My Musical Influences
Music has always played a central role in my life, from the early days of my childhood, listening to the radio to discovering new genres and artists as I grew older. In this article, I will explore the artists and albums that have had the most significant impact on me and how they continue to inspire my love of music.
STAR 98
When I was a child, my family and I used to listen to “A Total 80s Weekend” on our local radio station, Star 98.5. Some of my happiest memories are of us driving to Door County or doing chores around the house while listening to Star 98. I grew up listening to artists like Madonna, Tears for Fears, and Michael Jackson. I became enamored by reverb drums and guitar solos from a young age.
Grade School
During my grade school years, I started paying attention to music on the radio. Popular songs like “Hollaback Girl” and “Crank Dat” were frequently played on the airwaves and eventually made their way onto the school playground and into the gymnasium. The first music CD I ever purchased was “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long” by Maroon 5.
Timbaland
I've always had an affinity for great musical production, even from a young age. One of my most vivid memories is lying on the couch in the living room, listening to the "Top 9 at 9" on 101 WIXX. I was 12 years old and listening to Timbaland's song 'Apologize' featuring OneRepublic. It was the first time a song made me feel such intense emotions. I remember being blown away by the fantastic production. I had never heard such beautiful strings and keys before. Timbaland is a master at creating tension and release in his drums.
Middle School
During my middle school years, I vividly remember the release of Lady Gaga's "Poker Face." The song's intro and vocals still leave me in awe to this day. Soon after that, Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" was released, which also made a big impression on me. The song's grandeur and the use of old English instruments were particularly noteworthy.
Good Kid Maad City
When I went to college, I was introduced to an artist named Kendrick Lamar. He had released an album called Good Kid Maad City two years prior. I hadn’t heard of this artist or his music before. It wasn't until college that I started listening to entire albums. Listening to albums wasn't something I did when I was young. Everything that was served to me on the radio is what I downloaded to my mp3. For obvious reasons, his album was not played on the radio. This album was an experience unlike any other. That was the first time I had ever listened to a classic album front to back. One word to describe that album is “cinematic.” I felt like I was watching a movie in my mind. This album was instrumental in forming my love for hip-hop. After listening to Good Kid Mad City, I listened to and appreciated other hip-hop albums. That album turned me into a hip-hop fanatic.
Resident Assistant
In the fall of 2014, I moved into my dorm at the University of Oregon. As a parting gift from my father, he passed along his sickness to me, and I became ill with a sore throat. Luckily, my resident assistant had an electric kettle in his room, which I could use to heat water and treat my throat. As I sat on his couch, I watched my RA make a beat at his desk. He created a beat from scratch with a MacBook Pro, Akai MPK49, and two Rokit speakers. I had never seen music made digitally. Watching him was a transformative experience. He exported his beat to an audio file, and we listened to it on his speakers. I couldn’t believe what I had witnessed. I had no idea music could be made like that.
I had no idea what he was doing, but I was fascinated. I would sit on his couch and listen intently. Most kids would check out what he was doing, but many lost interest after a while and had little input other than an occasional “cool man.” That wasn’t the case with me. I would sit on his couch for hours, watching him go through his process. For the most part, I kept quiet, but occasionally, I would speak up and make a suggestion. He called my suggestions "baby talk" because he knew what I wanted the beat to sound like, but I didn't know the terminology for the instruments or effects. Instead, I used my voice to describe what I wanted. I hope my suggestions enhanced a few of his beats.
My RA was hugely influential in my understanding of music production. I learned so much from watching him, and I am incredibly grateful that he let me participate in his cook-up sessions throughout college. I sincerely hope he also found value in my opinion and support.
DJING
In my second year of college, I joined a fraternity. We were starting to have parties and social events on the weekend. Disappointed with the hot and cold music selection, I took it upon myself to improve the music experience. I decided to become the house DJ. During spring break in my junior year, I downloaded a software called Virtual DJ, a decision that changed the course of my college experience. This started my journey to find out which songs were universally loved. There are so many things about DJing that nobody thinks about. The atmosphere, the tempo, the BPM, the lyrics. I took pride in smoothly creating transitions that people wouldn't even realize a new song had started. I perfected the house party playlist. Eventually, I got so good I decided to befriend the club DJ at the popular off-campus bar, who finally gave me a couple of gigs.
FL Studio
After completing college, I had the opportunity to return to my alma mater several times to DJ at the fraternity house. Those nights were unforgettable, as I had spent three years in that fraternity working tirelessly towards establishing a home for ourselves. Finally being able to DJ there was a cathartic experience for me. It was shortly after my last DJ set at the frat house, that I decided to download FL Studio.
!llmind
I first learned of !llmind through my RA. He is a two-time Grammy award-winning music producer, NFT pioneer, and digital sound pack innovator who has collaborated with artists such as Drake, Jay Z, Beyonce, and Kendrick. But more importantly, he is my mentor. Before meeting him, I watched him on YouTube sharing his knowledge on music production.
Back then, he would fly across the country to meet aspiring music producers and help them out. He was all about making a positive impact on others. I finally met him in person on June 25, 2019. At that time, he had just won a Grammy for producing the soundtrack of the Walt Disney movie Moana and was featured in a Genius Deconstructed video for the song "Love Yourz".
During the studio session, which was called Pass The Aux, we were allowed to play two beats. I vividly remember playing my first beat, which received a negative response from !llmind. He respectfully advised me to watch YouTube videos on how to make beats. At that moment, I felt like the worst producer at the event and even contemplated quitting. I was so disheartened that I didn't even pay attention to the other beats being played.
However, during a break from playing music, we ate pizza and regrouped to play our second beat. I was surprised because I thought we only had one chance to play a beat. I played my second beat, and !llmind's response completely changed my perspective. He said, "It makes me feel like I'm driving a Corvette with the top down, and it's raining." Then he took out his lighter and started waving it in the air. That moment was a game-changer for me. It made me realize that the most significant compliment that a creative person can receive is when the audience connects with their art emotionally. It rekindled my belief in myself and my ability to become a great music producer. So, I decided to keep pursuing my goal.
SPLICE
Splice is a platform where producers can download sounds through loops and one-shots. I have made full-length songs using just my DAW and a Splice account. Just about every sound you hear in my beats is a sample I downloaded from Splice. There are a lot of mediocre sounds on Splice. Music producer, !llmind, once told me that he analogized Splice to Canal Street. Canal Street is a street in New York full of vendors selling fake Louis bags. What he meant by this is that many sounds on Splice sound cheap. I needed to spend time determining which sounds were high-quality. The better the sounds, the better the beats.
Tyler The Creator
Tyler, The Creator, whom I wasn't a fan of during the early days of his career, released an album called "Flower Boy" which completely changed his career path and turned me into a loyal supporter of his music. Tyler has produced some of the most incredible beats I have ever heard. I truly consider him to be the benchmark for creativity in any field.
youtube
I uploaded my beats to SoundCloud for a long time, where they only got a little exposure. Whenever I uploaded a track, it never received any organic views, allowing me to work secretly. It wasn't until late 2022 that I started uploading music to YouTube. The reason behind this shift was that I began taking the acapella of famous artists' songs and remixing them in my beats. People would be interested in those thumbnails and titles, leveraging the artist's name and song. That's why I started focusing my production purely on remixes.