For over the past decade, 4rAx and Tweed of The Mekanix have built there own sound in the Bay Area, and they have built it behind the Livewire Records roster, among other local talents. Read up on them, and learn more about this fascinating production duo.
ABM: How did you come up with the name, The Mekanix?
Tweed: We had a homegirl who was around us when we first started producing together. She over heard a conversation that we were having at the studio. We were saying that we needed to call ourselves something since we had created a small vault of music. Out of no where she said "you should call yourselves The Mekanix". We thought about it and it kinda made sense, so we kept it.
4rAx: My Father and Grandfather were both mechanics, and Tweed has loved cars since he was a youngster, way before he could even get a license. It also tied into working on people's music as a metaphor, like how auto mechanics work on cars.
ABM: What made you change your name to 4rAx?
4rAx: I've always been one to re-invent myself and I feel that in this music business, you have to re-invent yourself to stay on the cutting edge of the future. It's like pushing a reset button. First they called me Dot coming out of high school, then it transformed to Dotrix like the Matrix. Once I started showing that I could write, rap, produce, sing etc, it became Dotrix 4000. The 4000 came from my admiration of Andre 3000 from Outkast. Being multi talented. From there, Curcinado from the Hittaz On The Payroll started calling me 4rAx. A abreviation for 4000. I ran with it. Now they call me 4rAx.
ABM: Did you start dropping your hooks when you changed your name from Dotrix 4000 to 4rAx?
4rAx: Nah, I've been writing for years. It all just seemed to come together during the time I changed my name to 4rAx. I wanted to help the workflow in the studio move faster so I started dropping hooks on the beats to help with the creative juices for the artists we worked with.
ABM: Lets talk about "Under the Hood", how long have you guys been working on this project?
Tweed: About a year and a half now. It was complete about 6 months ago. But we had to fine tune it. Added a few songs and added a few new people until we felt it was finished.
4rAx: The album comes out June 3rd. We have all the usual suspects that we love and respect musically on there. From J Stalin and Philthy Rich, to Mozzy and E 40. Its a dope project! During the recording of (U.T.H.) we also completed The Hoodstarz "56 Months" album with DJ Drama. We did about 75% of that. We completed The Luniz "High Timez" project and we also produced about 75% of that album. To date we just wrapped up J Stalin's On Behalf Of The Streets 2, where we produced the whole album from start to finish. So beyond our own stuff we're working on a ton of other stuff at the same time and thats not even the whole list you feel me? Lol
ABM: How do you guys feel about the current state of Bay Area Hip Hop?
Tweed: Its cool right now, The Bay is working hard at re-establishing itself among the masses. There's alot of new and up-coming talent and we're getting more shine than we've been getting. We are grateful to have a hand in producing alot of these artists and to see the Bay Area's progression.
ABM: I've been seeing you on the stages lately with big acts like The Luniz, whats been going on with that?
4rAx: We produced most of their new record, and I laid a lot of hooks on The High Times record. So during their performances, they have been bringing us out during their sets. S/O Yuk & Num!
ABM: What's your experience in seeing them work and touring together?
4rAx: Its been great, we all know their legacy and their platinum status, so its just about getting them back on their pedestal. There's a lot of people doing tours, records, etc… but there's not a lot of artists that are platinum. The Luniz are platinum, and there's a difference. You got to take your hat off to these types of achievers because thats what we all want for ourselves. I mean they have one of the top 20 songs of all time, not even just out of the Bay Area, out of the whole world! Salute to the Luniz. That demands respect.
ABM: I know you just dropped a new record "On My Hustle" with Keak Da Sneak, IAMSU, J. Stalin & 4rAx, who shot the video?
Tweed: Bro Jackson and The Mekanix directed it. We've been doing a lot of directing silently. There have been a lot of videos that we've directed but never took our credit. You can look forward to us stepping from behind the music and stepping behind the camera. Lol.
ABM: Any shout outs?
Mekanix: Shout out to all the fans who've been riding with us since day one. Shout out to J Stalin & Livewire Records for believing in us. Thank you to the Mobfathers who came before us and paved the way. Last but not least, thank you to the streets.