The producer speaks on helming "Illest Motherfucker Alive," included on the deluxe edition of the LP.
Although Lex Luger’s name has become increasingly popular in the past year, thanks in part to his production on Watch The Throne's bonus track “H.A.M.," Southside, the other half of 1017 Brick Squad’s production team, is also getting some shine.
Respect Mag recently caught up with Southside, also know as “Sizzle,” to chat about his work. Together with Luger, the ATL producer has crafted numerous tracks forWaka Flocka Flame and Gucci Mane, including eight songs on their recent Ferrari Boyz album. But he also managed to earn himself a credit on Watch The Throne for supplying the beat on “Illest Motherfucker Alive.” “I was in the studio with Lex Luger when he co-produced the 'See Me Now' record, when he was adding the stuff onto it,” Southside said, explaining how the track came about. “Ye’s manager was in there, and Ye’s manager was like, 'Give me some beats, man. I might get you a placement or something you won’t believe.' From there on it just went like that. Kanye hit us and was like, 'Yeah, I want the track so I can do what I do to it.' So I sent him the track out and we got the 'Illest Motherfucker Alive.'"
He noted that Kanye did add his own elements to the beat before rapping over it, but his signature drum snares are still immediately noticeable. “Kanye added mostly all the synths,” he explained. “I did the drums, the snares, the hi-hat, and the breakdowns. Basically I added the 808, the new 808, and he put his Kanye classical, musical space-synth stuff to it.”
