produce, create, mix and remix

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

A: I learned some instruments early on, guitar, trumpet and piano but I was very young and never quite felt like I loved any of them enough to pursue them further. But later in my teen years I got some wicked cheap computer software and found some work around in some other programs and taught myself how to loop and sample and from then on I've always been interested in the entire production process of digital music, chopping, looping and layering. I worked on sample based hip hop for nearly a decade along with making remixes and mashups which helped me hone in on my skills in arrangement and mixing and mastering. But around the same time I was looking into how to commercially release music and figuring it would be too expensive to clear most of the types of samples I usually used so I transitioned into more original work; that's when I got 2 cease and desist orders from UMG. I had tons of songs and videos on SoundCloud and YouTube many which were mashups and remixes and alternate versions of existing popular songs amassing millions of views and plays on both platforms. About a week before Kanye's album Yeezus dropped I got an email from Universal stating I must immediately delete any and all music containing anything from Kanye West in any way or else all my accounts would be closed for a minimum of 6 months and I may be fined and all that other B. S. that goes along with lawyers lol. I guess they wanted all search results at the time of his album release to be relative to his album. So needless to say I ventured further and further away from sampling for quite a while. I still love to do it and dig for loops and make beats based off of snippets I find but strictly for hobby. Although since discovering Tracklib I love their streamlined approach to approved sampling so more sample based stuff is definitely in the works. As it seemed for a long time my career path was mostly sample based hip hop but more recently has been more original work. I like to find artists I can work with from beginning to end and make the dream a reality to get our visions aligned and produce an entire album together which we can both be proud of. Seeing a full project through to fruition is one of my favorite parts of music with a final product to be proud of and to share with the world.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I would say super structured straight up boom bap hip hop in my opinion but I feel it's left up to interpretation by the listeners. I've had some pretty far out there remarks on a particular sound of a song in the past that totally differed on the completely opposite end of the spectrum on style and genre from what I felt it sounded like. So to each their own lol.

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

A: Trent Reznor, Hendrik Gideonse, Czarface, Wu-Tang, Apathy, JMT and AOTP, Rick Rubin

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

A: The album Our Voice is a Weapon by Vincent Tesoro and myself released in 2019. I produced the whole album. Loud House Audio recorded all the vocals and mix and mastered the entire thing and even added some live instrumentation to the album for us. It was one of the biggest projects I have done to date. We were able to get some of my all time favorite lyricists on it along with some local big names mixed with some local newcomers as well. It was a great experience to go through the entire process and I am happy with the finished project.

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

A: I found DJ Pain 1 on here so far and I'm sure there's others.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Dirty deep dark grimey local underground east coast hip hop

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Always work with the best possible sound files when sharing and sending stems and uploading to your distributors. Save everyone involved a ton of time and aggravation that will give you the most flexibility during the whole recording and production process with the best sound quality possible in the end result.

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

A: hip hop

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: originality while staying in my lane but have the ability to step out into the rest of the worlds genres or overlap and blend in any way necessary for the desired outcome with the best possible sound quality

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

A: Produce, layout, arrange, mix and remix. Give advice and network and create connections and relationships in and around all of my music related contacts and local and internet community.