If you've ever spoken to Fresno DJ/producer Hecktik, then you might know two important things about him:
1. He's hard-working, with his hands in a lot of projects. 2. He likes to talk. A lot.

With that in mind, I picked Hecktik's brain about what he's got on his plate these days, about the big hip-hop show Saturday night at Fresno State, about Diego Redd, the local rapper he manages and produces and about what it's gonna take for Fresno to make some noise in the hip-hop world.

Of course, he had lots to say.

Question: So Heck, I know you're quite a busy dude, splitting time between L.A. and Fresno, what projects are you working on these days?
Answer: Well, I got a few things on my plate as we speak, but I am currently working for G.O.O.D Music (Kanye West's Label) working on GLC's album. Myself and Diego Redd have been recording out in L.A. getting ready for his upcoming album. I just finished up few projects back home. The first one is "Diego Redd Presents: The Underworld Rebellion, Above the Law," the other is Aesop of the Living Legends "Living the Dream While Awake" and another that should be out the first of May is a young talented kid named Fashawn, it's called "Grizzly City."

Currently I'm working on a mixtape for the No. 1 clothing company L-R-G called "Underground Incentive, Overground Effective." And that's going to feature the best from the underground to the best in the mainstream, from the Living Legends, The Roots, Black Moon to Kanye West, GLC, Lupe Fiasco, T.I., Three-6 Mafia. I'm also, along with my partner DJ F-Plus, going over some ideas with Sam from FTK to do an official mixtape with them and we're doing one for Buddha Clothing.

What are you doing with GLC, what role are you playing in his album?
I'm currently the head engineer on the album and I'm doing some production on it as well.

When I talked to you last week, you told me about your laptop getting stolen out of the studio. Tell everyone what happened.
Well GLC, Coodie and Chike and myself were hanging out after recording and we stepped out to get some food, and when we got back our studio got broken into. All of our laptops and other personal items where stolen, but luckily the studio equipment wasn't touched. The important thing I've learned from this is to keep the studio doors closed only to people who are contributing to the project, because you just can't trust people like you want to anymore.

What's up with Diego Redd these days?
Diego is making a lot of progress in his career right now. From doing interviews with all the top online websites, XXL and The Source, he has been getting a good following outside of Fresno. We signed a management/production deal with a company out in New York called Renegade Inc. and they are headed by one of Ne-Yo's manager and a well-known manager named Success. Three major labels have offered us deals, so next week we'll be in New York in meetings and we're trying to get the right situation, because any deal may not be the right deal so we're taking our time to make sure we get what we need. Diego is an extremely hard working artist and he constantly puts out records that are extremely well put-together. He will definitely become something Fresno will be proud of.

This Saturday should be big day for local hip-hop, there's a big show at Fresno State, plus it's your birthday. What do you expect for that night?
A great time. My buddy Sticifyngaz, whom I put shows together with at Fresno State in the past, is really going out of his way to make sure it's a positive and successful event. He went out and reached out to many local artists that are doing things and who are available and he put together a great lineup for a show. Plus it's my birthday so we're going to make it a night to remember.

How did you get started making beats?
Well, back in 1999, I was the DJ for a local group called The Basement. The producer of the group Markis Precise used to let me sit there and watch him work on programs called Fruity Loops and Cool Edit. He slowly taught me how to use the programs and from there I saved up for an MPC 2000 and the rest was history.

Break down your style. What sounds do you like? What influences you? Who do you look up to?
I like to say I produce records for artists. I don't just make beats; I produce records from beginning to end. Every artist is different and every artist sounds at their best over certain sounding beats. I'm influenced by a lot, but if you had to choose one I would say Kanye or Rick Rubin just because they think outside the box and really maximize and bring out the best of the artist they work with. A producer is only as good as the artist makes him, and if you don't set the artist up for success then you haven't done your job and I don't think you can call yourself a producer, but rather a beat maker.

A lot of people think that hip-hop isn't music. As a producer, the person responsible for the musical element of hip-hop songs, how do you respond to people say what you do is not musical?
I mean hip-hop is our generation's pop culture -- people also said the same about rock 'n' roll in the '50s. So to me I don't even bother to respond to them. I mean I grew up playing the piano, guitar and the saxophone, but that doesn't mean I'm musical. Some records I do I play live, but most of the time I sample records and I chop it up. Or I'll just find that loop that I can't stop playing in my head. Really finding that emotion is what music is about and if it's something that doesn't move me then I just keep going till I find that right sound.

You seem to have your hands in a lot of what happens hip-hop wise in this city, what do you think it's gonna take for Fresno's hip-hop scene to get some national recognition?
This is going to be a long one since we have a lot to improve on. First of all -- good original music. We can't emulate what the Bay is doing with the Hyphy Movement, nor can we try and be LA.. We have so many influences here in Fresno that we can create our own cry. A big problem I see is our city doesn't support what we do, we hardly ever get tours to stop into our town and everyone thinks that we're a farm town.

It's 2006 and it's time for change. We need legit promoters here. Not these dated house promoters who are using our culture in the wrong way. They don't know how to market or put together these events, but they do it anyways just to make a quick dollar and in return the Fresno Police Department blames everything on hip-hop. Let's be honest with ourselves, crime will occur anywhere there is a lack of police presence and bad planning, so it's not fair to say it's just hip-hop. That hurts us.

Small-town mentality is another thing. From Visalia to Merced we have more people than Sacramento, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Minneapolis, etc. We are one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S., we need to stop thinking small-minded. Enough is enough, we need the fans, artists and our radio stations to stand up and believe in Fresno.

Why will our radio stations play independent Bay Area music before our own? It's a lack of confidence from everyone, from program directors to the DJ's. I've been told that Diego Redd can't get regular spins because he's not on a label, but Keak the Sneak, who I think is very talented, who's also independent gets played constantly. Well if people weren't calling and requesting Diego's songs that would be one thing, but he's the face of this city right now getting requests daily and he has backpackers and street kids inspired and believing that he's the next thing. Top DJ's around the world and artists call me non-stop asking me how can they can work with him.

But this will soon change. I'm not mad at our radio stations, I just wish they where as confident in themselves as I am in this city. They can tell us we're not big enough a million times but at the end of the day they can be yes-men or they can be a part of creating something that they can call theirs. I can go on for days about this, but at the end of the day we need to support our artists who are trying to make an impact, a good confident backing from the city and more entrepreneurs like FTK, Buddha Clothing, Sticifyngaz, Abundent Entertainment, etc.

Obviously, we've heard of people like Diego Redd, Planet Asia, Aesop, etc. But who are some of the up and coming emcees in Fresno that people would keep their eyes open for?
There's a young kid named Fashawn who is really nice. Look out for him. There's Skeam from the Underworld Rebellion, who I feel can be a very successful MC. Young A-Plus, who is real nice. There's a crew called Stunt Squad who has been making some nice records lately. Chuck Dimes has a nice album coming out. Populus is another artist who is very original and who is nice. Filthy Rich, Sole Profit, Shake The Mayor, Supreme, Blue Steel, Nitti, TB. There's a nice little group of artists that I feel are talented.

Any last words?
Thanks for your time and thanks to those who have supported me this far in my career. Go to FTK and pick up my latest releases. See you Saturday.