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Soulja Boy and Drake capped off 2013 with a monumental anthem. Their “We Made It (Remix)” was the backdrop to every celebration. Similar to “U.O.E.N.O.” and “O.G. Bobby Johnson,” the ubiquitous instrumental with heavy 808s sparked a slew of rappers to kick their own freestyles. Last Sunday, the Internet was treated to a new collaboration from Jay Electronica and Jay Z—who both bodied the beat produced by newcomer PurrpDogg.

The 18-year-old New York native got his first big look on Soulja Boy’s The King mixtape, which featured the original “We Made It.” Since then, he’s been gaining prominence off the track and is looking to connect with other major artists. XXL caught up with budding producer to talk about meeting Soulja Boy, his sound and why he only wants to work with Lil B next.

XXL: How long have you been producing?
PurrpDogg: I’ve been producing since 2008. I didn’t take it seriously until 2011. So that’s my start—putting my beats on the Internet and stuff.

Where did you get your name, Purrp Dogg?
SpaceGhostPurrp. Soulja Boy, he used to call himself Snoop Dogg. SpaceGhostPurrp, that’s who I was really listening to at the time, so I’ll just [call] myself Purrp Dogg.

When did you meet Soulja Boy?
I just got into contact with him last year. There’s this other producer named 2 Deezy, he produced some music for Soulja Boy and he gave me his e-mail. I just sent him some beats and he’s like, “I really like these.” That’s how “We Ready” came, the first track we dropped with the Migos. That was the first song we had.

When did you give him the “We Made It” beat?
“We Made It” came around September. It was just a song with just him. It wasn’t anything special. I had it on my SoundCloud. It didn’t really get many plays. He hit me on Twitter a couple days after Christmas. He was like, “I need the files to it.” He needed the beat files, so I sent it to him. And then, the next day I woke up and Drake was on it. That shit was crazy.

What was your reaction when you heard it?
I was just like, “Damn I am on now.” My phone was going crazy. My Twitter was going crazy. I knew I was on.

Have you worked with anybody else besides Soulja Boy?
I’ve worked with Gangsta Boo before that. I worked with a lot of underground artists, they are making their way up. But, I don’t know if you heard of Chris Travis, Young Semi, Raider Klan and them? I produced for a lot for the Raider Klan.

Describe making the “We Made It” beat.
I made the beat actually for a rapper named Sky Lexington. He used to be in the Raider Klan. We dropped a little EP in August last year. I was on it too. Just a beat for him, it wasn’t even supposed to be nothing. Soulja Boy heard it and I sent it to him. Drake heard Soulja Boy’s version and that’s how it all happened.

How did Jay Z and Jay Electronica get on it?
I have no idea. I just woke up to that and that happens. Damn, Twitter’s going crazy. Damn, my phone’s going crazy. I just woke up to it.

Have you heard any of the other remixes to your beat?
That was the one that stood out the most. I heard Cam’ron’s. That was great. I got a lot of messages from that too. They were telling me that shit was legendary.

Can you describe to me your sound?
I like flipping a lot of samples and just put hard 808s on to it. People say I’m simple. I don’t know, I guess it is simple shit. I can’t really explain it, but it’s what I do and it just comes out like this.

Is there anybody you want to work with?
Right now, it’s only Lil B The Based God. That’s the only person I want to work with.

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