Ask someone to describe hip hop music and they might say “slow beats at 90BPM, gritty samples, and politically charged rhymes from the streets.” They might not know it but they’re describing hip hop as we know it thanks to Hank Shocklee. It’s no exaggeration to say that not since George Martin has a producer had as much influence in the direction and development of a cultural movement. Hank doesn’t stop to reflect on all his accomplishments, however. He just continues to do what he always has… make music. Since the early 2000s, Shocklee moved his elaborate hardware based production workflow out of the studio rack and into the Reason rack.

For this interview, there were too many great stories to fit into a single interview so be sure to check out Hank Shocklee’s deleted scenes.