The Atlanta-based producer recalls making 15 tracks for Music To Be Murdered By and earning Eminem’s trust.
Atlanta producer Nailz Beatz is no stranger to the grind. With credits that include Tech N9ne, Ty Dolla $ign, and KXNG Crooked, his name has long circulated in serious hip hop circles. But few fans know just how closely he’s worked with Eminem and how that connection came about.
It All Started with Sly Pyper
In a new interview with Boss Talk 101, Nailz Beatz talked about his unexpected path into Dr. Dre’s and Eminem’s creative world.
“Big up to Sly Pyper”, he said. “He is the guy who brought me to Dre and Eminem. I respect him so much, he’s a part of my journey in life”.
The two connected through a mutual frien. Soon, Sly was recording at Nailz’s house, and one day he called with a new request.
“Yo, bro, I need to lay some shit down for Eminem”, Sly told him. Nailz was used to hearing big names, but this time it was different. “He ends up laying a verse for Music To Be Murdered By, his single, which was ‘Higher’. I got the session at my house”.
That verse ended up catching Eminem’s attention. Nailz recalled: “[Sly] laid his verse, he sent it to Marshall. Eminem hit him back like, ‘This is crazy’. And Sly hit Marshall back like, ‘Do you mind if I send you some beats and hooks?’ Marshall goes, ‘Hell yeah, bro’. So in the next three days, we made 15 records for Em”.
Trust, Not Clout
Handling files for a major artist like Eminem comes with its own pressure. “Once you get sessions from certain people like Marshall, you don’t want to burn that bridge”, Nailz explained. “You want to show you’re honest. You’re not going to do no dumb shit and leak it just for clout. I knew there was a level of trust there between me and him”.
Although Nailz has never met Eminem in person, they are in touch. Moreover, there are people on Em’s team with whom he really clicked. “Me and his engineer Tony are like best friends”, he said. “Tony always texts me, ‘Nailz, Marshall wants you to send this session’. I get messages from Marshall here and there, but me and Tony, we have a really dope relationship”.
No Regrets
At the same time, when Sly connected Nailz with Dre and Em, Nailz had already been around Dr. Dre’s camp. “I was already dealing with Interscope”, he noted. “They were flying me out every month on somebody else’s budget, but that’s another story”.
Meeting Dre was everything he hoped for. “You know how they say you never want to meet your idols? Bullshit. The first day I met Dre, it was open arms”.
To his credit, Nailz earned the legends’ respect and trust. Because he had been working towards it and understood the stakes. “Working with Dre and Em, you’ve got to come with your A-game”, he states.
