R and B Money, Honey, we are.
Take volotized.
We are the authority.
And blades and gentleman.
My name is Tank and this is the arm and by Money podcast, the authority on all things.
R and B.
Can't be humble today though we we are not. We're gonna talk that ship today in.
A space where we can sit down and be humble. Although I am seated. How you sound, too, is everything. How you come across the airwaves to people's ears. The sonic boom that happens when something is.
Mixed correctly.
Yes, uh up, it's gotta be.
In your DNA. Are my good brother?
There's a masterine component to being able to mix in the box that takes things to another level, the Grammy Award winning level.
Yes, this interest long, but this man designs it. He's in updative records on records on records, the top artists.
In the universe. Great.
If you want to mixed, it's gotta be mixed by Ali Derek, mixed by Ali.
Man. Come on, I love that.
It's going on my boys ship energy. I love it. It's gotta sound right, my pet, Peeve, let me tell you. We're gonna tell you a driver driving me because I like to drive myself, so you know, when you're out of town doing gigs and stuff like that, a driver that doesn't know where he's going and an engineer that doesn't know what he's doing, it's worse. I'm the nicest guy you'll ever meet until I don't know. Those two things burn my soul because in order for me to
be great, I have to get there. Also, in order for me to be great, the first thing people do is hear me. It's the first thing that happened, the first impression. That's the first impressions.
Like when you meet somebody and you look at their teeth for their nails first. You know, they told whatever the case is, you know, we deal in sonic. Yeah it is. I get it. I get the styling part of it. I get the branding side of it. I get all of these things. But it starts right here when somebody says, what's that? Then they say, who's that? Mm hmm. It's frequencies. You know, people don't realize how much it connects people.
Absolutely, and and the importance of what you do an engineer, like you know, we're gonna we're gonna get into the beginnings and you know, really dive into how you have created who you are, right. But at one point we were having a conversation about where engineers some engineers are like, I mean, I think that's worth some publishing. I think
that's worth some creative shares. I can tell you for a fact absolutely, I don't know where I would be without a few of the engineers that I've worked with and the ones that I currently work with.
I mean, I said, all the time, you know a good mix of a make or break a record? You know, you know how many records I've gotten from other engineers that are putting versions on them, right, and how they sounded compared to the final product. You know, it's it's one of the most important parts. I always say, it's just trifecta of music creation. Right. You have the artist sitting up top right, but to the bottom left is the producer, the bottom right is the engineer.
Right.
And once that that trifecta is locked in to irreplaceable formula, you don't want to disturb it. You don't want to touch it.
I got O C D bad. So anytime there's like a transition, you know, of engineering, I'm shaking. You know what I mean, I'm breaking out in hives. You can hear the little imperfection that's disturbing the formula. You know, eventually we figure it out and get it rolling. But
the the and here's what it was, LA's crazy. I want you to speak to this real quick before we before we dive all the way in kids now that are producing, Like I'm just talking about getting a pack from producers, whether it be like a cardiac or a business spoiler or whatever. These guys these packs sound race like they've been listening to what you guys are doing and applying it at the house before they even send you a track. And I'm like, why does your track
sound like this? Like that information? Like, how do you feel as as someone who like this is your this is your this is your business, this is your well not your bread and butter, because we're going to get into that you do so many other things. But the importance of sharing that information because back in the day,
you weren't getting that information. Yeah, you weren't getting that drum pack from an engine that you have to know somebody that you kind of think I can get those mixed drums from you.
Like it's different. I think it's time. You know, I think during those times, right, you know, the Internet, social media, right, these these platforms weren't readily available or accessible, you know.
So I think I think with the times and the fact that a lot of these creators just don't have access to those resources to go to the music schools or to have all the money to get all the equipment right their online figuring it out, right, these kids are pulling things, they're re sampling their you know, learning how to mix master and produce right, because you know, it's it's out of necessity, right, and and ultimately that that's what makes these young kids masters early on, they've
gotten their ten thousand hours before they even hit mainstream, right, And that's you know, it's what's interesting to kind of watch is you know, all these you know, quote unquote bedroom producers or creators that are getting you know, individuals that I hire like myself, right, getting reinspired by looking at how they're doing things right, because it's it's that's the future, right, It's it's it's it's a it's a means to stay relevant as well for someone like myself, right.
So it's it's it's incredible aspiring to watch man and you know. Yeah, as I'm watching Billie Eilish and her brother, there's innovative ways to create a room. There is no boundary, right, there is no for there is no right or wrong to creating music, you know, you know, and I think now more than ever, you know, the genre lines are being blurred with what sounds like what? And I think
that's just introducing more creativity. You know. You got albums like this Tyler project that just came out, you know, and all these incredible artists that are just you know, again creating sonic masterpieces. It's a product of just eliminating those borders.
Right, And like you said earlier, from necessity not a necessity.
Like I knew. I knew that the business was changing.
When I first heard sold Boy, yeah Frank that and found out that he produced the record, And did you know what I'm saying, Like this whole viral on socials with the youth following. Yeah, and I was like, Oh, it's about to be a full shift because this same record is the same record that's here, the same record he started with, is the same record that's at the top of the charts weeks. He's got the dance and got the whole thing going on, and he did it.
As you said in his room. Yeah, and it's more of that.
Man.
It's like over the years since Soldier Boy, right, it's countless artists that have taken off you know, the whole quote unquote SoundCloud era.
Right, Soldier Boy first. Yeah, we know you did it first. Fact first.
That's just a testament to just man, just evolving times, evolving times of technology, music, you know, creativity again, just these boundaries being eliminated now that these tools and platforms are now available. So it's it's like it's like it's going to continue to expand even faster, right as we as we as we as we you know, go forward in the music journey, you know, I must. I'm gonna start off asking you a question I asked my good
brother Jason Joshua. Yes, yeah, because I've been knowing Jason Joshua since he was you know, way back then, absolutely not an engineer, nothing close. And I said, when.
Did your ears tell you I hear this thing just a little differently from everybody else.
When was that for you? Man? I think honestly it was the kendrickmar the Section eighty project. We're gonna start there. Yeah, I think that that's just just because again, if you think about it, right, I'm a kid that has no formal training in audio engineering, right, and I don't even know what the fuck pro tools is at the time. Right, I'm putting, I'm clicking buttons, I'm throwing plugins here, seeing
what works, right. But you know, I think at that point, throughout, you know, working on that project, right and and developing the sound with Kindred that kind of had this. If you listen to anything that came out during that time,
there was nothing that sonically matched that, right. And it was when I realized that you could do that right, the ADHD in me was like, yo, like you can take sounds and make them sound like this, or make them do this, and make them fly behind your ear and make them sound like two or three different people are talking and people are gonna like that. And it was like, oh, there's no rules to the ship, like,
you know. That's I think what pulled me in most was the fact that I could do what I wanted sonically right as long as you can experience the mix. That's what really dragged me into it, you know.
And and when you say you had no formal training, like, how do you like what is what is point a?
Like? What's the starting man? The hustle man, you know from Guardian in California, you know all through high school played football, but always, you know, always, you know, having a few dollars so I can get a fresh white tea every morning, you know. And my hustle then was ringtones, you know, before the old I tell the story often, but it's before those. You know, you could really buy ring tones online, right, you know when people you know, the Soldier boy days just so fine, uh my boy
did it first again? So yeah, man, how I got started?
Man?
It was you know what just kind of had me fall into love of the arts of recording. I started making ringtones, so you know, and how.
Did you how did you like, give me, give me equipment, give me like how you did this?
Man? The equipment was just a cracked version of cool Edit Pro. I don't know if anybody remembers the old school dog cool Edit pro, you know, a headphone microphone And I was it, man. I you know, I've been computer literate, and you know I had laptops as a kid. My uncle you know, give me them for you know, the Chris Us whatever but I found software that allowed me to crack the old next telephones and put ring
tones on there without those beeping ringtones. So back then, when there was just those mono beeping you know, ringtones, I would have friends come over and we would record these thirty second snippets that I would turn into their ringtone. Will be the only ones in the school that had them, right, And you know, I was making hundreds a week. It was lit like it was twenty bucks rington but they came up. I lived right across the streets in my school.
Twenty dollars a ringtone, right, But there was the whole experience. You know what I'm saying, You come record. Nah, you know what I'm saying, You come through My Grandma will serve you with some you know sweets like come on, like no better experience. You know what I'm saying.
You already had this studio.
It was the concierge, you know, saying, yeah, make sure I'm a people pleaser. Yeah you know, so yeah, you just you know, getting dated. I would have to makeshift curtains up in my closet. Again, I had the headphone microphone and you know cliche, you know, don't ask this girl's phone, you know, just right, the shit niggas woul do when they sixteen seventeen years old, you know, Miles call and pick up the phone like whatever it was.
And you know, uh, you know as like just you know, I'm playing football during this time as well, but you know I'm making some you know for kid in high school. I'm making some dollars. Yeah, And at that point I realized, yes, this could you know, this could be a business. You know earlier, you know, I've always just been fascinated with just you know, building things myself, whether it's computers, remotecial cars, businesses, you know, figure out ways to start something and watch
it kind of grow. And I realized, hey, you know this this thing is cool, right, And I started researching more about like what am I doing right now? Right? Yeah? And again didn't know about the LA recording schools or didn't know about the essays, and when I found out about them, I couldn't afford the shit, you know, one hundred and fifty grand you know, to go learn how to you know, record, and you know, I was like,
you know, I can't do that. Ship. So naturally went up to you know, some blogs, you know, future producers dot com and gear sluts and these other places, and you know, I would you know, kind of learn from there, learn through other people's you know, failures or questions that they have. If I would reverse engineer the question to kind of see what they did, and you know, go back and try myself. So again from the Ringtones got better equipment. You know, actually I was you know, I
was robbing off Craigslist so I can get the interfaces. Yeah, you know what I'm saying. I didn't have you know, I have nothing. And then you know, finally when I had this setup, you know, I you know, I had pro tools. Now you know, I got a proper microphone, a proper interface, and you know that's when I wanted to say, this is something I loved. It was a passion. It was something that can sit me down for ten
hours a day. Yeah. You know your kid with ADHD, Right, you know, I'm off the walls and I'm sitting here shaping a snare, right, trying to chop up vocals for ten hours. Right, This is incredible. Yeah, yeah, And that essentially was the journey.
So were you more so toward music production at this side? Though?
Because that's because like you said, you're making the ring tone right, and you're doing that with your guys, but I don't, I don't know. I'm asking were you even thinking about the mix and how it the sonics of it?
Are you just like no, this just feels good.
No good. I would find instrumentals like on LimeWire. You know, people will come freestyle, right, the homies will come after football practice freestyle. You know, I would add the reverb on there in the room went crazy like you know, you know, but yeah, man, that you know, And from there it's always just on this quest for more right and more information, more knowledge. Uh. You know. I reached out to Punch, you know, TD Punch and Dave Free. I reached out to both of them on on my Space.
You know, Dave went to my high school. He went
to Guardian and High with me. And then you know, I always knew about TD and you know what, you know, the guys are doing Jay Rock and everybody and I hate Punch was like, yo, like you know, I'm not looking for anything but just information knowledge, Like how can I like work with you guys, how can I you know, uh, you know, just add value to you know, what's going on, you know, I want to be an audio engineer, and you know, Punch told me to come by, you know,
and from there I kind of just you know, just stay. That was like the step child that you know, that never that that that you know, just came and never left. And that was what two thousand and six, two thousand and seven, And you come in as an engineer. I come and as honestly somebody who wanted to do anything.
You know.
Yeah, I didn't even understand the role of an engineer at the time.
You know, I know, you're still in high school.
I'm still I got kicked on my grandma's house. I'm still I'm like graduating. It's like towards the end of the year two thousand and seven, and you know, I've met the guys, and you know, I met Top and everybody early on, but you know, around two thousand and seven, once I graduated, that's when you know, I moved in the tops crib. You know, we're all like sleeping on the floor head to toe, you know, just recording all day.
And that's you know when I'm like, okay, like I guess a group of guys right that, you know, are trying to become the best, and we weren't even really focused on trying to be the best, right, it was just something to do that was keeping us out the streets, you know, just having a place, you know, at the studio, to be able to get away from all the problems that we might deal with on a daily basis, to
just create right, without boundaries and without instruction right. And ultimately what that did was, you know, everyone is now sharpening this wars. You know, you got absolutely, you got j Rock, you got Kadot. At the time, it's Kadot and and me. Now right, you know, at the time Punch was recording. But now when I came in, he put me in that seat and punineer. Punch was the
full time engineer at the time in early days. He was yeah, yeah, you know, now it's like the engineer here, you know, another piece of the puzzle that now I can step off and focus on, you know, on the overarching goals. And that just gave me an opportunity to now just sharpen usquare. Now I got three incredible artists that you know, I'm sitting with for hours and days and hours and days and nights, and you know, we got our ten thousand hours.
It's it's then, what was that transition like? Because it's like, you know, if Punch is like at that time, the full time engineer, there are you know, there are nuanced things that.
They're used to him, they're used to engineering.
Now, what what was that transition that that you know, Okay, now you're in this seat, these are the things that need to happen. Or were you always sitting in and taking those notes so that by the time you got to that chair you were you were more than ready.
Yeah. Now, I've always been the observer type where you know, I'm gonna look be the fly on the wall, see where I could fit in? Right? What hole can I feel?
Right?
And you know, Punch already had a formula for how they were tracking and recording, but I don't even think it was that far along to where the signings even were like a main you know, focal point right as long as we can hear the vocals were over, the two track beat were fantastic, right, you know, But it
was just watching how to really again. You know, I'm still very very very early on pro tools, and you know, topping them had the old tool bar, the old tool console had monitors, like in my eyes, had a real professional setup, you know, and you know, so they walked me through just what it was, what was the process, what was the flow. And I think over time and hours and hours and days of working with all the artists individually, you you kind of understand everyone's individual flow.
You know, how everyone's recording speed is right, Like you said, work with engineers, they got to be on it right and if not a function your energy off. You know, you got to imagine, you know, working with three different artists. This is before school Boy Q came in, you know, working with these three artists. Everyone you know, came in at different times, at different styles, you know, obviously different vocal tones where you have to on the fly like
make sure everything was coming in. So yeah, man, it's just just.
Yeah and y'all recording all day and all night. Especially for you being the one engineer.
It's like what else we're gonna do, Like we're all, like you fresh out of high school, like you know, it's you know, besides the turn ups on the weekends or whatever, like you know, but even that, it's like everyone's meeting point and focal point was to get back to the studio. You know when you young tho, that's I've been there, you know what I'm saying, and you in it.
What what else are we gonna do?
You know what I'm saying. Like it's and I think that's also a luxury of it, right, just again having the space and having time. I don't think people areized just you know, a big part of the formula, just having that time that you could the kids of your craft, you know, and you know, gratefully, you know, we were in a place you know, might not have been the best place, you know, but we were in a place where you know, we had the time. You know, we're
all young, you know. You know, I don't think anyone of the kids at that point. And it was just focused, right and once start getting things start getting serious, right uh you know, Jay Rock was at Warner Brothers, you know, uh, you know, and things just start to build up.
Yeah, we heard y'all when y'all left and left with I.
Mean meeting you now, Oh they got it, got it. They had some real muscle with it.
It was just it was a useful resource, you know what I'm saying. It was a very useful resource.
You know, don't make Ali do it give up the.
Van man, I remember that. Man, it was a good warning brother days shout out to name, yeah my guy. But yeah, man, it was just again just as time progressed, man, it was you know, I think everyone individually started really falling into you know, uh you know. And again it's I go back to this ten thousand hour right, Malcolm glad Well, Right, you have to you know, to be great at any one thing, one must acquire at a
minimum of ten thousand hours. Right. And I go back and look in just the style of like app souls evolution, of j Rocks evolution, of Kendrick's evolution, you know, and school Boy Q's evolution. Right, It's like that wouldn't be possible if the space wasn't there to be able to have you know that that that that that free time to create, right, So I look at all it's just divine timing, man, Like you know everything you know it was, it was already written, right, we were just catching up
the time. So as we're talking about engineering there the you know, the next step is is the mixing part of it? Right? Right?
I want to do it in steps on stages, so to say. And so when is it when does it occur to everyone that, man, this these these rough mixes that you're doing is facious, is hard like this this this could be the mix man.
Really trying to think what project that was. I think when we started doing I think it was the Kindrick mar Ep I'm like the first project from going from Ketos Kendrick you know, that was super just that's one person that you know, it's super meticulous about how every one piece, what imperfection of a sava sound like it's supposed to be there, right, You hear like a breath of a drum loop, right, it's I go and try to clip it out like it's supposed to be there. Right.
So just going through the journey with with with Bro in those early days, you know, doing this Kings and yep, you know that's I think one of the first projects that I was working with Stems sound Way produced majority, if not all of it with some co production by Dave et cetera. And now you know, instead of just having kick drums based to break down everything separate, everything separate and everything before they were mind you, I'm working with two tracks with two tracks, you know, so I'm
chopping up the two tracks I'm you know, reversing. I'm trying to do what I can with with with what I have, right, you know, and it worked to a certain level, had its selling sonically, you know. So once we start working with multi tracks, which was that first project, I started realizing the freedom now that I have to create these sonic landscapes, right dropouts, you know, delay throws, using the whole sound spectrum of left and right, you know,
et cetera. That's when I was like, Okay, now we're now we're playing the game for real.
You're painting.
Now, now you're painting like you know, this is my canvas, and these instruments are all the colors. And that's where the whole concept of seeing sounds from the place, you know, just you know, I feel like when I mixed or you know, you get this feeling a tunnel vision where you're you know, you're able to kind of have you know, a four bar loop on repeat and you're just like again, just imagine Minority Report, you know, and you know what
I'm saying. Once you're locked in, you're locked in, man, and yeah, so I think during that time, that's when you know, again just personally, you know, as an audio engineer. I felt that the defining moment, you know, my own personal career with just the understanding of of of mixing in real time, you know, with all the elements included,
you know, does does it? Does it become a conversation where it's like where it's like, oh, this is this is our sound a TD conversation like this is what you're doing, this is what we're supposed to sound like, you know, across the board? Does it does that become a conversation? I think naturally it just became law over time, you know, uh, you know, there was never no just
creative you know, restrictions or direction. You know. I think that's also what made me who I am was the freedom that all the artists who were including Top and Punch and Dave has you know, given me to be able to just do just throw things against the wall, right. The worst thing they're going to say is that let's just do it over or let's let's bring it back right.
And Section eighty was a product of that, right, the distortions, the delays, the different tones, the doubles and stacks, and the texture, the essence, the sonic essence of that project, you know, essentially was a product of again just you know, having that creative freedom and time right because I couldn't afford that studio time anywhere else to be able to trial and error plugins, you know, so you know again it was it was just you know, it's just you know,
an effect of you know, just taking taking time and you know, yeah, did you say freedom. I remember.
We did a song on my is It now? I Never album? Keep it one hundred? This song, keep it one hundred and of course you know Seet Jason, Joshua everything, and this is this is my first time.
That's not now that, that's not now, that's not now. Never is it? It's not never?
No never?
Okay, this is my intro to an engineer also being a producer.
Oh, I know you hated that.
I didn't know. I didn't know, so it wasn't a hate. I didn't know what was going on. So the song
comes on and I'm looking at him. I'm like, what the fuck is because it starts off with this guitar thing and it's on and you know, me and Jason that we have we have like this, you know this this this little kid, we're like little kids be cussing at each other, and he said, shut the fuck up and just listen, right, So started over and I'm listening to it and I'm like, and it just grows into this thing, and then it comes up and said you're nice, right, And I was like, oh ship, He's like, bro, just
let me do my fucking thing.
Man, just let me. I said never.
I will never. I will never stifle you. I will never have demo itis ever again. Do whatever it is that you do. And if you sorry for cutting you off.
That's important, man, because and I tell young artists that I work with or you know, young artists that come across and inspire by and have conversations with based on just my experience, I'm like, man, it's important if you have somebody there that gives the funk enough to do. Man, lean into that, y lean into that, right, because the worst, at the at the bare minimum of what was what you could say is hey, go back to the last version.
But lat give somebody that freedom to be able to experiment, right, because you might find something that you can now take and add to your toolbox that you know sign you know, so I can imagine that feeling man, you know, and knowing Jason, right, you know it's a legend. It's something wrong with him. Yeah, it's something wrong.
And it's that freedom that that that takes the creativity to another place because we're all if we all can creatively contribute, we're all invested in it.
We're all.
It just does like imagine the guy who first was like, who was first dialing up Travis Scott, right, imagine that or if it's him, it's like, there's no the ad to put that on there and then put that on there.
That's me that ended up. It sounds that's you know, that's exactly right now we're.
Chasing that as opposed to him saying nah, nah, don't don't do all that, you're doing too much.
Our tell individual all the time. Man, it's like, man, when you like and especially nowadays, it's a different time where you know these young creators right, very ambitiously right. I love it about them, right, you know, go out and you know, build brands behind themselves and you don't want to charge the five ten thousands of mix, but not just there. You fall in love with the music first, right, become an irreplaceable asset first, right, and then you can
setch your rate. Here it is right. You know, it's you have to love it enough to do it for you know, as many fucking months as you can endure for free because you love it so much. Right, And you know that's when you know you have those engineers and artists combinations, right that we've seen, like we stand, you know, just generations of music. I don't want to.
Leave the mix yet, who from a mix from a mixed standpoint where we're guys that you listened to Doctor d s.
I'm sorry it's one that's the one on your minds.
So because because that's how I was going to ask you to I'm glad because early on you were blessed to be connected to him. Because obviously y'all ended up doing y'all deal the aftermath? How does that go? Because my other question, it's kind of a two part question, where did you have issues in the beginning when y'all first did y'all major deals with the labels being like, oh well, maybe y'all should take these records to such
and such to let them mix. Did y'all ever even have those conversations.
Are not like to what going for one? But outside of that, man, you know, just just Kendrick, right, just in control of them. You know, we've developed the sound and experience. We've developed this from you know, years before, you know, the Good Kid Mess City project where you know, Kendrick is the one that was boldfully like you know what I'm saying, I was fucking Dre's an idol to me, you know, I'm so, I'm just I'm nervous to meet
the fucking guy, you know. Yeah, and Dre, you know, died is like, Yo, I want a lad in the mixing room with you, you know, as as we're doing this because we developed sounds and I don't want to lose that essence, right you know, So you know Dre being you know, it's open armed, it, you know, open armed in a sense where that album was almost a training route because going from mixing in the box and the you know everything prior to that, right you know, using
cracked plugins, you know, stolen in boxes, uh, you know, no multi tracks, really chopping up the two track and reversing ship right now, you know, Dre's teaching me the
console and how to mix on the assel. Right so I'm taking all the the the digital tricks that I've acquired right throughout my own personal journey of trial and error and now I can apply it right on the analog console with that sound, right, and that esse actually is another you know milestone of my career that you know made me who I am and kind of you know merged my you know, you know, highly affected sound with the clarity and depth of analog, right and.
You Yeah, So, how how long were y'all in as far as just you you you and Dre just you know, just he's different chopping away son.
There was this old studio and Santa Monica, no excuses, it was the one across finished, you know, and and Dre had that one really locked down when we started mixing the album because obviously months before that, as died was finalizing the album, you know, uh, you know, DoD had sessions with Dre. You know, it was just you know, pulling up the studio playing songs, like getting feedback, recording
there with him at times, et cetera. But when it got towards the time to actually mixing, you know, Dre actually gave me one of the rooms in the back and uh he was in the front mixing. So we kind of took on that album as a pair right where he would get a bachel of songs and I would be in the back working on the batchel's songs. Funny enough, the board that I mixed that album on and no excuses I bought and we're going to we're
going to that story. But you know, so again it's the first album that I mixed on on the console, dreising the front working on a batchel of records. I'm in the back, uh, you know again, working on the other on the other, on the other batches. And he
would have come in and that critique me. Like he would come in and like put thumbs up, thumbs down, or tell me what he would do different, or I will go into his room where he would kind of walk me through and show me, you know, why he would be doing things, or you know, if the board is clipping right, it's a good type of clip where you know, only on drums or percussion, where you get this kind of peak that you know, that's why drums Dre's drums always snapping the way that they do right,
because of how he manipulates that console and pushes it to his literal limit. You know. So it was again when I say milestone right, you know, you know again you know, I'm learning techniques that you know, somebody has you know, learned over time span of his career. Right, and you know, you know it's and again it was just as welcoming as he was to have me in these rooms and and and you know, and and and
support it the way that he did, right. You know, again, it's just something that to his dad still can't process. You know.
It's like it's unfair. Like Dre is like hearing a Dre mix in a Dre room. It's like, yeah, nobody can do this. Nobody's gonna nobody and it's not gonna sound like this anywhere else. You're in this room. The room is crazy, right. And like because we back in the day, it used to be two people. For me, it was Teddy Riley and it was doctor Dre. I was like, don't know how they're doing this. Timberland had his own mixed style, him and him and Jimmy, they
had their own that was just separate. That's a separate universe, right, nobody. I can't figure that out. But Doctor Dre and Teddy Riley had this thing where it was like we have to we have we're chasing this clarity.
Man, it's it's it's it's rhythm also, right, just even with with with Teddy with you know, the percussion being the lead, the high hatch being the lead. You know, it's all those like high midfield sounds bro that like really catch her hair and all the rhythm makers of these records, you know.
But it's also too like a thing where mixing, like like track sonics and all these things, mixing evolves, right, and I feel like you know, in in in the in the heavy Teddy days, kind of mid mid heavy, kind of low mid and maybe like like that high mid frequency like that was heavy back then because it wasn't super.
Eight the wait.
Look, the percussion with the dry percussion was the was the driver. And then it was like as we just started.
It's like away from here, and then when you go further west now it's like start sucking in other drums. You know what I'm saying.
When you start migrating into the two thousands, now, ass is a thing. It is dragon like like I think with a testament to that is when the Beats headphones first came out and you hear.
Buy me a drink.
Was a tester for the Beats headphones and I was like, do you hear the ass.
In here? You can close your eyes and see it.
Yeah.
Man, I'm telling you that's real.
I don't want no other headphones that don't put the ass on my ears.
It's funny. I forgot what documented. I think it was to the Fine Ones that Jimmy and Dre dark, but it was it was either that or some clip that I was saying. And you know, one of the inspirations, and please don't quote me on it, but I have very vividly remember this. Jimmy was like, Yo, Dre's mixing these songs on fucking million dollar boards and these big studios for them to not sound good when you hear them. One, you're right, And I was one of the inspirations behind it,
So give them. You know, now you're hearing the ass. Are you're supposed to hear ass? You know, supposed to? Yeah?
I was like, it was revolutionary. You know what I'm saying, Let's go to Let's go to because I want to get into the projects, right. I just want you to you know, at some point we're going to start running off projects and names. Let's go to the next level, which is master, because it's that's a completely different science. There are there are great mixed engineers who don't necessarily graduate or even want to roll into to the mastering space.
And over the last ship five years, five seven years, I've seen so many engineers that are like, no, I master it to the do it all?
Yeah, they do it all. What is what? What does it take to take that next step? So it's a good thing, as you said, over the past five years quote, right, you know, you know, just as of late, yeah, we've been seeing more engineers. And I want to go back to when when we talked about from the Teddy Riley going up to you know, early two thousands, right, the style of mixing has evolved, right, that's now another evolution
right where it's now at a weight and base driven right. Right, All these young kids, these these early albums, all they want is at eight to eight to just flutter. They want that to be the driving record. Even the kicks are taking the bottom line to the eight away, right, you know, where the ataweight are really just taking over the whole mix, right, And these engineers are the ones
doing that right where. You know, me personally, my era of music, the twenty tens, twenty twenties, you know obviously you know still you know, heavy in the game now, but you know, venturing over the business. My whole thing was clarity, depth, right, my whole, my whole you know, uh uh mixing process was you know, making an artist sound like they're standing in front of the speaker like it's not over you know, over processed, distorted, et cetera.
But that was the music for that time, right. I feel like now where everything is that everything had you know, the low end driving, low end distorted, the Travis Travis Scott type of sound. Right, And these engineers that are you know because again me, I outsourced engine I'm mastering enginees for all my mixes. I go to either Mike Bosey or I go to Nicholas Deparcel A million dollars in there, because I want somebody else to now take on, you know, a part of the project, right, you know,
sonically mixing, I go up to a certain level. I want mastering and kind of normalize it. But these kids now with the mastering is again they're able to take the whole flow from recording, mixing mastering because it is now like part of like the sound, like the distortedness the vocals to the front, base to the front, everything else played back burner. It's like a style that I could say that it's really has been cultivated and created
by these engineers over the past five six years. But saying all to say this is, you know, I admire those that you know, take on, you know, the full creative process. You know, I know Jason does it now as well too, right, he does the masters on mixes, and before he was outsourcing exactly right, But that's even he was analog, and I know he's in the box now, you know what I'm saying. So it's all in evolution
with the times you know of music. And I think you know, you can only push a record so far on a console, right compared to mixing in the box, right, you can get more loudness in the box, et cetera. So again, long winded answer, but saying ought to say is the engineers that are now doing the recorded mixing and mastering, doing everything in the box the way they're doing it, they're but it really you know, push these records and just have more control over the final product. At the end of the day.
You you you alluded to buying the board, you you mixed on what what what board would that be? And for what purpose did you buy said board? So you know, we talk about the engineers that are mixing. I'm still very much analogue, you know.
That's you know one, you know, I love the sonics, you know, you know, studio rat in every essence of the word. But also it's like it's what keeps me like loving it, like I am the mouse, right, you know.
It's yeah, like I'm literally inside the computer when I'm you know, adjusting these mixes and you know, not looking at the computer at all, you know, But that's me, right, you know, I'm at a point in my career to where, you know, I'm only working on things that I want to work on, right, So I'm not in the in the space of you know, trying to do ten mixes a month, I'm sorry, ten mixes a day a week, whatever,
you know. So, you know, the acquiring the console, and for one, it's it's a part of you know, just it's a through line in the story, you know, you know, coming up how it came up dre bill mentor acquiring the old you know, you know, the old death Row can Am Studios and now the console that I was taught on. You know, it's more of a memorabilia piece for myself, you know, something passed down to my kids.
Really real board is it's SSL four thousand and j G plus, one of the last ones ever in production. He's my favorite. Yeah, it's those are the ones you can clip, right, you could just smash the percussionist the
high hats. But again, it was you know, uh, you know, I think at the time No Excuses was shutting down, and Ed the studio manager, had called me like, hey, you know the concert I spent years and No Excuses sleeping on those fucking couches, and surprising I was the first one they called like, hey, this this board is available. Uh and timing, you know, again, it lined up where I was just moving into the studio and I was like, hey, you know, just just all came together like water.
Because that's what people have to understand too. You have to have somewhere to put these yeah right, it's start there at all, right, but just you know, because we'd be like oh yeah, yeah, and then I got the where you're gonna put it. You don't have a facility. These are not bores that you just put in your living room.
So it was the original one if you remember ad Noaks. It was an eighty channel G plus that we cut down to forty eight so it could fit the room for one. And uh, you know, if you just know the logistics of getting these parts to these consoles, it's impossible. So we just wanted spare parts that we can kind of use. But you know, it's yeah, you need a facility. And the computers are as big as as fucking the speaker a mount is. Uh, they're older from the eighties.
It's like buying an old Chevy like this. Something's always broke. My motherfucker likes a class. It's a classic, you know. So we have a G plus in the front room and I got a J eighty channel J in the back room. Yeah, so we have.
And you did a whole overhaul full overall the building.
So we acquired the studio two thousand, like the peak pandemic. And during this time, I was I was man, I had on core American Parents, I had all these rooms booked out, just working on multiple albums, and I'm just I realized that I'm giving these studios too much fucking money, man, right, I think when I when I when I went through and went through statements and I was just, you know, just doing my my annual. What the fuck I think?
I was given like three hundred and fifty k a month in studio in studio studio bookings between all the different rooms that I have, you had that many bookings. I had four rooms going on one time, four rooms going away. Lord, cooking and cooking. Boy, I'm talking about cooking, cooking. But it's like I had a formula, I had an incredible team, like you know. But boy, I'm like, I'm like, you know me looking around, I'm like, it's is tight, but like it's it's a leaky bucket somewhere like you know,
And I'm like, okay, it's his studio. Like it's an opportunity where you know, you on top of an incredible mixed fee, right you know, it's you know, I can also get the other side from the studio, which at time studio might get paid more than the mixture.
Is somebody telling you this or are you observing? And just as a hustler, like.
I'm looking it don't make sense, it don't make it. I'm looking at it because I'm the one that's connecting the I'm the one that client books me. I'm the one connecting the client with the studio. I'm in the email seeing it. I'm like, I'm just why. I just
imagine sitting in traffic. All these buses are just driving by you, and I'm just trying to catch each one, and I'm you know, I'm like, Okay, something's got a change, you know, and it's you know, uh, They're probably one of the smartest decisions I ever made.
Yeah, you know, you know, it's crazy. We had a room there. Yeah, we had a roommate. Can we had a whole.
Yeah, we had we had the off side.
It was we had the right side.
Yeah, because you know it's.
The main build the two there's too, so there's there's two sides. There's the front side in the backside. Uh, and then we have the backside. We actually did yeah, yeah, Yeah. The history goes back, I think, because I would say going back to the seventies to the eighties. When I open, you got everything from guns and guns and Roses, Aerosmith,
Pink Floyd. Yeah. Right then you got the Michael Jackson's, you got Whitney Houston's, you got the Mary J. Blige, you got Maria carey you got Janet right, and then it just continues right, you know, so you know it's it's the energy is real.
Did you keep the name? Canm are you?
No? We changing No Name Studios, No Name Studios. Uh, you know, you know I have, I have, you know, a conglomerate of of companies under the No Name group umbrella.
You know, No Name Recordings is a label that you know, we also found it during the pandemic where you know, the whole idea of it is just you know, ecosystem, just develop an ecosystem, watching you know, the top dogs, watching the day freeze, watching how everyone operates, and it's like, okay, the formula is ecosystem, right, the formula is fully vertical integrated.
And that's what spawned that final piece of the puzzle, which is the platform, right, providing a technical solution to allow you know, this creativity to you know, be multiplied right and scaled up globally. How many artists do you have? So at the moment, the label there's no artists. You know, we look at that as as so the way we look at the label is creating. Uh, you know, my whole thing I've had the artist thing, you know I've done that, and you know, I was excited to have
and it was a fucking headache. I'm gonna keep it real with you. Havn't having you know, it was it was just my experience, you know what I'm saying, experience. Now they're on the same page, but you know, the fucking journey was. You know, it's I'm never gonna work harder than somebody you know on their own ship. You know, that's one of the main things, one of the main asks that I have with anybody that you know wants to know participate in what we have going on. And
then you know, it's it's it's accountability. It's a big thing for me, you know. And you can't expect the world if you know, you don't want to get at a bed, you know, So you saying ought to say this.
You know, with every other business that you know that I have, I can control the product, you know, And it's you know when it comes to you know, working with the artists at the product of that song, right and and I'm trying to create a safe place for this for this artist to create and develop their their sound, and there's nothing being created to control, right, It's a
net negative in my opinion. Right, So with the label, you know, we're doing more of compilation projects you know, where you know, we do these jam sessions on a weekly basis. You know, we have musicians, artists, producers come by where you know, we open up the space. We create these all again friends of ours, you know, incredible producers, artists, songwriters,
et cetera. I mean with that, you know, we we take those songs and you know, we send them out to other artists that are working on projects for placements, you know. And another part of is we're doing a compilation project where we take those compilation projects, we upstream them to the Engineer's platform because we just launched a director consumer offering for artists to sell their music director
to super fans. And it's going to end with a concert series that we can rinse and repeat every quarter.
And said, and that's under Engineers.
That's under no Name recording, under no Name recording.
So what is engineers?
So engineers, you know, so essentially, you know, as an audio engineer, you know, growing my business, you know, didn't have any formal training on the business side of the ship, the admin side of you know, maintaining relationships, payments, invoices. You know, I realized as time you know, went on in my career that you know, it's becoming a headache
trying to deal with it though. Right I'm losing money on the table because I'm not invoicing, or I'm not catching up to these invoices that are ninety days behind, or it's hard to manage and maintain clientele as I'm working on one album, but I got fifteen people emailing me to book a project. Right, So you know, we decided to build a platform called Engineers that you know provided those like streamlined business solutions, so you know, think
LinkedIn for the music industry. Right, I create a profile, you know, I can host, I can upload all my credits, my credentials. How many Grammys, how many you know, ri A certifications do I have? I could put bios photos.
You'll be doing that all day, brother.
You know, we cap it at a certain numb but we also allow Engineering myself to host and solicit services. So we have you know, the ability for me to host a mixing package or Adobe atmost mixing package. We're an external client, an artist that wants to work with me when they DM me, Hey, Ali, I want to work with you on X, Y and Z. I could just send them my u ur L to my link has all the information on you know, the packages that
I'm offering, the mixing, mastering or Adobe atmast packages. They could book me instantly and the platform walks them through a workflow that go between the artists and engineer up until completion, so we ensure engineers and studios get paid on time. The file transfer, the transparency on communications between your client as well as credits.
And that's incredible.
Yeah, So through that we raised about ten million dollars to day with that platform. Y yeah, man, yes, yeah. And then we also but it's been a journey, man. We just launched a director consumer you know, offerings for artists, so you know, and the artists can come, you know, book a studio like Airbnb. Right, we have over fifty thousand profiles globally. They can go through their flow. Once the studio sessions are done, they want to get their songs mixed the master. They can use the platform to
facilitator and manage those projects. And then once they're done with their projects, they can one click distribute to any DSP or sell direct to a sob're fan on.
Their profiles and what's and what's that website.
Or app engineers dot com engineers dot com dot com?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You know, we have so many subscribers and people that watch our show that are trying to find their way within this industry, you know what I mean. And that's that's been so important for us to be a a safe place not only for our guests but for our audience.
We don't bring bullshit is on here, you know what I mean.
We bring people who are really seeing the future in this music business and trying to help.
It's how we look at it because again, the fear of like going from like you know, you know, one of the top engineers in the world to now shifting into like music tech or just technology. I didn't know what the fuck I was doing to start, you know, and that fear was real because I'm like, I'm like, I'm at the top of my game and I'm about to start over, right, you know. But then it goes back to something I said earlier, is like being uncomfortable.
You know. It's like like I thrive on being uncomfortable because you know, you're growing at that point, you know, and you know, it's again one of the best decisions I made because now my legacy now lives through millions of other creators using the platform that we build based on my journey and experience. You know. So it's doing,
it's doing fantastic right now. You know again, we got you know users all of the world, you know, partnerships with the Universal Music Group where we're expraditing payments right, no more unimportant, yeah, okay. And then even for the studio bookings you know, uh, you know again offering solutions similar to Airbnb where you could book hourly session time.
And we're excited about these new offerings again that are coming for artists to allow them to you know, distribute their music to any DSP with favorable payouts compared to other independent distributors, as well as direct to consumer offerings sub merchandise, digital downloads, vinyls, et cetera. So you know, the goal for us at scale is, uh, we want to build the operating system of the music industry.
The future, the future.
You just you just you leveraged you know what I mean, you just leveraged the greatness and you took a step, like a big step in betting on yourself and the big thing, big.
Thing betting on yourself. I think, excuse me, I think you know a lot of people, you know, fear change or fear betting on themselves because they can't come a change for this negative a positive. But like everything is a test man, you're going to be hit with, you know, all type of shit. It's like how you're going to
react when it comes, you know. And you know again, I speak on this often because I'm no different from any other kid that is in the hood or anywhere just thinking that they can't you know, do specific things. It's just do it, you know, start somewhere. And you said leveraging everything that I've You're right, Like I didn't start a restaurant. I didn't go you know what I'm saying. I wanted to do something that I'm great at based on you know, how I got here. It worked, right,
and now that's let's automate that. Yeah, you know, yeah, And it just showed that it's another one of us that look like us doing it, not somebody in Silicon Valley in a fifty story building, you know, telling us that you know the cost of music creation is nothing, you know, but it's still it's still also maximizing, right, you know, with within the space, you know, the leverage, the taking it to the quote unquote Silicon Valley aspect of it. But it's still very much in your wheelhouse.
And it's like, how do I how do I ten x twenty x what I already know? Like, there's gotta be framework that takes it outside of this, that takes it outside of me, right, And you know what that was,
And I'm sorry I couldn't know, you good. What that was was realizing that I'm not the only one dealing with not getting paid on time, realizing that I'm not the only one getting ten emails sent to me for a mix to mix one song, and I'm spending more time deconstructing these files rather than you know, spending more time on the creativity or not getting credited or you know, not getting fucking again going back to the payment side of things. So, you know, and we learned that through workshops.
So before we had a platform, before we even had a platform, I did workshops. I reached this in twenty seventeen. I reached this brick wall where I was uninspired, like you know, I was out partying heavy, you know, and I was at this point that yeah, that's always you know what I'm saying out. But it was like during this time, man, it was like I just and you know, I gracefully say that I didn't understand like why the
funk will have all the success? Right? It was like it was a weird moment for me, you know, because it came so fast, and it wasn't until I started educating and teaching and doing these workshops that kind of gave me more like inspiration to kind of continue because I'm like, yo, this, I see a lot of me
and all these people I come across. So before we had the Engineer's platform, I launched this series called Seeing Sounds Workshops where that yeaeah, so we you know, I went to the ICMS, I went to William Morris, I said, hey, I got an idea to go on tour as an engineer and do these fucking workshops. The nah, I don't see the value. I'm like, all right, bet So I did pre sell tickets and sold out. I think we did like a half a million in like six weeks
in pre sell tickets. We used that to go, We used that to go and rent the venues like We did everything to ourselves. We ran the venues across the globe. We did fucking Tokyo, we did Korea.
Had you even been to these places before this?
No?
I mean I've been there as a DJ DJ for Kendrick through all this ship too. Okay, So I went out. But you know, when you're on tour, you don't get to see nothing, right, You're in the bus or the hotel and you're off to the next Well, I.
Go walk around, take us. He's always like, Jay, did you walk in the city?
Got?
I just walked around. I just want to see.
Right, man. That was I was so tired, man as Man, I'm on the phone my girl, like you know what I'm saying. I'm like, I gotta, you know, I gotta. But uh yes, we.
Did the workshops and you so did you have Did you have connections in these places?
Yeah?
From that tour or from tours or no?
No, no. So I literally went on like like their versions of like a pier space. I found venues, warehouses. Yeah. And by this time, like you know, we had you know, twenty thirty thousand on Instagram, like you know, as you know, following, and we just did pre cell tickets. You know, we did them at a premium, right, it was just a thousand dollars a seat.
You know.
It was a full day experience, right, you know, with again thousands of dollars a giveaways small of our sponsors, but doing these workshops on the world, right, you know, we did we left questionnaires for all of our attendees asking like, he has a small business, like what are some of the issues you deal with in real time?
And again after that the pandemic hit and we were forced to look at the information that we gather and it's like, fuck, it's not just the inspiration and the education that we're providing, you know with this workshop, it's the business to us and that's what promted us to go and build the platform, you know, and continue that way.
So you know, the cool part for me, Bro, honestly is you created a solution. Because everybody has an opinion, and everybody can tell you what's wrong, This is wrong, and that's wrong. Okay, so what the fuck are you? We are not just you? We going to do about it? What is the solution to these problems that we're having
that make our business just run so much smoother? Because I think the other part, too, is people get caught up in I say this a lot, man, there's just certain people who would rather complain.
Then actually do something else.
I think they want things to be wrong to.
Complain, yeah, because honestly they're scared a lot of times they're scared. And and and then the other side of that is people feeling like, well, it's just wolves anyway, and it's just fucked up people and the devils and this, that and the other. More so than saying, hey, I actually didn't turn my shit in. That's why you didn't get paid or credited. Are now you want to try to sue somebody? How about they might not even known your ass was on the song.
And that's trying to figure that out first.
And I'm not even signed up with a cap I'm not signed up with it. I don't know about all of the creators that don't know that, right. Like we're all small businesses, right, all of us, right, But there's never been a tool right that show us what the fuck needs to be done?
Right. You're expected to learn all these things right, right, and you go back to the solution, right, you're one hundred percent right, right? And you know, yes, we started with audio engineers, right, the people that you know historically have never been given a flag to fucking wave right. And you know, this is why we're seeing early on this mass adoption of engineers on our platform signing up and becoming members, right, because they're finally seeing that solution
to the problem. Right. But that's also enabling us to now scale up the vertical of creation audio engineers, recording studios, music distribution, and director consumer sales. Right because the audio engineers historically, or the conduit to the me we hold the relationships with the producers, with the artists themselves, with the managers, with the labels, with everybody, you know what I'm saying. So it's you know, why isn't that there is?
Why is it that our tech stack is having to use Dropbox, cash, app, Venmo, quick books, invoices, Gmail, text message, you know, et cetera, et cetera. So if we build a tool where all engineers don't want to work nowhere us but our platform, naturally they're going to tell all of their artists, hey, I only want to work here, and they're going to bring on their artists, Hey, book me using this one here.
Me here, because that makes it easier for them to right.
So now that we've seen that, now, what's the next step providing these you know, distributions. Now that we're having artists naturally organically coming onto the platform, signing up, utilizing these tools, that's all for them what they're naturally doing once the project is done, which is download and go upload to another SoundCloud or you know, other distribts. So why don't we just do a one click distribution straight
from their profiles? Right? So it's it's it's it's really you know, verticalizing creation as it should be, right, but starting with the artistic intention of music creation and then going into all the other admin tools. Right. So it's you know, it's.
I can tell you've been speaking to brother.
Yeah yeah, yeah, the world to you.
It's it's you. You know what it is, ma, It's it's it's care like you know, it's absolutely passionate. You know what I'm saying is it's you know, uh, you know, I get these blackout moments to where like I could just go on these tangents like forever about what I built, but it's think about you know, it comes from nothing, bro,
Like you know what I'm saying. And now you know, you know, we have our thirty employees you know where we're doing things in music tech just in general right that you know, people my age don't really accomplish like a large period of time, right, And I look at this, it's like inspiration to show other people like, man, if
you got an idea, run with it, right. If you're if you're passionate about something, go for it, right because it's like you said, when you bet on your fucking self, right, that's when you reap all the benefits putting the time, putting the time.
Because that's the other part, you know, especially in this in this generation, right especially because.
They can there are they are one click away from.
You kidding you know me ten year olds are killing it right now, just being you know, like you know Philly and all these crypto ship Absolutely, it's you know, it's it's it's you know, yeah man, but it's it.
But it's the research. It's the research, and it's it's the understanding because you can get there, but you may not stay there.
And that's the thing, you know what I'm saying, Yeah, man, staying there that's the hardest part. You know.
It's easy to make a million dollars. Right, let's talk about your stay in power. Let's talk about the record, right, Let's talk about what gets you, you know, because you to where you are now, right, because that is not an overnight thing. That is absolutely not an overnight thing. Like you said, you and we both can attest to this. We both slept on the floor. We both we've both been in those trenches trying to figure out this whole
music business thing. When y'all get good Kid Mass City and it's the massive success that it becomes, and you want to grammy off of that as well?
Right man? Now that was the year, you know, blessed somebody Maclamore one that year?
Okay, Okay, somebody else won that year. But so from no song at all? Did you when I want to grammy off for that album?
Off of Yeah? Yeah, I think I the that was for the Pimpbofly. I think that that album.
Any Grammys that as a song or nothing?
I think like songwriter. I think like those individual like like feature Gund I think you might have won like one or two if I'm not mistaken. Okay, I think it was one of those like those widespread.
Like yeah, somebody else gotta come yeah for that album right right, So but as you reaching this this very high level of success, Like what's going through your mind?
Bro?
Like from being in Carson on the floor twenty four hours a day, seven days a week to now it's like it's universally recognized, is praised.
How does that feel for you?
I mean at that moment, right, it didn't hit right because you know, first obviously you know personally, like you know, like bread wasn't coming in, like you know what I'm saying, your.
First like getting to the bridge.
Yet we were touring heavy because we were touring from Section eighty right, and I know the money from the tour was way better than you know what I'm saying, because you need time for the albums to bubble, right, you know what I'm saying. Like, you know, so you know we're still like we're back to work, right, and I think we're heavy on the tour. Kendrick is a touring artist, you know, from uh you know, going again, going back to you know the section Eddy, We toured the world and at.
This point you're purely DJ.
An engineer. But I'm I'm I'm purely just with with with Kendrick and t D. And everybody because we're all just traveling as a group. So yeah, i'mdjing because I knew the music and uh yeah, while we're on the road, the hotel setups like we did a lot of you know, butterfly like and hotel rooms.
So you a DJ DJ? Are you a Jamie.
Started promise? You remember the old school incidant replaced That's what that was. That was that right? But then over time, uh because again being on stage like we did a Coachella early, like, it's like you know you it's insane, right, it's crazy experience. But during that time, I had to learn that, you know what I'm saying, I had to learn at it and it was I think about an engineer stuck in the studio all day long. Now I got I can scream as loud as I fucking want to.
You know. You know what I'm saying and what I'm drunk. You know, I have a little you know, I have a little drink too. I'm up there crazy, you know what I'm saying. The spirit is within me. Yeah, but it was you know, over time, like I started doing separate little after party DJ Gigsah, let me get I'm bombing it. Though I'll tell you a story. We're Australia, Bro, cammensity till we go to Australia. You know, I get booked for an after party, right a bag, one of
the biggest bags that I made to DJ. I didn't know what the fuck I was doing. I'm talking. I went to the club. I gotta send you guys the flyer and I think I still have the video. It was so bad. I cleared the whole stage, the whole floor. I got on like a nine thirty to like a like a nine thirty to like eleven thirty slot. Bro. By the time eleven thirty came, Bros, And nobody left in the club. And at that point, but Nigga, my
blends was ass like you know what I'm saying. I'm up there trying ship like I'm high five and the hommies in the back that time, figuring that we up like you know what I'm saying, Like you know, they tell you know, it was so bad. And I think that was a turning point where I was like, I gotta figure because I want to keep getting this check right here, you know, I gotta figure this from now. And you in a different countries, so that was the best part out here. I didn't have to worry about
no one like, you know, putting me on Facebook. You know what I'm saying. It was like a little test I'm in the whole. I'm at the bottom of the map. Uh you know, I'm let me figure this out. But you know we did, man. You know. I got connected while I was in Australia, got connected with Siado. They're from Auckland, New Jersey. I'm in New Jersey, AuCl In, New Zealand, Zealand. They got me one of those the control of the controllers, you know, and I was on
my way from there, you know. But again that gives a testament to like just always needed. If there's a part that needs to be played, I'll do it. I didn't know what I was doing DJ and I'm like, you know what, I'll do it. I know the music right And I feel.
Like that's a big part of the TV six that story is everyone just playing service multiple part.
Everybody.
Everybody was a Swiss Army Knight.
And that's what and that's what it needs to I think nowadays, man, it's too much what entitlement You would say, right, well, if there's a hole right there. Right, someone's just not going it's not my hole to feel like I'm gonna just keep It's like you need to be able to flow like water, right there is I remember tip you used to say, Man, there is no roles. Run this motherfucker like you know, I'm me personally, I'll go onto it. I'll be the DJ, I'll do security, right, you know
what I'm saying, I'll do the tour. I picked the bag up like whatever, whatever it was, you know what I'm saying, And that that formula, I feel like is the recipe. Right. It's like when you got a group of individuals that the mission is all aligned, right, you know, at that point, bro, there's no there's no losing because all the energy is focused on that success. You know. So it's you know, I'm myself with everything I'm doing,
I'm trying to multiply that, you know, myself. I'm trying to take what I've learned and apply that formula, you know, because I seen it work. I want to watch it work in real time, you know.
Yeah, so what do you what do you actually in your in your in your in your in your seminars, it talks it heads what is your first piece of advice that you give to someone who wants to follow in your footsteps.
Stop overthinking, right, you know, going back to me working, you know, with two tracks and stolen you know, equipment. I didn't know what I was doing. I even asked when I first met him, how do I get my shirt to sound like yours?
On equipment are stolen? Plugging all? I think the statute, you know I heard Craig earlier.
I felt like it. But the thing was when I asked, I was like, yo, like and he and he said something that's still stuck with me. It's like, it's not it's not it's it's it's not what you're working on, it's who's pressing the buttons, right, And And that stuck with me because I didn't know what I was doing with the equipment that I had access to, the equipment that I had in my possession, right, But it's it's just diving in and and and and and and figuring
it out. Man. Just don't be afraid of of failure, because that's your biggest blessing.
Like your style, the purposeful style, the purposeful style, Brother Ali, This particular sonic was not mixed by you, but I'm gonna do my best brother to make it sound as your journey as an instant replay DJ all over the world.
I know you've heard some music.
Of the R and B kind, the sonics that have inspired you to be the sonical genius you are.
At this moment. We want to know what those songs are all leave. We called the shore.
Top five.
Your top five.
Top five, your top five ry singers, Alay songs. We've got to know before you go there are they you?
Then the whole world? Nor top yes, top.
You, top fur.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
M hm.
I love it, mixed by Ali Your top five R and B singers.
Uh again. When I came in, I was I was like, there's so many right, you know, been inspired by so many different artists, so many different generations. And I actually wrote a list, you know, because it was like it was it was you know, so I'll say top five R and B singers. And this goes back to like high school days when like I sit back and what most inspired me, what most like just has if I think about the song, I can pinpoint a moment in life.
And this is the list I came with. It's jagged eggs pretty Ricky, Yeah, Beyonce, Yeah, yeah, you gotta you gotta throw the Queen obviously, Scissor you know, love me some and the last one was really hard, you know. Uh So, as of late as I've been like on this, I'm sorry, I keep going into these conversations. So I went into this this just journey of like reinspirational, just different. And I found this playlist right and Shallamar was on it. Yeah, and yeah, how are you I'm saying, yeah, you know
one of my favorite that I know. It's gonna be played at my wedding. This is for the love and come on, you know what I'm saying. Uh so that I would say top five R and B artists even though, but yeah, you have three groups that right exactly.
I want to point something out too, though, and I'm happy you said it because you've been a part of it. I had a I had a debate with someone about Sissy being an R and B artist and I'm like, what do you what do you mean? Oh, you know she was going for this with this, So that's an R and B singer at the core of.
Her absolutely right. I mean you go back listen to love Galory. Yeah, you go back. You know you listen to all of them. Yeah, it's just nice, are you kidding me?
Just a nice win And and that's just my belief. And even when she does records like a kill, Bill still an R and B.
Artist, singer, R and B singer. You can't say one or two records and three four records and and not. You should be.
Able to you should be able to sonically dance whatever the fuck you want to dance. Doesn't change the essence of who you are. Okay, your top five R and B songs?
Again, Man, so many, so many, so many, And it's hard enough to be biased, you know what I'm saying. So you know I left you on the list on purpose, you know what I'm saying. All right, So look back to Jamie Fox The Unpredictable Album. Uh, you know, do what to Do Jamie Fox Project exactly. I know you're like that. I got frank Ocehan thinking about you, going back, Shallamar This is for the love venue luth never too much? Why not? Yeah? Why not? I'm saying it's a nice blend.
And I'm telling like the reason why the old with the oh it's for one, they don't make records like them. The more you know and just played this I'm share with you. I'm talking like it's like my morning is what I take my daughter to school with, and like it's one of those it's just like the soul, the texture, the the different breaks, like it's just the structure of those of those records from like back in the you don't hear that no more if you don't hear those bills,
those climaxes, right, you know. Yeah, And that's that's what I've been right into a lot of just three this is that's that's for more R and B songs. It was one more R and B sound, damn uh try the more Luther Frank Sizzl I Sizl Love Galore, Oh Lauren Hill do Op Hi?
Yeah?
Is that considered R and B to me? You'll take it. I'm I own every singer. We own them. They are a are you kidding?
Especially R and B hours I mean hip hopkin they just did both may be trying to snatch people, but she's one of ours.
She's you know what I'm saying, Let's go back to sister act. Huh tell you man, it was like it's again even with like like that's what I'm looking forward to, like in the next in the next gene of music is like it's going back to those going back to the production where there's actually like am B side breakdowns, there's like all these climax and build ups, there's live instruments. Like I think there's a big space for you know, those R and B acts that you know, just dive
into like love making once again. Like you know, it's everything's too slutty nowadays, Like you know it needs to slow a little bit, you know now in a good way, in a good way, in a good way. But it's you know, it's like those those you know, you just need.
Your mix, you just need to make it because yeah, it's like sexual healing was considered right slutty day.
So I'm saying as far as like the the like the rap, like the slightly rap another level, that's that's you know, it's I'm turning that off, you know at the kid pick up, you know what I'm saying. But yeah, man, there there's there's there's a wide space for for for for R and B. Man, And I'm definitely anxious if the artists are out there, man, please reach out. You know, I'm in my d ms, you know, constantly looking for new talent to you know, collaborate with.
You know, Okay, let's make a vultron. You're super R and B artists. We're gonna find an artist to get the vocal from the performance style, the styling of the artist, the passion of that artist, and who's gonna mix that artist project. Yeah, we got a new wrinkle to that one vocal to make your super R and B artist.
Mary, you want to pass it, Mary? Yeah?
Yeah, yeah, more trauma this artist, Right, Mary, I'll go. I'll go, Marry not gonna shed a tear.
Mm hmm.
That's a good one. Performance style Rihanna, mm hmm. Super bowl Rihanna, super.
Full vibe with a baby that's one of the most fierce. It's very it's a very animal at I see what you did there.
Yeah. Yeah, the styling like like like like physical, I'd have to go Rihan as well, just you know what I'm saying, just very upscale casual. And I'm not a fashion guy, you know what I'm saying. So if I offend you Rihanna for saying upscale casual, but very she's very fashionate about that. As I was just flying ain't right, He's right, got it? The passion of the artists, damn passion because Mary has passion, you know what I'm saying. But it feels to be Beyonce, you.
Know, you know, very passion.
That c beyon Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you ain't saying nothing wrong.
And who mixing this ship? I mean, come on, man, I gotta with your boy. Thanks by having sick of this ship, get right to it.
We got we gotta get him, get it together again.
And would you would you mix his pianoform?
But absolutely with this? You can do something with this?
Could you do something with this?
I ain't saying no nick, I ain't saying no names, saying no things.
I ain't saying no names?
Was what you?
Yeah?
There, It is so very important part of the show, so important. Will you tell us a story funny and fucked up? Are funny and fucked up? But the only rulee to the game is you can't say no name?
Okay, okay, I could leave hintstore right yeah, all right? So you know being that this is you know the R and B podcast. You know I was working on the R and B album did very well. Actually, I think you've all heard of it, but during this time, it's just funny and fucked up. It's funny, it's funny and like a like I like dark humor a little bit, but it's fucked up because it's up. So I was
mixing this album. I was going through like one of the worst times in my life, like mentally, like you know what I'm saying, very very fucked up, and I was tasked with mixing this album and during that time, uh, what I was going through did not fucking matter, right, because his album was on its way and I was already just fucking just mentally, just beat down, and you know, completed this album and the artist comes in, uh, and this person says, I'm gonna quote the other person's name,
not the person said it, but this person said, Hey, Rick Ruben hates the way the mixer sound. Mhm, right,
I'm talking. I wanted to bang my head through a fucking wall, right, And I think that was one of the most like trying times in life because already mentally at one of like the most like trying places in life, and then having somebody who does not know what you're going through continue to beat you down right now, album did fantastic how it sounded right, you know what I'm saying talking one of the biggest albums I think that, you know, was like a funnier fuck that I'm all
because now and look back at it. I almost went back and remixed it, just out of ego. I'm glad I didn't, right, because I don't think it would have you know, the effect, you know, it wouldn't have that same Yeah, so funny fuck them up, you know, so you kept it and touch it. I actually went home and I was like, I was able fucking you know, and ended up coming out and it was, you know, it was great funny if it was that too dark.
Because it's very real.
It was, Yeah, twenty seventeen, it was twenty sixteen possible. The best person came and knocked on the door and said Rick Robins hates these mixes and walked out, and I was like, fucking into the house. Oh good luck.
At the time, and then it became a huge success.
Incredible. Man. Sometimes you just gotta do you brother.
You gotta trust your injury. Yeah yeah, you gotta choush you gotta chosh your engine.
I love that that name.
I just bro, I love everything you've done, Like as a creative. I mean absolutely, you're one of the best.
Come on, and and you've and you've.
You've mastermind ways to maximize that to where it's not a solo mission anymore, to where now you are united with like minded, like artistic beings that that share your energy and sharing that information and creating these platforms that make it cool and make it easy. It's just, bro, it's just it's just really.
Really cool to thank you for that, thank you for that giving me a platform. Like I said, you know, these stories I think are meant to be heard because it's and I hope this one inspires at a minimum of one other person. Yeah yeah, And if done that, then I think, you know, my mission has been you know successful here for the day. You know, I'm big on giving back. I'm big on each one, teach one hm, you know, and you know, thank you guys for letting me into your home and allowing me to tell my
story here. Man.
Absolutely no, we want to be a part of it.
Man, We want to be a part of We want to we want to funnel people through.
And like I said, you guys mentioned you have a lot of artists like you know, like I said, we have well over fifty thousand creative studios across the globe. I would love to give you guys like platform credits to any any followers you guys have if they're looking at book a studio time or getting songs mixed or mastered. You know, yeah, they can do that.
To give that to our people. Man, for sure you heard them.
Get over there.
We got a couple of hours for you.
Make sure we get you asking that. So yeah, valuable. You can get them to great great ship. We support you, brother, any any anything ever we can do to help. Man, this is home for you. Yeah, we gotta definitely come out.
I got to see what it looks like that.
Man, it's not it's not too far from.
I remember, you know what with my fondest memory of that studio when when I ate that edible.
Oh that is where you thought you was gonna die.
And ended up in the hospital. Don't be the funniest ones, bro. I'm on tour, bro on tour. Apps So had got like a box like a brownie from like a fan and it was a weed edible and I told him not to do it, but I guess like the dosage was wrong or whatever. He's in his bunk, crawling at the bunk like it's a coughin like I'm talking like the worst trip ever.
No, Bro, he was cul It.
Was his guy though, that brought it. I've never taken edible. It was He's your guy.
Holistic, holistic, holistic, holistic is now man, I.
Don't want to find that pump motherfucker.
This guy he gave me that bad batch.
I thought I was dying on the mission. I need to find his dude that was in the.
Hospital, who got the got the homie, that biggest And I'm not even like, I'm not even that guy, just like you know, you's sitting in the cover and I'm like, for four days I was at Parkinson's disease.
Like staying in your blushream. That's why I can't that man. No, no, a good blunt like I left the Twist. It's like ghetto organ. I love to sit down, you know, cut up the wood, you know what it is. I just need to stay in my lane.
He thought it was dessert.
Bro.
I hated it up in the market. Heat it up. It needed to be needed to be. He never took you nowhere.
Now stop blaming me, Bro, I just knew the guy.
I connect the.
Tank with the guy. So yeah, I can't wait to return to the scene of the crime. Oh yeah, this guy got me good times over there. I can't wait to see what you've done. Man, I think you guys will love it. My name is Tank Valentine and this is absolutely the R and B Money podcast, the authority on all things y R and B. First impressions are everything. How you sound is important.
Get your sound right and this has been mixed by all.
R and B Money is a production of the Black Effect podcast Network. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Don't forget to subscribe to and rate our show, and you can connect with us on social media at Jay Valentine and at the Real Tank. For the extended episode, subscribe to YouTube dot com, forward Slash, R and B Money