Apple Music 1: Mike WiLL Made-It dishes on Lil Uzi Vert, new music and his signature sounds

Low-key and high-key? Mike WiLL Made-It has been doing this for a long time and there’s no signs of slowing down. From putting out classics to still putting out anthems, the hip-hop producer stays busy and links with Apple Music 1’s Eddie Francis to dish on everything from his newest audio offerings to working alongside Lil Uzi Vert and J. Cole.

Mike WiLL Made-It links with Apple Music 1 to dish on everything

With his new ‘Blood Moon’ Lil Uzi Vert song now out, Mike didn’t hold back talking to Francis about the music grind.

Mike WiLL Made-It Tells Apple Music About The Origin of “Blood Moon” with Lil Uzi Vert...

If it's me and Uzi, it's some out of here shit. It's some outer space-ass shit. It's a new Uzi flow. You know what I'm saying? I don't really do too many samples in my tracks. I sample because it's fun. You what I'm saying? But I don't do too many samples. But even that track, I was f***ing with some samples one day at my studio and boom, it was like, you know what I'm saying? Cooked up that track. I was kicking up my boy Milo. I was kicking up with J. Cole. We were cooking up some s**t and boom. I was just going through these samples that I got from my man Isaac. You know what I'm saying? It was Rebellion. Let me get the right name, man. I don't want to be misquoting nobody, man. That's all I was trying to do is bring that Hip-Hop element. When I was making that track, I was trying to bring it. It's Nat Turner Rebellion, Care.

One thing I like about fucking with Uzi in the studio is he one them artists that challenges. He one them artists that like, "Man, bro, try me, bro." You know what I'm saying? That's why I like working with Thug, you know what I'm saying, too. They're like artists that's like, "Man, try me. Give me the most different shit that you got. I'm trying to go after that one. Give one of them out of here joints." You know what I'm saying? I pulled up this beat, I was trying to see if he was going to be like, "It's too slow," or something. As soon as he heard it, he was like, "Yo, pull this up, pull this up." He went in the booth and knocked this s**t out in two takes, three takes. I'm like, "Man, this s**t sound good." We went to the next one and then everybody who was hearing it was like, "Yo, damn. This s**t sound crazy." They were f***ing with it.I don't like to fight an organic vibe. We might've thought that, "Oh, we got to go back in on it," or do something, something, something. But it's like, man, everybody love that song from the time we made it. I was like, "Man, s**t, man. This shit hard as a mother***er.” 

Mike WiLL Made-It Tells Apple Music About Working with J. Cole on “Blood Moon”...

With me and Cole, it was just natural. Me and bro was just in the room working on something else. I didn't go in the studio like, "Yo, I'm about to go ahead and make a beat for a Lil Uzi." Literally, I made, that day I was in there with Cole, I made 10 beats that day. Know what I'm saying? One of the other beats that I made that day is actually coming out next Friday. You know what I'm saying? I ain't even going to tell you who on that one, but you all will see.It was good to have Cole in the room as that person in the room, in the position that I usually sit in with my team, you know what I'm saying? But now I'm on the board and I got somebody, you know what I'm saying, just as talented on the production or structured tip. You know what I'm saying? It's Cole. It's like, man, boom, we right there in the room where we rocking. It was hard. It's always hard to have good vibes in the room that's creative, and Cole is one of them. Me and bro always challenging each other and pushing each other on the sound shit behind the scenes and s**t. You know what I'm saying?

Mike WiLL Made-It Tells Apple Music About Naming The Track “Blood Moon”...

Once we started doing music, every time me and Uzi do music, we'll be randomly staying in the same hotel, maybe in New York or LA or somewhere. We'll just run into each other and then be like, "Oh yeah, studio tonight." Then we go to the studio, knock out a couple joints. Our linkup is as rare as a blood moon, you know what I'm saying? But it's a big deal. You know what I'm saying? I feel like everybody going to run and try to look and see when it's a blood moon or it's an eclipse or whatever, people running outside trying to record that zoom in, trying to see how it looked. You know what I'm saying? I just was thinking about that like, "Man, our link-ups and our sightings is as rare as a blood moon type shit." You know what I'm saying? Then I was like, "Man, yo, I'm going to name the track that s**t, man. Blood Moon." You know what I'm saying? It's like some blood moon s**t.

Mike WiLL Made-It Tells Apple Music About His History with Lil Uzi Vert...

Man, it's crazy because with Uzi, right? I've been on Uzi since he first came to Atlanta and was working down here, working on his first album, working on his first project. Then Shroom always f**k with Uzi, even before he was in the game. Shroom was f***ing with him when he was just a young dude just grinding. You know what I'm saying? Before anybody knew him. I would see him around and I was seeing his whole come out, it just happened quick as f**k. You know what I'm saying? He was grinding. He was just hard and unique. I was like, man, we was always cool, but we never really forced the music or doing a song or no s**t like that.

Mike WiLL Made-It Tells Apple Music About His Approach To Working with Artists…

Every time I go in the studio with a artist, I'm always trying to figure out what's the best way I can take this artist out of their box or out of their element or out of their comfort zone or out of what they're doing right now, but still kind of fit in the same world, but just, you know what I'm saying?

Mike WiLL Made-It Tells Apple Music About His Approach to Sampling…

…when I try to sample, I started off making beats on analog s**t. You know what I'm saying? Hardware s**t. You know what I'm saying? I always try to, not try, but it's naturally, I just have that Hip-Hop '90s element to me. You know what I'm saying? That's what I grew up around. But it's going to have my own twist. It's going to have today's sound. You know what I'm saying? You feel me? I already know that's where Hip-Hop started off was the samples and everything like that.

Mike WiLL Made-It Tells Apple Music About Releasing His Own Material...

A lot of people have been coming to my studio and they've been hearing a lot of unreleased music and like, "Bro, you need to start dropping. You ain't dropped the Ransom in six years." You know what I'm saying? This and that. "You got songs out, but man, we need them back. You need to drop all these joints that you just played in that studio." You know what I'm saying? I'm like, "All right, man, let me get back to dropping this music." You feel me?