Interview by Alan Ng
Words by Jenkin Au
Photography by Christine Tang
The justalilhype! Crew visited Hayden Baptiste also known as REL!G!ON. Not only does he share with us his insight on music and the entertainment industry, but he also talks about his thoughts on what it means to be a good producer. He is aiming big for his music career. Lastly, he tells us a bit more about his latest release “REVELATIONZ I?, and the production of his music video for the lead single from “REVELATIONZ I” called “Lucid” featuring appearances by Moka Only and E.D.G.E..
Tell us a bit about yourself to our readers.
My name is Hayden Baptiste, and I go by the name REL!G!ON when I’m producing. I grew up in Ottawa and I moved from Ottawa to Toronto. While I was in Toronto, I was pursuing acting and filmmaking and I made the shift into music in my mid twenties. I started to focus on that a little more while I was winding down on the acting thing. I moved out here to Vancouver in 2003 and started Wandering Worx Entertainment which is a film production company and record label with my business partner and manager Rodney Davidson.
How did you get the name REL!G!ON? Furthermore, you have also implanted a style of spelling that introduces exclamation marks in replace of the letter “I”. What’s story behind that?
The exclamations were simple. At first, we were just going with REL!G!ON with the regular spelling of the word, but no one could find me on the Internet, obviously there are a million things about religion listed. The idea was to put the exclamation marks so people could find me. The name REL!G!ON comes from how I treat music like my religion, you know what I mean? Some people go to church and they practice everyday. It’s like that for me. I call my studio “the church” – that’s where I do my work.
Speaking upon that, throughout your songs and throughout your latest album, the “REVELATIONZ 1”, there were often tracks that touched on subjects of God. Did that spark because of your name?
Maybe the lyricist went with the idea. For me, I don’t tell MC’s what to write. I don’t really believe in that. I think the guys on the album were all really strong writers and they just went with what they felt. It was merely a coincidence and it really has nothing to do with religion in that sense.
In the most recent album artwork in “REVELATIONZ 1”, there is a character that looks like a robot colored in white wearing a piece of red eyewear. Is that the character that represents REL!G!ON and how does that help craft your brand identity?
That concept mostly came from the video and that was Nicholas Treeshin’s vision, he directed the video. He came up with the concept for the Lucid video with the robots and everything. I really liked the image so that’s why we used it on the album cover because that was going to be the lead single and it just made sense to use that image. How I flipped it for the album… on the back cover it reveals me behind the mask. I’m a bit of an introvert and I could easily be that typical “bedroom producer” so revealing myself was a way for me to come out of my shell.
The usage of robots is definitely common these days. Daft Punk has been using that for a while and we also see how Hype Williams directed video of Common’s “UMC” displays a sense of the future in the land of robots and new technologies. What’s your insight of the future?
You know, I don’t have much to say about robots. I just think that we will be seeing a lot more robots doing more of the manufacturing and “simple jobs”. It’s so hard to say. It’s moving so fast and one thing I do see is that it’s kind of creating a slow isolation of people. We have became so used to the machine and things like internet dating, I mean I have no problems with those things and it’s part of our evolution, but that’s where I believe things are headed. If you look at people, we still like interacting and being with people but it’s different now. I grew up speaking with my neighbours and had relationships with them because that’s what you had to do to function and have a social life. I don’t even think I’ve spoken to my neighbours in my current apartment building. Everyone’s kind of in their little hole. We are a lot less trusting. That’s what I see. Technology is great and it’s incredibly useful but there’s a down side to everything.
As a producer, often times you have a great influence on how a song is made. How do you assist artists in creating songs that are connected to them but yet original at the same time?
It all depends on the level of the artist. For example, when I worked with Planet Asia, there is really not much I can say to an MC of that caliber. I have nothing as far as where he’s at with his lyrical skills that I can offer him, he’s on another level. What I try to do is to create a very solid sound bed for artists to work with, something that’s going to inspire them to write the hot lyrics. I always try to create something that’s going to inspire the MC to write. As far as direction, often times we get nervous about our art so I just try to create a relaxed environment for artists to work.
It seems like your street-cred in the game is strong. Artists that get to work with you once will always want to come back to you and refer you to other artists. What does it feel like to be such a popular producer?
I don’t know about popular, what I do isn’t exactly mainstream music. It’s underground mostly. Right now for Top 40, it’s more of the pop-orientated hip-hop, that’s what I call it at least. For me, I don’t know, maybe people come back because I always hear about how my beats are “so real”, and maybe that’s what the street-cred is about. It’s funny even hearing that… street cred… I’m from the suburbs of Ottawa. As far as my interest, I want to do some R&B stuff as well. I also want to do some house tracks. I want to do some things that people are going to question me about. I’m always going to do underground hip-hop beats but I’ m also trying to grow as an artist and I have several musical styles that I am interested in. You might even hear me doing an electro joint.
How do you choose what artists to work with? You have been working with a lot of established artists in the scene and there are only so many instrumentals you can produce. How does an artist get to work with REL!G!ON?
One thing is that I tend to approach people. When I do get approached rappers might say they want beats but I have no idea what their skill level is or what kind of music they really do. One thing is the internet; I love it when people approach me on the internet. Send me your tracks and research me a bit too – you can find me on URBNET. It’s easy to find me. Send me a few tracks and let me hear what you are doing. That’s a good way to start. Like I said, I always tend to approach people. I go to a lot of shows too and that’s what I do. I love the Foundation Radio open mic thing Roger and Rags put on at Nyala once a month and Emotionz is always doing showcases around town. Get involved!
Tell us a bit about your production of a beat. Where do inspirations come from and is it usually ideas from yourself or artists that jump-start the creations of your pieces?
They come from melodies or rhythms in my head that I just hear and I just try to replay them. A lot of my beats start from wack beat boxing into a hand held tape recorder, it’s ridiculous but that’s how I get ideas out of my head. Sometimes I have days where I just kind of mess around with sounds. I take my guitar and mess around with different effects… see what types of different sounds I can make. I mean I might not even use the sounds I make, but it may inspire something. Obviously, records are a big one. I listen to stacks of records and I’ll listen to pretty much anything. It could be an 80’s ballad or something weird and abstract, whatever I find that inspires me when I am digging. Who knows? Sometimes I dream beats. I go to bed and have a really crazy dream. When I wake up, the beat will be fresh in my head and I will go make it.
What advice do you have to upcoming producers in the scene? With the technology introduced today, anyone can make beats, but what’s the key to become successful?
Make good beats. It’s not easy to make beats; it’s very hard to make beats. To the average listener, maybe they just like whatever because they don’t really understand. I think you are trying to balance the art between simple and complex. Again, you are not just taking a loop or something simple like that, that’s just boring. The key is to really push the limits of the gear that you are using. I still use Reason and I am not shy saying that because it’s a great tool. I use everything that’s out there. I got an old Krumar Organ, some analog synths, an Akai MPC 2000XL. I like to use various tools to craft my music. It’s all about being creative and there are a lot of things with those programs you can do. Don’t get stuck with factory sounds – you can use them but why not make your own patches. Push the equipment to the limit and that’s all I am saying. As far as the hardware vs software debate… use whatever is going to help you make great music.
Who are some of your favourite producers?
I love Madlib, OhNo, Marco Polo, Jake One… that’s my top four in no particular order. I like where Alchemist is going with his beats lately. I’ve always loved Masters At Work they were a huge inspiration for my sound even though they are mostly house dudes… house music really influenced my sound. One of my friends from high school Dj Balu from Ottawa is really killin’ the house beats lately he’s dope. He remixed “Check The OR” by Organized Rhyme and flipped it on its head.
What’s your plan next in the scene? Music is progressive but in order for one to be recognized, it’s important to have a sense of style portrayed throughout your career. What can we hear next from REL!G!ON?
It’s funny because I am into so many different things. My style is going to change a lot from time to time and that’s going to be a part of my brand identity where people know they can come to me for a number of things. If you want an underground banger, I am more than happy to make that for you. If you want a house track, come see me. Like I said I would even do an electro track – those are things well in my range. Maybe my versatility… that’s what I think could be very appealing to artists. I will always try to keep a “street-feel” to my music.
What does the future hold for REL!G!ON and have you ever thought about bringing back your acting career into play?
Well, acting is pretty much done for me. As far as wearing other hats, Wandering Worx Entertainment is my film and music company. We are currently looking for artists. I love producing but as I get older I’ll focus on running the business. I will still make beats but that will not be the focus. I will be looking for other producers along the way and help them build their careers. That’s what I want to do. Look out for “Black Guy-White Guy”. We just signed them and they do various styles of dance music… Vancouver crew they are dope. We’ll be at the One Stop Shop producer’s conference in Vegas May 2010 and you’ll see REL!G!ON in more beat battles.
What is HYPE?
HYPE is just energy. It’s just wild, positive, energy and I think it comes from doing something that moves people to bring that energy.