Mark Ronson

As the stepson of Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones, Mark Ronson didn’t have to do anything to be famous. But unlike some other douche-bag celebrity seeds that pollute our world, he refuses to coast on his relations’ credentials. The 30-year-old DJ, producer, and co-founder of Allido Records continues to make his own mark with his second album, Version, and production work for Amy Winehouse, Christina Aguilera, and Lily Allen. So Kanye—Ronson’s friend from the old Roc-A-Fella days—catches up with him for yet another accomplishment: cramming two stars into a one interview.

Kanye West: What’s up, Mark? How you doin’?
Mark Ronson: It depends. If you go by the Jewish calendar, my year is shit, but since January it’s been all right.

KW: I don’t know when the Jewish calendar is.
MR: It’s about September, which is when I went to rehab. How are you doing, man? Congratulations on your engagement.

KW: Thank you. You know, I look up to you in a way. Obviously, I’m going to have rich kids; I would much rather have my kid come out like Mark Ronson than a lot of these rich kids that I’ve met being out in L.A. Their parents are such great figures in pop culture, and the kids are so fucking lame.
MR: Yeah, I think that comes somewhat from a straight English upbringing. Even a total spoiled brat dickhead will still open the door for you.

KW: I want my kid to be raised where they have to get on the train, it’s not just Rodeo Drive every day.
MR: I kind of hate L.A. for that shit. People go out to L.A. and just lose the point. I’m also a little bit burnt out on rap music, to tell you the truth.

KW: Most people hate rap music right now. It’s in the hair-band phase.
MR: It’s like disco. When all the records sound like instructional dance songs, telling you what to do, it becomes [Jane] Fonda-esque: Lean back, rock with it, shoulder lean. When people have to be told what to do to have a good time, that’s when I think music’s sort of lost.

KW: Yeah, you’re in that moment now. You just have to accept it.
MR: I first got really into hip-hop in that classic Def Jam era. Except for the Beastie Boys, it was all pretty edgy. That’s something that I definitely miss in this era of hip-hop. Everybody seems to be in this shallow disco bubble, like half the world might not as well be going on.

KW: Another thing that’s funny about rap, certain rappers do that interview and say, “I got something for everybody.”
MR: When you hear that, you know your album has nothing for anybody.

KW: I hate that concept. Even “Slow Jamz,” which [girls] love, I’m like, “I’ma play this Vandross/You gon’ take your pants off.”
MR: Yeah, you’re a misogynist asshole. I always meant to tell you that.