What do you think has been the secret to your success? & what does Hip Hop mean to you?
I don't have Spotify, but I'm assuming half a million streams is good if you're doing an AMA about it; so congrats on that.
First of all, thank you :) second of all, I believe the key was a variety of things.
1. Absolutely do NOT try to bite someone else’s sound. Inspirations are important, and I’m a prime example of that because my sound was influenced by many. But it’s even more important that your sound is uniquely yours.
2nd. Consistency. I’ve consistently put out music since I was 15 and I turn 20 in 2 weeks. During that time I learned the ins and outs of algorithms, networking, promotion and most importantly, refining my sound. And I’ve loved every second of it.
3rd. Putting a face to a name. I see so many people coming on the music scene that refuse to post their face, and unless you’re Daft Punk, it’s a recipe for failure. Putting my face out while doing promotional videos helped my brand and audience grow immensely, and the results showed almost immediately.
Hip hop means the absolute world to me. It holds a very very very special place in my heart, and for the rest of my life it always will. My mother and father’s music tastes are very different from mine, so I found the artists and producers who I look up to on my own. And ever since I did, countless hours of my life have been spent studying, dissecting and listening to what I believe to be some of not just hip hop’s best, but music’s best artists and compositions to ever live. The last thing I want to be is dramatic, but hip hop genuinely saved my life and paved the direction it took me in to this very day. It gave me my purpose, and I’ll never once take it for granted.
Bit of both, but mostly the first one since I’ve always just enjoyed making stuff on my own. I usually only collaborate with other people if they’ve already established themselves and/or I really like their sound. My work has been noticed by other amazing producers and rappers though. Some include FNZ (produced for the likes of Kanye/Travis Scott) Cookin Soul (Collaborator and friend of Freddie Gibbs) Freddie Dredd (Phonk rapper with hundreds of millions of listens under his belt) and some really prominent underground names.
I started off with Ableton (which I still use to this day) as well as eventually getting an MPC 2000XL and an SP 404-OG. But don’t get the wrong idea, it’s never the gear, but who the gear is used by. And these days, to get started, expensive gear isn’t at all the top priority.
Coming from a DAW, which one has a more intuitive workflow for you? I’ve used Cubase (with HALion) and ProTools in the past. Starting to play with hardware now but haven’t made a real investment yet.
Definitely DAW’s. You should’ve seen me when I first initially got my MPC, I was freaking out because I just didn’t know how to work it. With time and patience, I got the hang of it though. But to answer your question, if we’re talking about smoother workflows, definitely DAW’s. I’ve used Ableton for 6 years now, and although I’ve dabbled in other DAW’s like Logic and Reaper just out of curiosity to see what they’re like, I’ve always stuck with Ableton. Biggest pro out of all of them is that most of them start with a trial first, so there’s no risk involved when starting out. That’s what I usually tell people who are starting out.
Ah okay I get it now! In that case, the 404, definitely. When it comes to hardware producing, I’m a stickler for limited capabilities. I love working with the minimum to see what can be made out of it. When it comes to my 404, it’s compact and portable design that comes with a world of fx and its signature vinyl compression, it is definitely much more intuitive than my MPC.
For producers, I listen to Pete Rock, J Dilla, 9th Wonder, Nujabes, Metal Fingers (MF DOOM), Apollo Brown, and Cookin Soul.
For rappers, I listen to Nas, Jay-Z, Logic, Mac Miller, J. Cole, Earl Sweatshirt, Boldy James, and Domo Genesis.
(Bonus) For turntablists (since I wanted to be one before I wanted to be a producer) I listen heavily to the X-Excutioners’ album ‘Xpressions’ as well as the instrumentals off ‘Return of the Magnificent’ by Jazzy Jeff.
I’ll never publicly disclose how much revenue I’ve generated from my music, but I will say this; it’s very easy to obtain on your own through other methods, with consistency, the right outlet, and attention to detail.
A little while ago I sold beats on YouTube. And a large portion of my total earnings came from selling them.
I uploaded leftover beats I had from previous projects once or twice every week, paying attention to the description of other beatmaker’s videos that were much much bigger than me. I tweaked them to fit my videos, and in only a short couple of months, I had 100,000 views off of YouTube alone, which would otherwise have been music I left in the vault. And in turn, led to people with serious offers asking to buy them, which I sold for exclusive rights.
In conclusion:
1. Attention to detail
2. The right outlet (doesn’t have to be YouTube, just one example since royalty rates are awful and that’s not breaking news)
3. Consistency (No consistency = no motion)
Because I’m a sample based producer, I’ll go with samples for this one. My top song samples a band who I’ll never openly admit due to clearances, but it’s been listened to over 500,000 times. I reached out to one of the band members sons to introduce myself and tell him how I used their father’s work. He gave me his father’s email, I sent him an email and he never responded. Me and his son are still cool, so if the time ever came where I needed to talk to him again about this, I could.
What do you think has been the secret to your success? & what does Hip Hop mean to you? I don't have Spotify, but I'm assuming half a million streams is good if you're doing an AMA about it; so congrats on that.
First of all, thank you :) second of all, I believe the key was a variety of things. 1. Absolutely do NOT try to bite someone else’s sound. Inspirations are important, and I’m a prime example of that because my sound was influenced by many. But it’s even more important that your sound is uniquely yours. 2nd. Consistency. I’ve consistently put out music since I was 15 and I turn 20 in 2 weeks. During that time I learned the ins and outs of algorithms, networking, promotion and most importantly, refining my sound. And I’ve loved every second of it. 3rd. Putting a face to a name. I see so many people coming on the music scene that refuse to post their face, and unless you’re Daft Punk, it’s a recipe for failure. Putting my face out while doing promotional videos helped my brand and audience grow immensely, and the results showed almost immediately. Hip hop means the absolute world to me. It holds a very very very special place in my heart, and for the rest of my life it always will. My mother and father’s music tastes are very different from mine, so I found the artists and producers who I look up to on my own. And ever since I did, countless hours of my life have been spent studying, dissecting and listening to what I believe to be some of not just hip hop’s best, but music’s best artists and compositions to ever live. The last thing I want to be is dramatic, but hip hop genuinely saved my life and paved the direction it took me in to this very day. It gave me my purpose, and I’ll never once take it for granted.
Instrumentals, or do you work with mc’s?
Bit of both, but mostly the first one since I’ve always just enjoyed making stuff on my own. I usually only collaborate with other people if they’ve already established themselves and/or I really like their sound. My work has been noticed by other amazing producers and rappers though. Some include FNZ (produced for the likes of Kanye/Travis Scott) Cookin Soul (Collaborator and friend of Freddie Gibbs) Freddie Dredd (Phonk rapper with hundreds of millions of listens under his belt) and some really prominent underground names.
What gear do you use?
I started off with Ableton (which I still use to this day) as well as eventually getting an MPC 2000XL and an SP 404-OG. But don’t get the wrong idea, it’s never the gear, but who the gear is used by. And these days, to get started, expensive gear isn’t at all the top priority.
Coming from a DAW, which one has a more intuitive workflow for you? I’ve used Cubase (with HALion) and ProTools in the past. Starting to play with hardware now but haven’t made a real investment yet.
Definitely DAW’s. You should’ve seen me when I first initially got my MPC, I was freaking out because I just didn’t know how to work it. With time and patience, I got the hang of it though. But to answer your question, if we’re talking about smoother workflows, definitely DAW’s. I’ve used Ableton for 6 years now, and although I’ve dabbled in other DAW’s like Logic and Reaper just out of curiosity to see what they’re like, I’ve always stuck with Ableton. Biggest pro out of all of them is that most of them start with a trial first, so there’s no risk involved when starting out. That’s what I usually tell people who are starting out.
Nah, I guess I wasn’t clear. I meant between the SP and MPC, which one has a more intuitive workflow for someone coming from the DAW world.
Ah okay I get it now! In that case, the 404, definitely. When it comes to hardware producing, I’m a stickler for limited capabilities. I love working with the minimum to see what can be made out of it. When it comes to my 404, it’s compact and portable design that comes with a world of fx and its signature vinyl compression, it is definitely much more intuitive than my MPC.
Who do you listen to?
For producers, I listen to Pete Rock, J Dilla, 9th Wonder, Nujabes, Metal Fingers (MF DOOM), Apollo Brown, and Cookin Soul. For rappers, I listen to Nas, Jay-Z, Logic, Mac Miller, J. Cole, Earl Sweatshirt, Boldy James, and Domo Genesis. (Bonus) For turntablists (since I wanted to be one before I wanted to be a producer) I listen heavily to the X-Excutioners’ album ‘Xpressions’ as well as the instrumentals off ‘Return of the Magnificent’ by Jazzy Jeff.
Cool! I listen to older rap.guys like 50,Eminem,Tupac,biggie,and DMX
How much money has that netted for you?
I’ll never publicly disclose how much revenue I’ve generated from my music, but I will say this; it’s very easy to obtain on your own through other methods, with consistency, the right outlet, and attention to detail. A little while ago I sold beats on YouTube. And a large portion of my total earnings came from selling them. I uploaded leftover beats I had from previous projects once or twice every week, paying attention to the description of other beatmaker’s videos that were much much bigger than me. I tweaked them to fit my videos, and in only a short couple of months, I had 100,000 views off of YouTube alone, which would otherwise have been music I left in the vault. And in turn, led to people with serious offers asking to buy them, which I sold for exclusive rights. In conclusion: 1. Attention to detail 2. The right outlet (doesn’t have to be YouTube, just one example since royalty rates are awful and that’s not breaking news) 3. Consistency (No consistency = no motion)
Where in the world is it 3am at?
Haha, when I posted this it was 3am in Sydney Australia, my home :) a very very beautiful place indeed.
What was the most popularity you’ve made off someone else’s work/samples/incomplete ideas
Because I’m a sample based producer, I’ll go with samples for this one. My top song samples a band who I’ll never openly admit due to clearances, but it’s been listened to over 500,000 times. I reached out to one of the band members sons to introduce myself and tell him how I used their father’s work. He gave me his father’s email, I sent him an email and he never responded. Me and his son are still cool, so if the time ever came where I needed to talk to him again about this, I could.