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Mike Dean: My go-to is Ableton right now. I use Logic and Pro Tools to mix. How do you feel about playing digital versus playing live?
Playing live is dope, but you have to mix them both together. You can't do too much of one or another. That's the secret. How many instruments do you know how to play?
I don't know. Seven or eight? I play the sax, piano, guitar, bass… I started as a kid with piano lessons. How did you come to be with Rap-A-Lot?
I was producing some local rappers around Houston, this group called the Deathsquad and another group called the Power Lords. This was in 1998 or 1999. How many years have you been in the game?
I started with Selena in 1983. So, it's been almost 30 years.What was it like working with Scarface and the Geto Boys? I know there was some crazy shit that went down.
It's good making music. Mostly it's all just making music and smoking.Yeezus sounds fucking crazy. It's on some futuristic shit. Kanye's repetoire is always grandiose, but this seems more of a minimalist approach. What was the motivation behind that?
It was Kanye. He wanted to strip everything down and make it more like a rock-band album.
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A lot. He helped put everything together. And he took some stuff away.What's your favorite song off the project?
I would have to say "Hold My Liquor," because I produced it. Well, Kanye and I produced it. It has a nice guitar solo.What direction do you see the sound of hip-hop going? Obviously with Yeezus, you're doing something completely different.
We'll change it again next album. We raise the bar every time.How did your association with Travis Scott come about? Is that mainly due to your ties with Houston?
I met him through Anthony. He was hitting me up on Twitter like six months prior, but I really didn't answer him. Since he got with Anthony, I started helping him out. He's dope.Follow Mike Dean on Twitter.Check out Archie Green on Soundcloud and follow him on Twitter.More hip-hop from VICE:Big Booties Don't Get into Rap Videos Without Face TimeNever Party with The Brick SquadPimp Rap Has a New Prince and His Name Is 100s