Chairman of the Boards: Scoop Deville Talks Beats, Rhymes, and Life

The man behind the boards for bangers like "I Wanna Rock" and "Ha Ha" chops it up with us.

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Complex Original

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You've heard his name from recent hits like "I Wanna Rock" and "Ha Ha" with Snoop Dogg and Fat Joe, but young producer Scoop Deville has been in the game for a minute now. The son of West Coast legend and pioneer Kid Frost, Deville was born into hip-hop royalty, and as such was exposed to the likes of Eazy E and Ice Cube at a young age.

Judging from his track record since, the 22-year-old L.A. native clearly soaked up game during his time with the vets—dude's had Billboard hits since he was 15. We sat down with him to talk about his biggest records, working with Snoop and Fat Joe, going from Clipse stan to colalborator, and his own Get Busy Committee crew.

Interview By Jordan Martins

Complex: You've been doing your thing for a minute, right? You were born into the game with your dad being Kid Frost.

Scoop Deville: Yeah, I've been doing it for a minute, I've been around a lot of people who were in the game since I was a baby. I got to meet Eazy, and be around people like Snoop, Dre, Ice Cube, and everyone you can think of out here on the West Coast. I've been working around people and just picking up on things along the way. I'm still learning, keeping it moving, trying to make some history.

Complex: How's it been working with Fat Joe?

Scoop Deville: Me and Joe just knocked out another one that's crazy. Their whole idea of records they want to do is very different. As far as bringing back hip-hop and sampling classic hip-hop records, and bringing that whole style back. So we're doing a lot of things like that. I was in Miami for like six days with him. He's real tripped out on these two that we did. I was up there with Cool and Dre, and they showed nothing but love.

Complex: The whole looping the New Jack Swing records, is that going to be part of a signature?

Scoop Deville: Yeah, definitely. I have a lot of records like that in store. I also have a lot of grimy hip-hop. There's no telling what I could do and what's gonna happen in the next five months. There's no limits on what I want to sample, or what I want to create. It's all about keeping it fresh, cool, innovative, being able to create. Everyone else will just follow. [Laughs.]

Complex: How is it producing and still being a part of your group, Get Busy Committee?

Scoop Deville: I've been rapping and doing that before producing. My pops was an emcee and the respect that he gets in the emcee world is amazing. I want to have that same thing going too. Having everybody behind us, and have our city behind us. That's how things happen. That's how people get together and make big moves. You see Khaled and all these people in the South; they click together real tough, and that's something that we miss over here in the West. Being part of a group, I get a lot more respect than just being a producer. People are like "OK, you're making moves in the area as well." Busta Rhymes and people like Fat Joe are like, "Let me know if I can help you" because they all got love.

Complex: How do you feel about so many people going over "I Wanna Rock?"

Scoop Deville: I think it's cool man. It's definitely one of those records, like how Bangladesh had the "A Milli" record, and everyone was rapping over that. It's just a good record and everyone feels it. All the people that are rapping over it, I'm getting in contact with. It's definitely very, very cool.

Complex: People were angry that people went over "Exhibit C." Do you feel like any records are off limits?

Scoop Deville: No matter what it's gonna happen. Because it gets out there like that, you put the instrumentals out there. I haven't put the "Ha Ha" instrumental out there yet, I've been getting numerous hits. I'm like nah, I don't want to put it out yet, because that's Fat Joe's call to do that. And we have another surprise for that record when the video comes out. It's gonna be dope when the song starts to push out, it's still brand new. It's kind of cool we can change the format of the radio, and hopefully they'll start playing more hip-hop records after this.

Complex: We heard you're working with The Clipse?

Scoop Deville: I'll be in the lab with them tonight. I've been on the phone and talking to them for a minute. I got to meet up with them at this DC party, at the Rob Dyrdek Fantasy Factory out here in LA. They were performing onstage and I was up in the front row rapping word for word, because I'm a super diehard Clipse fan. Someone went up to them and said "He's a producer, you should holler at him." Malice comes up to me and says, "Yo, you're a producer? Take my number down." He gives me his number and contact info, and I talk to Malice on the regular through phone, e-mail, Blackberry, Twitter, all that shit. This was before "I Wanna Rock" came out, this was before all that happened. It was kind of cool for them to see me grow at the same time. It's a blessing, man.

Complex: Any other surprises?

Scoop Deville: When Busta's record drops, it's gonna be amazing. That record is coming out real soon. I'm working in the lab with Xzibit right now too, on his record. I just did a song for him that's out called "Hurt Locker" which is pretty dope. Working with Game still. Just trying to work with everybody I can. I'm trying to make some careers at the end of the day, too. It's good to showcase what we have, because I have a few artists. The Get Busy Committee, we're working on our second record. I'm working with a couple Latin kids too that I feel are gonna change that whole genre. That's a huge market that no one has really tapped into. We need a little Mexican Pitbull kind of representation out here. I'm putting that together. Everything, I'm trying to touch all markets of the game. Pop music, anything I can.

Scoop breaks down his biggest records

Scoop On...

 #1: BABY BASH - "MAMACITA"

Scoop Deville says: My pops was real good friends with Bash. He kind of helped him start his career. I was around a lot of people at that time. He knew I was producing and told me I had a record he wanted to put out. We got in the lab in Houston, he flew me out. We worked on a few records, like five or six—this was the one they wanted to go to radio with. I was bugged out, because at the time I'm like 15, 16. I was like "Oh shit, they're gonna put my record out on the radio!" It turned into a Billboard Pop/R&B hit.

 #2: SNOOP DOGG - "LIFE OF DA PARTY"

Scoop Deville says: One day I was with my pops and we met up with Snoop. We were at a video shoot and B-Real from Cypress Hill was there, Snoop came into the trailer. He starts hearing my records, and he's like "Yo man, you got some shit, I really want to work with you." After that we kept working. I was about 18, 19. At that time I was still learning my shit—I'm still learning—I was trying to advance what I was doing. He came into the trailer he heard a song, and I just kept sending him records after that. And he picked like eight, nine records. I was with him in Vegas and doing all these beats, and all that kind of inspired me to make "Life of Da Party."

 #3: HOT DOLLAR - "STREETZ ON LOCK"

Scoop Deville says: That was cool, just a little street buzz record. I didn't know it was gonna be what it was, it turned into a little situation for homeboy, Hot Dollar. It was cool to keep things moving out here in the West and showcasing a different style of music. At first it was through mutual people, and he got his hands on it. I got a call from him he was like, "Yo, we gotta run with this record." That was right around 18.

 #4: SNOOP DOGG - "I WANNA ROCK"

Scoop Deville says: I put records aside for Snoop, definitely. I never knew he was gonna jump on "I Wanna Rock." I never knew that was the record he liked or he wanted to rap over. The East Coast really loves it for the E-Z Rock/Rob Base sample. It's dope, it's kind of cool just to see the love we got from the East. It's very hard to break a record from the West out there. I'm just happy it's doing what it's doing and opening up more doors to make music like that.

 #5: FAT JOE - "HA HA"

Scoop Deville says: He was a fan of "I Wanna Rock" and him and Snoop are real close. He did a remix of the "I Wanna Rock" record. After he did it, he was like, "yo, I gotta get this producer." I got to talk to Joe and he was real respectful. He had no idea who my pops was, but when I told him, he just bugged out. Joe's been really cool—he's been linking me up with everybody. Busta Rhymes, Jamie Foxx. Everybody wants that kind of style, that "I Wanna Rock" feel.

RELATED: VOTE: Which Rapper Rocked Snoop's "I Wanna Rock" The Best?

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