Swizz, your Web Summit panel just explored the collision of culture and technology. Your online live performance platform, Verzuz, is the perfect example of this. What excites you the most about how tech is changing the creative game right now?
Swizz Beatz: I think the thing that excites me the most is the way that people can reach people.When I first started you had to hand deliver something physically, even selling records was physical. Now someone can have an idea right here in Qatar and instantly people can know about it in New York. So I think the travel of technology is important because it gives a lot of people their voice.
A lot of young entrepreneurs are here. What’s your advice to them, whether they’re artists, or they have the next big thing in AI?
Swizz Beatz: My advice to all of the young artists that’s here and around the world is to take your time. I know it feels like the gold rush. But when you have quality, you have originality and you have something special, people are going to always go back to those qualities. A lot of people are going to do the hype fast, this and that. The burn rate on that is going to be very quick. But the person that sat there and studied and let everybody run crazy is the person who’s gonna probably get picked for the long-term. And I was one of those people, you know. And it’s even what I’m doing here in the Middle East since ’06, you know, I’ve done meaningful things. But more importantly, I’ve been a student. And that’s been the best thing ever, is to be a student, learn about Qatar, learn about Saudi, learn about Bahrain, learn about all of these places, Abu Dhabi. They all offer different things, you know? Don’t just come, cause a lot of people just come because of the glitz. They think, oh, I’m gonna go there and get rich. No, man, like, it’s gonna take you 10,000 hours like it does anywhere for anything successful.
So what is it about this region that keeps pulling you back?
Swizz Beatz: I’ve just been a fan for a long time. My grandfather went to Mecca in ’78, and I remember seeing photos of him, he’s an imam. He just recently passed, but he lived a great life. He used to manage Muhammad Ali, all of these things. And I used to always hear the Arabic music, and I just always was infatuated with the culture. I know that somewhere in here, I’m Arab. My name is Kasseem. I’m Abu Nasser, right? My middle name is Daoud, right. You know, we have a Muslim family, so that came naturally. But when I came here, it was the people, you know? A lot of people was making fun of me for coming to the Middle East so early. Oh, you shouldn’t go there, this and that. And I’m just like, when I came here, I felt something that words couldn’t describe from the people and that’s what got me, it was the people.
You recently partnered with Qatar Airways. Why is Creative 100 such an important project?
Swizz Beatz: Well, anything I do is the people’s business, by the artist, for the artist, with the people. And the Creative 100 with Qatar Airways is bringing an ecosystem, a community together, so that when we’re doing this thing, it’s actually helping other people. So imagine we get to help 100 people a year, or acknowledge 100 people, a year. So the Creative 100 is to celebrate all of the architects of creativity in all forms, not just music.
With projects like Creative 100 and Art Basel Qatar, how do you see the region shaping global creativity?
Swizz Beatz: I think the region has given opportunities for global creativity, where a lot of places stopped. You know, like they stopped funding art, they stopped doing all this – the region is doing the opposite. They’re funding creativity, they’re funding the creatives, they’re giving a hub for education, they’re giving a hub for tech, they’re giving a hub for all of these things.
Do you think tech today empowers creatives or creates new challenges that they never had before?
Swizz Beatz: I think it does both. Tech should be challenging, you know, but once you learn it, you’re good. I remember getting my first MPC, the book was this big, I never read it. I figured out my own way to navigate within the system. I created my own to how to make beats and I think that was a part of me navigating technology at a young age and it made me who I am, it made the way that I produce special.
And the way you produce is incredibly special. The likes of Jay-Z, when you were a young man, obviously saw something in you and then many other rappers as well. What do you think it was about your persistence and your skill set and all that coming together that made you stand out from the crowd?
Swizz Beatz: I just was having fun. You know, like, I didn’t know I could make money in music. It wasn’t a business to me, it was a lifestyle. Just making music, what made me more attractive to guys like Jay and everyone else – when I used to make a beat, I used no samples. So going back to what I spoke about was, you know, to all of the creatives listening, the best thing you can be out there is original. So by having no samples, I was able to put records out the next day. Most people were sampling, so you got to get it cleared. Then, I also wrote the choruses for most of my songs. So my track comes with no sample and a chorus. So if you’re a busy artist and you came to me, I’m already going to have 10 concepts for you. All you have to do is fill in the blanks, right? And so I came up with that strategy – and it works!