Hip Hop Music Producer

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

A: Most of my production work involves helping Hip Hop artists take an idea, demo, lyrics, vocals, or reference tracks and turn them into a complete custom record. Sometimes an artist already has the foundation and needs me to develop it; other times we're starting from scratch. I also mix and master, so I can stay involved from the initial production through the finished song.

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

A: Metro Boomin, Kanye West, Dr. Dre, Decap, San Holo, Smashing Pumpkins, blink-182.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love being able to take an artist's vision, bring it to life, and enhance it. As an artist myself and as someone who does production for other artists, I know how sensitive one's art is. One of the greatest feelings in the world is when I'm seeing an artist smile or send a positive message after completing a project and making their song or album that was previously just a thought to something tangible that the world can experience.

Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A: As cliche as it is, the best advice I can give to my customers is to be consistent when it comes to making and releasing music. A lot of artists ask me how they can get more people to listen to their music, and I always tell them that the best place to start is by consistently finding different ways to engage with their existing audience whether it's by releasing new music on a regular basis, posting engaging content on social media, finding different local communities to be active in, and ideally, all the above.

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

A: I have been producing and engineering since 2013. I wanted to be a producer ever since I was in middle school, and I officially began my career during my sophomore year in high school. I taught myself how to make beats, and I recorded artists I went to school with in order to build my portfolio. As those artists began to get some local buzz, other local artists outside of my school started to reach out to me for engineering work. Initially, all I wanted to do was make beats, but surprisingly to myself, I also fell in love with recording, mixing, and mastering artists' music. I now offer production, mixing, and mastering to artists all across the world and specialize in Hip Hop, trap, and lofi influenced music.

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

A: If I could work with any big-name artists, the first two that come to mind are Kanye West and Billie Eilish. Kanye is one of my favorite artists/producers who pushes the sound and culture of Hip Hop like no other. Even though people have had mixed experiences with working with him, I would love to see first-hand what the creation process is for an album like "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" or "Donda." Billie Eilish and her brother and producer Finneas are also artists I'd love to at the very least learn from if not work with them directly. In terms of production, writing, and performance, I think "WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?" is one of the best albums to be released in the previous decade, and that's another project I wish I could witness the creation of first-hand.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: When an artist hires me to produce, record, and/or mix and master their project, I ask them what sound they're going for. Even if they are coming to me for my specific sound or input, I want to make sure that I have a strong understanding of their vision before I open a single plug-in. Especially for production work, I typically ask for reference tracks that have a similar sound that the artist is going for or that inspire them in general. After having a good understanding of what the artist is looking for, I will proceed to work on the project, and upon completion, make sure that my contributions meet the artist's needs.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love being able to take an artist's vision, bring it to life, and enhance it. As an artist myself and as someone who does production for other artists, I know how sensitive one's art is. One of the greatest feelings in the world is when I'm seeing an artist smile or send a positive message after completing a project and making their song or album that was previously just a thought to something tangible that the world can experience.

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

A: I have been producing and engineering since 2013. I wanted to be a producer ever since I was in middle school, and I officially began my career during my sophomore year in high school. I taught myself how to make beats, and I recorded artists I went to school with in order to build my portfolio. As those artists began to get some local buzz, other local artists outside of my school started to reach out to me for engineering work. Initially, all I wanted to do was make beats, but surprisingly to myself, I also fell in love with recording, mixing, and mastering artists' music. I now offer production, mixing, and mastering to artists all across the world and specialize in Hip Hop, trap, and lofi influenced music.

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

A: If I could work with any big-name artists, the first two that come to mind are Kanye West and Billie Eilish. Kanye is one of my favorite artists/producers who pushes the sound and culture of Hip Hop like no other. Even though people have had mixed experiences with working with him, I would love to see first-hand what the creation process is for an album like "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" or "Donda." Billie Eilish and her brother and producer Finneas are also artists I'd love to at the very least learn from if not work with them directly. In terms of production, writing, and performance, I think "WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?" is one of the best albums to be released in the previous decade, and that's another project I wish I could witness the creation of first-hand.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: When an artist hires me to produce, record, and/or mix and master their project, I ask them what sound they're going for. Even if they are coming to me for my specific sound or input, I want to make sure that I have a strong understanding of their vision before I open a single plug-in. Especially for production work, I typically ask for reference tracks that have a similar sound that the artist is going for or that inspire them in general. After having a good understanding of what the artist is looking for, I will proceed to work on the project, and upon completion, make sure that my contributions meet the artist's needs.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love being able to take an artist's vision, bring it to life, and enhance it. As an artist myself and as someone who does production for other artists, I know how sensitive one's art is. One of the greatest feelings in the world is when I'm seeing an artist smile or send a positive message after completing a project and making their song or album that was previously just a thought to something tangible that the world can experience.

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

A: If I could work with any big-name artists, the first two that come to mind are Kanye West and Billie Eilish. Kanye is one of my favorite artists/producers who pushes the sound and culture of Hip Hop like no other. Even though people have had mixed experiences with working with him, I would love to see first-hand what the creation process is for an album like "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" or "Donda." Billie Eilish and her brother and producer Finneas are also artists I'd love to at the very least learn from if not work with them directly. In terms of production, writing, and performance, I think "WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?" is one of the best albums to be released in the previous decade, and that's another project I wish I could witness the creation of first-hand.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: When an artist hires me to produce, record, and/or mix and master their project, I ask them what sound they're going for. Even if they are coming to me for my specific sound or input, I want to make sure that I have a strong understanding of their vision before I open a single plug-in. Especially for production work, I typically ask for reference tracks that have a similar sound that the artist is going for or that inspire them in general. After having a good understanding of what the artist is looking for, I will proceed to work on the project, and upon completion, make sure that my contributions meet the artist's needs.

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

A: If I could work with any big-name artists, the first two that come to mind are Kanye West and Billie Eilish. Kanye is one of my favorite artists/producers who pushes the sound and culture of Hip Hop like no other. Even though people have had mixed experiences with working with him, I would love to see first-hand what the creation process is for an album like "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" or "Donda." Billie Eilish and her brother and producer Finneas are also artists I'd love to at the very least learn from if not work with them directly. In terms of production, writing, and performance, I think "WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?" is one of the best albums to be released in the previous decade, and that's another project I wish I could witness the creation of first-hand.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: When an artist hires me to produce, record, and/or mix and master their project, I ask them what sound they're going for. Even if they are coming to me for my specific sound or input, I want to make sure that I have a strong understanding of their vision before I open a single plug-in. Especially for production work, I typically ask for reference tracks that have a similar sound that the artist is going for or that inspire them in general. After having a good understanding of what the artist is looking for, I will proceed to work on the project, and upon completion, make sure that my contributions meet the artist's needs.

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

A: If I could work with any big-name artists, the first two that come to mind are Kanye West and Billie Eilish. Kanye is one of my favorite artists/producers who pushes the sound and culture of Hip Hop like no other. Even though people have had mixed experiences with working with him, I would love to see first-hand what the creation process is for an album like "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" or "Donda." Billie Eilish and her brother and producer Finneas are also artists I'd love to at the very least learn from if not work with them directly. In terms of production, writing, and performance, I think "WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?" is one of the best albums to be released in the previous decade, and that's another project I wish I could witness the creation of first-hand.

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

A: I primarily work in Hip Hop and Trap, especially melodic Hip Hop, melodic trap, modern rap, and emotionally driven production. I also work with R&B and alternative/pop influences when they fit the artist's sound.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm working on singles for myself; some instrumental and some with lyrics. I wanted to start releasing music on a consistent basis and I am. I encourage other artists to do the same.

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

A: One of my favorite projects that I worked on was Spuddies by Buto. Buto was one of the first artists I've ever worked with, and during the time that we worked together, he pushed me to be the best producer, engineer, and artist that I could be; more than anyone else who I've ever worked with. One of the most important lessons I learned during the months that we spent working on that project was being open to different workflows, adapting to how the artist wants to work, and not being afraid to do make musical or mixing decisions that are "wrong" in your own mind if that's what the artist wants. Even though my production and mixing skills have far exceeded what was displayed on that project, it's still one of the favorite ones I've ever worked on.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital. I'm a young producer and I've done the majority of my work without analog gear. I mix entirely in the box, and I think it's way more convenient and affordable than analog gear.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What inspires you to create? What is your motivation for making music? What audience are you trying to reach? What do you need that will help take your music or career to a new level?

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

A: Mac, Universal Audio Apollo Twin, Rode NT1, electric guitar, Maschine.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Sample choice/sound selection is VERY important! Choosing poor quality sounds and samples will make it harder than it needs to be to get a good mix.