ADP has steadily been making a name for himself in the UK, and his persistence – matched with an unrivalled production quality – recently landed him a management deal with LBE (ROC Nation). And he proved that lightning can strike twice, having executively produced MOBO Award-winning duo Krept & Konan’s mixtape Young Kingz. Not bad, hey? We caught up with ADP at Ealing Studios to wax lyrical – here’s what went down.
Sampleface: Krept & Konan just won Best Newcomer at the MOBOs. How are you feeling right now?
ADP: It’s so crazy, we really didn’t think that we were even going to win it. We had doubts but God is good and we won! I’m over the moon. All of the hard work and sleepless nights at the studio are all paying off and I’m so proud of my brothers Krept & Konan – it’s a well deserved win for them.
SF: For sure! You’ve produced the majority of Young Kingz, how did that collaboration come about?
ADP: The collaboration between Krept, Konan and myself came about through our management. We had a meeting with their [Krept & Konan’s] manager a while back, and I played him a record I had in mind for them. From that we did a session, which led to two. We clicked and the vibe was just there from the get go, so we decided to just do a whole project together, which became Young Kingz.
SF: Has everything been snowballing since signing with LBE?
ADP: Yeah, it’s been amazing since signing my management agreement with LBE. I’ve been crazy busy and the team I have behind me are AMAZING! Because of them, the sky’s the limit. It’s a big family!
SF: Tell us about ADP back in the day. How did you get into music?
ADP: Where should I start? When I was around 14/15, I started DJing in my bedroom after saving up for turntables. I did that for like a year, and I always wondered how the records were made, so I’d read the back of the vinyl (yes, vinyl!) and CD sleeves to see who produced and wrote the tracks I was playing. From mostly spinning hip-hop records, I used to see a LOT of “contains sample from” quotes everywhere. I was fascinated by this and kind of put two and two together after hearing the original samples. I started downloading drum samples and recreating beats that I loved, and slowly progressed into making my own original beats. Since then I stopped DJing and fell in love with production. Haven’t looked back since.
SF: You can boast the fact that you’ve got a music degree, have you felt your time at University has aided your career?
ADP: To be honest.. creatively? No. I wouldn’t say my degree has helped my career, however, regarding the business side of things it helped a hell of a lot: from being able to read contracts and actually understand the language being used and understanding certain logistics of how things work behind the scenes of the music, i.e publishing. Plus, I’m glad I did a music degree mainly for the fact that I met some of the coolest people I know to this day, and made some great friends who are extremely talented.
SF: Favourite producer/biggest influence?
ADP: This is the TOUGHEST question you could ask!
SF: We know! We have a habit of doing that..
ADP: Hmm, I can’t say I have one favourite producer. It varies dependent on genre. Pop Music – at the moment – I’d say Max Martin is my biggest influence. R&B/Hip-Hop, I’d say Bryan Michael Cox – his piano melodies have always inspired my production ever since I started. And I’d have to say Timbaland – that man has changed the game a countless number of times, and I’m sure most producers reading this agree that the first few drum kits they probably ever got their hands on, were Timbaland sample kits, haha.
SF: (Starchild, what you saying?!) Anyway, aside from music – what do you enjoy doing?
ADP: You know what? I wish I actually got to do other things apart from music. My life is literally eat, sleep and breathe music! The few hours I actually do get to relax, I just watch a load of movies or random TV series’.
SF: What are you watching at the moment?
ADP: BREAKING BAD! I’m hooked on it!
SF: It’s crazy right?!
ADP: Yep!
SF: Alright. Some quick fire questions, are you ready?
ADP: Umm, not rea-
SF: Tea or coffee?
ADP: Coffee! BUT, Indian tea (chai) rules all.
SF: Word. Cats or dogs?
ADP: Dogs!
SF: I swear we’ve seen you Instagram kittens, though?
ADP: My brother’s kittens. Yeah, I played no part in that.
SF: Beyoncé or Rihanna?
ADP: Beyoncé vocally, but Rihanna’s music overall wins for me! I’m a big fan of DIRTY production and quirky/weird top lines!
SF: iPhone 4 or 5?
ADP: 5
SF: Favourite Food?
ADP: Any sort of Indian mixed grill!
SF: One random thing that really pisses you off?
ADP: When my beard sometimes doesn’t go to plan HAHA. It can really ruin my day!
SF: OMFG same- Kendrick or Drake?
ADP: Drake. He’s the man!
SF: Miley or.. nah forget it. What’s next for you?
ADP: At the moment, I’m just working on getting some good cuts on some great projects, but I guess only God knows what’s really next for me. So let’s see what he/she comes up with for me! All I know is, I’m really excited for the upcoming future!
SF: We are too, and we look forward to hearing that good-good! Peace!
You can follow ADP on Twitter: @ADP_Muzik, and Young Kingz is available to download on iTunes.