Today we welcome KBee Original to the interview room. After years on the grind, he is finally being recognised as one of the fresh batch of producers bringing hip hop to the next level.

K-Bee, tell us who you are and what you do..
My name is Kbee Original. I am a hip hop producer who was formally a DJ & MC. I reside in Enfield, North London but i make music for the world. I also rap too, i just haven't showcased that too much just yet

How did you come up with the name?
Okay, so i've been asked this a few times in the past and i wish i had a more personal and deep answer to give but i'm just gonna tell it how it is. I used to be a rapper back in school and there were a few kids battle rapping in the playground at break time... when i first chose my name i needed something as vicious as possible as i wasn't exactly your average urban white kid in those days. I chose Killer which didn't last long as i ended up adding the first name of my initial to it just to give it a more personal feel. People said it sounds like a Killer Bee bzzz bzzz lol. So anyway that name Killer B stuck with me for years as i mc'd and dj'd in the garage and grime scene although i always listened to Hip Hop as my preferred music. Down the line when the music got more serious i started to dislike my own name 'Killer B'. It didn't represent me anymore as i got into producing and matured so i switched it to K-Bee - it still has ties to my old name but it's more simple and mature as far as representing who i am.

Tell us about your new studio set up
As it stands now i have a spare room which i have been lucky enough to have entirely for my music so i have set up my own home studio. It's a small box room but it's perfect for me and i spend a lot of time in there. Equipment wise i will start with the heart which is my Apple Macbook pro... it's also the most expensive bit of gear in here! Next up we have the NI Maschine. This is the base where i make all my beats - in fact i pretty much just use the maschine alongside a load of plugins like Ozone mastering suite for example. My Maschine is also customised with a white skin and thick mpc pads as well as wooden elevated trims. I use KRK Rokit RP8 G2's as my choice of monitors and love those bad boys...
I have a Komplete Audio 6 soundcard which has never done me any wrong. I also have a Yeti usb mic for vocal stuff - i stream on ustream using that mic and its amazing for a usb. Next up i have a usb hub as the macbook pro only has 2 usb inputs so i have a fancy external Belkin usb hub which has never failed me. I broadcast videos for youtube and ustream on a logitech c615 which is a nice HD webcam that i sit on a tripod by the studio desk. It's great for Apple Macbook users unlike many other webcams out there. It is a fairly simple setup but also very pricey - i guard my gear with my life! I am looking to get a Novation SL MK2 Keyboard soon even though i play everything on the pads....

How did you get in to producing?
My music past actually has a lot of history.... i started out as a rapper in school, then went on to becoming a garage/grime mc. I always wanted to DJ but could never afford the equipment. At sometime a little later down the line after mcing in various crews and on various pirate radio stations i ended up getting my own vinyl decks (technic 1210's) and started djing aswell as mc'ing to Garage and Grime Music. I was also heavily into hip hop and had a massive cd collection which i used to show off to many people.
Listening to hip hop made me want to produce. I always wanted an MPC but again, back then money just wasn't there to buy one. When the Maschine came out i was already dabbling on Fruity Loops as i had a friend (Snipes E303) who was heavily into Fruity and opened the doors by showing me how it all works. Soon enough i was making beats by myself on Fruity. The Maschine came out and it was like £500, a lot cheaper then a standalone MPC plus i saw tons of videos about it on youtube and producers saying they had ditched their mpc for the Maschine, so i ended up being lucky enough to get one. The rest is history...the Maschine and me were a match made in heaven. I started getting serious as a producer once i clocked how to use it properly.

Who are your influences?
I am a sample based producer and my influences are DJ Premier, 9th Wonder, Pete Rock, Alchemist, MF Doom, Neptunes... that's just naming a few straight off my mind. Those guys are all definitely on the list!

What encourages you to carry on making music?
The passion in my heart doesn't let me stop, even if i wanted to i couldn't. I work with some very good artists at the moment. In fact i'm contacted a lot by rappers all over the world asking to go on my beats, so every 3 time i get a message like that it lets me know im on the right path with the sound im creating. I work closely at the moment with Jack Light who has a huge following on Twitter and Youtube. He's only 17 and already has interest from the BBC and all sorts... for someone like that to hit me up and ask me to produce a whole ep for them, that really opened my eyes to how powerful my beats can be.

How do you feel about the current state of Hip Hop and the music industry as a whole?
That's a good question. Well right now i think the industry is in a mess. There's not enough opportunities for really good artists. We're lacking as far as independent labels go. The game is way over populated everyone is a dj, mc, rapper, singer or producer LOL. We have too much quantity over quality. We have all the resources to get out there ourselves thanks to the internet BUT people forget that everyone is doing that! Ok so you got a twitter?...so has joe bloggs down the road in the same boat as you. So you got a youtube....so has joe bloggs... As far as independent hiphop goes i think we have the resources to do big things ourselves without relying on labels and outside help BUT it comes down to investment. You have to be willing to invest in yourself financially because if you dont invest in yourself nobody will. I think we're gonna see a lot more independent artists pushing through who have literally done everything themselves down to the cover art, their logo etc. Again investment... invest in what you do!

What have you been listening to recently?
Im really old school, i still regularly listen to Tribe Called Quest 'Midnight Marauders' its like one of my favourite albums. The Pharcyde 'Bizzare Ride' always gets regular play in the car, and in my studio. As far as newish stuff goes Jay Z & Kanye - Watch The Throne, i love that album. Mac Miller - Blue Slide Park, Nas - Life Is Good. They are the modern albums i listen to. It is a really hard question to be honest because i listen to ALOT of music especially being a producer who is sample based. I love listening to some Beatles, Queen, MJ... i mean i could go on forever man. Tons of music gets played in my house, various styles too. I think some people would be suprised haha! My neighbours love me though.

What is your biggest music achievement to date?
My biggest personal musical achievement has to be the event i was at last week... The Rhythms of the World Festival in hitchin Priory. I was on the BBC Introducing stage, supporting Jack light on his 30 minute set. That was awesome and the crowd were moshing at one point too, it was good fun! Me & Sean Dean were stage bumping... you know when you run from each end of the stage then bash into each other? Yeah we were doing that. There is video footage on Youtube of the whole performance, you should check it out. Being on stage at a festival was a wicked experience and having fans come up to you after for high fives and pictures, it's surreal! I want more of that life LOL

Tell us about the new projects you have in the works...
Depends on who finishes their ep first lol. I have ep's with Jack light, Sean Dean and a rapper called B.Free from Queens, NY. There are music videos coming on youtube from all 3 artists too so there's really lots going on. B.Free actually got his latest collab with me 'I Do This' accepted on to the next coast2coast mixtape which is hosted by DJ Premier! So thats massive! That is also a huge music achievement! I am looking forward to seeing the mixtape and hearing Premier drop our tune etc! B.Free also  just shot a video for 'Rebirth Music' which is the first track we did... that's dropping in a few days so im excited to see that too. Jack Light has just dropped our latest tune 'Diamonds Lie' so lots of promoting going on for that and Sean Dean is planning his next video after we already dropped our first one, London Town, which got a big response! Tons going on....

Any last words?
Follow me on twitter @KbeeOriginal
Check me out on Soundcloud www.soundcloud.com/kbee-original that's the main base and canvas for my beatwork, and always has been!
Check me out on youtube www.youtube.com/kbeeofficial and to all the rappers and artists out there that are working on their own mixtapes etc you can check out my beatstore for £5 leases! www.vibedeck.com/kbeeoriginal
Lastly PEACE & LOVE to everyone!