Home Lab Productions: DMO, Shorty B & Nu Cumma

1. Who/What is Home Lab Productions? Shorty B: Home Lab Productions is a label. Home Lab is the group under that label. DMO: HLP is an independent record label headed by Shorty B and DMO founded on December 17th, 2007. HLP is great music first and our motto is, “Keep It Moving.
2. Where you guys from? DMO: I’m From Racilla (Racine, WI) and reside I Freetown (Fredonia, WI). Shorty B: I’m from Port Washington, WI, a small suburban town north of Milwaukee.
3. Give the people a brief history/background of where ya'll was before you hooked up. Shorty B: I was raping since I can remember. Sometime around 8 I remember being inspired by Coolio “Gangsters Paradise”. That was one of the first rap songs I ever heard. From there I would right down rhymes and record to my computer with some friends. In high school it became more than just a hobby. Me and my guy Joe started a studio in his garage. We built a sound booth and started buying better equipment to improve our sound. Joe ended up moving so the studio was taken down, so I had equipment but nowhere to record. That’s when I hooked up with a Milwaukee Producer named Magik Mike. I worked with Magik for about 3 ½ years. During that time I took a step back from producing and being an artist and focused on other developing talents such as graphic and web design. DMO: I was introduced to the game at the young age of 7 in Racine and I can thank a lot of people for having a hand in crafting the artist/business man you see today. I came to the Saukville, WI in 1999 having released an EP titled, Moet the Myth. After some bad deals and reality setting in for me, I turned off the music to concentrate on my family and me. During this time I did some soul searching and every now and then I would work with some local artist.
4. How'd you meet? DMO: Me and B met before this (HLP) ever was in our plans at first. B called me out of the blue and said, “Hey D I got this beat you wanna make some music?” The rest is HLP history. Shorty B: We met before we started doing music together. During the time I was working with Magik Mike. D had worked with MM and we met through him.
5. So how did ya'll become partners after all that? Shorty B: Well things weren’t moving along with Magik Mike how I wanted them to. I made the decision of getting my own equipment and branching off. I ended up calling D to see if he was down to do a song. The intention at first was just to make music, but it ended up becoming much more. DMO: The process in making the first album, Shorty B presents…Home Lab, made us become closer and stronger. We saw the passion and focus in each other and in the wash we grinded the business out.
6. How do ya'll go about holding each other down? DMO: If B has an idea we talk it out and see if it’s viable and vice versa. I got B’s back in any situation. We try to keep each other calm in most situations so we stay focused. Every issue isn’t a life or death issue and I might need to be reminded sometimes and B is there like I am for him. Shorty B: Keeping each other focused is the key. Nobody can stay focused 100% of the time. You have to have motivating people around you at all times to keep things moving forward and that’s what we do, motivate each other.
7. What do you guys got coming in the near future? Shorty B: We have a double disc release coming in the future, be on the lookout for website updates. DMO: Those web updates will mention things like the album that will be releasing like Shorty just mentioned by the Home Lab Chemists. We have so many good songs, great production that we have to give the fans something new and fresh. So keep your ears ready for The Chemists. Plus we have some splitters and curve balls coming that will leave you in ahh as well, Top secret!
8. Do you have any notable collaborations under your belts? DMO & Shorty B: Well we have K-Matic of My Way Records on a track called, Cant Hold Me Down”, of course the single, “Get Some” featuring the fast rhyming Nu Cumma from our camp. Plus someone you’re familiar with, Jason Scibby of 4 Legacy on, “I Hustle for That”.
9. Anything you're currently working on or would like to make happen? DMO: We have things coming from all directions and some will be surprises upon the releases and performances later this year. I would like to see local radio stations to start doing their job and supporting their own artist, producers and dj’s. Don’t wait for them to strike pay dirt somewhere else and then play their music or act like yall supported them the whole while.
10. How do ya'll handle all the haters out there? Shorty B: Haters are gonna be where ever you go no matter what. Negative people try to make your life negative, especially when they see you trying to do something. The truth is though is we need haters. The more haters you have it just means you’re doing something right. DMO: We thank them and encourage them to keep spreading the word. I’m humbled by our success because we started out with no fans, no dick riders who only like what we do because they know us. So when haters say, do or try and diss, it means HLP is doing great things.
11. So D I understand you've been doing this music thang quite awhile longer than Shorty B. How do ya'll balance each other out? DMO: Actually, Shorty B was producing since middle school and doing verses here or there prior to any of this so B’s been down doing his thing. Check the production out, so far that’s been all B. You just don’t start making tracks and there that great you know. I been spitting longer than B which is my strong suite. My rhyming prowess and love for just doing it. So his production and my flow were made for each other.
12. What is your contribution to Hip-Hop? Shorty B: I just wanna be known for making good music. I want to reach people on a big scale and I don’t just want to focus on hip-hop. I want to make sure that I have a message as much as possible, I stay relevant, and I keep making good music. DMO: Mines would be first as Home Lab Productions, the record label, running a honest label that caters more to the artist and letting them be who they are. This is important for HIP HOP as whole because we don’t need little Nu’s or little DMO’s we need new artist to be the NEW them, feel me?!?
13. What has pushed/motivated ya'll to reach the level you're at now? DMO: The Passion to make great music and be the best at what we do period. Going from zero fans to having packed shows is a testament to the label as a whole and our drive as the leaders of HLP. Shorty B: It’s the feedback that we get from fans. The biggest motivation for me is the feedback whether it’s negative or positive. When I get negative feedback I push myself to do better. When I get positive feedback it just pushes me to keep going and I’m like “They are feeling me”.
14. What is it going to take to reach the next level? How do you plan on getting there? Shorty B: To reach the next level we just have to stay on the same path and keep doing what we are doing. Ever year is better than the last with more shows, more fans, better promotion, and more music. DMO: In order for HLP to reach the next level, HLP has to take advantage of all situations. The people we network with like local, national and international connections also help to reach the next level. Staying who we are will get us there as well.
15. Its 2010, what kind of goals do you guys have set for yourselves this year? Shorty B: Well number one is to get the double disc released this year. Number two is to do more shows than last year and keep building the buzz. DMO: In addition to B, we accomplished this year’s 1st goal for Home Lab Productions by getting Nu Cumma’s EP, The Appetizer, out to the world (which is available at our site, hlplive.com, iTunes and cdbaby.com). Sign some more artists and release the Chemists Dual CD. Plus there’s gonna be another Rock Hop this year so stay tuned.
16. Where could the people go to learn more about HLP and sample/buy some music? DMO: I know you’ve read it before but here it goes one more time: hlplive.com. From here you can go to our artist pages to sample the music or go to the sites own music store to purchase the mp3’s. Also provided at the site via our artist pages there, are the myspace.com pages, Twitter and Face Book info. If you only buy thru iTunes, search for Nu Cumma or The Appetizer and the EP will appear. Shorty B: Everything is right on the website: hlplive.com.

17. Any shows in the works you wanna promote quick? DMO & Shorty B: The RH3 or Rock Hop 3 will be popping July 16th the day before Fish Day as usual. We have a surprise announcement coming in April of a large show and we’ll get that to u soon.
18. Do you guys work with other local artists? Who? Any you're looking to work with or wanna give a shout to real quick? DMO & Shorty B: Shouts out to Nu Cumma, Note, Kraft, K-Matic, My Way Records, 4 Legacy, O.W.N., J Rilla, Mark Hubing, T-Recx, DJ Rawlz, DJ Bonics, DJ Sixteen and all the Wisconsin Emcee’s, Disc Jockey’s and producers doing their thing, Keep it moving!! I want to work more with T-Recx and K-Matic is always good. Plus we want to get with the Legacy. We’re really looking for new artist to work with.
19. Any other shout-outs? DMO & Shorty B: To Tofino Sound for their time and wanting Shorty and myself to do this interview. This step truly helps the climb become easier for the independents, keep doing yall thing. Peace!
- Tofino Sounds' Pun (Interviewer)