Head to Head: Figure vs. Protohype

The Head to Head series explores the minds of two genre greats in one in-depth and personal interview together.

Bass-heads Figure and Protohype are preparing to wreck shop at Exchange LA in Downtown Los Angeles this Thursday, October 20, presented by the Bassrush crew, with their inimitably hard and mighty dubstep-driven sound. Before tomorrow’s show, we touched base with the deadly duo that’s been smashing it up all summer long on their co-headlining Outta This World Tour. Known for keeping things popping on and off the dancefloor, the two homies checked in with us for a wide-ranging chat that takes us from the producers’ early memories with music around the house all the way through to their recommended movies for pregaming ahead of the show. With a surprise guest appearance from 12th Planet in the interview, this is one bass-heavy Head to Head conversation you don’t want to miss.

What kind of music do you remember hearing around the house when you were growing up?
Protohype: My parents listened to a pretty eclectic range of music—everything from the Beatles to Queen. Once I got older and started listening to rap music, I think I disappointed them.
Figure: I grew up in a family that was pretty into country. There was always Hank Williams and Johnny Cash playing. Almost all of my extended family members played music in the church orchestra, or whatever you call it. They played every instrument, from violin to standup bass, and half of them professionally taught music as well. It’s actually funny that this is my career, because I am the least musically skilled person in my entire family.

Did either of you play an instrument when you were younger?
Figure: I learned piano and a little bit of guitar, but that’s what everyone did in my family, so I wasn’t that into it. You know how it’s not cool to listen to the music your dad listens to? It was like that, only I didn’t want to do exactly what the rest of my family was doing with music.
Protohype: The first instrument I played was guitar, when I was about 11 or 12. Then I learned how to play bass and drums and eventually got into the recording, mixing, and engineering side of things, because I was in so many bands and no one else knew how to do it. Technically, that’s how I first got into computer music; I started out with live instruments and started making hip-hop beats. Once I heard dubstep, it brought everything together for me musically.
Figure: I think we both heard the same thing with dubstep, because it sounds like instrumental hip-hop, especially the early Benga stuff. It was simple and almost sounded like scratch beats for turntablists to scratch over. I still just think of myself as making beats.

Did DJing or producing come first?
Protohype: Producing.
Figure: I bought a drum machine and turntables at the same time, so both. But I was attached to DJing way more than producing at first, if only because it was easier to buy records and learn how to spin rather than figure out my MPC2000, which used floppy drives and all that.

At what point did that interest in music start to turn into some kind of success?
Protohype: When I was at Arizona State for college—there was a really big rave scene there. That’s where I got a lot of inspiration and was exposed to a lot of new types of music.

I read somewhere that you didn’t get to finish your college degree. Was that because the music took over?
Protohype: I had been planning to take some time off and move to L.A. for music school and had even talked to my academic advisors about it. I felt the opportunity was there, because Protohype was starting to pop off. I thought I could always go back [to college], but then the next day, I got arrested for some shit and got kicked out.

How did you turn it around from there?
Protohype: I pretty much dipped out to L.A., went through music school at Icon Collective, did some teaching there, and it all started popping off.
Figure: For me, there are two sides to it, because I was doing hip-hop first. When I bought turntables and all that, I was only 15. I don’t know if I can include that if we’re talking about Figure, since that’s not who I was at the time.

When did you give up your day job to focus on music full-time?
Figure: The last time I worked a job was when I was 18 or 19; I’m 30 now.

What job was it?
Figure: I used to work at Guitar Center and as a greeter at the Gap. That’s when I was way more clean-cut, and people wanted to look at me.
Protohype: Before you were “Scary Josh.”

What led to the decision to walk away?
Figure: I actually quit before I should have. I started playing little shows, and they would give me $40 to DJ. I was like, “Shit, that’s three days’ work at Guitar Center! I’m out.”

Were you convinced music was your future at that point, though?
Figure: Yeah, my mom and my friends were scared that I was going to be a piece of shit. I used to do really good in school, but then I started getting in trouble all the time, and I just flipped and turned into a bad son. I was like, “I’m quitting college, I’m quitting everything, I’m going to DJ now.” And this is before everything blew up, so people would be like, “What do you mean ‘DJ’—like at weddings or clubs, or what?” I used to play a lot of gigs for the bottle-service crowd.
Protohype: You made house music.
Figure: Yeah, way before I did dubstep, I used to make house music—like, disco house; most people don’t know that.

When did you guys first hear of each other? Were you friends before you blew up?
Protohype: I remember listening to Figure tunes when I was on the come-up. It was cool to start playing shows with him. Through that, we became friends, and now we’re doing this tour together.
Figure: It’s funny in this scene, because you talk and trade songs, and you might see each other at a festival for an hour, but you don’t actually get to hang out with people. I still live in Indiana, so a lot of my experiences with people that are my DJ/producer friends, I probably see them five hours a year or something like that.

What’s the secret to the success you’ve had on this tour? What is it about you two together that seems to work?
Protohype: We’re both known for heavy dubstep, so when we were coming up with ideas for the tour, [we thought] people are already going to know going in that it’s going to be a high-energy show. We wanted to come with something a little playful to take the edge off things. We didn’t want the concept to be all dark and scary dubstep, so that’s how we came up with the “Outta This World” theme.
Figure: My fans are pretty hardcore and only want me to play my own material, so with the tour, I’m able to take a break from doing a Figure-only set [and just have fun]. I’ve gotten a lot of good feedback from people. It’s because I’m not focused on playing an all-Figure set; I’m focused on just DJing and not treating it as a performance—that’s what got me into this, and what I’ve been doing for 15 years.

Speaking of old-school, I talked to 12th Planet earlier today. When he heard I was interviewing you guys, he wanted to ask some questions of his own. His first question is to Protohype: “What is your favorite Three 6 Mafia song of all time?”
Protohype: [Laughs] I’m going to go with “Hypnotize Camp Posse,” or anything off their Most Known Unknown album. Let it be written.

For Figure, 12th asks: “How much of a gore-horror movie fan are you really, though?”
Figure: [Laughs] It’s not a facade.
Protohype: It’s a lifestyle.
Figure: It’s not just a marketing thing. [Protohype] sees it. I stayed with him for like a week, and he’s like, “I don’t have the stomach for this every two seconds.” Other than my career, my sex life, my family, and my bank account, horror is all I think about. That’s really all I spend my extra money on. The crazy thing is, I’ve never met my dad, but he was a DJ, and he ran all the haunted houses in the town where I lived. Now I make music for Universal Studios, for their haunted houses. It’s just weird that something like that would be passed down through DNA or whatever.

Speaking of flicks, for your Bassrush/Insomniac fans, what kind of movie should they watch while pregaming before tomorrow’s show?
Figure: I know [Protohype] wants to say Ace Ventura.
Protohype: I would choose The Boondock Saints; it’s a good combination of our vibes.
Figure: There’s this movie called Terrorvision that would be good. It’s like what would happen if you crossed Napoleon Dynamite with Evil Dead. It’s perfect for pregaming because you and the homies are trying to hang out, so you don’t really have to pay attention. But every two seconds, you’re going to look up and see something just ridiculous happening.

Before we go, if the music thing didn’t work out, what would you be doing instead?
Protohype: Hustling. Trapping.
Figure: Some shit I probably shouldn’t be doing—or design, since that’s what I went to school for. Being a chef would be dope, or a mechanic.
Protohype: Can we do some [shout-outs]?
Figure: Can we make the shout-out part longer than the interview? Shout-out to Insomniac and Bassrush for how crazy shit has gotten over the past couple of years.
Protohype: Bassrush for life! I’ve been down with Bassrush since day one, and we will never part ways. And a shout-out to my mom, my dog, and all the puppy crew worldwide!

Figure & Protohype present the Outta This World Tour, presented by Bassrush, taking place Thursday, October 20, at Exchange LA in Downtown Los Angeles.

Chris Muniz is a bona fide bass master. Follow him on Twitter.