Interview with Will DeWitt ’20, Music Producer

Adina Cazacu-De Luca, Layout Editor

Will DeWitt (producer name Willy D) (’20) produced half of the 6 songs on King Myers album
MK Ultra Vol. 1: “Time,” “Friend 2 Bae,” and “What’s the Plan.” World editor Adina Cazacu sat
down to talk with DeWitt about the production process.
AC: How’d you get involved in producing and music in general?

WD: I started off by just playing the piano. From there, I started experimenting with garage band
on my mac. I eventually got a more advanced program (Logic Pro X) and I’ve been making beats
almost every day since. I’ve been playing piano for 3 years. I started with classical songs, taught
myself, then I ventured into pop songs. I started playing whatever I heard on the radio, either by
ear or from YouTube.
AC: What did you use to make this album?
WD: I used a combination of trap and old school sounds to fit King Myers and the voice he’s
developed over time. I used Logic Pro X to make the tracks.
AC: How did you get this opportunity?
WD: My mom was communicating with King Myers at the time, so I used the opportunity to see
if he wanted to jam. My mom is, well it’s complicated, but she’s a music executive, and she
owns a studio in Nashville that she rents to local artists. Some of my inspiration to produce
definitely came from her.
AC: What did your work process look like?
WD: So, I start with the melody, play it on my keyboard. That’ll include synth, pad, bells, etc.
Then, I add kick, bassline, 808s [editor’s note: the Roland TR-808 was one of the earliest drum
machines that allowed users to program their own rhythms instead of using preset patterns.]
Finally, I add the drums: hi hats, claps, snares.
AC: What/who inspires you?
WD: Definitely Metro boomin. Big St. Louis guy. Not just that, but his 808s and melodies are
my favorites. My top five artists are Lil baby, Gunna… J. Cole, and my favorite album is forest
hills drive. Then Kendrick, good kid maad city is…wow. Oh, and migos.
AC: Really? What about the triplet flow?
WD: I love it, and the ad libs and beats. Regardless of what I’m listening to, I hear the
production before the lyrics.
AC: Any thoughts on the lyrics of the album (which you had no control over?)
WD: No, I think they’re all fire.
AC: Why only 7 songs on the album?
WD: We had this song called “bestie,” and another called “let me go,” but they didn’t make the
final cut. I don’t know who made that decision… It wasn’t me.
AC: Ok. Let’s talk individual songs. “The Time” beat sounds almost like a sample.
WD: Ouch.
AC: Not in a bad way, necessarily, but a lot of artists use the same hi-hat rhythm. Why follow
the trend?
WD: I like the hi-hat. It makes the beat full.
AC: What are your thoughts/preferences on the composition of rap/hip-hop, since there’s a lot of
flexibility in the genre to either be mostly acoustic or completely electronic?
WD: Completely electronic. It’s extremely complicated to work with live sounds, and the setting
has to be perfect. I make beats in my basement, but if try to use live sound in a place with reverb,

it would sound completely off. It’s inefficient. You can find live-sounding instruments
electronically.
AC: I loved the samples in “Good Gone Bad.” Where did they come from, and why is the song
not on Spotify?
WD: It was a Marvin Gaye sample. It got taken down because of the Marvin Gaye sample. See,
that’s not one of the songs I produced. You know how it is, the “good gone bad.”
AC: Ha. Plans for the future?
WD: I hope to continue the track I’m on, keep getting placements, keep working with King
Myers. He’s extremely talented. Whatever beat you send him, he’ll make something great out of
it. But what I send him totally shifts what he raps about. If I send him a beat like the one from
“Time,” he’s not gonna rap about what J. Cole or Kendrick rap about, the real stuff. But if I send
him a “friend 2 bae” beat, you got the piano, there’s breathing room… It’s not a beat you would
rap about cars and money on.
AC: If you want to share, are you getting paid for this?
WD: I honestly don’t know. I don’t really care.
AC: Did you ever feel like your credibility was questioned because of your age?
WD: A little bit. It’s definitely hard to be a 16-year-old producer, but once people hear the actual
music, they can’t argue; if it’s good music, it’s good music.
AC: For readers who don’t usually listen to rap, why listen to this album?
WD: It’s got a million different flavors. It’s got singing, club rapping, trap rapping, the whole 9
yards.
AC: Where do you want to be in five years?
WD: I don’t know. The top, hopefully.