Tell us who you are and what you do?

Hey fellas! First of all thanks for this opportunity. I'm JP Balboa, a freelance Sound Designer
for companies like Universal, Turner, Sky, Fox, Mediaset and others, and of course a Beat Maker.

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How did you come up with your name?

I have been producing beats since 1991 and i had another name at that time; Mr.Perez.

I had a hiatus from producing between 2003 and 2008, because i had a lot of financial problems. Problems that weren't just mine, but i had to pay for them by working hard as a Sound Designer and selling all my gear...but that's another story. As a child, my friends used to call me GP. I changed it to JP and added Balboa because my first beat after my break was a remix where i sampled Rocky II's soundtrack and i also did some boxing as i was a training nerd...hehe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOAfipVPTlQ

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Tell us about your studio set-up/space

Because i had to sell all of my old equipment to stay afloat, right now I'm producing everything on my old white MacBook with cheap headphones...that's all! I mainly use Ableton Live for producing and sequencing, and Protools for some editing issues and for the final touches on the sound.

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How did you become a music producer?

I was raised in a family who were addicted to the black culture, especially my father. That is weird for an Italian family! This is the main influence of my passion. I started as a Dj/Mcing using the few instrumentals that i could find here in Italy. Eventually i saved enough money to buy two Technics 1200's and had one of the first sampling keyboards created by Korg, the DSS-1 sampling keyboard handed down from my brother. I started making beats for my crew in 1991. After a couple of years i dropped my Mcing dreams and focused on beat making and crate digging.

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Who are your biggest influences?

Not easy to answer, but i think Sir Jinx and DJ Premier as well as The Bomb Squad. I'm an Old School dude man...hehehe. I love a lot of other producers who came out during the 90's, but if i started a list i would finish it tomorrow.

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What encourages you to carry on with music?

My passion! I mean my passion for this culture, for the crate digging, for losing a few hours just  finding the right snare or kick, even if my wife is waiting for me for our hangout! As i discovered SoundCloud, the feedback on my beats was fresh air for my inspiration! I do it for the people who love it and share the same points of view, who live the same way, and live the same culture.
I also do it for myself, because for me it is like putting everything that surrounds me in standby when i create beats. It relaxes me.

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How would you define your progression through music, from where you started to where you are now?

It's all up and down you know...I started when i was young ( I'm 38 now ) being part of a political Italian movement called "La Pantera" (The Panther) and doing concerts as an MC and beatmaker. After a while i co founded an indie label. I released 5 albums and a vast array of singles then the problems started with my business partner vanishing with money and eventually leaving me with the debts. Now I'm producing for my, and i hope, your pleasure. For sure I'm happier now than before, because i love being able to make music whilst having the freedom with how to do it.

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What do you think about the music industry and independent hip hop at the moment? Where do you think things are going in the next few years?

What a question! It depends, here in Italy Hip Hop hasn't had big opportunities to go in to the mainstream market. There has been a few years when hip hop had popularity in the charts but i would consider this hip pop or rap rather than hip hop. It doesn't have roots or connections with
the REAL scene. I guess now (and i hope people who will be involved in this can handle this shit) we will have a return to the Italian Golden Age for creating links between the old and the new school and giving the new Italian school some credibility. Out of Italy i think we had a split between hip hop and rap in the last 10 years. Lately we have new mc's trying to bring it back to the roots. Trying to bring the music back to where it belongs. To the streets, to the people.

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What have you been listening to recently?

I listen to a lot of underground releases. To name a few popular artists, i listen to Maffew Ragazino, Action Bronson, and Termanolgy.I loved the last LP from Pharaoe Monch

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What is your biggest personal music achievement?

I was in the Top Ten Charts here in Italy for all of the summer 2002 with one of my most 'Pop'

productions 'Sotto i Raggi Del Sole' by Brusco. Unexpected things happened like the participation to “Top of the Pops” and to the “Festival Bar”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX6fDO_nVEk

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What is your next big project, any big plans coming up?

In the last three months i was on two Beat Tapes and i produced Volume 4 of Redi Brown's 'Beatsmith Spotlight' for 3rdPhloor Productions with StayReal!, a sort of "disciple" of mine.

The Beat Tapes are one for Pragmatic Theory, which i'm honored to work on, and the other for The Beatfonics, a crew founded by Afryx_Q and me. It is a crew consisting of only Italian artists.
My next project is the new Beat Tape for the Beatfonics that will hopefully be released at the end of December. Soon to be released will be the 'MC' version of the Pragmatic Theory project "Summer in the city". I have a lot of things going on...new collabs, and other projects.

http://3rdphloorproductions.bandcamp.com/album/beatsmith-spotlight-vol-4
http://pragmatictheory.bandcamp.com/album/summer-in-the-city
http://thebeatfonicscrew.bandcamp.com/album/o-s-t-mediafire-link-for-free-download

http://soundcloud.com/stayreal
http://soundcloud.com/redibrown-3rd-phloor
http://soundcloud.com/3rdPhloorProductions
http://soundcloud.com/afryxq_x

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If you could work with any artist, who would it be?

Damn...lemme think about it...If it would be for a beat, DJ Premier for sure. But if i need to choose an Mc...i don't know...4 real! Maybe Rakim, maybe Ice Cube...or BIGGIE and 2pac (RIP). I would choose Maffew Ragazino or Termanology if i was to pick a modern day act. There's a lot of talent out there. It's impossible for me choosing one more than the others!

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Any last words?

Yeah...i got some last words!
Thanks to Conflict for this interview. Thanks to all my supporters and listeners, they give me the power to make new music. Thanks to my wife Alessandra for her patience.
To all the Beat makers, Dj's, Mc's, Writers, Breakers: Keep it real fellas, you're the preservation of this culture! Thanks for any and all support!

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"You can't wear Hip Hop...You can't put it on. You can't buy a can of Hip Hop, you can't drink something and suddenly become Hip Hop. Hip Hop is an idea" - KRS One