Catching the cool Saturday breeze over a few drinks, Florida production duo, The Colleagues, sat on the patio of one of the many restaurants that surround the beautiful Millenia area located here in Orlando. Producing for artists that range from our hometown heroes Dee Boi and Kevin Cossom, to others such as Plies, 2 Chainz and Gucci Mane, The Colleagues, who can individually be referred to as KP and R. Chris; have practically made a name for themselves overnight. Calm and collected at first, KP and R. Chris showed me and Culture Climax member, Storee, that they are definitely about their business. Providing us with laughs and the answers that everyone has been looking for, The Colleagues gave Culture Climax the opportunity to see what all the hype has been about with these two humble hard-working men and why they are some of the coolest people in town. – Kesi P. When were The Colleagues established? KP: Well really, we’ve been around since 2008, but I brought him along in March. R. Chris: I left what I was doing in March. I had Mastermind Beat Boys since like 2009, but in March when he came along, I left what I was doing with Mastermind Beat Boys. When you started The Colleagues, was it just you by yourself? KP: Nah, it was me and another dude from Orlando, who I’m not going to name, but yeah, we were cool and we just had different visions for The Colleagues. Since I started it, I took over and then just did my own thing. So you were doing it by yourself after that right? KP: Yeah, pretty much. What made you want to actually drop everything to invest time in The Colleagues? R. Chris: I didn’t necessarily drop everything, but he was further along than I was. So I seen it as an opportunity to not only learn and better my craft, but to be apart of something bigger than me. That’s why I moved on from where I was. My team, The Mastermind Beat Boys, they actually still do their thing. It was actually my two younger brothers. KP: Oh, I didn’t know that [Laughs] R. Chris: [Laughs] Yeahhh. I actually still put in to them. I guess you would say manage. Whenever they have questions, I’m always there because those are my brothers. Yeah, definitely. So if you had to say what your influence would be to start all of this, what would it be? KP: I used to actually manage an artist here named Dee Boi and he got locked up so many times, I kept losing all of my money. That’s my n-gga though, but he was costing me financially. So he was like, ‘man you need to start making beats.’ So I told him I would try it out. I just started doing it and started loving it. R. Chris: I actually started with Kane Beats. We all went to the same church. It was me, him and a couple of other friends and we had this lil group called 4 Deep. This is when I was trying to rap. [Laughs] [Laughs] 4 Deep? R. Chris: Yeah! It was actually UGK at first, but then we found out somebody else had it, so we had to change it. [Laughs] So, for those who don’t really know The Colleagues, can you give us a little back drop of who you’ve worked with, what music you’re in to and how you would describe your sound? KP: We don’t really have a sound. We do Rap, R&B, Gospel…all of it. All the stuff people have been hearing is Rap, but we do it all. We’ve worked with people like Plies, Gucci Mane, Tity Boi (2 Chainz), Maino, um…Kevin Cossom, Trick Daddy, uh…Slick Pulla, the list goes on. If you guys would have to say one thing that Orlando is missing, what would it be? KP: That one big artist. That one mainstream artist. Somebody that when you say, “Orlando”, everybody thinks of. Right now, it’s what’s them dudes name? Smilez and Southstar? [Laughs] And Treal KP: Oh yeah, and Treal. They were pretty big. Do you think that there’s anything else that’s actually stopping Orlando from creating an artist? R. Chris: I think it’s the ego’s. People get a little buzz in Orlando and want to charge some outrageous number to do a feature or they don’t want to pay producers for their beats. Do you think that some artists are too comfortable with being in this position? R. Chris: Well P.I. [Bang], I guess we can say P.I. because he’s the biggest thing in Orlando right now, he can be the biggest thing out of Orlando. He just has to switch over. KP: I think Dee Boi or P.I. could be the biggest things out of Orlando. I think Dee Boi has the most talent in Orlando and P.I. has the most drive. I mean, some artists might take offense, they might not want to buy any more beats, but uh, it is what it is. Definitely. It’s like that sometimes. If you guys had to choose your top 3 songs right now, whether it’s on the radio or just something that you listen to, what would they be? R. Chris: Man, I would have to say my favorite right now is that 2 Chainz & Gucci. KP: Are you just saying that because we did it? [Laughs] R. Chris: [Laughs] Nah, that’s actually my favorite song. I listen to it every day. Literally, every day. That’s that “Check My Resume” track right? R. Chris: Yeah, I love that song. And I’ve really never been a fan of 2 Chainz. I loved Playa’s Circle, but never really been a fan of 2 Chainz himself. I love that record though. KP: It’s a song called “Someone”, by Musiq Soulchild, and uh “Sometimes I Cry” by Eric Bennett and my third would probably be 2 Chainz. That’s so weird because I don’t really listen to too much rap. It all sounds the same to me. I like listening to R&B. Orlando is full of starving artists and producers and what not, what advice would you give to them? R. Chris: With producers, I would say, when they get in, they wanna charge outrageous money. Yeah, you may be worth 50 stacks per beat, but you’re just starting out. You gotta make your name. I would say humble yourselves. Work with anybody. Whether they’re no names or big names. Work with anybody. Don’t shun anybody. For artists, same thing. Humble yourselves. Don’t try to stiff producers. You gotta spend some money to get some money. KP: Producers man, you gotta know how to promote yourself and market yourself. You gotta know it. You gotta get your own sound. Stop trying to do everything else that everyone else is doing. Artists, you just gotta stay humble. Pretty much what he said. Producers just gotta know how to get yourselves out there, pretty much, and stay humble. You’re gonna hear a lot of no’s. For every no I heard, somebody bigger said yes. You might get a “no” on this beat 5 times, but you just gotta keep pushing it out there. You gotta believe in yourself. I don’t see any obstacles. Keep your faith. Okay, now for a few fun questions. NBA or NFL? KP: NBA R.Chris: NFL. Well, I’m actually more of a College Football person than anything. KP: I always had hoop dreams, so I wanted to go to the NBA. Throughout the seasons, you can catch me at different games in different cities. I like to see the different kinds of arenas and stuff, so I love to watch basketball. I go to L.A. because I’m a Lakers fan. What’s your favorite basketball team? R. Chris: The Magic! Home team! Yes! I’ve been a Magic fan since ’93, but my favorite player of all time would have to be Allen Iverson. Nothing could change that. R. Chris: My favorite player would have to Penny Hardaway. KP: Man, Kobe Bryant. R. Chris: I think I would like the Lakers a lot more if Kobe wasn’t on it. I don’t like Lamar Odom either. Can you tell us one fun fact about the other? KP: This dude forgets a lot of the stuff that I say and I know it. R. Chris: [Laughs] I forget the stuff my wife says. KP: [Laughs] We’ll be having a talk and I’ll say something, then I’ll say to myself, ‘I know I’ma have to tell him this again in another hour.’ Then we’ll be talking and he’ll say “oh what about such and such”. I have to tell him, ‘I just told you that like an hour ago.’ R. Chris: [Laughs] Man, I forget. Yeah, I’m very forgetful. I don’t know though. KP’s just serious all the time. Oh, nobody else knows this, but on my birthday, this dude called me, I answered the phone and the first thing I heard was him singing Happy Birthday. I didn’t know how to take it. I had never seen a different side of him. KP: I was bustin notes! I can have fun, but most of the time it’s usually business. When me and him talk, it’s usually business, so we really don’t chill and joke because we stay so far apart. When I’m usually around here, it’s for business. Where do you hope to see The Colleagues in the next 5 years? KP: Hope? Where DO I see The Colleagues? With Grammy’s in our living rooms.