Mannie Fresh is less inclined to collaborate with emerging artists compared to those who are more experienced, attributing this to what he describes as a variation in expectations.
In an interview released on Monday (December 2), B High ATL spoke with Turk and Juvenile, where the experienced producer was questioned about his limited collaborations with younger artists.
“There’s a lack of connection,” he clarified. “I’m not claiming all young artists, but many young artists struggle with taking direction.” The method we use is: I won’t send you a beat. If I can’t be present with you and do it together, it doesn’t make any sense to me. Why do you employ someone to give them instructions? I already recognize these guys can rap. I won’t instruct them on what actions to take.
“If you trip over a word, then I can say, ‘Hey, you tripped over a word.’” However, I can’t teach you the skill of rapping. At the moment, it’s as if you bring someone on board and say, ‘I want it done this way,’ and, ‘Are you capable of [xyz]?’ I say, “Why don’t you allow me to handle my part while you focus on yours, and then the magic will occur.”
The dialogue starts at the 48-minute point provided below.
In other news, Mannie Fresh recently recounted how he casually created the hook for the 2000 hit “Who Let the Dogs Out” by the Baha Men, only to quickly forget about it—without getting any songwriting credit or payment for his contributions to one of the decade’s biggest songs.
“We were at Circle House [Studios, in Miami].” I was coding something in the studio when the guys who created that song asked me, ‘Bro, can you assist us with a track?’” Mannie remembered.
“I told them, ‘I’m occupied with something at the moment.’” They were saying, ‘Provide us a hook or something.’ I said, ‘Just go, “Who let the dogs out/ Who who who who,”’ then I shut the door. I was simply thinking, get the hell out of here. “And then that was revealed and I thought, ‘Hold on a second.'”
Mannie has recounted this tale previously, and certain elements of it withstand examination — the Baha Men indeed recorded a portion of the song at Circle House. Nonetheless, the “Who Let the Dogs Out” phrase existed long before the Baha Men.
Their 2000 rendition of the track was a cover of Anslem Douglas’ 1998 original, which was recorded abroad and features the hook that Fresh asserts he created. Douglas stated that he derived the hook from a jingle for a radio program run by his brother-in-law.
To complicate matters further, there exists a well-documented version of the hook from a completely different group, known as Miami Boom Productions, originating from 1992.
Variations of the hook have been traced back to the late 1980s, originating in a Texas high school football cheer. You can explore a 99% Invisible account regarding the history of “Who Let the Dogs Out” in all of its intricate splendor here.
