Cam’ron “Take em to church”

“i definitely have a name to live up to,” says Amadeus, 24, acknowledging the obvious. While the South Bronx–bred producer may only be getting started when compared to his classical namesake (Mozart, for any of you who missed the movie), he has been hard at work behind the boards since gaining his first production credit while still just in high school.

A drummer since the fourth grade, Amadeus nurtured his talent playing alongside a litany of musicians weekly in church. After being lent a “little keyboard” by a fellow churchgoer at 16, he did like Kanye and locked himself in the crib making beat tapes while his people were enjoying more typical teenage summers. One tape eventually made it into the hands of Don Pooh, although Amadeus still doesn’t know exactly how, and that led to a Motown project in 1998. A Hollywood ending wasn’t quite in store, however, as it would be several more years until he got his next credit. Undaunted, Amadeus kept working, invested his money wisely in an MPC, sound modules, and a CD burner (no more beat tapes), and nurtured relationships with seasoned producers he met during his first project. One was Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie, who became a mentor “across the board,” providing advice on “what to sample, what not to sample, how to sample, why to sample; business,” and everything in between.

With D-Dot’s guidance, and a couple more dedicated summers, Amadeus emerged from the basement with a gang of tracks and has since worked with a wide array of artists including Talib Kweli, Mike Jones, Lil’ Mo, Foxy Brown, and of course the Dip Set. Staying busy on upcoming projects for Papoose, Jim Jones, Cee-Lo, Latoya London, and numerous others, Amadeus still finds time to play drums every week at church and hasn’t lost sight of where it all started, saying, “Church is where I really got into music, and really it became a love, something that I loved and something that I couldn’t really live without.” Preach! reeve hohlt












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