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Nick Speed
WHO HE IS: Nicholas Speed is a triple threat emcee / producer / DJ, hailing from the dirty streets of Detroit, who recently signed to 50 Cent's G-Unit Records as an in-house producer. After spending years selling beats to underground artists, Speed finally garnered national attention with the creation of Libido Sounds, a joint venture with Elzhi from Slum Village. In December of 2004 they released "Witness My Growth: The Mixtape," a double disc compilation showcasing Elzhi's wealth of unreleased material and Speed's unique brand of beatmaking. Since signing to G-Unit Records in 2005, Speed has provided beats to such artists as 50 Cent, 2pac, Snoop Dogg, Lloyd Banks, M.O.P., Talib Kweli and Musiq Soulchild. "It's a blessing for them to extend something like that to me," he says, "a lot of doors opened just being associated with them." Perhaps most well known of Speed's swiftly growing resume is the track ,"What If" by 50 Cent, from the platinum soundtrack to the film "Get Rich or Die Tryin'."
HOME: Downtown Detroit. Speed was born in California and spent several years in Washington, D.C. before moving to Detroit. He graduated from the Communication and Media Arts High School in 1998. He attended Henry Ford Community College for two years before focusing on music.
ON THE BOARDS: Speed was exposed to the technical aspects of production when he was young. His father was a producer for BET's "Video Soul." "I learned how to engineer and have been doing stuff like that since the age of 4," he says.
IN THE MIX: Nick's first foray into the world of underground hip-hop was with long time friends Elzhi and Magestik legend, with whom he formed the legendary group 9-2-5 Colony. "We became a group right after high school," Speed remembers, "them two dudes are still my best friends." Since the 9-2-5 days, each member has gone on to accumulate acclaim as a solo artist, with Magestik Legend holding things down as a featured artist on Subterraneous Records, and Elzhi touring the world with Slum Village. The trio staged a reunion concert at Ann Arbor's Blind Pig in December of 2005, "we've all garnered our own individual buzzes," says Speed, as he reflects on the success of that now legendary night.
ON HIS LABEL: Elzhi and Speed started Libido Sounds in 2004 with the vision of providing like-minded artists with an uncompromising venue to release their own soulful brand of gritty, hardcore hip-hop. Their first release, "Witness My Growth," was received well overseas, particularly in Japan and the UK. "That was basically a bunch of tapes El' found in his closet. I put them on CDs and made a mix tape out of them. I Did a couple of beats... I was shipping all that stuff out of my apartment."
UPCOMING INDIE RELEASES: Though he is signed to G-Unit, Speed can still produce for other labels. He produced upcoming cuts for Subterraeneous members Magestik Legend, Octane and Illite, Slum Village, Big Herk, Proof and Phat Kat. He's formed a new collective to put out music, the Keep It Classic Klick, including Elzhi, Illite, Shawn King and Octane. "We're trying to bring back the Motown soul, which is a deep musical legacy for the city."
ON SIGNING TO G-UNIT: One of Nick's beat tapes made its way through the New York hip-hop scene and landed in the hands of D Prosper, A&R for G-Unit Records. Impressed by what he heard, he asked a common friend to connect them. "From the first tape, I ended up selling a beat to Lloyd Banks... eventually they offered me a management and production deal. Detroit cats don't get these types of opportunities all the time."
ON HIS SOUND: "I call it bleeps and blips. I take little pieces of nothing and turn it into something," Speed says of his unique production style which he developed using the time-tested production staple, the MPC2000XL. "I take little samples of a note and turn 'em into fully orchestrated pieces." Find out more at Libidosounds.com.
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The word is out on Detroit hip-hop producers. Label heads, managers and national recording artists are talking about the music coming from the city, saying that several up-and-coming producers are creating the kind of sounds that have been missing in traditional hip-hop production.
It's soulful, they say. And it's reminiscent of a Motown sound, giving rappers the kind of backbeat that is seldom heard in commercial hip-hop, melding Detroit's musical roots with a contemporary vibe.
The names behind the production boards might not be familiar to the average music listener: Denaun Porter, DJ Dez, Black Milk, Nick Speed, Young RJ, SickNotes. But it's very likely you've heard their handiwork on tracks from 50 Cent, Lil' Kim, Talib Kweli and Busta Rhymes. They each have their own distinct flair, so it'd be a mistake to imply that there is one collective Detroit style. But a grittiness, a reliance on old soul samples and an ability to tap into a wide range of musical styles -- rock, techno, even Cuban jazz -- are common themes. Click Here To Continue Reading/Users/nickspeed/Desktop/mail.jpg
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