Interview With Wrigh Trax

In case you are all not familiar with the two producers above, let me formally introduce you to them.  The two men above go by the names of Deuce and B. Wright.  Together, they form one of the most dynamic and outstanding producing groups in the music industry today.  Both of them were born in Michigan, however Deuce has traveled to Atlanta for school!  By the way, congratulations to Deuce on graduating from Morehouse!!! Wrigh Trax has collaborated with a ton of musicians through their time and probably some that you know, like Big Sean and Mike Posner, and the list will go on and on as their work spreads across the industry!  Anyway, without further a do, I present to you, Wrigh Trax!!!

Wrigh Trax: How is everything?

TGLR: Everything is good, how about you?

Wrigh Trax: Pretty good, pretty good, working man.

TGLR: Yea, well that’s always good!

Wrigh Trax: Yea man…

TGLR: So I got to ask this question, what was the inspiration and ideology behind your sick track entitled, “Tha City”? I mean I have been bumping that track long before I decided to start my site, so I have been thinking about this question for a very long time!

B. Wright: What was going on at that time, it was 2003?

Deuce: That was the first thing we threw on our mixtape/album it was originally titled “Mixtape”. We got comments from the Pistons and it was really something that was going to push us forward.

TGLR: Yea

B. Wright: The song really was just embracing where we grew up as in our hometown, Detroit. We talked about popular hangout spots in Detroit, it’s kind of like Petey Pablo’s “North Carolina,” ours was more on the local side.

TGLR: Yea, that song was really dope, have you guys ever put out an album?

B. Wright: On the Wrigh Trax entertainment side, we actually put out like eight albums I believe. “Tha City” was featured on Wrigh Trax Mixtape Vol. 1 which was put out back in 2003. We also did some solo albums as well.

TGLR: Now I know that you guys each cousins, but does that ever come into conflict while you are in the studio? I mean my brother get along with each other just fine (and he is arguably my best friend!), but when you are working on a project, do things get complicated?

Deuce: There are times in which we may feel different in the creative direction, in the end of the day, we just try to make something that we are proud of. Normally the conflict is solved by us just combining the two ideas, or if B. Wright has something better, then maybe we just use his stuff. At the end of the day, it isn’t “B. Wright,” or “Deuce,” it is Wrigh Trax.

TGLR: Have either of you ever wished that you could have lived in another city to grow up in, or were you happy growing up in Detroit?

B. Wright: Well, it was always like, we’d want to experience other cities, but we never had a problem growing up in Detroit. We always loved Detroit for what it was.

Deuce: Well, I live in Atlanta right now and I have been going to school here and just recently finished up college at Morehouse. It was my decision to go to school here, and as you know, Atlanta is a big place for music.

TGLR: Yea, I hear ya! Sadly though, the talk of kids my age and of the young group of people living in Detroit now is to leave town and find life elsewhere. Do you think that this is an issue?

B. Wright: I don’t think it will be an issue, so long as they remember where they are from. They need to give back to Detroit in some way or another. There are still going to be people who live in Detroit, and they are just going to keep good things going.

TGLR: Where does the name “Wrigh Trax” come from?

B. Wright: It is just a simplification of the last name Wright.

Deuce: Yea, haha

TGLR: So tell us how you got to where you are today!?

B. Wright: We had a lot of patience and hard work. Definitely had dedication. We had a vision, a vision of where we wanted to go. We started off rapping, and our vision changed a little and we are now doing producing. We really just started networking with other artists in the area. Big Sean is a mutual friend, and we started producing records with him. We started producing with big name musicians, like two tracks with Kanye West.

Deuce: I mean we really just exhausted every opportunity that was presented in front of us. Even when we were rapping, we would go to every place we could, making sure we had posters on us at all times. The same things now, when were doing productions. Whenever an opportunity comes along, we look to take advantage of it, not matter what it is. We used to go down to Hot 102.7 was 105.9 JFN when we were rapping. That was when Sugar Ray was on and they had premiered our single, “Tha City,” on Jam It or Slam It. Shout out to Dr. Darius, they have all been supporting since day one.

TGLR: In your journey to being where you are today, have you faced any, “haters” or people who told you that you two were ludicrous for thinking that you would be where you are today.

Deuce: Oh yea, definitely, there are always people that tell you that you can’t do it. I don’t know that I have ever had anyone that harsh. But it is generally people telling me to have a back up plan, and school. I guess it was more of people telling me to focus on my “Plan B’s” as opposed to my “Plan A’s,” which I believe is ultimately a road to failure, because you are just putting more emphasis on your backup plan.

B. Wright: Yea, I don’t want to say our parents, but yea… I mean when we first started off, our parents thought that this would all just be a phase, they thought the thinking, “well okay, maybe they can make a career out of this…” was wrong because a musical career is not promising. The music industry is sort of like survival of the fittest.

TGLR: Was being a musician one of your childhood dreams? I mean most people grow up wanting to be a super hero, movie star, or a police officer!?

Deuce: Yea, definitely, I was always a big Michael Jackson fan, when I was a younger, and he was the end all, be all, for me. That was where my love for music originated. That’s when I wanted to do music; it started off with performing and then turned into producing.

B. Wright: Well yea, you know, I would say like Hoop-Dreams, but after that didn’t work out, I started to mess around with beats and rhyming and then got serious with that stuff.

TGLR: On your free time, what do you enjoy to do?

B. Wright: Travel… Travel is real important to me. I like to see things that will visually stimulate me, like museums.

TGLR: Who are your favorite musicians in the music industry?

B. Wright: I would definitely have to say, Kanye West… who else? Big Sean and Michael Jackson. Just because I am inspired by them.

Deuce: That’s so hard for me to do Top 5’s, because I always leave someone out. Jay-Z would be in there, as one of the greatest… Dang, I can’t do this, because I already know that I am going to leave somebody out!

TGLR: Who do you think is going to blow up in the music industry this year?

Deuce: Big Sean is really going to put Detroit back on the map again, as far as newcomers are concerned, I think Drake is amazing, Drake, Big Sean, Mike Posner (he’s really about to take off), there’s a lot of dope artists.

TGLR: What are your opinions on all these “beef” situations that occur in the music industry? Do you ever read a “beef” article about 50 Cent and think to yourself that the whole thing is rather childish?

B. Wright: Yea, well I am not really too familiar with it, I have heard of it…

Deuce: That’s just Hip-Hop, that’s the driving force behind hip-hop. It really stimulates the growth of Hip-Hop, and I mean each of them are really dope artists, 50 Cent has put out albums with tremendous songs, and Rick Ross has put out three solid albums. They are both dope artists, I hope to work with both of them one day.

TGLR: What about beef in general, do you value it, or think it is useful?

Deuce: It is just the nature of the game.

B. Wright: I guess it depends on what type of artist you are, I am not going to say I am against it or with it. Well I mean, I’m against it for anything that I am doing.

TGLR: When did you decide to stop rapping and star producing?

Deuce: Like 2004/2005, that we decided to just focus straight on with the production.

TGLR: Not many people out there know what it means to produce a song, would you care to explain to them the process one goes through in order to produce a track?

B. Wright: I think like, first of all, being a producer, you don’t get enough credit. Producers have to go about what they do more like an artist because they don’t get that light that an artist gets. They have a vision, and they follow it all the way, and see the vision through. So I might have a melody, and lay that melody down. I would say a producer oversees the whole creative process.

Deuce: The producer is someone who is in process from the beginning through the end. He is someone who is involved musically and the whole creative process. Directing other musicians involved, the artist, it is much more then making a beat.

TGLR: In your opinion, what makes a song something special?

Deuce: Man, just like, you know, when you can’t get it out of your head, and it has such a deeper connection, like a sonic feeling.

TGLR: Which do you prefer to do more of? Studio Recordings or Live Shows?

B. Wright: We don’t do live shows anymore, just because we haven’t been working on that side of Wrigh Trax as of late. I love performing live, it was always a great rush. I love that rush you get when you perform for a bunch of people. I also love being inside of the studio, being involved with the creation process and vibing out in there. I miss recording in front of a live crowd, but I definitely love doing both.

TGLR: As a musician, what types of goals have you set for yourself? Have you reached any of those goals thus far in your career?

Deuce: I mean the goal has always been to make the best product, the goal really hasn’t changed much.

TGLR: If you had to create a dream band to perform with live, whom would it consist with?

B. Wright: Oh man, I would definitely, J Baby (everyone check out J Baby, crazy dope duo out of L.A.), Brooke the Low, also got to have Questlove, Teddy Riley, Quincey Jones and Prince.

Deuce: I’d have Questlove on the drums, I’d have… probably have on the keys Zo! (out of Detroit), probably have Prince on guitar or Slash… I don’t know, in terms of bass, a bass player, yea, that’s something I really need to think about! I don’t even know! I’ll have to get back at you on that…

TGLR: That’s a pretty solid group right there! What is your opinion on the newcomers to the music industry is the music class of ’09 going to see a lot of success, or is it merely “over-hyped”?

Deuce: I mean were still newcomers. Were definitely newcomers, CuDi has been doing his thing for a few years now, but he is just getting national attention now. I mean with the access of the internet, people are getting their stuff out there. Big Sean, Drake, KiD CuDi, and hopefully Mike Posner are all on my list. J. Davey is relatively still new, and they are one of my favorite music groups. All these people are going to be blowing up soon!

B. Wright: No, I think that the class of 09’ is just, I mean the skies the limit for everyone, the newcomers in 09’ are bringing something new to the industry. Were getting rid of all the redundancy and old ways of music that we have had in the past few years. All the newcomers are all coming out with something fresh and new.

TGLR: I don’t know if you have had a chance to listen to Asher Roth’s debut release, Asleep in the Bread Aisle, what did you think about it, and where do you think he will go from there?

B. Wright: Oh man, I definitely think that this dude is going to be a superstar. I know that he is someone who Wrigh Trax would love to work with. I have been bangin’ his mixtape from a while ago. Definitely should have picked that up on 4/20.

Deuce: I like it, I love it, everybody is different. I would rather him do him, then him come out and do someone else’s style.

TGLR: I know Big Sean is coming out with an album soon, have you done any specific work on the album?

B. Wright: Yea, we did six tracks on Big Seans album, including the hit single, “Getcha Some.”

Deuce: We did the majority of the album, even on records we didn’t do the music for we had influence on them, just overall helping produce the album as a whole.

TGLR: What is your opinion on music leaks? Are they positive or negative for a musician?

B. Wright: For business, I am against it. I understand that people want to hear the music, hear something new, so I am on the fence about it. At the same time, I want the music to get out, and let the fans hear, I just want it done the right way.

TGLR: Yea, you definitely got it right, from a musicians standpoint, leaks are not a good thing and on the other side, from a fans viewpoint, leaks are fantastic! I mean I feel bad for guys like Lil’ Wayne whose whole album leaked and then had to re-do an entire LP, then again, he sold a fantastic album.

B. Wright: Can’t complain about a million in one week.

TGLR: What are your future plans and works for the upcoming year and the future, who would you like to work with?

B. Wright: Man, were moving fast and forward, were trying to work with everyone that we think are dope. Bringing in newcomers, working with Mike Posner, don’t know if you know him?

Deuce: Michael Jackson, Jay-Z, Freeway, all people we would love to work with.

TGLR: Do you guys ever find musicians and extend a helping hand out to newcomers who have not hit it big yet?

Deuce: Yea, we work with anyone that’s dope, yea. You never know when someone is going to be somebody. I mean Mike Posner is about to blow, he has offers coming in from everywhere, I can tell you stories of Posner of him grinding with us. We were working with us, just that white boy that went to Groves with us. You can tell when someone is going to be big based on their music and their work ethic is dope. That’s the best time to get in with someone.

TGLR: Haha, we are huge Mike Posner fans over here at TGLR, saw him over at Revive when he was in Michigan! Big Mike Posner fan…

B. Wright: Oh yea, that’s what’s up! Just trying to keep what we got going, things going in an upward motion.

TGLR: Have you ever thought of bringing in a bunch of musicians who are from Detroit and doing like a live performance here?

B. Wright: That has definitely came across my mind, I am head of Finally Famous with Brandon Washington. We put together a lot of events for the Detroit area. We set up that mixtape release for Big Sean and Mike Posner.

TGLR: It would be really neat to see up and coming musicians whose stuff hasn’t circulated yet to get out there, do their thing on stage and be able to represent Detroit. Detroit really does have a lot of musicians, and I think that as a state, people don’t recognize us as a big time musician producing area. I mean we have Eminem, and now Big Sean… But there are so many other great musicians in the area that just haven’t hit it big yet. I think a concert or Detroit music festival would really help get a lot of Detroit-based musicians going with their careers!

B. Wright: Everyone has been busy, and it is something that we want to do.

TGLR: What is your opinion on KiD CuDi, dude has been blowing up as of late and taking the music industry by storm.

B. Wright: Oh yea, big supporter of CuDi. Actually got to meet him out in LA, we were doing work with Big Sean and Kanye and got to see CuDi do his thing out there. He has crazy melodies.

TGLR: What makes someone a good musician? Do they just have to have the ability to rap, or should they also be able to sing?

B. Wright: I think they have to be able to bring something new to the table. Whether it is their style or their voice, something. Swag, I mean there is just a lot!

TGLR: Thanks for taking the time and doing this interview with us, we really appreciate it, and we look forward to hearing more of your work in the future!

Wrigh Trax: Yea, anytime, hit us up and let us know!

Print this post