Before he became one of the most celebrated producers to come out of the South, Zaytoven was a young man in barber college making beats out of his basement. He was just making music for the love of making music, but soon his talents would grab the attention of local artists including the likes of Gucci Mane. 

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Zaytoven sat down with People’s Party with Talib Kweli to chat about his history in the hip hop game and a major component of his rise was his collaborations with Gucci. He described Guwop’s work ethic as being “Tupac-like,” adding, “Me and him work alike.” Zaytoven said, “We create songs in twenty minutes. I’ll make the beat, five, ten minutes. He gon’ either freestyle or write the song. We on to the next. That’s how we do. That’s how I am today.”

Talib and Zaytoven also spoke about the conspiracy theory rumors that Gucci is some sort of clone because he’s changed so much since his prison release. “Underneath, Gucci’s always been the guy that he is right now,” Zaytoven said of the rapper’s growth. “He was super smart in school, very intelligent. He ain’t no dummy, by far. Super intelligent. I guess that time of him going away, he really sat down and thought about some things. And we gettin’ older! He really thought about it.” Zaytoven added that Gucci knew if he was going to go away for three or four years, he couldn’t return to the scene the same person he once was. “That don’t make sense.”

There are many gems in this interview, so check out Zaytoven’s chat with People’s Party below.