Millennium Jazz Music have long been ambassadors for a stellar group of musicians from around the world, covering dusty breaks, to big banging beats, and helping to support and nurture artists through their various compilations, including the Big Payback collection. In 2018 and 2019 we dedicated a selection of our 10 Questions interviews to their artists, and in 2020 we’re back again with them to find out more. We’re as ever following the same structure, keeping it light, and letting the artists’ personality shine through. This time around we have the awesome producer SmokedBeat joining us. He recently released Smoked Moods 3, and stopped by to talk about music, inspiration and more. Let’s go!

1) Contestant, what’s your name, chosen craft and where are you based? 
Hi, I'm SmokedBeat, a beatmaker for Millennium Jazz Music and Tour de Manège, from Cannes (France), currently based in Montreal (Canada) for 15 years now.

2) How would you describe your sound? 
I would say this is a Hip Hop/Boom Bap based music mainly influenced by Jazz samples with a little touch of Soul and Afro Music, mostly chill beats.

3) Who / what do you consider to be the biggest influence on your music?
Definitely Hip Hop music from the 90's with the influence of Jazz, Soul and Funk from the 60's and 70's.

4) What’s the proudest moment to date for you as an artist?Every release that I've been a part of including my solo albums as this feels as an achievement every time that something you worked on can be finally shared with listeners.

5) Do you have any advice for our readers who maybe trying to play the mad game of music?My only advise would be to do it if it's a passion and not hoping that you'll get money from it. If one day it starts paying then good for you. If you look for it as a full time job and your way to provide and put food on the table, that in my opinion will change your approach on how you create your music.

6) Name three people you would love to work with and why? Let's dream big!
Erykah Badu, because she is the most complete artist in my opinion that had brought Jazz and Soul vocals to the Hip Hop music.

Blu, as he is one of my favourite emcee’s right now.

Quincy Jones, because I feel you could learn from him in one day what you could learn by yourself in one year!

7) What have you got planned for the not so distant future?Still participating to some of my label mates projects and working on my next solo album with a new vision. We’ve just released the final part of my Smoked Mood trilogy on vinyl and tape, and after 3 Smoked Mood volumes I'd like to try something different, maybe a little more experimental.

8) What’s the album you’ve played more than any other?More than one for sure, but I would say…
Erykah Badu: Mama's gun

The Roots: Do You Want More

Mobb Deep: The Infamous

9) What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to? And where?
It was Sayan Supa Crew (French Rap Band) in France, because they had the best staging for a Hip Hop show that I've seen

10) Name three things you can’t live without?
Smoke, Music and Love

BONUS QUESTION: How did you get involved with Millennium Jazz Music?
It all started with The French Touch Connection album: Chronicles Of A Flashback to which I was invited by the founder Alex. This is the first time that I was on the same project as Dave "Gadget" Lewis. We then started to chat and share our love for Hip Hop. Gadget invited me to feature on one of The Jazz Jousters albums and it started from there as I really felt that our vision went in the same direction, to do things seriously without taking yourself too seriously!

You can check out SmokedBeat - Smoked Mood 3 HERE

And that’s all folks! Stay safe, stay home, stay locked!
#wordplaymag

Your host for today’s 10Q’s was Vice beats