Scott Storch is reviving his career in hip-hop. After a career that has included a stint in The Roots and production credits that include hits like 50 Cent's "Candy Shop," Fat Joe's "Lean Back" and Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me A River," the 40-year-old superproducer is set to have a big 2014, stating that he’s going to flood the market with new material. In addition to getting back into the studio and making hot beats again with the likes of Rick Ross and Fat Joe, Storch is venturing into the world of EDM and rekindling his name in that genre, too. Though financial problems and drug addiction contributed to his prolonged hiatus, the New York native is bouncing back with a clear focus and new goals to accomplish.

XXL spoke to Storch about falling in love with music again, working with Pusha T, and setting his sights on developing artists. The Miami Don has arrived. —Eric Diep (@E_Diep)

XXL: How are you falling in love with music again?
Scott Storch: You know what it is? I think at some point when I had my hiatus from this business and this industry, like anything else, we’ve become bitter, jaded and grumpy. We hated on what we used to actually really love, which is music. I would get nauseated turning the radio on, not because it wasn’t good, but because I was intimidated, maybe, and I was frustrated. Slowly but surely with myself, having a clear and clean mind and good influence around me. My partner Rani and my crew that’s around me, it’s a small bunch of people that I can depend on. It’s a healthy environment that I am in and getting some distance and getting deeper in my sobriety, etc. Things become more vivid and clear. It’s like muscle memory. It all comes back. Slowly but surely, my love came back for the music as well. That’s the most important thing, staying inspired and that’s how real music is made. It’s not one formula you can just turn a light switch on and just do. You have to really get into it.

You have to reignite your passion.
You have to digest all of the trends and all the different things that people are doing to make modern music. I guess for me within hip-hop music, I had to learn, I guess, at some point and become a fan of trap music almost to make a complete full circle and go back to what I was doing, but now I do it knowing all the youngsters are trying to do. I can make my old school shit with a lot more confidence, knowing that I know how to do the other stuff, but choosing to make what I want to do.

What have you been listening to? Do you have to play catch-up a bit?
Somewhat. It’s really just turning the radio on and seeing what people are grooving to in the club and vibing out. Obviously all the greats, the Jay Zs of the world. The Jeezys. And just digesting all that music. I don’t know. It’s been a learning period, but it’s also been a period of focus and me staying in the studio. I used to call it wood shedding, which is like peeling the layers off the skin of the music you used to wear and creating a new sound and developing this new thing with touches of what you do great.

I remember Jay Z telling me years and years ago that we should always do what it is that we do great and stay there. We know that piano is my strength. Exercise that shit and run with that. Wear that shit with pride. Don’t try to be a chameleon. Do what you do. Stay in your lane.

How did your partnership come together with We The Best?
It started with meeting up with Spiff [TV] and him sort of throwing me into the Maybach circle. Obviously, We The Best, Mr. Khaled is heavily involved with Maybach. He was there and conversations got struck. We realized—my partner and I—we needed somebody who is really a go-getter that’s tapped into the matrix of this music industry we live in. Who better than DJ Khaled?

That’s just one tier of what we are doing with my career. Obviously, we are letting people know outside of that whole thing, we are heavily focusing on my electronic music. And that’s definitely a different side of anything that I’ve ever done before. We are growing pretty rapidly in that world right now. We are trying to connect with the best of the best. Work alongside them. Learn from them, etc. Our goal right now is to put some records out in that world and do a tour.

What are your elements for a hit nowadays?
I just feel like to me right now at this point, to just put out any old shit out is not cutting it for me. Its gotta be the ones that are magical. You know what I mean? Otherwise I don’t feel proud of it. Because of what I’ve been through and what I’ve put my fans through. I have to come right right now. And I have to do the best music I can. I have to really reach and strive for excellence. The things that you are gonna hear coming out from me in the next few, as time goes on, you’ll find that there’s more of a consistency in the quality more than ever.

It’s hard sometimes to put a record and just say, “Nah, I am not fucking with this.” I mean, it’s cool, but really being able to identify which ones that we make are the great ones. And not falling in love with everything we do because not everything we do is great. It’s trial and error. I’m just trying to keep my standards and my bar real high.

Pusha recently said you and him make sophisticated music. How’s that session coming along for King Push?
That’s already coming into play. We are honing in a record with him now. Again, he’s got his standards. They are real high. We are all shooting to make the best record we can. I try to live up to my reputation of having been a tastemaker or a pioneer to craft a new sound. It’s hard because, this generation, I feel like, within hip-hop, have been programmed into thinking that it is supposed to be one certain way. It has accepted music being one certain way. It’s like music without music and I’m not feeling that.

One of my goals is to try and get music back into the music. Like Pusha said in the interview that they did recently where he mentioned me, was he sees musicality coming back into music. It’s been sort of non-existent. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that artists within the past somewhat years have been trying to beat budgets, not as concerned with the tracks as much as they should. When you do that, it can kind of hurt you. People will get a hit off of average beats, but they are not forever. Those records that are forever, they are forever. Financially and for people’s ear. Everything. Forever. A lot of records that I did back in the day are still jammin’.

Anything else you got going on?
We pretty much are trying to do everything right now. We are even taking a stab at developing artists, which is something that I never really was doing too much for myself. I was doing it for others, but it's time to definitely get behind an artist and organically grow that artist and influence them into being something amazing.

I don’t want to mention any names right now, but we are honing into a couple of people. Very talented individuals. You know, I definitely have a few artists that I’m looking forward to getting a chance to work with. These are people that we haven’t been slated to work with. We have goals. I definitely want to make another record with Jay Z. I want to make a record with Rihanna. I look forward to making records with some of the cats that are coming out right now that I haven’t touched yet. Wiz Khalifa is one of them that I like to work with.

Previously: 6 Producers Break Down The Making Of Rick Ross’ Mastermind

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