Joshua Howard Luellen (born February 2, 1989),Interview: SouthSide The Marrack professionally known as Southside (also known as Sizzle), is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper. He gained recognition in the hip hop industry for producing songs for prominent artists across the American hip hop sphere. In 2010, Southside and fellow 1017 label-mate
Lex Luger
Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958), better known by the ring name Lex Luger, is an American retired professional wrestler, bodybuilder, and football player. In 2011 he began working with WWE on its wellness policy. He is best known for ...
, established their production and songwriting team 808 Mafia, where Southside currently is at the helm of the group. The basis of his stage name is the place where Luellen grew up, Southside, in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
.
Early life
Southside grew up in the Southside region of Atlanta, Georgia. Growing up, he played
Little League Baseball
Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization He started making beats when he was 14 years old, when he got his first computer from his uncle.Interview with Southside IGetMusic.com
Career
It was around his mid-teenage years that Southside decided to start taking music production as a serious caree Southside music will make us sizzle TheWhatItDo.com He was later discovered by then unknown rapper Waka Flocka Flame when he was 17 and through Waka's network, Gucci Mane eventually signed him to his label 1017 Brick Squad Records.Southside music will make us sizzle TheWhatItDo.com At Bricksquad Records, Luellen met Lex Luger, who was another producer for Waka Flocka, and the two started working together to lay the production groundwork for Waka Flocka's debut album.
Southside's first major release was the song "Fuck the Club Up," which appeared on Waka Flocka's debut album ''
Flockaveli
''Flockaveli'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Waka Flocka Flame. The title of the album is a portmanteau of Waka Flocka Flame's name and that of the Italian political theorist Machiavelli, and was inspired by fellow American rapper ...
''. In 2011, Southside co-produced the track "Illest Motherfucker Alive", from Kanye West &
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...
's critically acclaimed album '' Watch the Throne''. This helped to boost his career and bring him into the mainstream hip hop scene. He has since worked with artists such as
Rick Ross
William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper.
Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Sean Combs, D ...
,
B.o.B
Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. (born November 15, 1988), known professionally as B.o.B, is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Decatur, Georgia, Simmons was signed to Jim Jonsin's Rebel Rock Entertainment imprint in 2006. Two years later, ...
,
Wale
Wale or WALE may refer to:
Places
*Wale, Devon, a hamlet in England
*Wale, Tomaszów Mazowiecki County, a village in Poland
People
*Wale (surname)
*Wale (rapper), stage name of American rapper Olubowale Victor Akintimehin
Radio and television ...
MGK
Colson Baker (born April 22, 1990), known professionally as Machine Gun Kelly (MGK), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is noted for his genre duality across alternative rock with Hip hop music, hip hop.
Machine Gun Ke ...
among others.
Southside was the main producer of Gucci Mane & Waka Flocka's collaboration album ''
Ferrari Boyz
''Ferrari Boyz'' is a collaborative studio album by American rappers Gucci Mane and Waka Flocka Flame. Originally scheduled for a June 21, 2011, release, it was delayed and later released on August 9. It features Rocko, 2 Chainz, 1017 Brick Squ ...
'' and on Flocka's sophomore album '' Triple F Life: Friends, Fans & Family''.
In January 2013, Southside produced "Millions" – the lead single from Pusha T's mixtape ''Wrath of Caine''. The music video for the song was released on February 10. The song sparked controversy when producer
Rico Beats
Ricardo Lamarre, known professionally as Rico Beats, is an American record executive, record producer, and songwriter. His most notable production credits are DJ Khaled's "Take That Off", Nicki Minaj's " Roman Reloaded", Soulja Boy's " Mean Mug" ...
was asked to modify Southside's instrumental for the final version of the song. Southside wasn't notified of the changes, which led to the two producers exchanging threats over Twitter. In ''Wrath of Caine'' official track list, Kanye West is credited as co-producer, instead of Rico Beats. Also in 2013, Southside & TM88 produced the song "
Tapout
Tap out or Tapout can refer to:
* Tap out, submission in combat sport
* Tapout (clothing brand)
* ''Tapout'' (TV series)
* '' UFC: Tapout'', a video game
* Tap-Out ''(Transformers)'', the name of two fictional characters
* "Tapout" (song), a 20 ...
" by Birdman for his album '' Rich Gang: Flashy Lifestyle''. The song peaked at number 44 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was certified Gold By The RIAA.
Throughout the early 2010s, Southside's productions have been featured on numerous mixtapes. Along with 808 Mafia's TM88, the single "Danny Glover" became a breakout in early 2014 for Gucci Mane's protégé Young Thug, produced by Southside. By late 2014, Southside's production continued to catapult into Atlanta's hip hop mainstream when Future's mixtape ''
Monster
A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...
'' went on to become one of the most well acclaimed rap releases during that year as Southside handled a quarter of the mixtape's entire production. The well received project has seen more than a million combined streams and downloads via the online mixtape site DatPiff. ''Monster '' standout "
Commas
The comma is a punctuation mark that appears in several variants in different languages. It has the same shape as an apostrophe or single closing quotation mark () in many typefaces, but it differs from them in being placed on the baseline o ...
" was released as an official commercial single in March 2015 and spent 20 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 55, simultaneity earning an RIAA gold certification further cementing Southside's career boost.
In 2015, Southside continued to push his trap sound in the hip hop industry ubiquitously, especially on various songs produced by him and his 808 Mafia collective. Luellen was responsible for producing a significant portion of
Future
The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...
's album, '' DS2'', as well as being responsible for producing nine of the ten tracks of Future's mixtape, ''
56 Nights
56 Nights is the fifteenth mixtape by American DJ and record producer, William Moore (professionally known as DJ Esco). It was released on March 21, 2015, through rapper Future (rapper), Future's Freebandz, Freebandz Entertainment label. The mixtap ...
'', in which Southside made the entire project's worth of beats in only one night. In addition, Southside also contributed to the production of three tracks on the collaborative mixtape '' What a Time to Be Alive'' by Future and Drake.
Artistry
Southside uses the digital audio workstation,
FL Studio
FL Studio (previously known as FruityLoops before 2003) is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed by the Belgian company Image-Line.
FL Studio features a graphical user interface with a pattern-based music sequencer. The program is avail ...
along with custom installed
VST VST may refer to:
* Vancouver School of Theology, a theological graduate school in British Columbia, Canada
* VST, Stockholm Västerås Airport in Sweden (IATA airport code)
* Vehicle safety technology
* Virtual Studio Technology, Steinberg's stand ...
plugins to compose his beats. Luellen's distinct signature
trap
A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research.
Trap or TRAP may also refer to:
Art and entertainment Films and television
* ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...
sound is gritty, grimy, and thunderous hip hop street sound which is similar to that of his collaborators, Lex Luger and his group 808 Mafia. Despite such similarities, Luellen's sound is distinctly known to be more gangster, bombastic, gritty, rambunctious, and menacing compared to that of his collaborators. Luellen is known for his dark, belligerent, and menacing hip hop sound coupled with hard hitting 808 kicks, crisp snare drums, fast hi-hats, frantic synthesizers, sinister lead instruments, and colorfully layered ominous orchestration of synthesized brass,
hits
Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block
* ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998
* ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...
, stringed, woodwind, and keyboard instruments. Like many other producers Southside uses a musical signature tag on many of the songs he has produced. His main tag is a pitched-up voice saying his name. He also uses his team tag, 808 Mafia and more recently, a sample of the Ironside (1967 TV series) theme song produced by Quincy Jones. Back in the beginning of his career, Southside claimed to complete a single beat in 15 to 30 minutes, but as of 2015, he claims to be able to make a single beat in less than 6 minutes and with no sound. He cites Lil Jon as his favorite producer and enjoys the production work made by Pharrell, Shawty Redd, and Drumma Boy. He is also influenced by the production works of Kanye West,
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...
, Timbaland and Swizz Beatz.
Southside also credits modern technology and internet, particularly through the monetization of music through streaming sites such as SoundCloud, YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music that help him make a living off of his passion for hip hop music and well as making his own production career possible. Inside the studio, Southside is known for his strong work ethic and strategic marketing acumen when producing beats for artists and getting the finalized track towards the mixtape circuit or for radio play. Since 2013, Southside began to focus on his career as a producer from an entrepreneurial perspective, cultivating talent while learning the ins and outs of the legality in the music production business as well as negotiating deals and making the financial decisions on every track he is responsible for producing.