[@THEREALSWIZZZ] Speaks On Poison, Giggs and the GRM Daily Rated Awards

With his latest release, ‘Poison‘, Swizz Beatz is back with a 10-track project to blow your minds. The album sports features from Lil Wayne, Pusha T, 2Chainz & our very own landlord, Giggs. I spoke to the NYC native, artist and producer about his time in the UK and Poison.

How do you think growing up in New York shaped and influenced the music you make today? Do you think it influenced a lot, especially the instruments you use in your music?

I think growing up in the South Bronx, New York, shaped my sound in music. I feel like what really elevated my sound was travelling and going to places such as the UK & Africa.  But having the core of South Bronx in my DNA is what made my official sound as a musician.

You worked with Lil Wayne over 10 years ago, has there been a change in your work when working with him then to working with him now? Does it still feel the same working with the 2007 Wayne to the 2018 Wayne?

It’s kind of the same, he’s always been talented, a real workaholic. He works in the studio 28 hours a day and there is only 24 hours in the day. It’s always good when an artist works just as a hard as you because that’s when you know you’ll get quality. Our relationship has grown.

When I watched the video to ‘P.O.M.S’ I saw Alicia on the Keys. Was including her on the track an important element for you on the album?

She got on the album because she wanted to! I was playing a track in the room and the next thing I know she was playing the piano on it. She loved the track, she was inspired and wanted to add something to it – it was good because it was organic and not forced nor was she singing which meant she got to be herself.

I saw that you came down to the GRM Rated awards in London, how was that?

That was good, I was with Giggs at the time, who is also on the album. He will always show up for me if I need something. He was excited about the award show and the UK has never seen me about like that so I went. It was a super cool evening.

Which feature were you most excited about on the album?

I’m excited about all of the features, the artists made it quality. Everybody had to deliver their best. They had to deliver what you know them for or better than you’ve seen them before. There was no compromise and that’s how the features got picked. I wanted to bring back quality and lyrics, that was all that mattered.

You have Giggs, one of our landlords, on the album. How did you find out about him? What was different about him that made you want him to be on your album?

Giggs reminded me of DMX a lot when I first heard him. His energy reminded me of him. Angel, from the UK, introduced him to me officially and now he is like family. I spoke to him today for about an hour – the album is very hardcore, and I felt like he is a perfect representation of that in the UK.

You can stream Poison by Swizz Beatz now via Apple Music at:

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/poison/1435842653