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Jonathan “JR” Rotem
By Koran Richardson

You’re in the car with the bass up weavin’ through traffic, “So Amazin” off 50 Cent’s The Massacre isplayin’. You’re thinking to yourself, “This beat is crazy”, you look in the credits to see who created it. That’s where you’ll find classical musically influenced producer Jonathan "JR" Rotem, Hip-Hop’s version of Beethoven using soft piano chords, transforming them into ill flavored tunes like Lil’ Kim’s “Whoa”, and charismatic R&B bangers like Rihana’s “S.O.S”.

A South Africa native with an intense hunger for music, JR embarked on a mission to explore Hip-Hop after perfecting sounds of the piano at twelve. Along with the likes of producers like Scott Storch and Cool and Dre JR is one of the most sought after up and coming beat-makers today.

Streetz Magazine(S): How did you get into the game as a producer?

JR: I produced tracks that got in the hands of Toni Toni Tone’s Dwayne Wiggins. From there I moved to L.A I started choppin’ up some beats and then my manager Zach Katz put me on cuts with Snoop off the Rhythm and Gangster album. Then I started doing songs with artists like 50 Cent and Mya.

S. Take us through the beat making process.

JR: It varies. Usually I start by playing the keyboards and then adding drum patterns around it. Then I invision what’s a good sound for a certain artist and add the drum loops, then I create the song.

S: What do you look for in an artist when producing?

JR: Artists that have their own identity. Mya’s great to work with. She’s an artist with a great voice and her own flare. With rappers it’s that street urban substance.
S: What’s one of the worst experiences you’ve had with an artist?

JR: No one really sticks out. But it can be difficult to produce when there’s confusion between the artist and the producer. If peoples heads aren’t in the same place then nothing successful happens on the production end.

S: It’s heavy competition in the beat making industry. What’s unique about your production?

JR: Music is a language If you speak that language well, you communicate to the listener. It’s the heartfelt, depth that makes my music soulful.

S: Producers have been known to step into the booth. Any chance you might branch into rap?

JR: My thing is music; I’ll probably never touch the mic. I’ve never been a vocalist or a rapper it’s not my forte.

S: What advice could you give someone trying to get their feet wet in production?

JR: Get your stuff to a lot of people, any way you can and have the will to work hard.

S: What’s your outlook on the message Hip-Hop is sending right now?

JR: I think it’s in a good state. There’s artists who talk about things that are real and things that are for entertainment. I’m a person with a positive mind frame. I choose not to judge any of the artists out here. I just do me.

Streetz Spotz
A List of Hot PLacez to be......
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Tha Dogg Pound
By Talithia Kelly
With additional reporting by Monica Harris

After a brief separation tha Dogg Pound is at it again. DPG’s Daz and Kurupt have made amends in effort to continue making “classic” music. While the two originally hale from two different parts of the Golden State they both have that common element, love for that ‘gangsta sh-t’.

Streetz (S): Originally, how did you two hook up, being that you’re from two different parts of Cali?

Daz (D): We were working on [Dr. Dre’s] Chronic album, but we were all solo artists. I started producing and told them we were going to make a group called tha Dogg Pound.

S: You two have been together for a while but you guys had a disagreement over Kurupt going back to Death Row. What was up with that?

Kurupt (K): The [Death Row] situation was just a disagreement.

S: Alright, it was a disagreement but why did you go back to the Row?

K: It was an opportunity at the time and it was a decision I made.

S: Daz, how do you feel about the situation?

D: The disagreement was about Suge Knight. I think [Kurupt] did it out of spite.

S: How do you feel about Suge Knight losing Death Row Records because of that repossession?

D: Yeah, we in ka-hoots right now, today we having a meeting. We in the process of trying to buy it back. That’s just him being dumb. It’s his birthday today too. He has another year of being a dummy. That’s alright though.

S: What lead up to you and Kurupt reuniting for this album?

D: I was sleep, snoring and Snoop called me up saying he was trying to put a West Coast conference together. He said that every time he talked to someone my name popped up. He said he was tryna start a movement to get the West Coast poppin’ again. So I was with it, and we got back with Kurupt for this new album so that our solo albums could flow smoothly
.
S: I understand. Why don’t you tell me what else you guys have going on besides the album?

D: I’m shooting a pre-video,”It’s My Thang”, the remix to the EPMD original. My first official single is featuring Rick Ross, “On Some Real Sh-t”. I’m working on material with JD for my [So So Def solo release].

S: What about you, Kurupt?

K: I got the solo underground album, Underground Vol. 1, Young Gotti that Daz produced. My solo album is also dropping with my major release. Also doing a couple of movies and trying to keep the business flying high in the hood. Put some quality product out there.

S: Now Kurupt, you are known as one of the best lyricists on the West Coast. Are you getting bored with the rap game and how do you feel about the competition?

K: When I was a youngster I thrived for the throne but now its so much great talent and variation that it’s no longer about somebody being better than somebody else. It’s too many flavors out there. People are opening their own doors in Hip-Hop with their own style that its no way to say this one is better than that one.

S: I’m a little curious about something. What’s your relationship with 50 cent and G-unit?

D: It’s nothing, that’s something Snoop Dogg is working out. Why you heard something?

S: I was just asking a question.

D: I don’t count anything until money is in my pocket.

S: Now, if that does go down, what about the problems with you and Spydaloc?

D: I don’t worry about it. I just do my thang. But if we come across it, bang bang do ya thang.