We caught up with Peter Wadams, better known as P-Money, on the release day of his latest release ‘Gratitude’. Looking commercial success directly in the eye, the album claimed the number one spot on iTunes within hours of its release. With a history of albums going platinum, it’s no surprise P’s latest work has taken residency on the charts. The producer was drawn to the decks as a teenager by a love of EDM and beatmaking, with a burning passion and an ear for stellar tunes. The present day sees him team up with Duck Down music to orchestrate a badass 15-track triumph, armed with the vocals of Talib Kweli, Aaradhna, Roc Marciano and Havoc from Mobb Deep.

Congratulations on the release of Gratitude, how are you feeling about the commercial response?

I’m great. It’s evening here in New York City, and I’m very happy with the commercial response for Gratitude. It’s quite a surprise. It really is a nice thing that people are supporting, buying the album. I didn’t even really think about whether it was going to land the charts – I was always hoping for the best and it’s also crazy how quick the results come in.

What was it like having artists like Talib Kweli, Freddie Gibbs, Aaradhna on board?

It was real cool, an honor, to work with them. Some of these people are total legends in my eyes so it was great to collaborate. Each one that we contacted were very willing to get involved, drop a verse or record a whole song. I’m really happy with the results. People like Talib and MLT getting on board were big stars even when I was coming up, so I still look at them with the same level of reverence and extra respect. They’re down-to-earth dudes who are really great at what they do.

If you could collaborate with anyone, who would be the top three in mind?

Well I really want to work with Kanye, I think he’s a genius, I’d like to work with Jay-Z because he’s a legend and that would be the dopest thing, to have him featured on my album. And then maybe even Drake. I’d like to do more R ‘n’ B.

You produce a wide array of beats, from EDM to hip-hop. How would you describe your current work?

Well this new album – the entire thing is pretty much a hip-hop record all the way through. I keep everything within that framework. A few years back, the last album I did tried to cover a lot of different genres. That was how I was feeling though – I wanted to do an album that featured heaps of different styles. This time around I thought, let me get back to what I’m best at and do a rap album. Turned out good, and I’m stoked to be releasing and sharing it.

What was the transition to the Big Apple like for you? Being in the centre of hip-hop culture, has it inspired or influenced your work?

I love it. It’s cool being in New York. It’s a very exciting city. There’s always stuff to do.There’s a lot going on – a lot of shows, music and events. It still feels like a musical hub, a place where the industry is active and it’s a big change from home. It’s very slow in Auckland and there’s not much going on.

It always has inspired my work. I’ve always had an affinity for the city and the music that comes out of here. I guess that’s part of the reason why I’m here. I’ve always had interest in NYC. Visited plenty of times over the past 10 years and now I’ve been here for 12 months and I love it.

When did you discover your passion for music?

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always tried collecting records. Got myself a turntable, tried out DJing, collected bits and pieces of recording equipment, and taught myself how to make beats. It’s a gift, or maybe you’d call it a hobby. But after I got out of school I wanted to turn it into a career. This here is what I want to do. When I made that decision I didn’t really turn back and I’ve been at it for years now.

Tell us a bit about Dirty Records?

Wow. 2001 I think it was, or thereabouts. I met a bunch of guys who had a little EDM label, a friend of mine introduced me to these dudes and told me, ‘Maybe you should work with them, get a track out.’ But they thought, we don’t really know anything about rap. Don’t worry about that though – you guys have the infrastructure you guys know how to put an album out to the world. Just let me create this thing and I’ll do the promotion, put a different label on it. So we did just that: we put a label on it and called it Dirty Records. It took that chance on me so I thought cool, let’s put a name to it, get it to stand alone and if it goes well, that’s good. If not, no hard feelings. It went well, it was a sold album in six months over there in NZ. Then artists like Scribe jumped on not long after. It was all just about having fun making music way back then.

Who were your biggest influences as an artist?

A lot of people back home in New Zealand early on were my biggest influences, people like DLT, people who were out doing stuff that inspired me as a young artist. I saw the things they were doing, and what they achieved I looked at as motivation. I give a lot of credit to those guys for motivating me and providing some sort of example to make it real. They gave me the insight that yes, normal people can do this. Anyone can do it – it’s just hard work and dedication. There’s definitely no substitute for hard work.

What was the most pivotal point in your career?

There’s so many… but a real big one that changed my life was the whole Scribe debut album, The Crusader. It was a really big, popular album in NZ and I produced the whole thing, put it out on my label. That record went four-times platinum, was number one for months on end and we won all these awards. It was a really exciting time and a huge achievement for such young guys at the time, who just did what we wanted to do and didn’t really think much of what follows. With that came so many opportunities, opened up many

doors, we made some money and paved the way for the future. So I’d say that pinnacle was a big transition for me in my life.

On the contrary, is there anything you regret or would go back and change?

I probably would’ve recorded more frequently, from 2004 – 2010. I should’ve released a lot more. I worked on a lot of artists though – there’s really no regrets as I’m happy with how things turned out and where I am now. Can’t really complain.

So what have you got planned for this year?

More recording – lots more recording. I’ve got a tour coming up as well. I’m on the road in June coming down to Ozz, and I’ll be performing with David Dallas, a friend of mine. More tours, then back in the studio making more music, trying to keep the ball rolling and not let the buzz die down.

Any upcoming collaborations?

There’s a guy named Buckshot, he’s featured on my album. We’re producing more material together, there’s also my good friend David Dallas, him and I are planning to get into the studio after the tour to do more work as well. Also, the very talented Aaradhna. She just got signed to Universal Music so we’re linking again too. There’s tonnes of stuff – this year is definitely looking epic.

I’m really happy with the results especially with Gratitude, so now it’s time to just keep on moving and keep this up.

P-Money’s Gratitude is out now.

Gratitude tour, with special guest David Dallas

More info here.

Thursday 6th June – Villa Nightclub – Perth
Friday 7th June – The Espy – Melbourne
Saturday 8th June – The Basement – Sydney
Sunday 9th June – Alhambra Lounge – Brisbane
Friday 14th June – James Cabaret – Wellington
Saturday 15th June – Powerstation – Auckland
Friday 21st June – The Bedford – Christchurch