Hip-Hop Wired Presents: Beatmakers – Key Wane [PHOTOS] - Page 2

Name: Key Wane
Age: 23
Born: Detroit
Credits: Big Sean, Drake, Meek Mill, Beyoncé, Tyga, Chevy Woods, Wale + more.

In the three years since getting his break with Big Sean’s  2010 record “Memories,” Dwane “Key Wane” Weir has more than made a name for himself. The Detroit native was bubbling under in rap nabbing notable credits like Meek Mill’s praiseworthy Drake collaboration “Amen,” as well as Drizzy’s “All Me” along the way, but 2013 is ending on a bigger note than the 23-year-old could’ve imagined thanks to Beyoncé.

Wane is responsible for the piano interlude leading “Mine”  and the full beat for “Partition, from Bey’s surprise release, which went platinum in five days. Working on what turned out to be one of the year’s most talked about LPs is another notch on the young beat builders belt as he moves into the a lane among sought-after producers appealing to a cross-genre group of recording artist.

For the year’s finally installment of Hip-Hop Wired’s “Beatmakers” feature series, the young producer speaks on crafting the Bey records, his creative methods, and how college helped prepare him for the music industry.

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Photos: Facebook/Twitter

Hip-Hop Wired : How did you end up making “Mine” and  “Partition” for Beyoncé?

Key Wane: I was working with Drake a lot, I was in school and after school I [made] a whole bunch of records. I had made like a full piano set and I sent it to Drake [who] recorded a full reference [song] on it, and he was like “I love where this is gonna go.” A good month-and-a-half after I graduated [from college] he ended up calling me in the middle of the day like “Beyoncé has the track. I think it’s a better situation for both of us.” They took that whole piano interlude and it sounded the exact same when he sent me the references and after the interlude it went into drum tracks that [Noah] “40” [Shebib] did, and some other great people worked on.

“Partition” happened [because] my friend Ricky Anderson was in L.A. I was out in L.A. working with [Big] Sean on Detroit and Hall of Fame, so on a free day I went over to his house. He was telling me he was working on Beyoncé’s album and needed some beats to give to her, so I gave him a folder and out of the folder she took “Partition,” the full record. Timbaland enhanced it some, Timberlake enhanced it some, and turned the record great.

Hip-Hop Wired: How do you feel it’s changed how people see you as a producer?

Key Wane: It’s cool because I try to be a versatile as possible. I try to not just make one certain sound over and over again, I try to hit people over the head with different things. So I’m glad that listeners can hear a different sounds from me every time I put something out so I they don’t get bored. It’s been good though, I’ve been getting a positive response, a lot of people [are] excited, love the records, and they love the visuals to the songs. I like ’em too. It’s been nothing but a positive situation.

Hip-Hop Wired: What inspires you as a producer?

Key Wane: I just really wanna make some of the best sounds out, not just one sound and be like ‘this is my sound.’ You probably won’t be able to point the sound out because I constantly switch it on every song. I like the fact that I can be versatile and give you something different. You hear Jhené  Aiko and that sounds really good and then you hear a Meek Mill record that sounds really good, I just really want to give people a variety.

Hip-Hop Wired: What is your beat-making process?

Key Wane: I’ll probably just be like watching TV at home or like playing video games, and I’ll have an idea. I’ll sketch out a blueprint, probably lay some chords down and some drums and then come back to it a couple hours later to listen to it again, and probably come up with an idea for a hook. That’s how I’ve written a couple hooks, and verses for people, and then come back to it add more, send it to somebody see what they think….it’s never really just a one day process. I don’t really feel like something I would want to be considered really good would take only one day so it takes a while.

Hip-Hop Wired: Do you ever feel any pressure to deliver?

Key Wane: No, because I do my part and I do it out of a genuine [place]. I just make it, I never feel mad if somebody wants to build it more, or it’s just not there because I’m all about the “bigger the song the better the situation.” So I’m not going to throw any shade on somebody who feels the song isn’t done. We can work on the song for two years –like me and Sean was doing on songs for Hall of Fame while working on Detroit and Hall of Fame came out this past August. I would be comfortable if we work on one song for like two years because who knows it might sounds totally different two years later. I just like having fun with music and sounds. I never limit it.

 Hip-Hop Wired: You seem very grounded, how do you stay that way?

Key Wane: Because I started out doing it for the right reasons.  I started probably [in the] eight grade, I started off with the piano and I really wanted to do it. It wasn’t something my mom forced me to do to stay occupied, I just really loved sounds and then I wanted to always make beats with the sounds…Everything I’m doing now is what I prayed for.

Hip-Hop Wired: A lot people in the game are focussed on instant gratification, it’s nice to hear a different perspective.

Key Wane: When I first started when I was like 19, I didn’t want instant gratification. I never wanted to rush the process because I feel like if it came to you easy it can be taken away from you easy.

Hip-Hop Wired: Why was it important for you to finish college?

Key Wane: My mom , she was big about education and I used to tell her my dreams of doing music all the time, even [about] wanting to drop out of college. It wasn’t even more so what she said she wanted, I understood where she was coming from because it was like who knows where I will end up in the music industry. I’m going to be doing this [music] forever regardless. Something bad could happen or I could have a slump for like two years… I always wanted to stay productive through music through producing or education. This degree could be [a] backup plan if there ever was a rainy day. Even though music will always be my “plan a, “you never know with the twists and turns that life gives you, so I just wanted to have some education behind what I’m doing. Some knowledge.

Going to school helped out a lot with my music career now from how I talk to people, interacting with people, even my knowledge in music itself. Even survival skills, living on campus…it was needed. If I didn’t graduate a lot of things would probably be different right now.

Hip-Hop Wired: What are you working on next?

Key Wane: Me and Sean are working again, working with Jazmine Sullivan, me and Drake still bouncing ideas, I just talked to him the other day about some songs…I kinda don’t want to let any surprises out of the bag. I like when people hear some stuff and they’ll be like “oh sh*t!”

Hip-Hop Wired: What else do you want to do in the future? 

Key Wane: I want to score films, I tried that years ago… I really want to score and I like teaching. I always said to myself after I feel like I’ve done enough in music –probably when I’m like 40 or something –I will go back to even to the school I graduated from [Tennessee State University] and teach a course, or go to any other HBCU and teach. It’s crazy because after I graduated and a lot of my [music] accolades started combing out I went back up to my school to talk with my teacher –I’m probably gonna work on getting my Master’s [Degree] soon –and he was basically giving me the green light [to] teach now, so I just know that that’s another positive route in my future that I would love to take.