Producer & Song/Topline Writer

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

A: One project that I am especially proud of was an album I worked on with a good friend of mine. We both were credited as writers while I handled all of the production. Some of the most fun I've ever had making music.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I am currently working on a large sample pack for producers to make beats with.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: If we're referring to computers then I prefer digital because they seem to have a higher performance rate.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I like that it fulfills my passion for music while also being able to help others get inspired to create music for themselves.

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

A: A surprisingly large amount of my customers have been inquiring about whether I can write/produce R&B music. The answer to both questions is yes.

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

A: One big misconception is that it's easy to become a producer. Producing takes a lot of practice and can take years to fully master, so please never take a good producer's work for granted.

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

A: My best advice is to not limit me to a specific genre. I may specialize in boombap and trap but I'm open to making music for in any genre in hip hop and R&B.

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

A: I originally worked in logistics/transportation. I have been making music for over 10 years now.

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

A: My laptop, microphone, interface, speaker, and my headphones.

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

A: I would love to work with Kendrick Lamar because he is such a gifted lyricist. I feel like on the production side I could really bring value to him.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Never be afraid to try something new. Even if whatever you try doesn't sound the best for what you are currently working on it may be a valuable tool for your next project. This way you are always continuing to grow musically.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My studio setup is pretty basic but it gets the job done. I have my laptop setup on my desk with a quality microphone for recording.

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

A: Producers such as Kanye West, 9th Wonder, Hit-Boy, RZA, and DJ Premier all inspire me when it comes to making beats. They are some of the top producers I have studied when it comes to my own style of production.

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

A: Other than myself, I don't know anyone else personally who works on Soundbetter.

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

A: My promise to my clients is that I will always complete projects within a timely fashion. If something occurs to where there will be a delay then I promise to communicate that ahead of time.

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

A: So far the most common type of work I do with clients is ghostwriting. The client will typically give me an instrumental with a general direction of how they would like the song to go. I like to give the client an opportunity to tell me in detail everything they want out of the song; whether it be what kind of emotion is being portrayed or what kind of rhyme style is being used. I'm happy to let my imagination run wild and take direction of the song, but I think it's better to get as much information from the client as possible before the writing process begins just to make sure that we are both on the same page.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I ask clients to tell me a little bit about themselves (when they were born, where they are from, personality traits, how their environment helped shaped their mindset, top influences in their life, etc.) as well as what direction they are looking for in the songs they want written. The lyrics may come from me but it's the clients story that I'm telling. Because of this, I want to make sure that I tell it as accurately and thoroughly as possible.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Reminiscent of 90s Hip-Hop/Rap. I like a variety of different Hip-Hop/Rap music but this would be the style that I tend to fall back on when writing music for myself.

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

A: I usually work on Hip-Hop/Rap music but I also enjoy writing R&B/Soul songs as well (even though I can't sing myself).

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I would say that my attention to detail in my word choice is my strongest skill. Being descriptive to the point where it almost seems as though the listener is watching a movie as opposed to listening to a song has always been something that I pride myself on.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring extensive lyricism as well as strong emotion to a song. I want someone listening to truly understand where I'm coming from when I'm writing lyrics and being able to make the audience feel that emotion is very important.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I usually listen to an instrumental on repeat for a few hours and really let the beat sink in. Once I've completely zoned into the beat, I start drafting out ideas for what the topic should be. Once I've picked the topic, I write down some notes about the topic and then proceed to put them into a lyrical format. Depending on the instrumental, I may find myself writing the chorus first as a summary and then write the verses as a more descriptive version of the chorus.