Hip-Hop producer and mixer

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

A: My band Barbaydose first record “Future Reminiscent “ I am proud of the production more than the mixing but both were a big leap forward for me. I took risks and they paid off!

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Working on my bands EP and a 5 song EP for a local Bay Area artist

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

A: I am new here and don’t know anyone yet

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital in the box mainly for the ability to recall and have multiple iterations of sessions.

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

A: That I will always do my best to enhance your art to the highest level and we will have fun along the way!!

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Helping people create art that evokes emotion

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

A: What do you charge? I have different pay scales for a variety of projects and it depends on what specifically you are looking to accomplish

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

A: That you can learn it overnight or on a YouTube channel. It is something you can do for 35 years and still be learning

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What is the story you want to tell? Who are some artists you admire? How far do you want to take your career as an artist?

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

A: Find someone that loves what they do!

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

A: MPC, LAPTOP, Monitors, Turntable and a gas generator so I could use the gear!

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

A: DJ since high school, started producing, went to school for music, worked a variety of music based jobs then back to school and now working in music full time

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Futuristic BoomBap

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

A: JID because he is very adventurous sonically and it would be fun to work on the variety of soundscapes he would use.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: When tracking out drums and sounds from an MPC turn on the internal compressor of the MPC to give your stuff a little extra punch

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

A: Hip-hop

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Making beats and mixing rap records

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring a modern ear with classic sensibilities and the goal of making cinematic pieces

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Have a rough sketch of a beat then build with the artists vocals. Once scratch vocals are layed for place holders I add more to the production then we go back and finish the vocals. If it’s just a mix I’ll import all the multitracks then set up my bus routing. Do some editing then clean up on any tracks. Once that is done then I move to my processing and work between Top down and individual tracks within the context of the song.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Avid Protools, lots of plug ins and some outboard gear to warm everything up

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

A: Alchemist, Evidence, Jaycen Joshua, Leslie Breathwaite

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

A: Production, editing, producing and mixing