Noah "40" Shebib, who produced some of the biggest hip hop hits, says good music can be produced without fancy equipment.
Drake's Certified Lover Boy opener, "Champagne Poetry," was recorded on an iPhone according to the OVO producer/engineer during a recent chat with FC The Truth.
“Yeah. So, OK, I’m always recording stuff on an iPhone just ’cause it’s easier these days and the iPhone sounds great,” 40 said. “So, like, yeah, if I have to record just like an instrument, I might use an iPhone, for instance.”
In a brief anecdote regarding Travis Scott, 40 underscored his stance. At London's Wireless Festival, the producer met the Houston rapper years ago. He recalled that La Flame approached him and thanked him for changing his life. Scott explained to the producer that he had read one of his blog posts debunking the idea that it was necessary to buy expensive, high-tech equipment to create music. The author argued that all you really needed was a laptop, a microphone, and a couple of plugins. Eventually, Scott's mom bought the basic tools-and the rest is history.
“[Scott] is like, ‘Look what happened. Look, look, I’m here.’ I’m like, whoa, that’s fuckin‘ crazy,’” 40 recalled. “The point is, I’ve always been preaching that—don’t let people tell you you need all that fancy shit. When we sign artists, the first conversation I have with them is, ‘Yo, don’t get caught up in all this [...] You don’t need any of that stuff.”
pointed out that great artists from the past didn't require high-tech equipment in order to do their jobs.
“It’s not rocket science in this day in age. You just want to make music,” he said. “The Beatles didn’t have much to work with back then. Whoever it is—Marvin Gaye was lying down on a couch with an SM-57. So it’s, like, alright, so grab an SM-57 for $100 and lie on the couch in the living room and track a record and make it great, right?. There’s a way to do it at all times and I think people get caught up and lost in all the fancy stuff.”
admits that he now has access to a lengthy arsenal of expensive tools, but insists that the tools are a luxury, not a necessity.
“All you need is a computer of any kind. I don’t care what it is. It can be 15 to 20 years old,” he explained. “If you only had an iPhone, you could do it. If I was trapped with only an iPhone, I would make classics all day [...] It’s all about what your means are, and using those means to create greatness. That’s what, to me, the spirit of hip hop is to its core … All that fancy stuff is cool, but it’s not necessary.”
You can check out 40’s full interview below.