GRAMMY-nominated producer TM88 made the beat for ‘XO Tour Llif3’ in 15 minutes.
Yes, you read that correctly, Lil Uzi Vert’s seven-times platinum certified hit record was constructed in a mere fourth of an hour. However, this is just one of many moments that have contributed to the Atlantan hitmakers’ sublime career.
The signature 808 Mafia tag is virtually inescapable at this point, citing placement on a bevy of genre-defying projects, ranging from the likes of Future, Drake, Travis Scott, XXXTENTACION and many others. Musically, TM88 has managed to champion an intrusive soundscape by way of menacing electronically-produced chords and soul-shattering drum kits.
In truth, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that his precision with beat production is reminiscent of Jordan in his prime – when your number is called, you show up and show out. Moreover, the same way that Jordan believed in Pippen, Rodman and others, is the same stratagem used to advance the 808 brand as a collective. “When it’s a group, it’s different”, explains TM88. “If we want 808 Mafia to be bigger than life, we gotta put the company first”, he continues.
Donning an eccentric hairstyle that augments his lively aesthetic, it’s fairly easy to acknowledge TM88 by his initial appearance. The very same flair for expression used in stylizing his abnormal mien, which translates into a production scheme, with regard to innovation.
After a twenty-minute conversation with the lauded beatmaker, I was able to develop a further understanding of the intrinsic nature behind TM88’s tireless grind, it’s all about being inspired.
Whether it’s making a 15-20 beatpack, which subsequently resulted into crafting standout ballads that have transcended sound, or succumbing to an unprecedented loss at the hands of airport melee – pressure creates diamonds, and TM88 creates plaques.
808 Mafia is easily one of the most acclaimed producer ensembles in the realm of trap-assisted accompaniment. If it wasn’t for the Mafia, testing the boundaries of acoustic range through flattened hi-hats and experimental vibrations, a lot of your favorite rappers favorite songs may have never come into existence.
In this over-the-phone interview, I had the opportunity to unpack TM88 & Southside’s new single, the early days of 808 Mafia and much more.
Do you feel like producers have a higher bargaining power now compared to how things were a few years ago?
Hell yeah, fucking right.
I was just talking to MikeWill like three weeks ago and I was telling him ‘bro, I ain’t gone lie, what you did for all of us’ – even though we peers, it’s friendly competition at the end of the day, but I told em’, – ‘bro, you really opened a lot of doors for producers to just go around and be…real artist’.
They (artists) were trusting Timbaland and Polow da Don and them, but then I don’t know when it stopped, where it stopped, where artists stopped giving producers the records.
Him and Lex Luger, they kind of opened the doors for a lot of us to go out here and just go crazy.
Speaking of Lex Luger, let’s talk about the early days of 808 Mafia, with you, Southside and Lex. Your mentality at the time was to put the group first – is that still the end goal?
Yeah, but before I get into that, Lex Luger was never a part of 808. He was supposed to be, but he turned it down.
He had a lot of shit going on, so I don’t think he really believed in doing the whole team thing.
It was no hard feelings though, Lex still Lex – but at the end of the day, the whole 808 Mafia concept, of putting the group first instead of putting yourself, yeah it still applies.
People still want to hear Southside beats, they wanna hear TM88 – but they also want to hear us work together.
What was your defining moment as a producer, like when did you realize it was time to lock in, in terms of a professional career?
When we started 808 Mafia.
Southside, he was working with Meek Mill, Rick Ross, Kanye and Jay Z on the ‘Watch The Throne’ album – he was already doing it, so it’s like he was my motivation.
I was always making beats everyday. I would try to make like 15-20 beats a day, and I seen him doing the same thing, but – the way he was doing it, I’m like damn, this my lil brother, but he hard.
When we sat down originally and only had a few members of 808, I said bro, ‘If we want 808 Mafia to be bigger than life, we gotta put the company first’.
When it’s a group, it’s different.
It’s crazy that you made reference to that specific instance. I thought you were going to say your defining moment was when you remade the Michael Myers beat to ‘Halloween’, because that’s what initially attracted you to music, right – horror films?
Haha, damn – you knew that? That’s crazy.
Of course, that wasn’t my defining moment, cause I was still in the neighborhood. My mentality was I’m gone take over my neighborhood first, then I’ma take over my city, the whole United States and then take over the world.
I ended up taking over my whole neighborhood and starting this 808 Mafia shit and we ended up taking over worldwide before we took off in the United States, and that’s what’s so crazy.
When you really do it because you love and don’t even think about the money, bruh – just sit down and make beats. Don’t sit down and make beats because you need to pay a bill, sit down and make beats because you love it.
Bro, when I started to apply that to my career, my shit just started flourishing.
God just started blessing me with different opportunities that I took advantage of.
Speaking of taking advantage of opportunities and having to sit down, you were stuck at the airport a few years back, which subsequently resulted in losing some production equipment. You ended having to cook up on a Beats Pill
Right.
There are rumors out there saying that it took you three years to produce ‘XO Tour Llif3’, is that accurate?
Man, hell nah.
The story on the song, the beat rather, I did a collab with a guy – and I’d rather not say his name – he paid me, because we were doing paid collabs back then. Producers would hit us up and boom, you could pay for a collab.
We was poppin. I mean shit, we not bout to do this for free, we got bills to pay.
He hit me up, we did like three collabs and the beats ended up not going nowhere or whatever. I lost my computer and shit, ended up finding the collab we did, but at the time – I’m not knowing it’s a collab. I’m thinking this some shit I did solo.
I’m like nah, this beat ain’t it. I like the beginning, and I just took the first melody, added some choirs, the bells and the minecraft sound, all the 808’s and stuff. ‘XO Tour Llif3’, the original beat, only took me like 15 minutes to make.
I made Uzi a 15-17 pack and sent it to em.
I had to make the beats like real real quick, cause he was on some shit like, ‘man, I don’t got no beats’. I didn’t even think nothing of it, even when he played the song once he got back, it was on some shitty speakers, so I was like ‘I don’t know bro – this ain’t it’.
How do you feel about record sampling – does that method of production narrow the scope of creativity in terms of full-fledge expression?
Hell nah.
Bro, Dr.Dre been sampling his whole life. Hits are made off samples.
A lot of the music you hear today, when you hear it, it’s because it’s been heard before.
It might be a sound that you heard when you was a kid.
However you got to make the beat bro, and get the vibes out, it’s cool.
I’m pretty sure it was a time where people were taking the hi hat from this song, flatten it, and making it the tempo, taking a kick pattern from this song, it’s been getting done for years.
It’s just the internet make the information more accessible.
Talk to me about you and Southside new single ‘Blue Jean Bandit’ featuring Young Thug, Future and Moneybagg Yo
Me and Southside put this record together, we wanted to finally start giving the fans music on a bigger scale.
Being able to put it on Apple Music and Spotify now, that shit make it way easier.
More specifically, what exactly is a Blue Jean Bandit?
I’ma be honest, you’ll have to ask Thug. He come up wit the craziest terms in his music.
It could mean a lot of things. I guess the fans will have to think about it and put it in their context.
Speaking of Young Thug, I know you two have known each other for quite some time now, as both frequent collaborators and friends. After touring with him on multiple occasions, how would you best describe his business acumen or knowledge for the industry?
Thug is a genius.
A lot of people think he probably arrogant, but he really not, he down to earth. He’s all about unity, family and he look out for a lot of people – on the business side and personal.
Him coming up wit Gucci Mane and being around different people, he learned how to take in certain people and mentor them. If they wanna be an artists, he groom them into who they are today.
He got Gunna, different producers – he got Wheezy. He has a major influence on a lot of different artists.
I’ma be honest, when I first linked up with Thug on the DJ tip – this was my first big show, ever.
Bro, I was so nervous, it was so many people out there.
I didn’t even get to practice. It was one of those, they called and was like, ‘are you available tonight, you in LA’ and I was like yeah. I thought they was gone get me to come to the studio to make some beats.
I’m like, what the fuck. I went and did it, and I’ma be honest – it made me a way better DJ.
DJing for Thug, going on four different tours and just seeing the motion of things.
Repetition and just doing it every night, just made me way better.
Do you ever have any regrets about not leaving the ‘Codeine Crazy’ beat for Nicki Minaj?
Hahaha, bruh – her fans are crazy, I don’t even know how I want to answer this shit.
I’ma be honest, I can’t even answer it.
They went crazy on my twitter, on my birthday. I answered the question but I really wasn’t shading her or nothing.
I love Nicki Minaj, everybody do.
How about this, it’s evident you’re pro-cannabis in terms of consumption, but have you ever thought about crossing over into the cannabiz?
Hell yeah, soon. I’m definitely doing it soon, got to have my own strain.
Yeah, I can only imagine how pungent a strain of TM88 pack would hit, probably loud – like those signature 808’s
I want to take people to another dimension when they smoke this shit.
