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Tablet spoke with hip hop artist Prince Paul the night before the release of his groundbreaking new instrumental record, “Itstrumental.” He was excited about the new release and also wanted to address the rumors of his retirement.
How did the the idea for “Itstrumental” arise?
Peter [Agoston] approached me with it. He was like, “Ya know I’ve been doing these instrumental records with Doom, Spinna....” I said, “I don’t know if that’s really my thing, I don’t know if I really make any instrumental songs that people would even care about.” Then I thought about it: I’ve never done that before, so let me try. I should be able to rise to the occasion. So, I went and found a bunch of old beats stemming from ‘88.
Tell us a little about your songwriting process.
I don’t make great instrumental beats like Pete Rock and all them guys; I’m more of a producer guy. I’m more into arranging and trying to get something out of a song. So that’s what I’m trying to do with what I consider lackluster beats—make them interesting, throw some hooks and some cuts, and that’s going to be my edge.
Why did you decide to mix and master this album to analog?
Well, I wanted to have a certain feel to it. I mixed the best of both worlds, using digital and analog. Especially with hip hop albums these days, everything is so articulate and clear, it’s stale. I wanted it to feel a certain way, and you can only get that using analog.
Some tracks on the album sound like a major departure from your previous work. Were you trying to explore other genres outside of hip hop with this record?
I like to push my own limits, see what I can and cannot do. A lot of producers and artists like to stay in a comfort zone. They don’t like challenging themselves ‘cause they don’t want to lose what they got. For me, I think the beauty in whatever you do is to challenge yourself. That’s why I’ll make a comedy record, I’ll do Handsome Boy Modeling School (which is a little more alternative-sounding), I’ll do Da Gravediggaz.
Is there any truth to the rumors that this may be the last album of your career?
No, no, this won’t be my last recording. I haven’t yet made my best record. But I think I am going to retire from making Prince Paul records. Whatever last one I make, I want it to make an impact. Something where when people look back on hip hop history, they’ll say, “Whoa, that was crazy!” I want to have an impact on your life—if it’s not like that, then why are you making records?
“Itstrumental” is available now on Female Fun Records.
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