There was a moment in Twitter’s history when hip-hop heads would add "Charlie Heat Version" to their profile names as a nod to the impact of Ye’s “Facts” remix. Ye banked on an up-and-coming producer who, at the time, had already built a resounding resume, having worked alongside G.O.O.D Music staples like Pusha T and Travis Scott, as well as global icons like Madonna before The Life Of Pablo even landed on a concrete album title. So when he cites the Neptunes as one of his biggest musical influences, you can’t help but acknowledge the versatility he had already shown before his name became an adjective for the fire emoji.
“One thing I admire about them is their sound can go from pop to rap to R&B to even, like, I think Pharrell just did Miley record, you know? It's almost like full country and it's incredible," Charlie Heat told HotNewHipHop. "And all those different things still sounding like them is definitely what I strive for."
Charlie Heat has clearly elevated himself since working alongside Ye and producing six songs on Lil Uzi Vert’s The Real Uzi. Most recently, he served as an executive producer on Bryson Tiller’s latest album, contributed production to J. Cole’s “Huntin Wabbitz” off Might Delete Later, and took an A&R role on Primary Wave while balancing his duties as the co-founder of House Of 99. However, he and Primary Wave confirmed to HotNewHipHop that they’ve amicably parted ways.
With all the experience that he’s gained within the past decade alone, Charlie Heat is a vessel of knowledge in the music industry. Some of the lessons he gained might be the result of trial and error but ultimately, overcoming each learning curve served him better as both a producer and an executive in this business. We recently caught up with Charlie Heat to discuss working on Bryson Tiller’s latest album, advice for up-and-coming producers, and why Nick Cannon is a legend.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
HotNewHipHop: First and foremost, based on your production style and versatility, what sounds influenced you early on in your childhood? I’ve read that you grew up in a fairly musical household.
Charlie Heat: I mean, a few things, man. Probably the biggest thing was from an early age, my dad was very eclectic and listened to a lot of different music, you know? From 2Pac to Red Hot Chili Peppers to Earth Wind & Fire to Rick James to Prince, Michael Jackson. All types of stuff, man. Parliament, Funkadelic. Yeah, I mean, everything – Biggie. Like, I mean, from between that and church, playing the drums and church, it kind of just set the tone for everything from there.
In terms of producers, who do you think had a lifelong influence on your approach?
I mean, the most obvious to me is definitely the Neptune's, right? I mean, they, they have them are one of the most versatile sounds. One thing I admire about them is their sound can go from pop to rap to R&B to even, like, I think Pharrell just did Miley record, you know? It's almost like full country and it's incredible. And all those different things still sounding like them is kind of what I strive definitely what I strive for.
In the studio, I imagine working in person with someone is a different experience than sending beats through email. How does your approach to producing differ between those two situations?
The biggest part is the energy of the person I'm with, right? I mean, my success rate of landing things in person, based on sending things, it's not even close. I can't really think of too many sessions I've done in person where the song – if it hasn't come out, it's used in some kind of way.
I have a really high success rate in-person sessions [as opposed] to sending things, it's like, very low. I think it's just because, again, the experience of doing this for a long time and being around people from all walks of life by the grace of God, you know? Being able to read the energy and just go off of their energy. Not even overthink the process, because everybody has their own. I would never want to overpower a situation unless they call us for it. But it rarely does to overpower a situation with my personal workflow. Because I think that's the point of being a producer. [It’s] to be able to produce artists in the best way, in the most comfortable and best way they see fit unless you want to force them out of that. Even still, it's still producing based on who they are not – you know, like the collaboration of vision is the key to production, I feel like personally.
Do you have an example of a studio session where you created something that exceeded your expectations?
There's too many, man. I’m sorry, I really don't want to name one because I have so many so many friends and I don't want anybody to feel like any other session was more important. I'll give you a eureka moment was, you know, during the Pablo sessions, it was a few – I'm not gonna say who – but there were a few of people I looked up to in the studio with Kanye and he was playing music and he played one of the songs I did an early version of it, where it was just my beat and [Kanye], and somebody else on it. And said producers asked to listen to it like six times back to back. It was one of those moments, where it was just special. But it just showed the power of preparation meets opportunity.
How does the personality of an artist shape your production? Like, for example, how does working with someone like Madonna differ from a Kanye West or a Tommy Genesis to a Denzel Curry?
That's a great question. The biggest part is understanding everybody's comfort zone. You know, it’s like if you can't understand where somebody's comfortable at, you're not going to get the best out of them. Understanding the relationship you have with the person, as well. One of the strongest emotions you can feel in the studio is trust. So all the people you name trust me, you know? But that trust has to be built by adding value. So once they understand that you can add value to what they're trying to do, and not just take or not just land a placement – it's like even with Bryson, who literally became, like my brother in this. It’s all about adding value.
We've all worked with a lot of collaborators. He's worked with a lot of producers. I've worked with a lot of artists. But when you find people that you can add value all the time, even if it's not just making a beat or not just doing that, it creates a new form of a comfort zone that now, you know, I can say things or I can do things or I can have a conversation with a Madonna or even Tommy. Like Tommy is very specific about her vision, but me and her can have conversations because she trusts me to have her best interests to move forward, you know? And to create the best product. That comfort in that space and trust is it's priceless and this is bigger than a placement.
Kanye is arguably one of the best, if not the best, producers of our generation. What was one of the key things you learned working with him directly?
Great question. I think that the greatest thing that I took from those [sessions], personally, was: the only restraints on creativity [are] the ones you put on yourself. Like, he is fearless. You know, like, people look at him as fearless in the world, but he’s also fearless in music. He's always pushing things forward.
And for me, I always have the idea – I feel like we all do. I feel like all producers are extremely creative but we get in certain modes and certain patterns of success that limit how far we can take things. And he's anti-that. He’s like, “Alright, we did that already. Let's do something better. Let's do something more left.” You know, it's like, constantly pushing. I became a better producer every single day we worked together, you know. And it's not it's not even fathomable how much distance he has from every other creative I've ever met. And that's no disrespect to nobody else but he's on another planet.
Looking back at The Life Of Pablo, how do you feel about the impact of the “Facts” remix a decade later?
I think it's cool. Well, as you know, and I've talked about this a lot but it's always cool to go on Twitter and type in Charlie Heat and see people's @ handle says Big Mike (Charlie Heat version) you know? Like, one of my goals was to always be an adjective in that type of way. When I started, I was like, I want to be an adjective. It means something outside of me – it’s bigger than me. And that moment did that, you know? It's another version of something. Whether it's better or worse, it’s up to you. I like the Metro and Southside ones too. That’s all preference but it's cool, though. It's a timeless, cool feeling and it's something I wanted. Ye put it together, for sure.
You worked as the executive producer on Bryson Tiller’s latest album. How did the process begin with this? What were the initial ideas like before landing on a concrete concept for the album?
I mean, it was really, you know, there's an artist/writer that signed to my music imprint House Of 99. His name is Fifteen After and he links with Neil, who is also from Jersey and also Bryson's manager. But he linked with him at some event and was just sending on records we did. And they loved a few of them. One of them was actually “No Thank You.” It just kind of kicked off from there. We met and, we were just talking about things and we were all just on the same page. The synergy was amazing [between] all of us – the whole Voltron as we call it. We just had a great time making music, man. We pushed each other, we were all going through things in life, and it just came together in like a very all-time moment. I feel like I feel like this album is going to age beautifully. You know, Fifteen After says it all the time, “We’re gonna look back on these moments like we didn't even know what we were doing,” you know?
When I listen to your catalog and then Bryson’s, I feel like he’s a perfect artist for the type of range you’ve shown as a producer. How did this opportunity working with Bryson fulfill your own creativity spark and outlook at this time in your career?
Man, that is an excellent, excellent question. Because I told him to his face, I was like, “Man, this is the biggest responsibility that somebody has given me in music,” outside of like the business stuff, right? Because, you know, the music imprint, we sign people so that's pretty important as well [laughs]. But musically and just creatively and responsibility-wise – I mean, he's already a diamond artist. He's solidified. Like, he can do it by himself, you know what I mean? Like, he doesn't need anybody to do it. He did it by himself already at the highest level possible. So to trust me, and trust the squad and trust Voltron in that kind of way, just shows his personal character and growth and humbleness as a human being to be like, “Yeah, I did great, but I want to do greater.” and For me, I took that serious. I took that real serious on every level as far as mentally putting the ego to the side, you know? My favorite record on there, I didn’t produce but I still executive produced the project. I tell them all the time I wish I made that “Attention” beat. That's what it’s all about, you know? It's about having people that trust you and making sure that they've made the right decision.
Could you describe the eureka moment when making this project? Like, what was the moment when you guys realized you were on to something? The entire project is cohesive but none of the beats sound like the last one.
His ears [are] incredible, man. I can't even really take credit for that too much. Like it's the whole squad. Not just me and Bryson, it was the whole Voltron. The whole unit, we just really came together. And there was a session, there was one of the nights we just – I think [we made] “Rich Boy.” And we just knew that the chemistry was just so crazy, you know? Like I said, I didn't do that one either. But we were there and it was vibe, you know? We all needed to be there. Everybody contributed. We knew we had something.
As someone from Jersey, I wanted to know how you felt about bringing that Jersey Club sound for “RAM”? It must’ve been nice for you to bring it back to your roots, especially since you mentioned your dad was a DJ.
Of course. I mean, I love everything. It’s what I grew up on, you know? We used to have basement parties. The real beautiful part is one of the guys on the squad, Black Mike, was literally one of the originators of the sound. You know, Brick Bandits. Being able to talk to him and we did a record, “Work It Out” that [Bryson Tiller] dropped for one of the Tiller Tuesdays. We actually did that together. He's from Jersey, as well, and that’s a Jersey club record where we flipped the “Rock The Boat” violin. And, I mean, it's a crazy record, too, with Bryson. But yeah, it's always good to bring him back home, you know? Shout out the guys, too. Like my boy, DJ Smalls, man, he puttin’ on. He just did the “Everybody” record.
How does it feel hearing the Jersey Club sound blow up beyond its regional confines? A lot more artists are pulling from it as inspiration. Do you look at that as a nod or does it seem like people are riding a wave?
I'm glad you asked this question. I'll say this: I do understand that for artists trying to make it, right? Like, having a sound snatched from you while you're trying to make it is tough, for sure, so I get that part. But as a whole, for the greater good, the cream is always gonna rise to the top. If it's good, and it's the best – I feel like, personally, nobody could do Jersey beats better than Jersey producers. We grew up on it. It's like somebody growing up on Soul Food their whole life and going to make French cuisine. I don't know if the French cuisine is going to be better than somebody from France. Like, I don't care how good your skills are, you know? But yeah, I'm not mad at anybody. Anything that can bring eyes to it to make people money. I never really understood people's concerns or frustrations, unless, as I said, it's up-and-coming and somebody’s literally snatching your sound. But even then, more eyes on something – if you don't stop – could help. And it's helped more than it's hurt. I'll say that.
What’s the most gratifying part about elevating into the executive side of things? Beyond just producing but also, identifying talent and helping it grow.
Having information to give that's actually real information. That's the best part, being able to know enough and have the information and to be able to give gems and keys and provide my peers and opportunities that people didn't know existed. Or provided new angles of making money, it's the best feeling, you know, Even more than that is understanding how unseen people can be in business, and how uneducated people can be in business and being able to help out on that side. Because I mean, most of my education was messing up. I messed up plenty of deals. I’ve been too aggressive or not aggressive enough and learning from those situations has given me a lot of correct information.
What advice would you give to a younger producer who is entering these spaces where they need to negotiate deals? Whether in terms of leveraging deals in their favor or that aggression, you described in these meetings.
I'm very big on doing what works for you, right? I feel like there are two parts of the aggression. There's the aggression in figuring out what works. And then there's the aggression of, once you find out what that is, to double, triple, quadruple down on it, right? I think that the problem is a lot of people don't spend the time figuring out what works. Like DMing a lot of people, like, yeah, you might luck up but any business based on luck is not a good business, right? So find a way that works for you, and your method. If you're good at talking to people, pull up their every session and pull up to every party, pull up to every networking event, go to every open mic, go to every show. If you're not good at talking to people, find somebody who is. Find a sound that people don't only go to you for. If you don't really have that, get on YouTube and put up 50 beats a week. Wherever your success rate is at, don't spread yourself too thin. I mean, there is like a “do everything” method, but I feel like nowadays, doing everything is not going to help keep you up, you know? Too many people working too hard, it's gonna be like gumbo, or something. It's just gonna be a mix of everything.
I know you have a bit of a proximity to this situation but I wanted to know, just from a producer standpoint, who do you think had the better production choices in the Kendrick vs. Drake battle?
Oh, man, you're gonna hate my answer but I think it was right down the middle, man. Nobody had any bad beats, in my opinion. You know, it wasn't such thing as a bad beat. And I don't think personally. I think these are top-quality dudes. Yeah. I don't know. I mean, that “Not Like Us” is doing what it’s supposed to do but you know, I like the Drake joints, too.
You produced on the J Cole album, too. What was the process like behind “Huntin’ Wabbits”?
Man, I wish I had a good story for you, but I don't I just sent T Minus a bunch of shots. And he went crazy. I mean, it's crazy because again, you know, my success rate with sending stuff off isn't the greatest but I probably don't send stuff off enough, as well. But yeah, my business partner linked up with him and connected us and yeah, that was that was one of the chops.
In retrospect, how do you feel about “7 Minute Drill?”
I love it all. I’m just a competitive guy. I love it. I feel like everybody has their own walk to walk so I would never even speak on that part of it. Just the fact that these are literally the greatest rappers ever and they're all getting in the ring. I love it, I don't know. I'm a sports guy, I'm a Kobe fan and an Allen Iverson fan. I love seeing the greats compete on any level. And the fact that it's been safe so far is the best part. You know? Yeah. No, no outside harm has been done, which is great.
Your Apple Music profile states that Drumline was a huge influence that got you into taking music seriously. How do you feel about Nick Cannon’s general influence?
You know what? I need to do a little bit more research on what Nick has done because I feel like he's definitely one of the most underrated people culturally that we don't talk about enough. I mean, like, I don't want to misquote any of his accomplishments, high or low, you know, but from the few things that I've heard about, and the few things that I know, he's a complete legend, and completely genius, brilliant business-mind, you know? I don't think he gets enough credit at all. I felt like it was one of those “if you know,” [things]. I mean, I think Wild N’ Out has to be one of the longest-running shows ever in that space. I think he's got it already but it might have it by like, you know? Maybe like Price Is Right territory or something [laughs]. I think he's doing some crazy numbers and people just aren't – because he doesn't have a bunch of drama with them, people don't really pay attention. But he's been a legend for a minute.
