Damizza talks Mariah
Over the past 5 years, Damizza, a.k.a Damion Young, has become one of the most sought after hip hop producers in the world, with a trademark sound which has made him first choice for a legion of major league artists ranging from Bones Thugs N Harmony and Nate Dogg to Ja Rule, Busta Rhymes and even Macy Gray.
He is also a frequent Mariah collaborator, as remixer, producer and co-writer and is currently working with Mariah on a number of tracks for her new album, due for release in November this year. Evidently a man who likes to keep busy, Damizza is not merely a producer and writer but a senior radio programmer in LA and head of his own Baby Ree Entertainment empire. However he was recently able to spare the time to talk exclusively to Mariah Connection about what it's like to be established at the very top of the hip-hop world and why he continues to enjoy working with Mariah Carey so much.
Mariah's fans will probably have first noticed Damizza when he remixed Mariah's cover of Brenda K Starr's "I still believe". Totally re-recording the track, Damizza and Mariah worked together to create what would become one of Mariah's most popular remixes - the "I still believe/pure imagination" project. The track became an airplay hit in its own right, and garnered much attention for an ear-catching sample from the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie soundtrack.
Damizza confirms that the idea to sample this track came to him while watching the movie one day. A beat was added with re-written and re-sung vocals from Mariah, and rap interludes from Da Brat and Krayzie Bone, an r'n'b classic was created. However, although they first collaborated in 1999, Damizza confirms that he and Mariah first met back in 1997, when Mariah visited the studios of LA's Power 106 radio station, where Damizza works as senior VP of Programming. What started as a promotional visit for the Butterfly album led to a blossoming friendship. Having "instantly bonded" Mariah and Damizza would take that chemistry into the studio, to create first the "I still believe" remix, and then popular albums tracks such as "Crybaby", "If we" and "Irresistible".
It must have been some leap to go from remixer to producer, but Damizza credits Mariah with easing him into the situation, declaring that "no human has work ethics like Mariah Carey". While working together, Mariah regularly entered the studio at 6am and left at 10pm, only to return to the studio at 6am the next morning. Contrary to her diva reputation, Damizza finds his friend and collaborator easy to work with, praising her talent and kindness. Anxious not to take what he learns for granted, Damizza sees each new experience with a different artist as a learning process which allows him to gain new skills and experiences.
He compares the experience of working with Mariah to taking a college course and credits his work with her as one of the largest influences on his work as a producer. Indeed Damizza is so proud of his work with Mariah that when his collaboration with Mariah for the Glitter soundtrack, "If we", failed to be released as a single, he re-used parts of the backing track and vocal for a new track with Nate Dogg and Shade Sheist entitled "What would you do". Damizza explains that this US airplay hit was originally intended as a production job specifically for Nate Dogg. When Mariah expressed an interest in contributing vocally, samples from "If we" were added to create a collaboration between all three artists. Accepting that "the world stopped turning" after September 11th, preventing the release of the original track, Damizza was pleased to be able to give a second chance to the track.
Curently Damizza is heavily involved in work on Mariah's new album, due for release later this year, and has even been credited in the press as a source of information about the new release. He confesses that Mariah has picked 2-3 beats she liked from the selection he offered and is working tracks around them. But it is of course not certain yet how many will appear on the finished album.
Aside from his own contribution, Damizza also offers Mariah a "support system", reviewing the work she has done with all her collaborators and giving advice. Having heard about 90% of the work in progress, Damizza is able to give an informed verdict on an album which he says reminds him of "Vision of love" mixed with a pop influence, a perfect balance between R&B and street pop. This is a view which sits well with comments from other insiders such as Randy Jackson who also see the album as a mixture of Mariah's classic style and contemporary influences.
While others write Mariah off as a spent force after recent knockbacks, Damizza reminds us that people do not seem to realize that Mariah writes all of her hits as a producer and artist. Crediting her with "pipes... off the chain", and writing skills which can't lose, Damizza compares her new work to the finely tuned performance of a "formula-1 racing car", and comments on how "focused" she seems.
Many fans have complained that Mariah seems to suffer from airplay problems in the US which have effected her Billboard chart placings. It's a potentially worrying situation in a chart which is largely based on airplay. Damizza proudly confirms that she suffers from no such problems at Power 106 and is reluctant to blame radio programmers in general for any past setbacks. Instead he points to the inability of a record label such as Virgin to properly maintain the promotional momentum needed to lauch a new Mariah album. And as a man who sees each setback as a positive learning experience, Damizza is certain that whatever pressures hit her, Mariah will continue to stand tall and keep going.
So what of the future for the super producer himself? It goes without saying that Damizza will continue to keep busy. Looking ahead to a future hopefully holding "less politics" and more "good music", he is looking into distributing internationally but intends to be patient and see how things pan out. After the success of "What would you do" and "Lights out", he declares that he is finally having fun and urges us to "watch out" for future projects. Giving his track record it would be foolish not to.
Damizza's latest CD "Damizza presents: The Baby Ree mix tape volume 2" is avaliable now at www.damizza.com. Hosted by world-famous model and actress Pamela Anderson, it features collaborations and new material from platinum artists such as Mariah Carey, G Unit, Jadakiss, DJ Quik, Butch Cassidy, Jayo Felony, Knoc-Turn'Al and Damizza, as well as up-and-coming West Coast rappers Conway, Young Tremayne, Hyskills, Roscoe, Titus, and Stacee Adamz. This hugely popular release has already sold well in excess of 10,000 copies. (Mariah Connection)
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