Looking to continue on with their Midas touch, the Fool’s Gold crew has teamed up with one of the hottest rappers coming out of ATL, Donnis, to release a proper single for “Gone,” a standout track from his recent mixtape Diary of an Atlanta Brave. We linked up with all three dudes to see how the deal came about, why they choose the song and why Fool’s Gold doesn’t mind finding new talent. Read the interviews below…

LISTEN: Donnis “Gone” (Produced by Needlz)

Interview with Nick Catchdubs and A-Trak
By Damien Scott

Complex: How did you guys first link up with Donnis?

Nick Catchdubs: I actually knew his manager Dan from when he first started working with Kidz in the Hall. He was aware of the stuff that we were doing and we met up and we hit it off. I used to do a radio show for East Village Radio for Fader and they used to always come down to the station and we always kind of knew that we were on a similar wavelength and that when the situation presented itself, we would work together. Then he started doing stuff with Donnis. We knew that he had something special and that when the time was right, we’d be able to do a record with him.

A-Trak: I’ve known Donnis for about two years, I remember getting in contact with them around the fall of 2007. Just as a DJ I had a couple of his records and I got in touch with him, we’d link up in New York when he was in town—he was between New York and Atlanta at the time—and he came to a bunch of my shows over the years and showed love. We talked about the possibility of doing something with Fool’s Gold a few times over that period. I think it was a question of the timing being right, him having his business set up a certain way, and when everything fell into place, then we did the deal.

Nick Catchdubs: We’d always try to find ways to look out.

A-Trak: Yeah, I put a song of his one one of my mix CDs.

Nick Catchdubs: We’d do certain shows that would make sense to involve Donnis with ’cause it was a no-brainer. It’s always fun to work on projects with people that you actually like. Both as a person and as a musician. It’s cool that we’re at the point now that we can do that on a larger scale.

Complex: Who’s idea was it to do the single for “Gone”?

A-Trak: I think it was mutual. He had his mixtape ready to go. Donnis had been sending me songs since I met him. I mentioned knowing him for two years. Periodically, every couple months he would just send me 10 songs, and I’d give him feedback. So when the deal fell in place where we were ready to put out a Donnis record we just felt like that was the obvious single.

Nick Catchdubs: When you listen to the tape, that’s the one that sticks in your ear. That’s far and away the sing along song of the tape. It’s cool, it made me think of older T.I. tracks too, where it’s not trying to bang you in the head with a club record, but there’s still a really dope energy to it and unique feel to it.

Complex: Most people who aren’t very familiar with Fool’s Gold know it as the label that released Kid Cudi’s “Day ‘N’ Night” single, before he went on to sign with Universal. Was that always how you saw things playing out?

A-Trak: With Cudi we did “Day N Night” and then we did an agreement with Universal and we sold them the masters, so it was agreeable for everyone. It worked out well for all of us. It really depends on every scenario. Now that we have a bigger set up, we’re doing more long term deals, for sure. We’re not necessarily looking to just be a spring board for new artists. At this point we’re interested in the long term and building with artists throughout their whole career. Cause now we’re able to do albums. In 2007 we didn’t have the structure to put out albums, but now we do. Though, most of the artists that start with us stay with us.

Nick Catchdubs: One of the things that’s cool about having a label in this particular time in this industry when things are changing a daily basis, it allows us to be flexible. We never ran Fool’s Gold as a traditional company. When we started this, both from a creative perspective and from a business perspective, we wanted to have our own model. We weren’t trying to compete with something that was set up before us. So if we can work with someone for their entire career and it makes sense for everyone, that’s awesome, perfect. Like at the end of the day, it’s all music that we love, so the more opportunities we get to do that, the better. But if we put out an amazing record with someone and it’s mutually decided that it’s a better fit to do it elsewhere, that’s the way it is. I don’t ever want to feel like we’re doing something that isn’t ideal.
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Interview with Donnis
By Damien Scott

Complex: In our previous interview you talked about turning down a single deal with Fool’s Gold. What was different this time?

Donnis: This time right here is different for a lot of reasons. I think the set-up is proper in the way that I got a little buzz going on right now. People are really embracing what I’m doing. Then I was definitely the new kid, it was a little different then. That song, I don’t think really showed who I am as an artist. So I feel like this record is better to showcase what I’m about.

Complex: Did the success of Cudi’s “Day N Night” influence your decision to partner with them?

Donnis: Definitely, ’cause it showed me what they can do with rap. When they first approached me, I was nervous. I knew of A-Trak, but I didn’t know him like that and all I knew of him before was the Kid Sister record. Which was, to me, kinda like, you get Kanye on the record and the record’s gonna win regardless, you know what I mean? But no, they definitely showed out with the Cudi record and I’m excited to join the team.

Complex: Tell us how “Gone” came to be.

Donnis: When I wrote “Gone” me and my best friend Sasha were just kickin’ it, smokin’ in the crib and Needlz hit me with the beat and I loved the beat right away. It was their style but it was different. To me it was reminiscent of Dungeon Family shit. That bounce was really, really cool. So for me, when I went into the track, I just envisioned being on. It was like looking after the mixtape. After the mixtape, how things would probably be. So that’s kinda like the inspiration to that track: finally being on and finally making it and just going hard and having the time of your life.

Complex: What made you go with this “Gone” as a single?

Donnis: This song, we felt, transcends all the levels. Like, the hood shit, the hipster shit—it transcends. DJ Jelly, before we even picked it as a single, he was like, “That’s it right there.” DJ Jelly is a legend out here, so when he gave me the stamp, I felt like this right here could be something. And just watching all the kids’ reactions, ’cause there’s a lot of people who haven’t heard the mixtape yet but listening to the kids’ reactions and seeing them on Twitter, that’s kinda like the chosen record off the mixtape.

Complex: What’s the roll out going to be like, is there going to be a video?

Donnis: Definitely. We already shot one video. We’re about to shoot another one real soon. We’re taking treatments right now. It’s gon’ drop the first week or second week of November. It should be nuts man, I’m excited.

RELATED: Exclusive Donnis Interview + Run This Town Freestyle (9/9/09)

The setting for Kid Cudi’s first music video was like a homecoming. Since the 23-year-old Cleveland native took up residence in Brooklyn three years ago, he’s been treated like one of the Big Apple’s own, mainly by the pack of self-made cool kids who appear in his new video “Heaven At Night”. To help bring the song to life, he teamed up with multi-tasking party promoter/director Vashtie, who’s known for her unique take on the Pharrell, Lupe, Kanye banger “Us Placers”.

While Cudi’s runaway hit “Day And Night” pushed his name past the indie world, he was still lacking a formal introduction to the world. That is, until this summer when he dropped his Man On The Moon mixtape, which garnered even more attention from influential folks like Kanye, who recently called Cudi the “best new artist.” Can’t beat that. In this exclusive Complex interview, the kid talks about making powerful music, being a dork, and the vision for his forthcoming album…

Interview by Richard “DJ Treats” Dryden

Complex: What exactly is the treatment for this video?

Kid Cudi: It's a party scene that shows even when a lot of people are around, there still can be a sense of loneliness. Sometimes we find peace in going out and getting drunk and trying to be around people to try to take our minds off of things, but it's kind of hard to. But the “Heaven At Night” is in the sense of nightlife being heaven'going out and drowning your sorrows and trying to lighten up your spirits. But at the same time, you can see it in somebody's face that their mind is on something completely different.

Complex: Do you identify with that?

Kid Cudi: Yeah, all my music. That's my life in a nutshell.

Complex: It’s interesting that you got someone like Vashtie, who’s known for throwing parties, to direct it. Did you look at it like that?

Kid Cudi: I've been to several of her parties, having mad shit on my mind. She's seen me at her parties, I'm sure, a couple of times and seen me looking like my mind is on something else. And sometimes she'll be like, “Are you okay?” And I’ll be like, “Yeah, you know…” Because that's fam right there, she knows me and where I'm trying to go with my music. It's very personal and it made sense to do the video with her. It was actually her idea. I wasn't even thinking of doing anything off the mixtape other than “Is There Any Love.”

Complex: Did you always have it in mind to do “Heaven At Night” as the next single?

Kid Cudi: “Is There Any Love” was before the mixtape dropped. We were supposed to do a video for that. It was a promo, but it just didn't get handled right away. Then the mixtape dropped.

Complex: Are you going to release a video for “Day And Night”?

Kid Cudi: I have a vision, and I wish I was a video director so I could do it myself.

Complex: That song kind of grew on its own. Are you surprised at the success? Is that why you're taking your time with the video?

Kid Cudi: Yes. The song has turned into pretty much a cult-favorite. “Day And Night” is my Sir Mix-A-Lot “I Like Big Butts.” I'm going to be performing that song for the rest of my career. My man Emile told me that shit [laughs]. I'm not gonna be a one-hit wonder, you can quote that. Muthafuckas just need to get ready and understand that. The mixtape was designed to establish that and let people know it's not a game, I'm not playing no more. This is the alley-oop, and the album is going to be most magnificent piece of music we've heard in some time.

Complex: Before the making of the video, you had a making of the treatment clip. What was the idea behind that?

Kid Cudi: That was just for fun. We weren’t even going to put that out, it was just a joke. We were just fucking around, and we just got this crazy idea playing around with iVideo on the Macbook. Next thing you know, ideas sparked and we pretended I was a stalker but I was mad corny and shit. It was basically to play off of people sweating Vashtie. I’m making fun of the guys that sweat Vashtie hard-body. It was a subliminal chin-check'let her be. She’s an amazing person, but…stop being weird. And it was also funny because I was playing me, Kid Cudi.

Complex: Well up until now, no one has really seen any videos with you. To put yourself out there for the first time, you’re [portrayed] as a complete dork.

Kid Cudi: Wow, that is the first video of me even talking. I never thought about that. It’s whatever, it was a joke. I think it’s dope that I didn’t follow the traditional route and be like, “Let’s do a video and it’s all serious.” It also helps to show my character and me as a person that I’m silly. That’s a side that people don’t know that much about me. Like hearing my music it might seem as if I’m a really deep person, and I am, but I have a very very silly side. It’s good that people see that in that video.

Complex: Are you looking to take more of an acting role in your future videos?

Kid Cudi: Oh, all my videos are going to all be cinematic-based, not just me rapping in the camera. My actual album will be cinematic from beginning to end.

Complex: So, a storyline?

Kid Cudi: Not a storyline so to speak, but I’m leaving it open for kids to interpret it. I don’t want to really sit there and be be like scene after scene after scene; I want kids to follow the story and come up with their own shit about it. But there was a lot of subliminals on the album. I hope people really like it and not shun me. I’m really pushing the envelope, as always with everything I do. It’s some next-level shit, I’m putting myself out there a lot and it’s really just powerful music. At the end of the day, I want to help change people’s lives with my music, not just let people dance and smoke a blunt to it. I want to change people’s lives, I think that’s the true meaning of music'to change people’s minds. To help them see that the world isn’t all that bad if you just understand that through every tough situation there’s always a brighter day after it. When it rains there’s always a the sun right after. My faults, my demons, I’m putting everything out there, things that I deal with. It’s therapy for me. When I’m going through some shit, I’ma write about it. I hope this song helps as much people as much as it helps me.

Complex: The song is very close to you.

Kid Cudi: That’s what happened with “Day And Night”. I try to tell peopole, the Kid Cudi movement is bigger than hip-hop, because I’m not just hip-hop'I’m everything. I don’t get into labels, whatever you want to call it. If I wake up tomorrow and say I want to make a country album, believe it I’ll do it, and execute it, and it’ll be great. That’s what I’m about, just doing something and going with the raw emotion and being elegant about it.

Complex: You had some special guests, 88-Keys, Alchemist at the shoot. Are you working with any of those guys?

Kid Cudi: I did something for Alchemist’s album, and we’ll be working together for my album. I’m working with 88-Keys, that’s family right there.

Complex: On the intro for the mixtape, you and a bunch of people are in a movie theater. What’s the significance of that?

Kid Cudi: Just to put the stamp on the movie thing, just a little hint hint, and also it was a joke. It was supposed to just be the DreamWorks theme. But why don’t we flip that and make it seem as if we’re in a movie theater and muthafuckas are just clowning and then the movie comes on.

Complex: What are some of your favorite DreamWorks movies?

Kid Cudi: I can’t think right now, but Transformers was amazing. I’m a huge Shia LeBouf fan. The Dreamworks thing had a significance because my whole shit is about my dream world, dream on. I’m a big supporter of anyone that has a dream.

WRITING KID CUDI’S VIDEO TREATMENT WITH VASHTIE

BEHIND THE SCENES OF KID CUDI’S “HEAVEN AT NIGHT” VIDEO