls Gucci telling him one day, “You Brick Squad now,” and soon after that, he remembers his new boss calling him up and asking, “C4, wanna come to Miami?” Caught off guard, he responded, “Shit, I don’t think I got no Miami money right now,” which was quickly met with, “Man you good!”
C4 then found himself on what sounds like the most lit road trip ever assembled, on a bus with Gucci and a gang of Brick Squad affiliates, most of whom he had never met, including Young Thug, Waka Flocka, PeeWee Longway, and Young Dolph. Once in Miami, most of the trip was spent in the Hit Factory, where they recorded a wealth of material and were introduced to Birdman and other industry playmakers.
It was after that when C4 began working heavily with Gucci and Young Thug, soon-to-be the one of the hottest (and most unpredictable) rappers in the game. He scored two beats on 1017 Thug, the tape that put Thug on a path toward stardom. 1017 Thug arrived less than two weeks after Gucci’s Trap God 2, on which C4 contributed to three tracks, including the Wiz Khalifa-featuring “Nothin on Ya” alongside Spinz. The track is a terrorizing club anthem that makes use of a blend of squealing video game-style synths, anthemic bells, and throbs of bass.
“Nothin on Ya” is evidence of C4’s early mission as a producer -- to elicit both the thrill and danger inherent in the trap lifestyle by using whatever bizarre and unorthodox sounds he could get his hands on. It helped that his team consisted of three brave experimenters in Fresh, Thug, and Wop, though fast-forward to 2014, and that would all begin to change.
Falling Back After Gucci's Imprisonment
One can’t mention C4 without making note of his work on Rome Fortune’s Beautiful Pimp, which was also released near the beginning of his Brick Squad hot streak. “We were so ahead of our time with that shit,” said C4, who produced four tracks on the wonderfully eclectic trap tape. “Help Wanted” begins with a disorienting attack of UFO sounds. Suddenly, as Rome begins rapping, the beat switches into nothing but a muted guitar sample, sounding like a recording of an old AM radio broadcast. Some trap drums are added to the mix and then the pattern repeats itself, moving between wildly different frequencies.
C4 was at a good place here, working freely with exciting artists on different ends of the spectrum. A few months later, though, Gucci Mane would be sent to prison, where he remains today, almost two years later.
“It was a big blow,” said of Gucci’s incarceration, “Because everybody, or every producer that’s poppin’ -- Mike Will, Metro -- they had somebody attached to them, artist-wise, who they rocked with, and that was Future. And Gucci was my guy.”
Gucci kept up the work from behind bars, especially at first, and C4 was able to score a few beats on Trap House 4, Wop’s 11th official album. He also dropped a couple more songs with Thug, including “You the World,” proof that Thug has gotten less weird as he’s broken into the mainstream. The beat is an example of off-kilter EDM -- with elements of Eurodance, techno, and dubstep -- rather than anything hip-hop, but it shows how far-out an untamed Thug was willing to go back in mid-2014.
By this point, Young Thug had switched his mentor from Gucci to Birdman, and C4 wouldn’t see much of him (until more recently) as he went on to become the face of Rich Gang alongside Rich Homie Quan. Looking back, C4 said, “It was like, ‘Damn, I’m completely on my own.’”
In Gucci’s absence, C4 felt that the collaborative energy that first attracted him to Atlanta had begun to fade. Wanting a break from the fiercely competitive southern climate, he moved to L.A., seeking a destination where music and trapping weren’t the only things popping. Soon after he moved, however, his spirit was reignited when he learned that Lil Wayne, who was in a world of his own drama, had selected a C4 beat for Tha Carter V.
"Money Talk," "Thief in the Night," and Losing Bankroll Fresh
That song, the title of which he would not reveal, apparently appeared on the tentative Carter V tracklist that surfaced in late 2014. And he believes it’ll end up on the final version, whenever that may see a release. He played a snippet of a phone recording of a video recording of the song being played in Wayne’s studio, and going off that, it’ll sound on time whenever it arrives.
“When I got that placement it kind of boosted me back up,” said C4 about his Carter V effort, which caught the ear of T.I., who tapped C4 for his latest single, “Money Talk,” produced with the help of Kip Hilson. There are only a few synth notes in the gorgeous production, which C4 calls a “cool mess of swag.” The song is more about texture, as the sounds vibrate at subtly different pitches to form a chilled backdrop that builds a gentlemanly aura around T.I.’s snappy shit-talking. Sizzling 808s punctuate the negative space to give his hustler’s teachings an added touch of credibility.
C4 also reunited with Thug, who now looks to Tip as a mentor, on another track that lays rattling drums over a soft, breezy melody -- the Slime Season 2 standout “Thief in the Night,” co-produced by Supah Mario. This one boasts an especially delicate piano melody, which is given a hypnotic effect as a theremin buzzes in the background. The drums start to roll in sync with Trouble’s hard-nosed hook, providing a suspenseful jolt of trap energy.
“Music is on cool vibes right now,” said C4. “All about melody. Whenever you can bring some smooth pianos and bells and still get some 808s beatin’ behind it, you gon’ win.” And win he has, as when Thug chose “Thief in the Night” as the first SS2 track to market to mainstream radio, C4 has had three consecutive singles with big-name ATL artists, beginning last October with Jeezy’s “Sweet Life,” an inspirational and political Church in These Streets number that features Janelle Monáe.
As C4 has reached a new height of success, though, he’s lost another one of his closest allies in the rap game with the recent killing of Bankroll Fresh. “Man, he just wanted everybody around him to win,” said C4 about his late friend and the man to whom he’s ready to credit his entire career. “He was always a very energetic, positive guy...He almost had, like, ADD -- always doin’ something. But it was always positive.”
C4 recently relocated to New York, though he expects to still operate out of Atlanta, a place he feels is ripe for collaborative inspiration but unfit for business. He’s learned the unpredictability of the (trap) music biz and thus understands how to move alone. He still hasn’t lost his willingness to work in tandem, though, as evidenced by his recent collabs with Kip and Supah Mario. He’s also worked with YSL producer Wheezy on two melodically-minded bangers for Madeintyo as well as Quentin Miller. Aside from their upcoming joint project, C-Wheezy, C4’s focus is likely on keeping his hot singles streak alive well into 2016. That Carter V joint will certainly be of assistance whenever it decides to grace the world.