Rob Knox (Robin Tadross) is a buzz worthy music producer out of Los Angeles. He is the creative genius behind some the industry’s recent hits. His resume includes working with Britney Spears on the highly anticipated “Circus” album on the track “Mannequin”. He has also worked with T.I. on the “Paper Trails” album and Chris Brown on the “Exclusive” album. Rob Knox comes from an Egyptian background that has allotted him the opportunity to learn about different sounds beyond the “Americanized” sound of music. He is blazing up the music charts and building a reputation as being a hit maker. Through his accomplishments, Rob Knox remains humble and focused on his craft.  Crunk Magazine had the opportunity to chop it up with the hit maker and see what Rob Knox is all about. 

CRUNK:  What type of sound do you have? 
R:  Mainly on all my records you hear heavy hitting drums. I have different styles of rhythm and the drums hit pretty hard. I don’t consider myself as having a sound yet; it takes a while before you can say that you have a “sound”, I think. 

CRUNK: Does your Egyptian background heavily influence your music?
R: It has a major influence; the biggest part of that is my percussion game. When I was young I learned to play the tablas, which are an Arabic instrument (little drums) and I learned the different melodies in the Arabic scale. It's kind of embedded in me through my parents. All they listened to is Egyptian music; they don’t know who Stevie Wonder or Donnie Hathaway is. I grew up in a totally different culture, so my background definitely has an affect on my music.

CRUNK: I read that you used to produce for Underdog Entertainment. Is that where you got your start?
R: Yes, I was with them for a few years. It was a good place for me to be to learn my core production, etc. I definitely learned a lot. 

CRUNK: Do you have you own company now? Or are you just doing your thing independently?
R: Pretty much yeah. I have a partner named James Fauntleroy (a songwriter, incredible talent), Justin Timberlake and myself; we are all partners. We have a lil clique called the Y’s. 

CRUNK: How long have you guys been partners?
R: James and I were together with Underdog for a few years, which is how we met. He’s a big part of my sound; we have this chemistry that we built on. We would always talk about starting something, so we just kind of let it develop on its own -- let God’s magic work. As his career was building up, my career was building up and we started working with Justin. 

CRUNK: You worked on Britney Spear’s “Comeback” album and this album has been highly anticipated.  What was the vibe you were going for with the track Mannequin? 
R: When we create, we really don’t go for a certain vibe; we go with what we hear. We just kind of go with what we feel at that moment regardless of who we’re writing for. It wasn’t a vibe we were really going for on the “Mannequin” track. I just knew that I wanted to do something really quirky and fun, James was hearing what Britney was talking about and what she was going through and we just did the record. 

CRUNK: Other producers have taken that crossover plunge to become music artists as well as producers. Do you have any future plans on dabbling into that side of the industry?
R: Performing as an artist?  Never (laughs). I will be strictly producing my whole life. God did not give that ability (to perform), it is not my thing. I will stay in my lane and stick to producing. 

CRUNK: Where can people find out more info about you?
R: I have a MySpace page. www.myspace.com/higherdecibelmusic

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