by BRANDON E. ROOS
Exclusive: The veteran producer with the Harvey Miller alias admits, "They gotta understand that this ain't about who the best rapper. It's about who the best at making a hit, and Waka proved that."
Who is DJ Speedy? The question is a bit harder to answer than you may initially think because there are two very distinct sides to the South Carolina-bred man born Harvey Miller. At first glance, DJ Speedy is a producer with a long discography filled with the likes of Young Jeezy, Outkast, Goodie Mob and Beyonce. While "DJ Speedy" is his day job and the side most people are familiar with, he's been moonlighting the past few years as . . . well, himself: Harvey Miller, the self-described “Gangsta Nerd” who loves to entertain, performing with a band and a sound that leans more to rock than the gangsta beats Speedy has long been known for.
While DJ Speedy has recently been providing artists like Killer Mike, Big Boi and Waka Flocka Flamewith more heat, padding an already stellar list of associated acts, his alter ego has been rapping about pocket protectors (there are two kinds, as you'll find out in “Gangsta Nerd”) and charming audiences with an urge to entertain in a way rarely seen since the early days of the "golden age." They're two acts aimed at two different demographics, and sandwiched somewhere between them is where you'll find Harvey Miller the person, a sonic architect obsessed with production who's responsible for the music that powers both acts.
Last week, HipHopDX spoke at length with DJ Speedy by phone so he could break down each artist for us. Additionally, Speedy revealed just what it means to be a “gangsta nerd,” that he kept the two personas separate to fool A&R's, and that he always happens to be on the right record.
HipHopDX: I was checking through your Twitter and I noticed you were recently working with Waka Flocka Flame again. How'd those sessions end up going?
DJ Speedy: Oh man, I've got some Grammy-Award winning songs that I think are gonna show [another] side to Waka [Flocka Flame], because, you know, I'm a producer producer – I do music, so when he comes to work with me, he gets a whole other range of music.
DX: Are these tracks that you were working on with his project definitely in mind, or was he trying to work on your project?
DJ Speedy: No, with his project in mind, because my project is just – you know, he always loved the stuff I did, so that was easy. I was just trying to figure out what to take him to so he'll keep the same audience and the same fans and they'll love him but he'll grow.
DX: What's your method typically like? Do you start with a track and see if he likes it or are you building tracks from scratch while rappers are in the studio?
DJ Speedy: No, most of the time I already have the idea and the beat already done. He just tells me he likes it and we go from there.
DX: And then just set the tracks down, maybe add a few things here and there?
DJ Speedy: Yeah. He has to go into the track and and loop stuff and take stuff out and arrange it to what he want to arrange it to so we do that along the way.
DX: In addition to Waka, who else have you really been working with recently? I mean, I saw that you had the spot on Killer Mike's PL3DGE, but is there anything else coming up in the coming months?
DJ Speedy: Oh yeah. Big Boi's [Daddy Fat Sax] album. Future. Gucci [Mane]. Waka. Flo Rida – I've been working with him, and just a lot of up-and-coming artists.
DX: Speaking on that, I had noticed that you're pretty receptive when people ask you on Twitter about your beats. Does that come from a curiosity with working with different artists?
DJ Speedy: Well, you know, I've been [producing] for a long time. I didn't have those outlets, Twitter and all them different things to help me, so I kind of like trying to give back to the community as much as I can and talking to people to see what's going on. I'm not Hollywood, so you know, I get on Twitter and I actually talk to people.
DX: Even on your site, you're very open about people contacting you about beats. It doesn't seem like it's any mystery if people really want to work with you. It's just a matter of reaching out.
DJ Speedy: They may be surprised that I actually answer my phone, that it actually be me. [Laughs]
DX: [Laughs] Yeah, like you said, not Hollywood at all.
DJ Speedy: No, no.
DX: So you try to to make sure you meet people on that human level and not allow any kind of celebrity to get to you? To keep it about the music?
DJ Speedy: Yeah. I learned that from dealing with Outkast and Goodie Mob, because they've always been like that. When you see them on the streets, you can approach them and talk to them. I think life imitates art, so if you've got music that's wild, crazy Waka [kinda music] – I hate to use Waka, but Waka tells about his life, and people think that he's still doing that now. That's why he be getting into fights and all kinds of stuff, because they be trying to bring what he did in the past to what he doing now. And me, I've always been the same person forever, so when someone approach me, it's not like I got all the jewelry on and I'm talking like a gangster or nothing like that. I'm just a regular person.
DX: What's the current status on Anomaly, your upcoming project. Where's that at?
DJ Speedy: Man, I keep at it. I keep doing newer and newer songs and I just keep – because like, the Killer Mike song “Follow Your Dreams,” that was on my album but he wanted it so bad I gave it to him because by day I'm a producer. I've got to help feed my family and survive. By day I'm a producer but at night I try to do my artist thing. I'm just trying to juggle it because I want to still produce for people and do the artist thing, so I've just been trying to make it work.
DX: And Anomaly's a Harvey Miller project, right?
DJ Speedy: Right. Harvey Miller's Anomaly. [With] DJ Speedy, I don't know what I'm gonna call that record, but I've got a song with me and Killer Mike, it's called “Make It Look Easy.” And then I've got one with me and Waka that I just did. It's crazy.
You know, I've got records with everybody and they mama as DJ Speedy, but [with] Harvey, it's hard for people to relate to me. I have to get certain people to do stuff. When I made “Gangsta Nerd,” I knew Waka loved the record and wanted to get on it, so I was like “Waka can do this urban version and then I'm gonna go in and turn it into what I want to turn it into.”
While DJ Speedy has recently been providing artists like Killer Mike, Big Boi and Waka Flocka Flamewith more heat, padding an already stellar list of associated acts, his alter ego has been rapping about pocket protectors (there are two kinds, as you'll find out in “Gangsta Nerd”) and charming audiences with an urge to entertain in a way rarely seen since the early days of the "golden age." They're two acts aimed at two different demographics, and sandwiched somewhere between them is where you'll find Harvey Miller the person, a sonic architect obsessed with production who's responsible for the music that powers both acts.
Last week, HipHopDX spoke at length with DJ Speedy by phone so he could break down each artist for us. Additionally, Speedy revealed just what it means to be a “gangsta nerd,” that he kept the two personas separate to fool A&R's, and that he always happens to be on the right record.
HipHopDX: I was checking through your Twitter and I noticed you were recently working with Waka Flocka Flame again. How'd those sessions end up going?
DJ Speedy: Oh man, I've got some Grammy-Award winning songs that I think are gonna show [another] side to Waka [Flocka Flame], because, you know, I'm a producer producer – I do music, so when he comes to work with me, he gets a whole other range of music.
DX: Are these tracks that you were working on with his project definitely in mind, or was he trying to work on your project?
DJ Speedy: No, with his project in mind, because my project is just – you know, he always loved the stuff I did, so that was easy. I was just trying to figure out what to take him to so he'll keep the same audience and the same fans and they'll love him but he'll grow.
DX: What's your method typically like? Do you start with a track and see if he likes it or are you building tracks from scratch while rappers are in the studio?
DJ Speedy: No, most of the time I already have the idea and the beat already done. He just tells me he likes it and we go from there.
DX: And then just set the tracks down, maybe add a few things here and there?
DJ Speedy: Yeah. He has to go into the track and and loop stuff and take stuff out and arrange it to what he want to arrange it to so we do that along the way.
DX: In addition to Waka, who else have you really been working with recently? I mean, I saw that you had the spot on Killer Mike's PL3DGE, but is there anything else coming up in the coming months?
DJ Speedy: Oh yeah. Big Boi's [Daddy Fat Sax] album. Future. Gucci [Mane]. Waka. Flo Rida – I've been working with him, and just a lot of up-and-coming artists.
DX: Speaking on that, I had noticed that you're pretty receptive when people ask you on Twitter about your beats. Does that come from a curiosity with working with different artists?
DJ Speedy: Well, you know, I've been [producing] for a long time. I didn't have those outlets, Twitter and all them different things to help me, so I kind of like trying to give back to the community as much as I can and talking to people to see what's going on. I'm not Hollywood, so you know, I get on Twitter and I actually talk to people.
DX: Even on your site, you're very open about people contacting you about beats. It doesn't seem like it's any mystery if people really want to work with you. It's just a matter of reaching out.
DJ Speedy: They may be surprised that I actually answer my phone, that it actually be me. [Laughs]
DX: [Laughs] Yeah, like you said, not Hollywood at all.
DJ Speedy: No, no.
DX: So you try to to make sure you meet people on that human level and not allow any kind of celebrity to get to you? To keep it about the music?
DJ Speedy: Yeah. I learned that from dealing with Outkast and Goodie Mob, because they've always been like that. When you see them on the streets, you can approach them and talk to them. I think life imitates art, so if you've got music that's wild, crazy Waka [kinda music] – I hate to use Waka, but Waka tells about his life, and people think that he's still doing that now. That's why he be getting into fights and all kinds of stuff, because they be trying to bring what he did in the past to what he doing now. And me, I've always been the same person forever, so when someone approach me, it's not like I got all the jewelry on and I'm talking like a gangster or nothing like that. I'm just a regular person.
DX: What's the current status on Anomaly, your upcoming project. Where's that at?
DJ Speedy: Man, I keep at it. I keep doing newer and newer songs and I just keep – because like, the Killer Mike song “Follow Your Dreams,” that was on my album but he wanted it so bad I gave it to him because by day I'm a producer. I've got to help feed my family and survive. By day I'm a producer but at night I try to do my artist thing. I'm just trying to juggle it because I want to still produce for people and do the artist thing, so I've just been trying to make it work.
DX: And Anomaly's a Harvey Miller project, right?
DJ Speedy: Right. Harvey Miller's Anomaly. [With] DJ Speedy, I don't know what I'm gonna call that record, but I've got a song with me and Killer Mike, it's called “Make It Look Easy.” And then I've got one with me and Waka that I just did. It's crazy.
You know, I've got records with everybody and they mama as DJ Speedy, but [with] Harvey, it's hard for people to relate to me. I have to get certain people to do stuff. When I made “Gangsta Nerd,” I knew Waka loved the record and wanted to get on it, so I was like “Waka can do this urban version and then I'm gonna go in and turn it into what I want to turn it into.”
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