Music Prod. | Mixing/Mastering

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love hearing how an idea evolves into a fully mixed and mastered record. The process and the steps that it took from conception to completion amazes me. What's equally exciting is the challenge of bring what's in your head (or someone else's) to life AND potentially exceeding expectations!

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

A: Elan's World by Elan Suave. I was privileged with the opportunity to provide production for a couple of the tracks on the project. That kid's got talent!

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Continuing to build my catalog of beats and musical works, but I'm working on an EP with Nellz Supreme that has really stretched me in my mixing abilities. I love every opportunity to elevate my craft!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I'm not a purist in any sense. I love the sound that comes from analog gear, but there's no valid reason to be married to the idea of having only analog gear other than a sense of vanity. So...if you couldn't already tell...digital.

Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?

A: Pretty new to the platform. I'm sure I'll get to know people here soon!

Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

A: A decent pocket knife, braided rope, flint, satellite phone, and batteries. What? Was I supposed to talk music gear here? I was too busy trying to get off this desert island.

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: I started my journey in music when I was 14, messing around with loops in Fruity Loops and Audacity, then sharing my creations with friends. Then I picked up my first instrument (guitar) in 2010 at age 17. After 4 months of learning the instrument, I joined the worship team at my church where I picked up piano, bass, and drums. My drive to learn multiple instruments came from my desire to create and produce music. Now, despite other career options, music production has become my Plan A.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Colorful. I've had so many musical "phases" in my life; I was into Hip-Hop first, then R&B, then rock, EDM, Metalcore, Drum & Bass, Blues, and many others...all leading back to Hip-Hop. I still listen to a blend of different genres to this day. It all influenced the way I create, mix and master.

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: I'm not sure I have a dream artist I'd like to work with. I prefer to work with anyone with a talent and discipline to create and release music. If anything, it'd be my dream to have the talented artists I work with get major spotlight.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Don't get too caught up on rules. Do what sounds good.

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: I currently work with many independent artists that primarily do Hip-Hop and R&B. With that being said, most of the tracks I work on are a blend of live instrumentation and electronic production.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill is most likely my ability to adapt to new technologies. This paired with my abilities as a musician tends to give me an edge. When I'm working on any given track, I'm applying old techniques and new tricks to bring the freshest sound possible. Even so, at the end of the day what truly matters is that the end product sounds amazing!

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Before I start a mix, I listen to the demo. Before I start an instrumental, I listen to the artist. My primary goal is to convey the feelings, emotions, and message of the artist I'm collaborating or working with in the best possible light. When the song is done, the consensus should be mutual: the world has to hear this.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: As a believer of doing things with purpose (and on purpose), I start with getting a feel for each client's musical goals. It helps me get a better understanding of what they need vs what they're asking for. At this point, we can figure out what their project needs are, a timeline of when they need it by, if they need additional services like clean and radio edits, etc. This ensures that the client gets everything that they want AND need the first time.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I do most of my work in the box. So everything I do runs simply through my Macbook Pro. Just to talk specifics in gear, my toolbox includes: Sennheiser HD280s, Yamaha MTMH7s, Yahama HS8s, an M-Audio Axiom 61, a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4, a Blue Bluebird, and tons of plugins by Native Instruments, Spectrasonics, Waves, IzoTope, and more.

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

A: I keep up with musicians, producers and engineers of many genres. Considering the fact that I work with mostly hip-hop artists on the engineering side, I've been inspired by the likes of Mike Dean, Alex Tumay, MixedByAli, and Kesha Lee, among others.

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: I mostly do mixing jobs for most of my client, who are often customers to my beatstore on kaylivmusic.com. Typically, I am required to do a heavy amount of editing considering the fact that most of the projects I handle aren't recorded in a professional setting, and may require a bit of audio repair, vocal tuning and quantization. At this point, I'm able to do a lot with a little because that's that job!