You’ve been listening to Alex da Kid‘s music for years without even knowing it. The 34-year-old British music producer has collaborated with Nicki Minaj, Dr. Dre, Eminem, and so many more iconic artists. He’s produced songs you know all the words to and blast every time they come on the radio, such as “Airplanes”, “Love The Way You Lie”, and “Radioactive.”

Alex da Kid sat down with us and admitted that hearing his music on the radio for the  first time was “super surreal.” Almost a decade later, the producer is still creating  amazing songs. “I love the journey. Pretty much all the songs I produce start with me making the music,” he revealed, explaining why he still loves his work. “When you go from having an idea at 4 o’clock in the morning to seeing somebody perform at Staples [center] or Madison Square Garden and seeing all the people, the employees…it becomes this massive journey. When you look back, it’s very cool.”

Alex da Kid is stepping out from the producer’s booth and into the spotlight with his first single “Not Easy.” He collaborated with some heavyweight talent for the bittersweet song. X Ambassadors, Elle King, and Wiz Khalifa are all featured on the track. There’s another special guest featured on “Not Easy”, as well. Alex da Kid revealed that he collaborated with IBM Watson.

“I’m a huge nerd. I love technology.” Alex da Kid told us about his time working with Watson. “My creative process starts with a conversation and when I understood what Watson could do, I kind of take that conversation and that understanding of how people talk to each other and do that on a massive scale.”

Alex da Kid asked Watson about trends in both music and culture over the last 5 years. After looking at the data of what, exactly, constitutes a hit, they created “Not Easy.”