Hip Hop Songwriter

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

A: Honestly, I'm proud of every single project I work on where the customer is satisfied with the end result.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I just recently completed a cover song of a more famous artist. The client simply wanted me to re-record the song and get as close to the original artist's vocal performance as possible. I think I did a pretty good job on that one.

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

A: Not at the moment

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital, simply because it's easier for me to understand.

Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

A: My promise to my clients is 100% satisfaction with every single job they hire me to do. If there's anything they aren't satisfied with (which is rare) I continue to give that job my full undivided attention until that customer is happy with the end product.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The thing I like most about my job is being able to make an income doing what I love to do. This is what most people dream of and I'm actually living it.

Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A: The most common question I get from customers is simply "Can you write a rap song like this (insert any famous rapper's song)....?" and of course my answer is almost always "Absolutely"

Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

A: I think the biggest misconception about what I do is when a customer expects you to deliver that same type of quality performance that you normally deliver but in a totally different genre. I stick with what I know for a reason and I try not to venture too far from that. I believe a true professional knows what they're good at and what they're not good at.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: My main question to my clients is what is their vision or what would they like me to write about?

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

A: My advice would be to be clear what exactly you're looking for from the artist. Many times I would ask a client what they want me to write about and they say "I don't care, just write anything." I don't mind it too much because I'm still going to give you quality. However, it makes my job a little easier when you have a clear direction you want me to take. Here's an example: Picture yourself going to a restaurant and when they ask you what you would like, you tell them, "I don't care, just bring me anything." LOL

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

A: So I'm assuming we're talking studio gear & if that's the case... 1. Laptop 2. Aston Condenser Mic 3. Audient EVO Interface 4. 1 TB hard drive 5.

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

A: I started writing and recording music in the spring of 2001 and I've been going ever since. I've had breaks here and there, where I wouldn't do anything musically for a brief period. Yet it always pulls me back in somehow.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I would describe my style as soulful yet rigid. My musical side is influenced mostly from my church background, being exposed to gospel early on. The gutter is more of my lyrical side. This speaks more to the influences I had in hip hop and how they delivered their points of view. So as an artist, I would like to say I'm a Soulful Assassin.

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

A: Instead of other artists, for me it would be more so a list of producers who I would love to lock in the studio with. 1. 9th Wonder 2. Jake One 3. MXXWLL 4. Decap 5. Skripture 6. Terrace Martin just to name a few...

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

A: My bread and butter is Hip Hop. I try not to stray to far away from that, yet I'm always open to try something new.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I believe my strongest skill is my lyricism. However melodies seem to come to me like second nature as well. 4 bar hooks are like taking candy from a baby. (Not that I would ever actually take that baby's candy, LOL)

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: When I approach a song, my aim is to approach it in a way that's never been done before. One of my pet peeves is when something feels cookie cutter, like a fad that everyone else is doing. It shows lack of originality and laziness. I want to avoid that at all costs, so originality is exteremely important to me.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: One tip I can offer is memorize your lyrics before you go to record (especially if you're paying for studio time). When you are reading lyrics off of your phone or a sheet of paper, you're more focused on just getting through the verse without making a mistake. That truly affects how you deliver your message. However, when you have the lyrics memorized and you can recite them without any errors, now you can begin adding more emphasis and emotion to your words. This will enhance not only your performance but will also make you look way more professional to others. Trust me!

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: In my process I begin with the end in mind. What do I want to say or what feeling do I want to invoke? It all starts with the emotion. Once I know that part, the rest becomes easier. All I have to do now is find the words to match that emotion. That's the fun part. I've been doing this for a long time so now writing feels like second nature.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I do most of my recording in my home studio. It's a pretty basic setup: laptop, usb interface, a portable vocal booth & condenser mic. The DAW that I'm most familiar with at the moment to record vocal performance is Studio One. My microphone is an "Aston: Origin". My interface is the "Audient EVO 4". Just goes to show you don't need much to get a quality sound.

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

A: First off, Stevie Wonder is a musical God to me. In my opinion he is the greatest artist/musician that has ever lived. Aside from him, I grew up listening to all types of music. I was mostly exposed to gospel early in life. Fred Hammond & Walter Hawkins are probably my 2 favorites. When it comes to hip hop, I was inspired by artist such as Jay-Z, Eminem, Jadakiss, Kanye West, Nas, Busta Rhymes, Royce da 5'9, etc. So essentially, anyone who's ever created dope music on a grand scale has inspired me to create at least once in my lifetime.

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

A: The most common type of work I do for my clients is writing lyrics for an instrumental that they provide. They have a song idea and they're looking for me to find the words to bring that idea to life. I also recently just did a cover song of a more famous artist. That was fun!