Producer Evian Christ Calls Kanye West A “Once-In-A-Generation” Artist

Evian Christ, the 24-year-0ld producer whose big break came after he produced "I'm In It" off Kanye West's Yeezus last summer, is coming back with a new EP, titled Waterfall, this March, and during a phone call with XXL he spoke about the ten year anniversary of Kanye's debut album College Dropout.

"My early memories of getting into rap music were watching TV and seeing the videos," says the British native, who grew up in the North of England. "'Through The Wire' was the first single, and I just have connections with the videos. I remember sitting and watching that shit and taking it all in. At the time, I didn't have reference points for this stuff—I didn't grow up in New York and have that hip-hop culture ingrained into me—I'd never seen that before. So it came out at exactly the right time for me to really be fucking with it."

After ten years in the game, Kanye has gone from Roc-A-Fella's rising star to one of the biggest artists on the planet, pushing the boundaries of what hip-hop means with albums like 2008's 808s & Heartbreak and Yeezus, which saw Yeezy bringing a more electronic sound into the game. For Christ, whose ambient, electro tones provide the backbone for his hip-hop-influenced music, that type of innovation is not something to be taken lightly.

"It's so hard to stay on top of this shit for that long, and still be pushing the sound, and still be the one who is the freshest with production, and going to the next level," says Christ, who just recently signed a production deal with Kanye's Donda company. "Doing that ten years in is something that not many people can hold a torch to. I guess someone like Beyonce is the equivalent in the pop or R&B world. These guys are once-in-a-generation."

Though the album came out when he was 14, College Dropout still left an impression on Christ, and to have a track on Yeezus is still something that's been tough to wrap his head around. "It's really insane. Really, really insane," he says. "I feel like I haven't quite come to terms with it; I've only been making music for not even three years, so it's all happening pretty quickly." —Dan Rys (@danrys)

Previously: Dame Dash Looks Back On Kanye West’s College Dropout 10 Years Later
Breaking Down Kanye West’s Six Platinum Solo Albums
Meet Evian Christ, The 24-Year-Old Producer From Kanye West’s Yeezus