Big Duke talks witnessing Kanye West’s “genius” creativity while making “Eazy” with The Game

For the better part of the last decade, Chris “Big Duke” Malloy has been the main sonic architect of Game’s sound, co-executive producing his Born 2 Rap LP and handling beats for most of his Drillmatic – Heart vs. Mind album. When you’re side by side with an artist like The Game, no matter how late the sessions go, you’re bound to see some unexpected guests pop in.

“Game will casually say, ‘Oh, OBJ over there.’ I walked in one day, and Tracy McGrady was there. The next day, there was this moment when I saw the door swing open, and the room got quiet; I turned around, and it was Ye,” Duke told REVOLT.

In this installment of “Studio Sessions,” the revered producer explained the Lo-Fi origins of Game and Kanye West’s “Eazy” record, Game recording an Eminem diss song in 10 minutes, spontaneous late-night recording with Anderson .Paak, and working on his first ever Lo-Fi album. Check out the exclusive chat below.

You’ve been producing music for over 20 years; your work on The Game’s “Just So You Know” is a fan favorite. How did you connect with him?

I briefly met Game for the first time in LA in 2009 at Kid Cudi’s first tour. We went to this Robin Thicke show, and Game was coming off stage. Cudi made sure we all introduced ourselves and spoke to each other. Fast forward to years later, I moved to Los Angeles, looking for studios. My friends Bishop and Yanni have a studio in this building in North Hollywood. So, we go by the studio and check it out. Yanni’s running through the building, telling us everybody in there and telling us, “In that room right there, that's The Game. That’s his room.” The door was locked, so I couldn't really look in there. One time he was in there, Yanni brought me in. He probably didn't remember me from that last time, so I reintroduced myself. We chopped it up briefly, listened to something he was playing, and stepped out.

One day, I was working on a beat in the studio, and I used to do this open-door thing where I worked on the music and left the door open. I looked up at the door, and Game was there bobbing his head. He asked me, “What you doing with this beat?” That beat would become Game’s “Just So You Know.” I told him I wasn’t doing anything with it, so he told me he wanted to put it on his project. I sent it to him, he cut the song, we did a couple of edits, and next thing you know, that was my first Game placement. That was around 2013.

How did your sessions strengthen your bond with him?

We built the friendship and bond from long nights in the studio laughing, clowning, and cracking jokes. That makes for a good time. Most importantly, we’re about business. I'm gonna bring a certain sound. If he plays me a record I didn't produce, I’m gonna tell him I can do it better. We built a very genuine relationship that led to the work.

What’s a typical Game session like?

His sessions are crazy because it could be just a few of us, or it could be us four and 30 other people with 20 women, an open bar, and an open weed bar. We’d still be concentrating on the work. It’s a party environment, but you better not cross to this part of the studio because they’re working right there. He’s one of the people who can create a vibe, take the energy from the vibe, and put that into the record. I haven't seen anybody work like him, and I've been around all of them. But his sessions are different.

That type of studio environment fosters a free flow of ideas. Has a conversation ever turned into a song?

We did a record with Anderson .Paak called “Stainless” [off Born 2 Rap]. That record came from a conversation. The record wasn’t necessarily about the conversation, but how it came from one. It was about 2:00 a.m. in the studio. That’s an early session. We usually leave around 5 or 6 [a.m.]. So, it was about 2:00 a.m., and I was grabbing my computer and about to close it until this beat came on from it. It wasn’t a full beat, just an idea. Everybody in the room was like, “What’s that?!” I hadn’t finished it yet. I played it, and Game said, “Yo, this is crazy. Let me call Anderson .Paak.” It’s 2:30 in the morning, and Anderson picks up on the first ring. He tells Anderson, “We got this idea over here that we want to bring to you, man. You gotta do a hook on this. What you on?”

Anderson told him, “I’m in the studio right now; pull up.” Game looked around the room and told him, “It’s a lot of us.” Anderson said, “I don’t care; pull up.” So, we all headed to Anderson .Paak’s studio at 2:30 in the morning (laughs). We ended up recording that record. That all came from a beat randomly playing on my laptop. Now, we got a record that came out that hit radio, and the charts and all of that.

Is the story of how Kanye West and The Game’s “Eazy” record came about similar?

There were actually two versions of “Eazy.” There’s an original track, and then we ended up doing post-production, which was the version that came out. The original idea was something we started at Game’s house. I played the beat, and he told me, “Yo, we need the Eazy-E piece where he says, ‘He was once a thug from around the way [on ‘Eazy-Duz-It'].’” I chopped that up and pitched it. We had that idea for a few days until, right before the New Year, Game hit me saying, “I've been working with Hit-Boy. I got these records. I want to put 'em with the records me and you did.” We hit up Chalice [Recording Studio] with Hit and recorded a few things. At the end of the session, Game said, “Ye’s going to be here tomorrow, so get some stuff ready.”

Game will casually say, “Oh, OBJ over there.” I walked in one day, and Tracy McGrady was there. The next day, there was this moment when I saw the door swing open, and the room got quiet; I turned around, and it was Ye (laughs). We play him “Eazy,” he looks at Hit and says, “Yo, I need this. Who did this?” Hit tells him, “Oh, Duke did this joint.” They pulled the session up, and Ye started cutting to it. He finished it, and we had that version of the song for about four days. On the fifth day, Ye told us, “We should change a few things.” He said, “This feels like Dark Twisted Fantasy.” He added his Ye genius to it. That was a great couple of weeks because we were at the studio for maybe two weeks. When he came, that turned it into a movie every day with paparazzi outside the gate (laughs).

What’s the most impressive thing you’ve seen done?

Hi-Tek is one of my good friends and mentors. He produced this record for Kid Cudi and Chip Tha Ripper called “GloryUs.” Listen to what the sample is doing in that song. I watched him physically do that on the vinyl. The sample keeps running back to that one part, but he was doing that like he was scratching the vinyl. It was crazy. I also saw Game do the Eminem diss record in about 10 minutes, bro (laughs).

What’s your best talent in a session?

I remember Hit-Boy told me my superpower was the fact I make sure the room is good. The room is a stage. The room is a stage for greatness to happen. If you make sure the room is right, you'll usually get the best results out of that room because everybody is kinda there for the cause. I get everyone on one accord. I’m like the room producer; I get the room right. I put us all in the same vibe and energy to make music. It all feels cohesive. I’m kinda like a DJ in that aspect.

You dropped your new project, LoFiDuke Vol. 1. Lo-Fi doesn’t seem like your genre. How did it all come together?

I really wanted to drop my own thing. I've been wanting to drop instrumental albums, and I've been talking about 'em for years. I just woke up one day and committed to seeing this through. I already kinda had some of the music I wanted to use for it. I started cultivating and putting that together. Then, I decided to turn it into a series. I’m working on Vol. 2 right now.

Is this a lane you’re going to go down fully? Are you going to produce Lo-Fi beats for other artists?

I would produce Lo-Fi. It's funny because I got the original version of the “Eazy” beat on my Lo-Fi project. That was originally a Lo-Fi beat. I just make what I like.

What do you have coming for the rest of 2024?

We got Symba’s album. We got Xzibit’s album. I have some other stuff in the works with some of y'all favorite legends that I can't announce yet because they haven't announced anything. I also have a project I produced that has artists on it, so I don't know if that'll be slated for this year or top of next year. I’m tightening up these albums, working on more sync stuff, and doing a lot more work with NBA 2K coming up in the future, as well. I’m tapping in with the community and making sure this music is where it should be.

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