FRANKIE CUTLASS
Interviewed by: Angela

FRANKIE CUTLASS: What’s up Ang?

ANGELA: Nothing much. What are you up to?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: I don’t do this for anyone. I just want to let you know that. You should feel special right now.

ANGELA: So should you. I never interview anyone over the phone the night before my deadline. *laughing* DJ - SUPER PRODUCER - REMIXER FRANKIE CUTLASS ARE ALL THE DIFFERENT WAYS YOU ARE KNOWN IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY. HOW DO YOU PREFER TO BE KNOWN MORE? FOR PRODUCING, REMIXING OR DJing?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: There are supposed to be 4. It is supposed to be ARTIST – PRODUCER – REMIXER - DJ. I do it all ma. I am sorry.

ANGELA: *LAUGHING* Cool. SO WHAT ARE SOME OF THE OTHER REMIXES THAT YOU HAVE DONE, THAT WE MIGHT HAVE HEARD OF?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: I have done a remix for a Reggae artist named Shaggy on his second single called “Nice and Lovely”. I have done a remix for Tito Nieves for his song “I Like It Like That”. I have done remixes for Lost Boys, Mr. Cheeks. I have done so many I don’t even know where to start.

ANGELA: ANY SECRET REMIXES IN THE MAKING THAT YOU CAN TELL US ABOUT?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: Right now no. The only remix that I am doing right now is the “Puerto Rico Remix” which is my single. Right now, as far as doing anyone else’s remixes, no I am not. I am just basically shut down. When I finish my stuff, then I will start working with other people again.

ANGELA: WHO IS GOING TO BE FEATURED ON YOUR “PUERTO RICO REMIX”?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: Voltio, Lumidee, The Barrio Boys and Nina Sky. I wanted Daddy Yankee but due to his former manager, no names, who got fired a couple of month’s ago, Thank God for that.

ANGELA: Oh, he was a sweetheart.

FRANKIE CUTLASS: Ok. Yea. Whatever. He kind of messed things up for me and Yankee. I had bumped into Yankee and he said, “Frankie, I am with it. Let’s do it”. The only problem is, I had lost my cellphone and so I didn’t have a number to give him and so he told me to take this person’s number down. He basically told the person that when he calls, make this thing happen because I have a lot of respect for this man. He is the reason why I am here today. He was basically giving me props for my song “Puerto Rico”. Not to blow my own trumpet BUT I led a lot of Latino’s to where they are at right now, believe it or not because of my song “Puerto Rico”. It’s 10 years later and it’s still a record that’s getting played. That record, 10 years, 11 years ago set the path for a lot of Puerto Ricans and Latinos. That is not only coming from my mouth, it comes from the people who recognize the true Hip Hop of true Puerto Rican artists like myself. With that song “Puerto Rico” I kind of like led the way for a lot of Puerto Ricans, like Big Pun and Fat Joe, you know. I worked with them in the past too.

ANGELA: SO, OUT OF ALL THE REMIXES THAT YOU HAVE DONE, WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE REMIX SO FAR?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: Well those songs that I just named and I told you are pretty old but I don’t have a favorite one to be honest with you. I like my work. I like all my work. I wouldn’t be able to pick a favorite one, you know?

ANGELA: OH OK. SO, WHAT IS YOUR MUSIC OF CHOICE WHEN YOU GET IN YOUR CAR?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: What is my music of choice? It’s going to be very weird for you.

ANGELA: *LAUGHING*

FRANKIE CUTLASS: I guess I have to tell you that it is very slow music, like LITE FM. It’s very laid back and very slow. Alright let me just say that it is a combination of slow, soft music, you know LITE FM type of music and Christian music because it’s so relaxing.

ANGELA: OH OK. SO YOU DON’T POP IN ANYONES REGGAETON CD’S?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: Helllllllllllll Freaking No!

ANGELA: OH NO. YOU DON’T LIKE REGGAETON?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: I love Reggaeton. I am not going to tell you that I don’t. I have been a Reggaeton fan since 1995. To be very honest when I first went to Puerto Rico in 95, I was there for a concert with Mad Lion, Wu-Tang Clan and several Rap artists and it was called underground. 95’ you are talking about 11 years ago, even back then I was a fan. I never said that I was not a fan. The problem is that it is too much for me. When I say it’s too much I mean the drum patterns and the music all sound the same to me and I have a very BIG problem with that.

ANGELA: I CAN UNDERSTAND THAT. I DON’T EVEN LIKE TO LISTEN TO THE RADIO.

FRANKIE CUTLASS: Yea. I have a very big problem with it, as a producer. You are talking to sort of like a LEGEND here. I have been around the game. There is Platinum all over my walls. You know, Gold records all over my walls and I have worked with the best artists. You are talking to a veteran here. At the same time, I can’t listen to the same patterns of drums on like 50,000 records.

ANGELA: AT ONE TIME YOU WERE DJING ON HOT 97?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: Yea.

ANGELA: ARE YOU STILL THERE?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: Nope.

ANGELA: NO? WHAT MADE YOU LEAVE?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: I left the whole game in 1997.

ANGELA: OH OK. WHY WAS THAT?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: I lost my mother. That is the #1 reason. That was very devastating because I was very close to her. She has 11 kids and I am the youngest. I am the baby of the house so I was very close to her. The #2 reason is I had joined a gang in New York City. Things got worse as I kept progressing in the gang activity and it was life threatening to me. Its hard to think of someone very successful in the music business getting into things like that but when you are young, you party, just to try new things and of course later on in life you wise up and that is what happened to me.

ANGELA: OH OK. I GOT YOU.

FRANKIE CUTLASS: I didn’t only leave HOT 97. I left the whole game, the whole industry.

ANGELA: IS THERE ANY WAY THAT YOU WOULD GO BACK THERE?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: To HOT?

ANGELA: UH HUH.

FRANKIE CUTLASS: Would I be a Dj there again? I don’t know. Maybe there would be no spot for me there. There are too many dj’s. There are other stations. There are other places that I would definitely get a job, you know? As far as HOT, I don’t know. I mean I would go back and try but I doubt it very much.

ANGELA: ARE YOU CURRENTLY FEATURED ON ANY RADIO STATIONS?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: Not at this time. No.

ANGELA: WHAT ARTISTS HAVE YOU PRODUCED FOR?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: OMG. Notorious B.I.G., Busta Rhymes, Mobb Deep, M.O.P., Fat Joe

ANGELA: BIG LIST!

FRANKIE CUTLASS: And many others. The list goes on and on.

ANGELA: RIGHT, SO WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOUR BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT HAS BEEN SO FAR?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: Music-wise. I have Platinum and Gold plaques on my walls. I guess that is everyone’s dream, right?

ANGELA: FOR WHICH SONGS?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: The Lost Boyz, Busta Rhymes, Charlie’s Angels Soundtrack, I was part of the first Charlie’s Angels soundtrack. It sold 3 million copies. Don’t Be A Menace To South Central with the Wayan’s brothers, that went Gold. Funk Master Flex that went Gold.

ANGELA: SO, WHEN DID YOU GET YOUR START IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY ORIGINALLY?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: Originally? Originally. I started in 1986.

ANGELA: WOW

FRANKIE CUTLASS: Yea. I did dance music that was called Freestyle back then.

ANGELA: I REMEMBER THAT.

FRANKIE CUTLASS: Yea. I used to produce TKA, The Cover Girls, you know? That type of music, like Lissette Melendez, I did that song “Together Forever”. I didn’t really blow up back then but I really blew up in 1994-1995 with my song “Puerto Rico” and “Shake What Your Mama Gave You”. That was my “Party Anthem” record that is still being played to this day. It is a record that really broke the door down for me to get into the industry.

ANGELA: SO, HAVE YOU PERSONALLY SEEN MORE LOVE OR HATE IN THE INDUSTRY?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: When I first started I saw more Love. As time progressed, after the year 2001 I see more Hate. The game has changed a lot. I consider the game now sort of like the drug game but in a legitimate way.

ANGELA: HAS EVERYONE BEEN COOL WITH YOU SO FAR SINCE YOU HAVE BEEN BACK?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: I haven’t really bumped into everybody. Those who knew of me before, back then, they try to play you because they consider you like old school. I don’t think that I am old school. I have been there but that doesn’t mean that I am old school. I still have New Wine in me and I am part of the new generation because I have been around for a long time but I still haven’t finished what I need to finish.

ANGELA: RIGHT, WHAT IS YOUR OFFICIAL WEBSITE?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: www.frankiecutlass.com, AND www.myspace.com/frankiecutlasss

ANGELA: HOW DO YOU PROMOTE YOURSELF, YOUR MUSIC AND YOUR WEBSITE?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: I always have a team of people that work for me. I am the CEO of my company called Cutlass Music – Cutlass Records. I always have a team and just get to work. We have an incredible roster of a lot of dj’s and promoters and publicists, etc, etc, etc. That is how I promote myself. We haven’t really been doing that lately but soon we will be doing it again. I am just making my comeback this year. Last year was when I finally decided that I was going to comeback. It’s just taken a while to get a record out because of trying to deal with people in the industry. It’s pretty hard. We are just trying to make sure that we have the right financial backing, you know? Now we have all that and we are going to get to work.

ANGELA: DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO GIVE TO UP AND COMING ARTISTS-REMIXERS-DJ'S-PRODUCERS?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: Yea. Whatever you do, do it to the best of your ability. Your first impression and your first 2 minutes are very important. People like to listen and if your first minute is WACK, you are done. So make sure that when people listen, whether you Rap or Sing, whatever you do in music, the first 2 minutes are the most important minutes in your life. If your first 2 minutes are great everyone will stay there and start feeling you. If you are coming soft, very laid back, and people hear you, it’s over. Don’t give up, you know? Unfortunately, the industry has changed after 2001 but there is a lot of talent out there and people are looking for talent. Just keep going.

ANGELA: OF COURSE. WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR PERSONAL INFLUENCES?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: In the Music industry or Life?

ANGELA: UMMM. BOTH.

FRANKIE CUTLASS: Life, Is God. He is a big part of why I am still here today. I have a lot of respect for God. Music-wise. I would have to say my roots, my Spanish roots. Hector Lavoe, Fania All-Stars along with some of the old cats in the Hip Hop game.

ANGELA: IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE OUR READERS TO KNOW ABOUT YOU?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: Keep a look out for the mix tapes because I am also going to start doing mix tapes. I have one dropping in a couple of weeks, Hip Hop vs. Reggaeton.

ANGELA: ARE YOU GOING TO BE FEATURING ANY UP AND COMERS ON THERE?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: If they are VERY hot I don’t have a problem with that. If it’s banging, it’s banging. I don’t have a problem with putting it out.

ANGELA: NICE. NICE. DO YOU HAVE ANY SHOUT OUTS?

FRANKIE CUTLASS: Shout outs? I am not really too crazy for Shout outs but I would like to say Thank You to you for calling me at 2 in the morning. I would like to thank you for your time and just for showing me love. I always give those people Shout outs. The great supporters and great encouragers to my career, you know?

ANGELA: WELL THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET TO KNOW MORE ABOUT YOU.