Producer Set To Debut New Tracks Down Under

Many have said hip hop wouldn’t be what it is today without Just Blaze, and it’s pretty easy to see why. For 15 years now, the New Jersey producer has been one of the most prolific record producers in the industry, involved with almost every big name including Jay-Z, Diddy, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar to name just a few. On top of this, he’s spent the past few years now channelling his roots as a dance-music DJ and touring more than ever before.

Those tours included a spot at 2013’s Listen Out, where he was one of the highlights of the night for many. Blaze says despite the success, he didn’t know how his set would go down with an Australian festival audience. “I’ve played in Australia a few times but that was probably my first festival and when you play a new territory like that on that scale you’re never really sure if what you’re going to do or what you plan on doing is going to work,” Blaze admits. “I just try and vibe a lot off of the crowd, and the vibe I got with Listen Out festival overall was really awesome, it worked out well for everybody.”

"Hopefully by the time these shows roll around I’ll have a couple of those ideas a bit more solidified and finished."

Being largely known as a producer, he says fans don’t know always know quite what to expect from him until they see him perform. “One of the main things I have to keep in mind is we’re in the age of the celebrity DJ and a lot of times there’s so many producers trying to ride that bandwagon. I’ve gotten a lot of people not really knowing what to expect from me because they figure I’m probably some celebrity DJ who made a name as a producer and is just going to play some records. But then by the time the show is over they’re like, ‘Oh, you really know how to DJ,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I was a DJ before I was ever a producer.’ So this is a side of me people never really knew just because I became very well-known for producing hip hop records so it’s kind of a two-sided thing for me.”

Despite touring non-stop since January last year, Blaze says he’s got plenty of new material in the works that hopefully will be ready in time for his return to Australia early in the New Year. “When I did Higher, me and Baauer actually collaborated on a few ideas so I’m probably going to spend some of the free time I have over the holidays tweaking those ideas. I also have a great record with TWRK I’m working on called BLT and then another with Kid Kamillion, which is kind of awesome. Hopefully by the time these shows roll around I’ll have a couple of those ideas a bit more solidified and finished so I can kind of premiere them out there. I’m not playing any festivals until I get down there so it’ll be the first time I’ve played a lot of these ideas publicly for a large audience, which should be fun.”