[@KhadejiaG] Sits Down With [@6IXVI] & Speaks On ‘Chosen’, Being An Engineer & Pain

They say things come in threes – A man that can rap, engineer, produce & run his own record label I’m now convinced that talent can come in fours. 6IXVI is by far one of the best producers and engineers in the game.

From mix and mastering ‘Stormzy – Shut Up’ to ‘Skepta – Shutdown’ to producing music for C Biz, there is nothing what this man cannot do. He recently released his latest album ‘Chosen‘ which is a 12 track project with features from E. Mak, C Biz & Don-E on there. In conjunction with this he also treated us to some visuals from ‘Fake Love’ in which you can watch below.

What was the first track you ever produced?

I made a song called ‘Action Man’, probably in like 2011/2012 to a Grime beat. I had all the North West & West MC’s that done a verse to it. In terms of producing, I haven’t really produced much as of lately, I’ve signed about 4/5 producers, I’ve took the role of an engineer more on now.

In the process of ‘Chosen’ which track was your favourite making ?

I don’t have a favourite, ‘The Audit’ is heavy on on my heart as that comes from a place of pain – it means a lot to me. I like ‘Flood’ & ‘Pop One’, there are so many which I like, you’ll have to ask me the question in 6 months when I’ve lived with the album a bit longer.

Why did you put ‘Anbu’ on the album ? What are you wanting your audience to understand ?

If you know me you know I love anime, I’ve watched it from young, it teaches you how to be confident and how to respect people. Watching the programme teaches you fundamental things that you don’t even realise so it stuck with me. Anbu is like the hierarchy, the assassin’s, they carry out jobs to protect their village so it might be against what is humanly right but they do what they had to do. I got it tattooed on my arm because I feel like it resembles me, I was the outcast. I don’t mind being the bad guy for a greater cause.

What is your relationship with E Mak like ?

He is like a Godsend. It started with me a TE dness (That’s my bro from the start) and we had a collective with a couple of MCs from Harrow and then I met E Mak. He was so enthusiastic and wanted to learn to make beats and engineer, when he first came he wasn’t great but it was the will and enthusiasm of wanting to learn. He is the only engineer in the country that could leave my vocals with to be able to sleep at night. He has learnt so much over the years and he is actually good now, he proven to me if you actually put your mind to and want to learn something you don’t always have to have talent, will power will make you learn. Mad love to E Mak.

What was the meaning behind ‘Fake Love’ video?

The actual concept of the song was thought at the end, when the song was already made. The ‘Audit’ was the song that E Mak recorded his verse to, so his verse was originally on the first beat, which I had half of the song done already and E MAK do the rest. I liked it so much that I re-wrote my verse then ended up writing for the whole song so I had to kick him off as I was rapping for 4 minutes straight. Then I got the new beat made to the same tempo which is fake love. I moved his vocals onto the new beat and I couldn’t think of a hook, my verse was about pain and about betrayal and E Mak was about life so I sent it to Ling and she sent me back two hooks and I chose the second one.

Does most of your tracks come from pain?

I’ve had a lot of things done to me, I’ve put a lot of blood sweat and tears into others peoples’ work and they got millions from it and are living a new life and haven’t come back to check me. There is a lot of doors that have been closed on me – peoples’ perception of me is that I don’t need help because I have my own studio and producers which means a lot of people don’t go above and beyond for me as I do them. ’Fake Love’ is me basically telling people it’s not about the money, if your not genuine I don’t want to work with you, I don’t do music for music I do it for love.

Did you face any negative thoughts and how did you overcome them whilst making the album ?

Loads, a lot of in house problems with peers, if you are set out to do good things, you’ll find out that you’ll clash a lot with the people around you. Sometimes in a good way but sometimes bad, but it means your growing and people can’t accept that and you’re not on the same wave that they are on. A lot of it is me, I’m a very impulsive character, if I get thought today I will act on it and I don’t take into consideration other peoples’ feelings which is good and bad at the same time but there was negativity in the build up to this but it’s just how you deal with it. I’ve learn to keep the negativity in and turn it into positivity.

When you feel negativity what is your outlet?

Music. If I didn’t have music I’d be doing a madness because that’s the only thing that has kept me in line, on a day to day I can’t react to certain things which is apart of growing up and a lot of these people aren’t worth the amount, it’s not gaining anything, it’s a battle that is not big enough for them. I’d be going backwards if I gave it any attention.

Being friends with C Biz has made me realise people just talk shit, he is my good friend so I talk to him on a daily basis and I hear what people portray him as, how people are wary of him and he is just a normal guy. He has done things back in the day which may gave him a reputation but he has left cowboy alone and people keep bringing cowboy to him.

What’s your biggest accomplishment in producing ?

Probably ’Shut Up – Stormzy’. Mixed and mastered by me. I think it’s done the most streams off of the album (GSAP), for a record, that’s the biggest accomplishment, but for me personally I don’t think I’ve reached it yet, I just want to be put in the category of a Dr Dre or a Timberland. Once that’s done I would feel like I’ve been put on the earth to do what I’m meant to do .

What do you eat in the studio?

Sometimes it can get messy, I’m a plant based one. I’m a vegan in terms of not eating animals, I don’t not eat animals because it’s unhealthy, I don’t eat it because it’s acidic. I call it a plant based diet so everything is to do with plants.

I just eat nuts, have salads and whatever I cook at home, I pack-lunch now, people think it’s more expensive but it’s more cheaper it’s just more cooking.

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