For the past six years, Georgia-based producer, and songwriter, Turbo has been playing a significant role in cultivating the sound of Atlanta's dominant rap scene. After multiple GRAMMY nominations and numerous platinum and diamond (yes, DIAMOND) records, the super-producer's quest for reinvention never ends. When we catch him for an exclusive EARMILK interview, the College Park native is enjoying a well-deserved break for the holiday weekend. He already caught fire early into 2024 with three tracks on Gunna's One of Wun album and Roddy Ricch's comeback single, "Survivor's Remorse." Halfway into the year and Turbo's just warming up.
His latest release is "Tiffany", a triumphantly smooth track with PG County native IDK. The song marks their first collaboration together, which Turbo says started from them meeting in the studio.
"I first met IDK recently in the studio. We working on [Roddy Ricch's] album… I had always knew who he was, but I didn't know him personally… We was talking about all this stuff and we just grew like a friendship really." Natural chemistry is one thing that remains consistently present in all of his work, explaining the natural symmetry that he finds with artists of all facets.
"If it makes sense and the artists are there, they start recording… it always just flourishes when those elements come into play and it's not a real, [forced] industry type of thing," Turbo explains. "When everybody's friends, when everybody has the same morals and goals… it just happens."
Same formula applies to Moneybagg Yo's new collaboration with Morgan Wallen, "WHISKEY WHISKEY." While country and rap crossovers are surging in popularity, much of the groundwork for both genres to mesh together is still uncharted. But for someone with deep Southern roots like Turbo, the opportunity to produce the track is a result of divine timing. While frequently commuting from Atlanta to Nashville, he met with Moneybagg in the studio, where he first heard the track's raw vocals. Upon the first listen, Turbo knew the Tennessee-bred artists had something, and it wasn't long until he was able to starting piecing the track together.
"I just literally sat down and it started pouring out of me. We just started making the music around the hook. I don't even think they had their verses at this point… Sometimes, that's the easiest way to do it because you get a feel for where they're trying to go as opposed to them trying to match whatever beat they have." – Turbo
The country-rap lane is one that won't be of much surprise to see the producer dive further into. Turbo also mentions that he's been in talks with rising star Shaboozey about working on music in the future. But if it's up to him, an entire collaborative country-rap with the DMV singer could one day be the light of day.
Alongside that possibility are some potential collaborations with upcoming Chicago singer/songwriter Jean Deaux. When speaking of them working together, the "Drip Too Hard" hitmaker speaks highly of her dual-threat abilities as a singer and rapper.
"Her voice when the tone gets going is like something that's not happening right now and it's going to go through the roof," Turbo says. "I love the rap shit too. I went her sold-out show in LA and I seen everyone reacting to her rapping and how she loves to sit up there and rap."
One thing that he also credits to his constant inspiration is his willingness to explore other cultural scenes and work with artists around the world. Having made tracks like Gunna's "Out the Hood," the producer is no stranger to discovering foreign sounds to deliver something new. So when it's time, fans can expect a ton of surprises as Turbo confirms he's currently working on his first full-length album. Something that he says he looks forward to, as a chance to showcase his catalogue and creativity.
"It's at a time where producers can release their own albums. I have so much music in the vault… I feel like it provides the opportunity for the world to hear stuff we hear all the time. Or really experiment and create a new sound or genre, that's what my album will be about."
