Sinitus Tempo, graduate of Northwestern High School in Prince George’s County, is one of the few producers who can make magic with oldies samples. Born March 1st, 1989 as Nathan Peters, this DMV native and hip-hop producer is hardly an amateur. Tempo has been creating musical masterpieces for local and non-local hip-hop acts for nearly six years. Some of his prestigious accomplishments to date include being featured in the 2010 Edition of URB Magazine’s Next 1000 and participating in a producer showcase held in Philadelphia that was judged by illmind, Mike from HipHopdx.com and the head of Artists & Repertoire (A&R) from Island Def Jam, Lenny S. Locally, Sinitus Tempo helped with the origination of the DMV’s ever growing and highly popular “Beat Clash” producer battle.

Currently, he is collaborating with Toney Nightmare and Doc Battle to create the only producer’s open mic showcase in D.C. With his uncanny ability to create music, being aligned with Public Relations Specialist Sasha Vann and Managers A.B. the Producer and Ricky Parker, one thing is for sure; Nathan ‘Sinitus Tempo’ Peters will become a musical force to reckon with in the near future. After hearing his latest project, Obii Say’s “Product of People,” I was determined to interview Sinitus Tempo. Once I had the opportunity to speak with him, here are some of the things he had to say:

DMV Unplugged: Where did the name Sinitus Tempo come from?

Sinitus Tempo: The name Sinitus Originated from the name Rhampsinitus which was corrupted name for king amesses the third, the second pharaoh of the twentieth dynasty. The ancient Greeks knew him as Rhampsinitus which was a corrupted version of his favored name Ra-messu-pa-neter. I chose the ending Tempo cause of my skill to manipulate the tempo, pitch, and complete sound of a sample or instrument all together. Tempo just was the obvious choice in sounding good. The Tempo is a key factor in creating unique and precise beats. So in conclusion Sinitus: king Tempo: beat making.

DMV Unplugged: When did you first start producing music?

ST: I first started about six years ago. I think it might have been the middle or end of the 10th grade year in high school I started producing along with my friend Doc Battle we formed a group but still did are own separate production.

DMV Unplugged: What or who influenced you to start making beats?

ST: Well my brother always had me listening to underground hiphop and all that good 90′s music growing up so I always loved it and loved beats. We somewhat started to grow apart but he was always into doing music. He used to write, so to bring us closer as family I started making beats. I used to loop a lot until I heard 9th Wonder and Krysis. That’s when I knew that you could do a lot more with production then just looping and adding drums.

DMV Unplugged: Who in the music industry, past or present, influence you the most?

ST: 9th wonder, illmind, Madlib, oh no, MF Doom, Kanye West, Just Blaze, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, Barry White, Van McCoy, Tim Weisburg … Oh! How could I forget, J-Dilla (RIP) those for the most part are the producers I’ll be shorter with the artists, MF Doom, Little Brother, Lady Gaga, Wu-Tang, too many to name. The list goes on and on.

DMV Unplugged: Who are some artists you have worked with and who are some artists or producers you would like to collaborate with in the future?

ST: I have worked with Obii Say, A.B. the Producer, Nike Nando, Doc Battle, Lola Maxwell, RA the MC, M1 Platoon, 7even:thirty (Mississippi), Money First (New Jersey), Judah or Greenjade (UK), Twixx (Netherlands) Cayan, Benjie, Toney Nightmare … to be for real it’s been over 50 different artists already. I would like to work with Ludacris, Justus League (9th Wonders Artists), Kooley High, Common, Talib Kweli, Lady Gaga, Anjulie, Little Brother, Strong Arm Steady, everyone on duckdown records, MF Doom, MF Ggrimm, the list is endless.

DMV Unplugged: What’s your most recent project that you have done and what do you have lined up in the near future?

ST: The last project I put out was “Product of People” with Obii Say and I have a Duck Down Records EP that I have to release….right now I’m working on Obii Say’s next project with Doc Battle which will be a double-disk concept LP. One side is completely produced by Doc and the other completely produced by me; one touching on serious subjects and life and the other touching on everything and anything else kind of like a night and day sort of thing…. Then I have Symphonic Mind Sin-drome which is my new project dropping 3/1/09 and is probably one of my most artistic and different projects to date. I’ve had a lot of projects.

DMV Unplugged: With the success of DMV natives Wale (Hip-Hop artist) and Best Kept Secret (Hip-Hop producers), who do you feel will breakthrough next as the DMV’s successful artist/producer combo?

ST: Of course I would say Obii Say and myself. (laughs) I haven’t really seen anyone else as a combo yet. I’ve seen a lot of dope producers and a lot of dope artists….actually other than myself and Obii Say I would have to say A.B and X.O – Monumental was a dope album and they have a lot of chemistry. That’s what I feel is the main ingredient you need to be successful in collaborative efforts like that. Well I will also have to say Nando and Prehistoric and Base Heads and Trel….also Diamond District.

DMV Unplugged: Where do you see the future of DMV music?

ST: Honestly people know I keep it 100 and say what I truly believe. I feel good music shines regardless of where you’re from. As for the whole DMV thing, I’m not too sure but I definitely know a good amount of the artists and producers from this area will be going somewhere; whether it be a major underground icon like Kev Brown or a major mainstream icon like Wale and BKS (Best Kept Secret). I mean it’s good to see artists and producers from this area get where they want to be, but know that I’m not relying on the whole DMV thing to get me anywhere. So as for the DMV I can’t say or even see where it will be. But as for some artists and producers here, I know they will go far.

With a host of future endeavors and a style of his own, Sinitus Tempo is a future star just waiting to shine. It seems the sky is the limit for this DMV future super-producer and with more time and recognition, his big day is bound to come. You can hear 15 tracks produced by Sinitus just by downloading the Obii Say, Sinitus Tempo “Product of People” mixtape which is featured here on DMV Unplugged.