In the digital era, it doesn't take much to be a “hip-hop producer”, or even put out a hip-hop record. If you can buy a computer, you are 90% there. But once upon a time, you needed equipment, records, record players, and most importantly (well, second to talent): knowledge.

Thes might be short for thesaurus, but Thes One is more of an encyclopedia. Growing up between the bookends of legendary LA hip-hop station, KDAY, and the Good Life/Unity era, Thes came to age through a spectrum of what we now look at as the golden years of hip-hop. And he was paying attention.

Thes learned to be fresh the old fashioned way: He dug, he sacrificed, and he listened. He was the cat that bought every tape that came out. He needed to know the original sample for every song. Before he got an MPC 3000, he was doing 8 second loops on his mixer (which he still uses). He perfected the four-track. The foundation for his knowledge was built from the ground up. No web sites to find out what Pete Rock sampled. No tricks to hide behind. In the era of the Large Pros, Primos, and Marley Marls, there was only one path to march to be funky, and Thes was on it.

The pay off of Thes's dedication drips from the wax that his hands have touched. Of course he is known for the classics that him and Double K poured out as People Under The Stairs (“S.F. Knights”, “Live At the Fishbucket”, “Youth Explosion”, “Blowin Wax”, “Acid Rain Drops”, “Out Da Club”), but his beat-making abilities and dedication to analog recordings have helped create classic releases for acts like Ugly Duckling, Dr. Oop, Jigmastas, Mission: (Crown City Rockers), Raw Produce, Starving Artist Crew, and Giant Panda.

In 2007 Thes released his first solo instrumental album entitled Lifestyle Marketing. A complete hiphop overhaul of Herb Philofer’s commercial jingles from his Music That Works volumes, Lifestyle Marketing pushes the boundaries of sample based production. Lifestyle received acclaim from critics all over the world (Vibemagazine.com/Okayplayer.com).

So, as a lot of new jacks just load up programs and download breaks off the net, Thes is still getting dirty. He is still patching in old gear to his ever-improving setup to capture the analog warmth that make songs classic. And as his releases with TRES will prove, he is still making that good time hip-hop that is light-years ahead.