Hip Hop: A.La'Shae x Runway Star Interview

Dear friend and dope photographer/stylist of ALaShae.com recently chatted it up with "Teach Me How To Dougie" producer Runway Star and dug deep into the mind of a "Hit Maker" phenomenon.

Hit the the jump to read the interview in it's entirety or head over to ALaShae.com

Please give us a brief synopsis for those who know little about runway star. Please give us a little introduction all on what it is you do in this industry?

I’m a music producer, and i produced “teach me how to dougie” for cali swag district.

What part of la were you born and raised? What was your childhood like? Did your childhood influence you in anyway as a producer/writer?

I was born and raised in los angeles, my fathers family was very into music. I grew up listening to lots of old motown records. My father worked for songwriter and producer deke richards, also known as dennis lussier, one of many musicians/songwriters who were affiliated with motown. Deke was a member of the corporation, a hitmaking production team that wrote and produced several notable songs for the the jackson 5’ including “i want you back”, “abc”, “the love you save”, “mama’s pearl”, and “maybe tomorrow”. The first memory of being in the studio was at deke’s and there was all kinds of gold and platinum records everywhere, michael jackson and diana ross memorabilia, it definetly left a very big impression on me.

How did you come up with the stage name “runway star”? 

Originally i was going by my real name which is “star west”. I was in the studio so much people would joke around saying i was a runaway, since i never went home! One day this rapper from miami was in the studio and everyone was watching “americas next top model”. He asked me why didn’t i audition and one of my friends yells out “cuz she’s a runaway” and this guy says “nooo she’s not, she a “runway star”…after that the name stuck.

What obstacles did you overcome being that you are a female producer in a male dominated industry? And what advice would you give to other female artist/or producers trying to be heard? 

Outside of the group of people i worked with at the time, people didn’t really take me seriously. Guys would say things like “oh you make beats, that’s cute”. I just kept it moving and making improvements.

What type of beats can we look for runway star to make?

Nigel starr and I work together as a production team called “the makerz”. We have a wide variety of beats and songs ranging from pop to hip-hop, r&b, and alternative. We’re very diverse.

I know you collab with “Lady Remedy” can you tell the viewers a little bit about the project you two are working on? And what is it like to work with “lady remedy”? 

We’ve been in the studio with Lady Remedy working to release her ep. The 1st single was “the way u do” which has a video on youtube. Working with rem is always awesome! She is very confident, creative, and open to try abstract ideas. Which makes our jobs way more fun!

Do you feel as if women are starting to break the barriers in the music industry? 

Yes! 

What artist have you worked with (produced/or written for) that we should be on the lookout for? 

Ceekay Jones, Young De, Liam Horne, Lady Remedy, Jay R, Six Sense, and The Makerz.

What and who were you major influences growing up and why? 

I was influenced by a lot of things growing up, not just music. Music videos were a really big influence on me, being able to capture something visually and merge it with audio to create a mood for a song really gets me inspiried. If i went off of music alone , production-wise…as a kid it would have been mostly berry gordy, and quincy jones….then as i got older it would be dre, timbaland, missy, and the neptunes. They are all producers with their own sound.

What artist would you like to collab with in the near future? 

Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Ke$ha, Kanye, Jay Z, Big Sean, and Cee Lo.

Tell us what the experience was like working with “cali swag district” and producing.

 It was great, the guys are all awesome. 

What do you do outside of music? 

I love photography and traveling.

The production team “The Makerz” how long have you been working together and what all does your production team entail? What projects are “the makerz” working on? 

Nigel starr and I are releasing our own ep with us are the featured artists. The 1st single “all spaced out” is out right now and its doing well. We’ve been in the studio with artist young de, working on his project, plus our own artists like 6 sense (aka sexto sentido), jay r, and ceekay jones. Ceekays current record “gucci punk” is out right now, featuring taxman of the kottonmouth kings. The “gucci punk” music video has a guest appearance from playboy model kana mayhem. There’s a lot of great music coming out of our studio, with a lot of amazing artists.

Who are your top five favorite women in the industry and why? 

Missy Elliot, Nicki Minaj, Queen Latifah, Beyonce, and Lady Gaga. They are all artists that came into this business and made major impacts.

Are there any upcoming female artist you would like to work with in the near future if so why? 

Nicki Minaj, she’s got a unique style that no one can touch right now.

Where would you like to see yourself as an artist in the next 2-5 years? How does it feel to know your hard work does not go unnoticed? 

In 2-5 years i’d like to hear more tracks from “the makerz” on some of the worlds biggest artists. All over the radio. It feels good to know that people are listening and that dreams are really coming true.

Tell us about your achievement for being nominated for “the 2011 bmi award”? 

I'm nominated for “song of the year”, which is pretty big, last year the black eye peas won for “boom boom pow”.

You produced the hot track “teach me how to dougie” how does it feel to know this was the number one single of group “cali swag district’s debut album “kick back”? 

Amazing!

Teach me how to dougie was a huge commercial success and also peaked 28 on the “billboard hot 100” and also peaked number 9 on the “hip hop songs” how does that make you feel to accomplish so much? 

It’s a really good feeling. All the hard work paid off.

Do you feel as women are breaking the barriers in the music industry? If so why?

Yes, the world is becoming more embracing to women in music outside of just being a recording artist.To get updates on Runway Star follow her on twitterHttp://www.twitter.com/runwaystar