Super Producer Stories: Mike WiLL Made-It on Drink Champs | Full Episode

TL;DR

Mike WiLL Made-It shares his origin story, Versus battle with Hit Boy, and upcoming album Reset on Drink Champs.

Key Points

• 1.Mike WiLL grew up in Marietta, Georgia, outside Atlanta. He started making beats at 17-18, forming Ear Drummers in 2007 and pressing beat CDs at Patchwork studio for $150-200 to distribute.
• 2.His first industry connection was Gucci Mane, met at age 15-16. Mike handed Gucci a beat CD at Patchwork; Gucci freestyled to it and called him a 'little player,' exchanging numbers.
• 3.Mike WiLL and Waka Flocka nearly fought each other before becoming close collaborators. They met at Club Q in Marietta when a confrontation broke out, but Waka de-escalated it.
• 4.Waka Flocka vouched for Mike WiLL to his mother Deb without ever hearing a single beat. He told Deb Mike would be the biggest producer based purely on vibe and passion.
• 5.Deb, Waka's mother who managed Gucci Mane, became a key early connection. She called Mike after Waka's repeated praise and asked to meet him, representing a pivotal industry door.
• 6.Gucci Mane told a teenage Mike WiLL 'you're a star' and had him play beats for his whole squad. This session introduced Mike to producers like KO and Zobin, who mentored him.
• 7.Mike WiLL met Future through producer Rocco, who was Future's early champion. Rocco told Mike that Future was 'next,' leading to an immediate number exchange.
• 8.DJ Esco was also an early Future connector at Magic City strip club in Atlanta. Mike pitched Esco on a collaboration run, and Esco directed him toward Future as his focus artist.
• 9.Mike WiLL's Versus battle against Hit Boy happened during Grammy weekend in California. He compared the strategic preparation to golf or NBA 2K — requiring a dialed-in game plan.
• 10.Hit Boy was chosen partly because they had overlapping hits at the same time period. Mike originally wanted to battle an elder statesman to prove his catalog against someone he'd looked up to.
• 11.The Versus format was created by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, with Jimmy Iovine reigniting the Grammy weekend edition via group text. Mike and Swizz had discussed doing a Versus for years before it materialized.
• 12.Mike WiLL acknowledged Atlanta is the current mecca of hip-hop while respecting New York as the birthplace. He noted the Nas record didn't get the same crowd reaction as southern records at the California Versus event.
• 13.Mike WiLL is collaborating with Indian-born, Bay Area-raised artist Sid Sriram on new music. He describes Sid's voice as 'amazing' and plans to drop a joint project after his album introduces Sid.
• 14.His new album is called Reset, also titled Ransom 3 (R3SCT), releasing nine years after Ransom 2. It features 15 songs recorded organically at his 70,000 sq ft Atlanta compound; 'Ransom' stands for Releasing All New Songs Orchestrated by Mike Will.
• 15.Mike WiLL was named Drink Champs' most expensive guest after ordering a rare Italian red wine. The hosts noted Teddy Riley came close but Mike's bottle selection surpassed all previous guests.