Photo Credit: Jordan Beckham

Producer Shade Cobain has been generating attention with projects like Cassette Theory: Beat EP and Them Fighting Words Presents: Anti-Love Theory among others. Recently we featured the instrumental “Black Friday (The Price),” a clever statement about the day of shopping excesses that samples The Price Is Right game show theme song. I got the opportunity to throw Cobain some Qs, he threw back some As about producing, Pittsburgh, parenthood and Kurt Cobain.

Who’s the producer that made you want to produce and how old were you when you decided this is what you wanted to do?
Shade Cobain: Prince’s Purple Rain album. That’s when my Mom got me in to the school band to play drums. I was 18 when I started producing, but Prince started it all.

How do you think being from Pittsburgh affected your sound?
Pittsburgh is the home of George Benson, Ahmad Jamal, and Phyllis Hyman. Their music screams soul…the soul of a Pittsburgher. I try to emulate of how they put their all into their music. One thing about Pittsburgh we put our all into whatever we do.

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You’ve spoken candidly about parenthood before and the theme of Anti-Love Theory is love. Have you always been a guy who’s comfortable talking about love?
Since I had my boys, a lot of things changed. It was like all of my home training just fell in my lap. Plus I want my boys to be good men in heart. Men nowadays teach their boys to be hard, which is cool, but [they should be able to] get in touch with their emotions. It’s okay to smile, laugh, cry, or whatnot.

How have your children affected your art?
I learned to have more patience in all aspects in production. Also not to give up. I don’t want them to know Daddy as a quitter or impatient. I want them to see and hear what hard work can do. And if they apply my work ethics into anything they do, they will be straight in life.

How would you describe your sound?
New Age Boom Bap. That sound in Hip Hop has been fading out, with the new synth sound. So I try to mix the old and new into my sound.

Ooohhh!! (Eargasm) by Shade Cobain

What instruments do you play?
Drums (some), trumpet, clarinet, and sax. I haven’t incorporated that into my production yet, but I’ll get myself into live instrumentation real soon.

What instrument do you love the sound of?
The Fender Rhodes….hands down. That sound is so soothing.

Top 5 Dream Collabos?
5. Prince
4. Daru Jones
3. Prince Paul
2. Madlib
1. Dilla (RIP)

Memories Fade (The End) Pt. 2 by Shade Cobain

Top 5 Non Hip Hop Acts You Love
5. The Temptations
4. Stevie Wonder
3. Kurt Cobain
2. Micheal Jackson
1. Prince

Dennis Edwards Temptations or David Ruffin Temptations?
David Ruffin, Dennis was cool though.

So we’re separating Kurt from Nirvana with #3?
Well, Nirvana.

Where does your name come from?
It came from me just being funny one day. I’m sitting there with friends saying I’m going to be the Hip Hop Kurt Cobain and my one homie was like “yeah Kurt’s shadow.” I’m like yeah I’ll be his shade and it stuck. Had it since 2001.

What was it about Kurt you liked so much that made you want to be Hip Hop’s version of him?
Shade Cobain: I love his philosophy about making it. You don’t have to be glamor and glitz just because you have a name for yourself. Plus he kept his music true to him and his culture (grunge). The dude had a mystique about him- it was just real!

In Part 2, more on Nirvana, the environment and why all Shade Cobain’s projects end in the word “theory.”

Connect with Shade Cobain

Producer, Rotunda Muzic
Sound Effects, Producer, People in the Red Balloon
Sound Design, Rhyme Calisthenics

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