Exclusive Interview
Feb 5, 2025
Produced by: Andrej Aroch
Edited by: Rudy Manager & Andrej Aroch
Jake One – “My goal has always been to create music where you can’t tell whether it uses a sample or not”
In this exclusive Studio Talks interview, we sit down with legendary producer Jake One, a true icon in the world of hip-hop. With a career spanning multiple decades, Jake One has crafted unforgettable tracks for a dazzling array of artists, from De La Soul and 2Pac to Drake and J. Cole. Known for his versatility and unparalleled ear for beats, Jake One has worked with the who’s who of hip-hop, leaving an indelible mark on the genre. In this conversation, he opens up about his creative process, career highlights, and thoughts on the evolving music industry, offering great advice for aspiring producers. The interview was conducted by Andrej Aroch via a video call on November 25, 2024.
How did you first get interested in music, and how did that lead to your transition into music production?
I think my first exposure to music came from my family and the neighborhood I grew up in. The music constantly playing around me—whether from babysitters or the people watching me—grabbed me immediately. I remember, as a little kid being put in front of a record player and spending the whole day watching it spin. It completely captivated me.
I was always obsessed with music and being a fan. But it wasn’t until I was about 14 or 15 that I realized a lot of the rap and hip-hop I loved was built on sampling. This led me to dig through the records my family had. I’d find myself saying, “That’s the sample BDP used” or “That’s the sample NWA used.” And I started thinking, I hear the good parts in these records too—I could do something with this. That’s really where it all started for me.
How did growing up in Seattle influence your music style and career?
I’d say it’s everything because we weren’t known for a specific sound. Even though we’re on the West Coast, the most popular music here has traditionally been West Coast styles, especially from the Bay Area. At the same time, we also had a love for East Coast hip-hop.
That mix made me more well-rounded in the music I create. It helped me develop a unique sound. For example, I might use a bass tone inspired by an early '90s Bay Area track that I grew up loving, but my drum sounds might lean more toward Pete Rock, Diamond D, or DJ Premier. Those influences weren’t something people typically combined, but that’s how we approached it here.
How would you say your production style and sound has evolved over the years?
I’d say my early work I relied entirely on sampling. I didn’t have any formal musical training, though as a kid, I briefly played the trumpet. But I was so into hip-hop that all I wanted to do was scratch records and make beats. Back then, hip-hop felt very anti-establishment—at least that’s how I saw it.
If you listen to anything I made before 2000, there wasn’t much musicality beyond the samples. But I was good at finding the right samples, hearing how they could fit, and programming drums around them. That was my strength.
Around the mid-2000s, I started incorporating more live playing into my beats—adding basslines, and eventually playing in key, which I didn’t fully understand at first. Fast forward to 2024, I can make an entire song without using a sample, and to me, it doesn’t sound any different.
That’s always been my goal: to create music where you can’t tell whether it uses a sample or not. I just wanted it to sound good. I think sometimes there’s this pride in saying, “There’s no sample in this,” but if the track isn’t good, does it really matter?
I’d like to talk about your album White Van Music. What was the idea behind it, and what did it mean for you personally and professionally?
White Van Music was my reaction to being signed to G-Unit and focusing all my energy on that at the time. I got burnt out making the beats they liked—specifically, repetitive one-bar loop-type beats. It was cool and fun for a while, but it wasn’t what I really wanted to do. I didn’t see myself as one of those guys making strictly commercial music. That wasn’t my goal.
With White Van Music, I wanted to pull together all of my influences and create something that felt cool and different to me. That’s why you have such a wide variety of artists on the album—like Brother Ali, Young Buck, MF Doom, and Keak Da Sneak. Back then, rap was very divided. You were either into East Coast hip-hop, underground rap, or commercial acts like Nelly and Chingy. But I liked pieces of all of it. Sure, I had preferences, but I wanted the album to reflect that mix and show I could bring it all together in a cohesive way.
My biggest inspiration for the album was Pete Rock’s Soul Survivor. To me, that’s still the best producer album of its time. A lot of producer albums feel like a collection of throwaway tracks from other projects, and sometimes that’s unavoidable. But that’s not what I was aiming for. I wanted to make something deliberate and original. That’s why the album has scratching and elements that highlight my hip-hop roots.
It wasn’t without challenges—I ran into trouble with some samples, for instance. Overall, it was a special project for me. I still meet people who tell me how much they love the album, and that means a lot. It didn’t make me much money, but it helped grow my name and establish my identity as a producer. That was the point of it, and I think it achieved that.
Is there a track or project you’ve worked on that holds a special place in your heart or has a funny backstory behind it?
I’d say the track that really launched me as a producer and let people know I had something to offer was “Rock Co.Kane Flow” by De La Soul featuring MF Doom. That song changed everything for me. I’d done other tracks that people liked, but this was the first one where people everywhere were like, “That beat!” I’d never experienced that kind of reaction before. It gave me a baseline for what it means to have a song that people love on that level. To this day, I still meet people who tell me it’s their favorite beat I’ve ever made.
The beat itself was unique—the way it slowed down, and then restarted. Maybe it had been done before, but to my knowledge, it hadn’t. The fact that De La, one of my favorite groups growing up, still closes their shows with that track. That’s mind-blowing to me.
The backstory is kind of funny because back then, there wasn’t the kind of internet connectivity we have now. You couldn’t just email beats; you had to hand them to someone in person. A friend of mine was close with De La, especially Maseo. When they came to town, I burned a CD with some beats and gave it to them backstage at their concert. I probably just picked the beats I thought were my best at the time. Honestly, the beat for “Rock Co.Kane Flow” wasn’t something you’d typically associate with De La Soul’s sound.
About a week later, I got a call saying they liked five or six of the beats I’d given them, and they ended up using two on the album. It was surreal. De La was one of the groups I idolized, and now I was part of their work. That track gave me my first taste of what it feels like to create something that resonates so strongly with people.
Even though I’ve had tracks since then that were more commercially successful or made me more money, nothing compares to that first time you hit it big. I’d been making music for about 10 years by then—though I didn’t get really serious until the late ’90s—so it was such an incredible payoff to be part of something like that. That feeling is what I’ve been chasing ever since.
Are there still any artists you haven’t collaborated with yet who are at the top of your list?
I get that question a lot, and honestly, I’m not sure. Even with some artists I haven’t had an official song release with, I’ve worked with them in some capacity. Over the years, they’ve recorded to beats I’ve given them, even if those tracks didn’t see the light of day.
One artist I’d really love to work with is Charlie Wilson. He’s probably my favorite singer, and I’d love to have him on something one day. It just hasn’t happened yet—our paths haven’t crossed. He’s definitely number one on my list right now.
As for rappers, I’m not sure. I feel like I’ve worked with most big names in some way. I’ve had songs with Eminem and Kanye, even though those tracks never came out. Same with Kendrick—I’ve had songs with him rapping too. So technically, those collaborations took place. But yeah, getting a track on one of their actual albums would be cool.
That said, I wouldn’t say I wake up every day yearning for those opportunities. It’d be great if it happened, but I’m not approaching it with that mindset.
I wonder, what music do you listen to in your free time?
Mostly, in terms of hip-hop, I listen to the music I grew up with before I started making beats. I think once you become a professional in this industry, it changes how you hear things—you start overanalyzing everything. So I go back to the hip-hop I loved when it felt like a fantasy land, before I knew anything about production.
Outside of hip-hop, I listen to a lot of ’70s and ’80s music—the kind of stuff I’d sample. But honestly, I don’t always listen to it just to sample—I genuinely love the songs. That’s what I’m really into—collecting records and discovering the next great track. At this point, I’m not necessarily buying them to sample; it’s more about owning these rare artifacts. There’s something about it that still excites me.
My love for buying records hasn’t faded. It still brings me the same joy I had as a little kid. Even when my passion for making music comes and goes—because, let’s be real, sometimes this feels like a job—digging for records never gets old.
What is your opinion on new technologies in the music industry, particularly the use of AI, and how do you think it will impact the industry?
Maybe I’m crazy, but I feel like elements of this have always been around in some way. Sure, it wasn’t computers doing it for you, but I’ve been in rooms where someone says, “Make something like a Motown song,” and musicians would try to recreate that vibe. AI just feels like a shortcut that takes the musicians out of the equation.
At the end of the day, though, it comes down to whether you have a unique sound and a good ear. Two people can put the same prompt into an AI tool, but one will know how to identify the good part and flip it, while the other won’t. That’s the part AI can’t replace: the human touch and creative interpretation. I can take what AI generates and process it the way I do records—in a way nobody else can.
That said, AI will replace certain aspects of music creation, especially the more generic stuff. If you’re just making cookie-cutter tracks, you’re probably out. Sync music—like music for commercials, TV, or film—seems like the first to go. A lot of that is already so formulaic, it feels tailor-made for AI.
For me, I see AI as another tool. Why wouldn’t I use it? I use records—it’s just another way to dig in the crates. That’s how I look at it. But not everyone will approach it that way. Sure, AI could be seen as “evil,” but so was sampling when it first came out.
I’m sure someone could plug in “Jake One beat” as a prompt and get something that’s kind of a facsimile of my style. But it won’t be me—it won’t be as good as what I do. In five years? Who knows? Maybe we’ll all be out of a job if AI evolves that much. But I think these things always cause an uproar when they first appear, and we just have to wait and see what happens.
At the end of the day, there’s nothing we can do to stop it. So, I say use it to your advantage.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out with music production and looking for artists to work with?
I think there are different kinds of producers. There are producers like me who feel like mercenaries. I’m not attached to any one person or thing; I stand out by having the best beat or something unique that others can’t get anywhere else. That’s how I’ve been working for 20 years, and it’s tough. But the benefit is that if a rapper falls off, I don’t, because I’m not tied to just one thing.
On the other hand, a simpler way to get on is by developing artists and being part of their sound. When you do that, it’s not always about having the best beat—it’s more about being the person who determines the sound. You have to decide what path you want to take. You can do both, but I probably wouldn’t have gotten as good at making beats if I spent a lot of time being like a psychologist for artists. That’s part of being the other kind of producer, and I’m not really great at that. I’m a straight shooter. It’s hard for me to lie and tell someone their work is good if I don’t think it is.
There are also producers who don’t even make beats but are great A&Rs. They know what the right sound is, and they’re just likable people. Rappers and singers want them in the studio because they know how to pull the best out of an artist. You have to figure out where you fit and be the best at that.
Another thing I’d say is to be specific in what you do. If you’re a producer with country, trap, and hip-hop beats, you’re probably not great at any of them. Focus on one thing and master it. Being overly versatile but only okay at everything is the worst thing you can do. You should either be really great or really terrible—there’s no middle ground.
Do you have any upcoming tracks or projects that you're excited to share?
Well, my band Tuxedo just dropped our latest album, Tuxedo 4, about three weeks ago. It’s been five years since our last project, so I’ve been touring for that. I just got back from Mexico City, and next year will be full of Tuxedo-related projects.
I’m also working on more rap projects, but I prefer not to talk about them until they’re finished. I’ve learned that the hard way. I thought I’d release White Van Music 2 10 years ago, and here we are, 16 years after the first one. You never really know. I enjoy the surprise of just dropping something when it’s ready.
I remember early in my career, there was a magazine called Scratch Magazine, which was a big deal for producers at the time. A friend from the magazine called, asking, "What’s next?" I had just worked on a track with Nas, so I mentioned it to him. The magazine ran a feature saying, “Jake One up next, Nas,” and some other names. Then the track with Nas didn’t happen, and I had to explain why it never came out for a year. That experience taught me to never hype things up before they’re set in stone.
Follow Jake One on Instagram: @jakeuno
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