The Hiphop Tip
In the early '90s, when Jake Dutton (AKA Jake One) saw his neighborhood friends H-Bomb and Vitamin D create music on par with the hot shit of the time (such as Diamond D and A Tribe Called Quest), it inspired him to take a more active role in making music himself. The future acclaimed hiphop producer was living in the Central District, and after making his first beat on a Casio Voice Sampler in 1992, he was hooked. "It was just fascinating when you listen to records, hearing the sample and learning how [it's made]," he says. "You start feeling like you can make [samples] too."
The avid vinyl collector increased his passion for music after learning from another well-respected crate-digger, Mr. Supreme (AKA Danny Clavesilla), who taught him the techniques of the trade, from vinyl shopping to grassroots networking. "Supreme taught me stuff I still had no idea about," says Dutton. "Even about knowing people in the industry; I wasn't thinking about that stuff and I didn't understand why certain cats with talent weren't getting out there." Supreme eventually released a crop of 12-inches by Dutton on his label, Conception Records. "[Releasing records on] Conception was just a fluke--I met Danny when he worked at Music Menu," Dutton admits. "I had super-hard East Coast beats and he was attracted to it. For some reason, we connected. All we did was record shop and run around."
Dutton and Supreme started working together more and released a series of mix tapes as the Conmen. These hard-to-find gems are a must, compiling the original songs popularly sampled in hiphop at the time.
After playing a major role in the rise of Conception Records in the late '90s, as well as getting props for the critically acclaimed sound he and Supreme created, Dutton took the more challenging path of going solo. "I just wish Conception could have established [more of] an identity," he says. "Compilations just don't give people something to really ride for because they're so scattered. If there would've been a Ghetto Chilldren album, for example, history would have changed. I was just learning at that time. It was odd--we stumbled upon making some all right stuff that was mostly just practice."
Since going solo, Dutton has been hustling his beat tapes to everybody and their mom. He signed up with Walt Liquor, who also manages Planet Asia, and has since produced legends like Masta Ase, E-40, Busta Rhymes, Obie Trice, D12, and G-Unit, and played a major role in upcoming albums for Encore and Gift of Gab. He's helped Boom Bap Project and Vitamin D with their latest singles, and things have even come full circle with H-Bomb, who plays guitar for Dutton on some of his beats. Dutton also just released his Tale of the Tape EP, a beat CD that California deejays were playing for emcees to freestyle over.
"Right now I'm trying to be involved in everything, not just doing it to do it," he says. "I don't ever want to be pigeonholed. You've got to play the game a bit and just be happy with your contribution. It's a crazy business, the way people believe in the music. I really want to be a part of that."
