All language subtitles for MasterClass - Timbaland Teaches Producing and Beatmaking_Full

I'm

a

my Music philosophy is creativity is a

welcoming thing.

As long as you love music,

you're welcome in this world of

producing.

Well, here we are in the hit factory. I

have my team Timbo here. Chris, my

engineer, been with me for years. Fetty

and Angel. Team Timbo. Part of Team

Timbo is a big expansion. But this is

the main hub. What are you seeing here

is I'm opening up to y'all and showing

you how I do it at home. This is what I

do with my crew. All my, you know, Angel

and Fetties, we all collectively be

together. We all work together through

our laptops. and how we our workflow is

just like a ongoing party. We just

transfer sounds to one another and just

cut the speakers on and jam out.

So, we're going to make music. We're

going to talk about the music and I'm

going to talk about some of my songs

that I already created that were hits

and talk about how I created them at the

time and what was my thought process.

We're going to we're going to record

vocals. We're going to show you how

melody is structured from a writer, from

me working with a writer, me working

with a artist. You're going to see all

of that in this class. But if you want

to know about the technical parts about

the EQing and producing, that's more

about going online tutorials about

plugins and other things. But you're

going to learn about filling. You're

going to learn about getting the groove

and enjoying one another. fellowship,

new producers, young producers, other if

you're up and coming, show me your work.

Show me what you got. Show me what it

is. Show me what you want to do.

I started using my mouth as an

instrument because when I tried to tell

people what I want or what I was looking

for or what I wanted to hear, I always

had a problem with articulating. But my

mouth was the easiest way to articulate

things for me when it comes to music. If

I can do the rhythm with my mouth first,

then I can duplicate it on a drum

machine. But the first part has to be in

my head and my mouth have to come out

with the sounds cuz it's in my head and

it just comes out. Take Are you That

somebody I use my mouth on that because

I wanted to do a roll and I knew I know

how to do this clicking sound. So I put

that in that and I just fill up the

space with my mouth. Cry me a river was

started with my mouth and then the song

was created around that. I started with

doing just the melody, just the the

melody of the song with my mouth and

then I layered it and then we added

instruments on top. So, a lot of times I

can start off with just my mouth to get

the basic melody and then I build around

that.

So, I would like to show you instead of

talking about it how I start from

scratch making a beat with my mouth.

All right,

take the last two bars loop.

Pay attention.

There you go.

All right.

Now, what I just did, I doubled my snap

and Chris is going to pan them like a a

Vshape.

There you go.

again. Pan Vshape.

M

you me

you you

You

m

you

m

All right.

All

right.

Pando's B shape.

All right. On this track, give me the uh

reverb and autotune.

More reverb.

Everyone,

everyone.

There you go.

Pano panel like a VJ. No two melody

sounds.

Whip

on.

Yeah.

Oh,

you

oh.

on a on a hill. Hey, give me the reverb

on this one.

And I'll auto

more reverb.

you

down

when you

when you

wake when you take me with you when you

Hey baby you All I got my

drink and get all I got my

we all I got my business.

She got me in a whisp.

All right.

Stop.

Now,

as you see,

I did melody, beat,

cymbals,

claps, snares, kicks,

and we could play it back. You can hear

what I did. And I start doing drops. And

I add around that if I like it and flip

my little vocals and just play. I just

do the little melody to give me a drive

or a groove so I can keep going. If I

want to build, if I want to add on it, I

just keep listening to it and I script

that little melody part off and add to

the beat. So, I'm more of a stack

person. I like to stack a lot of things.

If you don't know how to beat box,

everybody don't know how to beat box,

but everybody knows how to hum what

they're looking for or mimic or tell

somebody that knows how to do it. what

you're trying to get out. But most of

the time, everybody harms to themselves.

So, you can do that and build around

that. And you don't have to think it's

stupid because it's not stupid. It

actually starts to form a whole song.

You can really edit anything that you

do. So, just be free with it. That's the

whole beauty about making music. You can

be free.

I'm Timan and this is my master class.

So, what we going to do now, the beat

that I made earlier with my mouth, we

going to expand on that.

She got the boo. She got me. She got me

standing on my head again.

Let's play the loop.

I got to sync it.

Oh yeah.

Oh yeah.

I got you. One, two, three. Am I Am I on

quick?

Mh.

Oh yeah.

I like that.

Ooh.

Ooh.

Moo.

Uh oh. Uh uh uh.

It's like a dope pad, but it needs like

some chords to go with it. Not long

chords, like

something to move. Got this straight

like um something something ill.

Something different than that. A

different sound.

That's cool. What what I did is just add

on what is there. I'm just adding just

filling the space in. Just filling in

what's already I did with my mouth with

digital or with my drum kits and just

trying to fill in the space and make it

keep the essence of the beat box there

but just not over cluttering it just

making it just special. That's what I

like about starting tracks with you like

that start with your voice cuz it's it's

a pretty cool concept cuz you have like

sound

like these sounds we could switch the

chords easily.

Yeah. Easy. You know, because there it's

not like there's sounds that are married

to a specific there's a key in there,

but they're not married to a specific

set of chords. And that's what's cool of

taking something with Tim's voice

and then we can take my voice out and

see what it's you know. You know,

just keep the beatbox or we keep those

melodies and then

reverse it.

Yeah. So, this this bass part is a

massive patch.

Um, and then I put it through the famous

kickstart side chain effect. Um,

I rolled off a little bit of the bass

and I just played.

It's just a solid preset for Massive.

Um, very great synthesizer.

And uh all I did was put the side chain

on and it kind of grew with what Tim was

doing with the beatbox and the groove.

Yeah. So, it's just a little bit of

texture with the vocal sample. Um we're

not necessarily committed to it, but

it's just a nice little texture that

inspired me right off the bat and we

added it. Um, for this one I use the

plugin called Tantra.

And I have this preset that we call the

Ransauce.

And I also filter the low end on it. Um,

and then on the other one, it's an

ethnic sample.

And I put it through what I call the 40

sauce. Basically, I'm desampling. It's

almost as if I'm filtering the top end

of the sample. And then I'm running it

through an EQ. and then also kickstart.

Um, and that's just texture. So, it's

not a lot like this one. Sometimes

you'll run through uh through samples

and they happen to be in a kin. There

isn't really a lot you could do. Um, and

they work out fine and you want to use

them as texture. So, this would be one

of them.

So, that's the original. And then,

so the side chain is pumping it a little

bit. And then the EQ makes it real

distant and kind of etheral. And then

the other one, this is the first texture

and dry. It's

so then when we put the rans on it

and the EQ,

it's kind of textured. It's meant to be

very tucked. You don't want all those

sounds to be very prominent. And again,

it might end up on it, it might not. It

might be used as a transition sound or

it might just end up not going anywhere,

but we have them.

We're a band

with laptops instead of instruments.

That's what it is.

That's crazy. Do that again.

So that could be a whole

What was that vocal? That low vocal.

That was you.

Oh, that was you. Someone play some low

vocal thing. Oh, no. It was this.

That's three parts.

One is a guitar.

I'm going to play with no effects.

First effect is actually one of those

side chains like Angel was saying

before. It's a different plugin, but

it's the same type of effect.

Almost makes a groove a little bit. Then

I have this compression. changes the

pitch a little bit so it sounds more

like it's coming from a tape.

Then I filter it,

taking some top end out of it.

This plugin, what it does is really

cool. It makes the sound, it's like a

sequencer, and I can decide what the

sound is going to do at certain parts of

the beat. So in here I have it set up in

a way that at the end of the bar the

sound is going to have a vinyl effect

like when a DJ scratches uh an album and

it goes down this effect.

So that that's what it does.

Next is some EQ. Um, just equalizing,

making sure I have all the frequencies

that I want so it's not fighting with

the other instruments. And the last

thing I add is this compressor. I just

did it when I was hearing it through the

speakers. I was doing it on my

headphones and it sounded fine. When I

heard in the speakers, I thought I

needed a little bit more punch in the

sound.

It's very subtle. It just adds a little

bit more high-end to it. And that and

then there's a vocal that is reverse.

Now it's the same thing as reverse, but

I lower it an octave.

I don't think there's I can tell you why

I decided to put that in it. It just I

was going through sounds and I heard

that vocal. it wasn't the same key and I

was like, "Wow, that sounds really

cool." Um, but it wasn't cool enough.

So, I think if you reverse any sound,

it's kind of a lazy way of making it

sound cool, but it's effective. You can

take anything as soon as you reverse it,

it just gives it this like magic to it.

And then

that's just a simple sound that I found.

I put a big reverb on it. Reason why is

because the sample the vocal sample

starts a little later. So I don't have

nothing on the down bit. So I added

that. And then when you put it with the

guitar

and then with the the beat

simple but sounds kind of cool.

These are some chords over top of that

baseline.

Chords

something over top of it. Just more than

a baseline.

You need something like that.

Yeah.

Amazing.

No.

Yeah, you doing right.

Yeah.

No, no,

Damn. I hear it's like Yeah,

it's high.

That was cool.

Yeah, that's it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Something like that.

Yeah.

No, that ain't the right.

No. Hi. Go. Back up. The first The first

one you had was right. That was it.

Is the rhythm wrong?

Matter of fact, do another sound like

this.

What if I with a guitar?

Oo,

that sound good. It was putting me in a

trance.

I think it I think now I might need a

just to see a melody note to make sure

we don't over clutter. Yeah,

maybe Asian see if he come up with a

melody something like that.

Or I can do it.

Yes.

Perfect.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah. I feel free in here. Oh man, there

hey,

I need autom

They want to test me on a woman.

It was you. It was me.

No,

no, no.

She was all

I would love to go. She was all my love

and with all my

baby. She was all my love and all my

love keep.

She got the poop. She got me. She got me

standing on my heading up. She got me

standing on my head.

She got me. She twisted up. She got me

standing on the corner baking up. She

got me standing on my head. Breaking it

up. She got me on my head. Break it up.

Hey, I need you talking, baby. Won't you

come and do that? I want you dancing on

that corn and make it blue back. I make

you dance all night and make it do that.

I make you want me to get on and make

you do that. That was my name, baby. I

got my name, daddy. I want my blue and

you sing, baby. I got my money in do

that. I got my one,

huh?

That's crazy.

The king

for real.

Yeah,

that's crazy.

Y'all see they be telling me that stuff

to be gassing me up. Push play.

Hey,

can you get rid of the bubble sound? I

like it.

Damn.

Can we get some more volume? I need to

finish it.

No

way. She was all

I would love to go. She was all my love.

She was all my love and all my love.

Oh, let me

Yeah. She got me standing on my head.

She got me standing on my head.

Yo yo yo. Chris, give me give me delay

on this track. Put the reverber

and the um reverb. Reverb.

Autotune.

Auto tune.

She was all my love. All my love it up.

She want all my love. All my love.

She got the boo. She got me. She got me

standing on my head. Turn it up. She got

me standing on my head. Standing up.

Standing up. She got me up. She twisted

up. She twisted up. She got me on the

picking up. She got me standing on my

head. Waking up. She got me dancing on

my head. Break it up. I need you

talking, baby. Won't you come and do

that? I want you dancing and make you do

that. I make you dance all night and

make you do that. I make you want me to

get on and make you do that. Do that.

That was my name, baby. I got my name,

baby. I want my

baby. I got my money in it. Baby, do

that. Do that. I got my money in it. Do

that.

Yeah.

And if

my hot

shing

find the one in the way in your face

talking

I don't want to talk to talking the long

way

you kiss she all day I don't want to

talk baby way I got

I could have gone somewhere though.

They jamming out there.

Yo, that's

that's wet.

What?

I'm sweating.

That's what happened when the speakers

in my ears hit me. Brings the energy.

Wakes you up. Play back.

She was all was all I would love to go.

She was all my love with all my

baby.

She all my love. All my love keep.

She got the boo. She got me up. She got

me standing on my heading up. Standing

up. She got me standing on my head.

Standing up. Standing up. She got my She

twist it up. She twist it up. She got me

dancing on the baking up. Break it up.

She got me standing on my head. Breaking

it up. Break it up. She got me dancing

on my head. Break it up. I need you

talking, baby. Won't you come and do

that? I want you dancing on that corn

and make you do that. I make you dance

all night and make you do that. I make

you want to get you do that. That was my

name, baby. I got my baby. I want my

baby.

Do that. Do that. I got my

do that. Yeah.

And if come on

my

shell

in your face talking

I don't want to talk the wrong way

you wish you all day I don't want to

talk about I got it.

See, stop. You see what the feeling made

me do, class? That's what it should do

to you.

I found the magic of Harry Potter.

I found magic when I w put the

headphones on.

I needed to I knew it needed something,

but

I needed to find a bounce. And I said,

"Let me just go in there and do it

myself." I look at Fetty. He kind of

gave me his eyes kind of say, "You

should do it without saying it." So,

so when a like, "Yeah, you go do it."

And I just went in there, put the

headphones on, closed my eyes,

and let the music take me where it's

want to take me. And that's where it

took me. And now I'm having a lot of fun

and you should too. When you making

music, find elements

to make, you know, jump out at you and

just attack it. Just do stuff. Like I

don't think is none of the stuff I do. I

I I like go crazy, but it gives me a

vibe to

keep going and adding on to the

production or muting stuff out. So now

we can get a feel because there's a

melody there and the melody strong and

everybody's feeling it and then we

elaborate on that. I might get Adrian in

here and we'll probably he might take

the same melody. I said just follow I

give if he like that we'll give him

that. I said I do this part with you and

I do that. We are structured a little

bit, but that's just me vibing to and

usually I like to sit with and keep

playing it and I like I know I mumble

lyrics, but it ain't they're not lyrics,

but I just mumble really the cadence of

what I think it should be.

When I have a melody that I think is

cool, I just keep sitting with it like,

you know, like what we all do. I'm not

the writer. I don't be writing stuff,

but I can and I do it. But I just like

listen to the melody and pass it on to

other people that are artists such as

Adrian and New City. I'm like, "Do you

like this melody?" Or take parts of it

and incorporate it what somebody else

would do. Or if somebody else hopped on

the track, I would probably keep my

melody and get and start getting with

top liners and start writing putting the

words to it to the melody that I have.

And this probably do I would probably do

it myself and be a feature and pick the

parts that I would want to do. Which

part I want to do? Make it a eight bar,

12 bar. Just keep vibing with it because

it feels good the way it is now.

Sometimes when something feels so good

and you try to put words to it, it just

don't feel right. You know, sometimes it

is what it is. And it's like it's a

vibe. And so I might I don't know. It's

like I just want to keep vibing with and

get other people opinion. And what is

it? A filter vocal. We we it's so much

you can do but all I know the energy is

there so we have to like contain this

energy and put it and make it something

special. It's already special but it

like really make make sense of what we

have. I could jab to this for probably

hours and just figure out and then I

keep adding but I like to go I like to

just rest for a little bit then play it

again because some of the words if I

keep hearing it words will start to come

at me. You know what I'm saying? I'm

like ooh. So I most of the time I would

probably play it for about a thousand

times like low or tell Chris

to give it to me in my um air drop it to

me and while they working I would listen

to my headphones and walk just sit back

on the couch and just you know I don't

want to interrupt the flow and just say

this should be this. And if I got

something I I stop I say stop stop

y'all. I think I got the title line. I

have what it should be. it should say

this or we are all vibing this

and figure out words but you know that's

a you know it's a process so it's it's

just long as the vibe is there and the

energy is right and so far the energy is

right and it's just about it's just

about

putting it all together it's the same

thing the same this is one of the same

ways how I started commiscuous girl and

I had the

uh I just had the melody And we just

kind of sat with until I was like, I I

don't want it to be. I want it to be

something that's not normal. This that's

normal, but it's simple,

but it's sophisticated.

And we just kept going through words.

It's like playing chess. It's like a

puzzle, you know, freaky. No, I don't

want to say freak. I don't want to say

that. I don't want to say this. So, this

is the same process.

Now, here's something that's going to

help you get through the days that

you're not feeling creative. Here's

where you know, if you play video games,

read a book, whatever you do outside of

music, just get into that, you know,

just live life. Don't let it beat you

up. Don't you have a off day every day

going to be on point and you just come

back at it. You might get it might still

not be there and you going to probably

get more frustrated. That's a good sign

you're getting frustrated because that

means your love is real. It's not false.

Just come back. It's like an argument.

Walk away.

Come back another day. It'll be there.

The love just don't die like that, you

know. Don't don't get too frustrated and

beat yourself up. Beat yourself up. get

happy because you love it that much that

you want to beat yourself up, you know?

So, it'll come. Sometimes it make four

days, three days. Hey, it's life. Long

as you living, you got all the time in

the world.

The way I'm The way I laid my push out

is

I just took a lot of I just made drum

rack one, two, three, four, five, ASR10

10. Just make up all put all my drums in

a rack. And then after I I make my drum

rack, I try to pick my favorite ones.

The same way I did on my ASR. I try to

move the same way that I move on my ASR.

I don't organize my drum racks to say,

"Oh, this sound, that sound," because it

kills my freedom. I don't have like a

like uh like, "Oh, all the kicks on one

roll, all I know, I just put them all

like I grab if it's 128 or whatever

these pads are, I just grab. Boom. Just

getting to the fill all the blocks up.

Then I move on and I name that batch.

Timbo one, Timbo drum rack two, tempo

drum rack three. And then as I'm

producing, I I find my favorites out of

that. And then on your template, you can

put your favorites and go to a

preference to say save your template.

And you just save your template and it

comes up with all your favorite drum

racks. I don't label or like I label

like like if you see up here Timbo drum

one Timbo team timbo two it's like it's

the same these all the same three up top

three that I just duplicate it then you

got Timbo one over here then Timbo big

drum kick it's like I that's on that's

the only names I do you know what I'm

saying I'm not going to say say uh big

kick one or uh supersonic kick two no I

just put them all on one and like how it

says 365 Five. I know that's a drum

rack. I know that's a drum rack. You

have to label to things that you know

that fits how you're going to remember

things. And this for me is how and when

I don't if I put drum rack with the big

bass, it'll make me always go to the

drum rack with the big bass. But if I

put like four, five, six, I don't

remember what five have in it. And I

just take the sounds from the ASR10 that

I always made all these hits and create

different, you know, ambience out of

them because the computer, the Ableton

allows you to to expand on what you

already created in life. So I don't

necessarily say, "Oh, this kick and go."

No, I just load them all up and play

them back. I load up drum

drum rack five and it's right here.

drum rack five

and there it is all the pads. So, and

this is how it's like I don't know

what's on the pads. So, as I load it up,

I would just

And it gives you my by me not knowing

what's up here, it makes me more

creative.

So, I just

I just start and there it is. But I

don't I didn't know that was on this

drum rack. I didn't know that. I'm like,

"Oh, this kick sound."

See,

there you have it. This is my

organization. This is to me organized.

But to somebody else, to you, you have

to create your own organization. This is

mine. This is I know I like the element

of surprise. I load my rack. I push

buttons not knowing what's going to

happen.

That's beautiful.

You know, it's so many ways that I

start. You know, one time it could be

the percussion, sometime could be just

the metronome, like you know, just the

metronome and I bounce around that. It

is sometimes that click, you know, it's

all about the day. That click can

inspire something

and I might just want to click in there

the whole time and just a baseline, the

kick that, you know, but that's just for

that moment, you know. So that's that

one particular thing. So for me it

varies. You know I start different ways

each time. Sometimes my crew will start

and I just add on to what they did. You

know sometimes I start off, you know,

with a percussion. Sometimes I start off

with the sample. Sometimes just be a

click and just do like what I showed

you.

I might do just a basic beat because

that's what I'm feeling and I know. Then

I bounce around say this.

If it's just that that simple but it

feels because the kick is right right

the son of the kick is right but then it

gives me room if it's just that one then

it gives you room say

like with the sequence I can add and

place and flip it and then drop out and

change it around and resample it and

check it out. You know I do it a lot of

ways. I create a basic groove and flip

it. And the thing about Ableton, I could

just go through and skim like

that's a and I could take it

and change it

and I can do that all day. So I just go

through that. I would take that and nine

out of 10 I would take that right there.

That sample I could just move number

four said wave. I'll move it over here

to a say drop file add device

and either I'll go right here and just

put make it a simpler it'll put

everything right here and the colors

will be white. I don't know what colors

they turn into.

So now it's golden.

So that's a loop that's on here.

I just changed it.

Or I can put it and make it

and and make something totally

different. Just manipulate it. It's up

to me. So I just take melodies and

and just take stuff and just make my

own.

So like that I can just take that and

put it at the end

or you know load up that one.

Say if I like to have the horns come in.

I can again make it a simpler.

I can go to the slice mode and just play

with it.

Let's go.

There you go.

So

all I need is a two bar loop.

So

see you see it. This is playing. I just

double the loop.

Can add on to it.

Then step sequence is already it's like

it's like like t it's already swinging

for me. So I can say

or right there or I can stop on the

note.

So

then play it back.

So I just play around make then

see

just playing around. Get it right.

Bam. There we go. Yeah.

Then you know this now I got a basic

groove. But I just go back to

I'mma put that horn thing I show you.

So we got that. Then I just, you know, I

got to go back and do it again because I

just

So that's like a cool groove, right? So

me, I'm like, "Okay, that's cool. That's

basic." Then I might say,

"Hold on. You hear a one is off."

So I can move it.

See, I just play with the patterns.

Now I would take that and say, "Oh,

that's just basic, right?"

Then I'll go over here and trigger

another track

and record and resample the whole thing.

Sometimes I do it this way. I'm like,

"Oh, it's cool.

So that's a four bar loop. Then I'll go

over convert it into a simpler, you

know, just play with it. See what it

sound like.

See, sounds better.

Hold it.

See, that's it allows you to do that. Or

I could just be like or I could be

and see it because I sampled it as a

whole. It'll say, "Oh, if I It allows me

to hear the kick in different octaves

and tones and hear the horn in a

different key and allows me to

manipulate it and be like, "Oh, this is

not as simple as you." It could be it

could be dope. It could be.

It could be anything.

Look at that.

See, and it don't sound like

I was doing that, but it actually sounds

dope. So, I had to come back to it. I

save that little make it a sample and be

like oh and I could I did the beat as

simple and I could I know I can go back

and remember and do the same thing I

know and I might change up the drum

because I I don't know if it was five or

six by the time I come back too it could

be I could change it up and create and

take that and just use it as a template

and create around it. I think I would

want somebody to put something over it

before I go before I go any further cuz

I could go further. I would probably

pass it on to Fetty and Angel or Rants

the team and say what y'all think about

this and let them and then I'm like oh

then I could change this would be the

idea that spark off something else and

it won't be this no more but it will

start from

What I like to do

when I come in a session, I like to just

play what I've been working on and just

get the sonics right and then I then

we're going to start from scratch and

just make something. See what we come up

with. Just have fun. Let the music guide

us in this sweet old session of today. I

want to see how this Sonic sounds. Let's

play this. Let's see how this Sonic

sounds.

How do you keep the right people around

you in your community? It has to be a

community of music. There's no right or

wrong to communicating and sharing. It's

just do they have the same love as you?

And if they don't have the same love as

you, why is you communicating with them?

You know, and if they get you can sit on

the phone or on the text, talk about

stuff for hours and you like, "Yo, we

were talking about music for like an

hour or this drum pattern or teaching

the notes and you're like, dang, it's

our life." And when you got that type of

person, the community builds

watch.

See

what the tempo on this one? 81.

What is it?

81.

Woo.

Watch the trick.

See?

We getting warmed up.

See, that sound make me feel like I'm on

the beach. It's too, you know.

Yeah.

What temple is that? 81.

81.

I never was that great in school. I'm

going sit here admit like reading like

my thing was like even talking to you.

It's hard for me to talk about music as

something that cuz I just I can express

it more than talking about it. Like if I

baseline, okay, what? And somebody might

be smart. A quarter note. No,

that's how I talk. I can't do the high

intellect.

Quarter note, minor to this to. No, it

should move like this. What? And then,

you know, it's people who know all the

intelligence of music talk. But when I

come in like, no, you don't hear off.

Move it back a grid. Move it this way.

Huh? It going to be off the grid. It's

going to move a certain way. Trust me.

So they'll move it, but their musical

theory and and you know how they see it

on the screen or the computer don't

match up to how I see it in my brain.

And then when I get to show them, how

you know cuz I just mimic. I need you to

mimic what I just did. It might don't

look right on the screen,

but it's going to feel right.

I get it. So I talk with my mouth with

sounds from my mouth. Like if I say I

want to sn I want it sound like that.

Oh, okay. It's like a clap. So I can't

I'm not a very descriptive person. I got

to

do what you call it. What's that? Uh

charades or what? I got to do it that

way.

Okay. So Fetty,

what is that sound that you just played

over top of that? is actually,

let me play you the sound without

effects.

See that?

So, it's actually kind of a bell.

Thank you.

And then you add some effects to it. Um,

this one is sort of a distortion.

It actually emulates a very thing called

the speak and tell. It was like a

computer that used to like speak. You

can write on it. And in the 80s people

used it and someone made a plugin that

emulates that

so messes with the sound. And then I

added this thing as a side chain.

So it's making the sound go up and down.

Then we have a delay.

Gives a little tail, little EQ.

See?

So that's why he sound like that. But

it's a simple song.

Very simple but complex. It did. We hit

it.

about you.

So,

I'mma do one more, play one more, get

everything warmed up, and then we'll do

something from scratch. See what we come

up with. See how Fetty just add it on.

Angel's more complex. He like to

sequence it all and then play it back.

So, he his memory bank, he takes what

the melody is and he already hears it.

So, as I move on to something else, he

already has what was there and he's

creating the whole thing around from the

idea that I just played and he'll play

it back and say, "Can you pull up that

other beat? I got something for it."

That's how it usually works,

you know? It's getting the vibe right.

Then we'll start then he whatever he

create in his his thing, I could create

something totally different. That's how

we usually do it, right? So, I'm just

let him create

and he might play a sound after I blow

up this other one while me and Fetty

just jamming out.

See what he come up with. And I make a

start from scratch. Maybe let Angel

start the It's like a band leader. Let

him take the role instead of me taking

the role. And we see what we come up

from there.

I'm just having fun. I'm in the music.

I'm I'm just enjoying the time and just

letting the music take me over and just

being loud with it. Just coming up with

creative stuff. Me and Fetty Angel just

bouncing ideas, showing what I, you

know, what I would do. Just having fun,

you know, stuff like,

you know, like right. You see what I'm

saying?

See, I like take a trash can. You hear

that? Those are like bells from a

garbage disposal,

trash cans, and rakes. Look at the

beautiful sound that it made. And then

you get a cra a rapper say

he he

let me tell you where I got these sounds

from. a rake from my backyard from a

lake. I just wish all across the world

the states and then I add this

[ __ ] 808. Here we go. Always

think of the next rhythm. If you hear

something could be a tight, right? You

know what I'm saying? You're like, man,

and then you're it's like if I'm out

with you and I hear you like you

clacking on your drinking a coffee,

whatever you're doing, and if you

clicking the cup and you

then you're thinking like how I would

think cuz that's what I would do. It's

like the the least suspected like some

you have to get on somebody's nerve and

be like, why you always mingling in your

mouth making sound? Then you thinking

like me. That's how you think. Like me,

you have to be open

to just always dedicating yourself to

new ideas, evolving. I can wake up if

the wave, if I'm by the house and I'm on

the water, I hear the waves, it can move

a certain way. And I'm like,

to me, in my head, I was like,

Oo.

So, I might record it on my phone. I'm

like, "Do y'all hear that? Is it a

rhythm?" So, I put a snap to it. I don't

I don't hear that. I don't Okay, let me

put the snap to it.

How did you hear that? I said, "I don't

know. It just it was moving to a

currency that made me find a different

hop or a different bounce or something.

You have to be open to just like

meditation, just clearing your mind and

just be engulfed in music and sound. And

music is not like listen to a song a

day. I'm talking about just

listen to your surroundings. Listen to

what's around you. If you notice, okay,

it's high hats and just percussions.

And you got to let the high hats and

percussion and the junkyard boogie just

take you over. And you see how

this part the the bells are very

complex.

The bass is the simpleness. So this part

is

is

it's all that going on. So it's all that

is a rhythm. So with that being so I

just vibe to that for a minute. And I'm

like, "Okay, now it's so so many ways

you can go on it." So I I do a high hat

to

to give me where I want to go. And then

I say, "Okay, what's the simplicity in

it?" So I say, "Oh, here's the bass."

Hey,

but the bells are doing something

totally different. I'm just bouncing.

Boom. Boom.

See, I just like to play with the the

space. See, I'm going to do it with my

hands.

You know that just that simple, you

know, just having fun with it. trying to

take something simplistic,

some something complex and making it

simplistic. That's like the whole key to

it. And the junk y'all with the bells

and the rakes and all that stuff going

on with the effects on it

gives it uh uh like it's another rhythm

inside of rhythm.

An example of what I thought was great

sonic innovation was Dirt Off Your

Shoulder. Are you that somebody?

My Love sonically those records

on My Love. Just that rhythm haven't

been heard. Try again. The bass

just moving all over the place. But the

rhythm and if I just gave you the

baseline, it wouldn't have been a hit.

That's why I'm trying to tell you about

unorthodox rhythm. One rhythm is doing

this. Then I brought it down to the

beat.

So when it got to that you

So it's like complex meet simplicity,

you know? So

that record I knew it was special

because it was complex and simplicity

allinone. Get your free comb. Complex

and simplicity allin oneing

first. Your first reaction. I just play

you the good time. First your first

reaction.

That's your first probably most normal

people maybe reaction to claping the

clap.

But

you know I play with the rhythm to make

you bob a different then put in the

little toddlers. what I learned from

this culture, just going across the

world and adding all those elements,

it's like making a great gumbo, you

know, and I knew it was a special

product. Um, dirt off your shoulders.

It was a tape machine

um string that sound mono and I knew it

was I'm like, I ain't heard this before.

This I was like, it sounds fresh and I

just put the beat to it. make sure the

beat knock

and I knew it just was a special Sonic.

I knew that I didn't know if there was

hits. I just knew the Sonics was

special.

And that's why I try to look for a

special Sonic. So when you playing your

record, not saying somebody else records

is is other people records are great,

but when you get to it's like if

everybody stands up in line and play

their track,

when somebody play Whoa. Whoa. So you

know, it's like

your turn.

Your Sonics better be right because you

want to make them be like, "What the

freak is

You play Play me something. I know where

I'm going. Huh? You play me something.

Oh man, I go through this every freaking

time.

Yeah. Remember what?

now tuned into the [ __ ]

greatest.

Jay-Z was doing Fade to Black with Dirt

Off Your Shoulders. As you if you saw

Fade to Black, the story line is there.

I had a bunch of beats made

and I played the beats, but when it got

to Dirt Off Your Shoulders, even the

beat I played before, I knew was dope,

but I felt that Dirt Off Your Shoulders

was was

the first one was special, but Daryl

shows something about it. It just I

don't know what it was, but it's just it

was a feeling. And I knew when I did it,

it had a certain feeling. And when I

played it, that's why I reacted that way

because the feeling was so contagious

that it passed over to him, you know.

So, let's play it.

Now, tuned into the [ __ ]

greatest.

You hear that? It was the sonics of the

drums.

See, watch this.

You can go and brush your [ __ ]

You know why it was the Stop. his ad

lives at that moment with the feeling.

All you feeling is the excitement. You

now tun. That's what this track made him

do. Like Jay-Z is one of the best poets

that I know. I call him a poet. He's not

a rapper. He's a poet. He doesn't write

anything down. The beat made him feel

that way. Dare off your shoulders.

Don't ask me how you came up with that

title. That's Jay-Z. But I know the beat

made him say, "Yo, now dude." You know

what I'm saying? All the ad libs, that

was all the feeling. So, let's play the

beat. Play it again.

That's all that is is two three sounds.

That's it. Uh, it was a tape screen and

I I I had got a a tape screen sound from

Japan.

I forgot where I got it from. Some part

of Japan.

And I just

I was actually I was just playing around

just hitting like

and recorded it and I like I push play

this sound good. So I had these these

drums that I always loved that it was

heavy but I never had the right sound to

put on top of it. And when I came up

with that tape screen was so mono it was

so dirty and dull and I just ran with

that. And after that he put his rap over

that that that song don't have that many

instruments in it. That song has

this three instruments. There's nothing.

It's all about that tape that tape

screen that just like in Pony was about

the that one sound, you know, back then.

And the drums, my drums are always heavy

from the ASR. So that one sound just

went perfect with that, you know. Let's

listen to it.

Oh, you listen to high dirty

handing

[ __ ] Said the ladies love me from the

bleachers. They screaming all the

ballers.

I got that part. And I went back and

overlay with with

that sound. It was on I just took a

sound like just sped it up like said

they just it was a sample. They said I

slowed it down.

I put a bell to give it some like

give it a little crispiness, but it's

cuz everything is dull. The only thing

crispy is that bell and his vocals.

That's it. and the Sonics. And then

one shaker.

That's it. Now watch your homie holding

position in the kitchen with soda. I

just whipped it out trying to get me a

rover trying to stretch out the [ __ ]

That was the engineer at the time. Um

when he was doing the demo was doing he

was spearman to beat the groove. So it's

like when he played around with his

raps, he put the effects in there and at

the end he tried to chop up and do

different things with the groove. That

wasn't like something I did. It was like

the groove was so infectuous. So it gave

it made people want to experiment with

it. And then when Jay heard it,

I like that. No, keep that. I like, you

know, it was just that the groove was

that infectuous cuz once he put the I

remember when he like he said it was we

came in the next day and when we filmed

he's like oh and I came in and he was

already started. He's like said, "Hold."

He came out. Here it is. He pushed play.

The rest is history. He knew it when he

did it. I came in like right when he

started the first he always he hit me

like

out of here. Then he plays you down to I

was like, "Oh my." If you he watch fade

to black. Can you see

the opposite?

You saw my face reaction. I'm like, mm-

this ain't normal. And that's what it

was. Jay-Z wasn't He's not normal.

Well, he right over top. He just That's

not that song. What he wrote. If you

feeling like he he made you he it's the

song like the screens the tape screens

is the the orchestra and he gave you the

he was the conductor. He gave you that.

So that song is simplistic but it's that

tape string that gave it

the whole character.

My hustler homie, you a customer

on my shoulder cuz you brushing up on

me.

Every rapper that's out,

every rapper that's out that supposed to

be so-called hot will be terminated. I'm

tell this come out. Oh god.

What do y'all got? What we What we doing

today?

I got this crazy sound. The crazy chord

progression.

Hey, hey, hey.

Okay, you got that.

I put that on loop.

So, this sound I have a bunch of um

I'm going to turn everything off, all

the effects I have on it,

and then explain

what is going on. So, the chord sound

will sound like this.

So, that's the raw sound. And then I

threw a chorus plugin on it.

So, that's with the chorus plugin. And

then I threw on Echo Boy on it to put it

in a room. I kind of like the There's

this effect I really like. It's like a

restroom effect as if it was being

played in a restroom.

So, I put that on there.

And then I put another chorus on there.

I like double the effects on it. I don't

know why. It just feels right.

And I put it in another bathroom

with a different setting. It's a little

bit more wet

on the mix. And then I threw some

Valhalla. Put it in a big room.

And then topped it off with kickstart

just for a side chain. Not too drastic,

just at like 62% just to kind of give it

a little pump,

a little groove. That's it for that

sound. Basically what we like to do is

just find what feels right. It's like,

you know, knowing

something just different from others

that's out there. We just try to find We

like to experiment with different

feelings and different ambient sounds

and just play around with it till the

groove is right. So we'll go through a

lot of different processes of the sound.

And if you play something like

I like how we kind of manipulate a road

and make it sound like

maybe a string sound, you know? See,

it's like the you use space and make

you recreate this world of like echo so

it just don't stay in one place like

it's like

so it feels like wind to me.

We just go by the feeling. I don't know

where to take it. I just let it take me

where it's going to take me, you know? I

just sit and vibe to it for a minute and

we just keep jamming out till we got the

right parts.

It's cool.

Hey,

hey,

hey.

Hey,

hey, hey.

What temp are we at? T

Think

Oo.

Now see,

can you keep it up? Like I got a feeling

on the top. So

I got a mic on.

So that's like the I started off with

like this. I got to feel the vibe of the

groove. Make sure I feel it. When I laid

out percussion, I try to find a groove

and find space in the chords to make it

groove a bounce that I want to bounce

to.

Not that I want to bounce it, but I

think this not the typical. I try to do

something that's not typical. Like you

can hear it one way, you can hear it

forward to the floor. I rather do it

like

I like to think about songs that I might

have done like um

I heard it like um first I heard it like

a dance kind of to the floor, but then I

was like, wait a minute. I try to find

that groove with that pocket. Here we

are.

Yeah.

M.

getting the bass right, making you the

balance of the beat, the rhythm of the

beat has to be infectuous first. Like

the

if that's right, I'm like, "No, I could

bounce a different way." And once I get

the bounce

and it's not and once you have the

bounce, you don't really need a lot. I

think producers we we we we

have a tendency to keep adding. For me,

I keep adding and that cuz I'm always

hearing more. But sometime it's just

that plain pound cake that's just

beating you across the head. And I

realize and I go back to a lot of my

songs. I'm like, it don't really got a

lot. It's just where I space it at.

Might have four sounds, that's it. But

it's the spacing where the sounds are

and how it

overlaps the other to make a a rhythm.

Like this baseline

but the kick might

but the baseline

but the kick but it's moving the bass to

make but he's not playing like you like

well he's not playing that rhythm of

that kick but the sonics

will make the bass move that way. So

that's but it's only a bass and a kick

and you'll be like why I feel like it's

much more because I didn't follow his

pattern. I went off my feeling to give

it uh a different texture.

Cut it.

Cut.

Cut short.

You got to cut the bass short right

here.

Like

not

like

not that.

Not that.

That's it. Not that.

Yeah.

See, I wanted the space. And then for

the chorus, we might could put the

baseline like But no, it should be like

a um

that bass like like a breakdown when you

put in F,

you know, I'mma fix something else.

Yeah. There we are.

Cut up a little bit, Chris.

Then we going to bring it down. Break it

down. Now, no. Take that. We're going to

do that part right now. Then when I say

stop, we going to take that long bass

out. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

Now

back to

that's how I know

bass.

That's where that's going to come in at.

Not my fault.

Here we go. Damn. Here we go. Here we

go. I'm a little slow. I'mma catch it.

I'mma catch it. I'mma catch it. Here we

go. One 2 3 go.

Right. One. One. Baseline. baseline

with the baseline.

Yeah, that's how we going to do it

now.

Everybody listen to music on headphones,

earpods, earbuds.

Nine out of 10, nobody listens to music

these days in big speakers. So

the drums have to sound big in my

earpods and in my headphones. I want

them to sound big. So I just kind of

take my time and how I sample them in. I

really like deal with the compressors

and the EQs and make sure it's right and

then I make a whole drum kit. But I just

take a kick and just kind of like make

sure it sounds great in my headphones.

And then I put it on a drum rack.

And there it is. That's why it sounds so

fat. I don't have to layer anything.

Only thing I layer is maybe a rhythm off

a kick, like a like a boom boom. So it's

like two different tones of a kick, but

I don't really I don't have to layer the

kick because I make sure the kick is

hitting at the capacity that I want it

to hit. So I don't have to layer it. If

I had a kick drum that's not hitting

like that, I you know, it's hitting, but

I'm like, um, it can hit harder. So, I

just, you know, just add

a EQ.

So, I'll go find it. Now,

let's switch drum. Let's take that drum.

So, I take that's this drum.

It's It's cool, but we want to lift it

up a little bit. So, you put I put a EQ

on it right quick. So,

just fatten it up a little bit.

See, I just But it didn't sound like

that. This how it sound regular.

Beef it up

with snares really like I think snares

going you don't really you don't want

them to to be just as hard as the kick.

So you just you don't that's cool

enough.

a snare's,

you know, it's all about the texture of

the snare, you know,

it's all about texture or what snare you

want. It's not about raising it up all

for a snare. For me, I just raise the

volume because the texture is there. I

don't want it to be

nothing else. It's a matter of getting

the kick drum to match the snare for me.

And it should be for you.

Tim is a unique case. U he uh he's got a

thing in his software and you know he's

processing his drums pretty well before

they even come to me. So when I get a

track from Tim, I'm just trying to kind

of keep it what he did and then make it

a little bit better. So like right here,

he gave me that drum loop and the snare

was kind of part of it. So I went in and

looked at the track as he put it in here

and was able to pull that snare onto a

different track so I could kind of level

the snare a little bit and give it a

little more knock and punch. Um, apart

from where it originally came in, I

mean, most people kind of track their

drums out and like, you know, this drum

and this drum and this drum, but the way

Tim works in his computer, he really

likes to make his drums hit a certain

way before they come out. And

he's a unique case. Like I said, like

everyone's got to find their workflow

and what makes things work for them. But

this is kind of the workflow that works

for us.

This kick has, you know, very little on

it. Um, a little a lot of the sub low

stuff builds up and if you get a bunch

of drums coming in with a bunch of sub

material, they're all going to stack up

and get things. So if you if you roll

off a little bit like way down low

a little bit of all of them that come

in, you're able to make the drum hit a

little harder without

over bassing it. Cuz if you put too much

bass, then you lose some of the the

knock. Like here's the beat kind of as

Tim did it and

I have, you know, it's really all

balance. Like I start with the balance.

That's super important to not get crazy

plugin happy before you've struck a good

balance. And then you can start applying

things slowly to not lose what you

started with.

Like this is just some simple EQ stuff

right here. And I mean it's making a big

enough difference um to the kicks.

It's really kind of taking some away so

I can turn them up louder overall. Like

a lot of low end just comes from where

you set the fader and not a lot of EQing

and stuff like that. on the snare. Like

I did a little thing with a transient

shaper to maybe make the transient of

that snare hit a little harder. Um

I use a neutron for that. And

I'm able to make the snare pop out in

the middle and not have so much top hit.

So it makes the snare sound a little bit

beefier.

Um,

that would be with

and if I took it all off, that would be

that

a little thinner, a little less.

I'm kind of introducing some warmth a

little bit.

See, even the bells hear the hear the

percussion. It it has a it has a

it's hard to explain. It's a feeling

like one is complex, one just moves side

to side. That just

and I just fill in the blanks, you know,

ghost notes,

ghost notes, poly rhythms, ghost notes,

poly rhythm, ghost notes.

It's just it's not even notes. It's it's

it's

a percussion thing. It's like all of

Tim's tracks have they tend to have

these like he layer a kick under it that

gives it makes you bounce in a way that

you're like whoa. Like that beat right

there doesn't even start on the one.

It's coming in after.

It's it it's a different

He finds these little pockets in the

rhythm that give the whole track a

certain feel. And when we add our

sounds, we're playing on a very straight

grid for say or straight rhythm, but his

rhythm makes our sounds it comp it it

even complements what we're doing as

well. Um, it's pretty cool.

There's like five different grooves at

the same time. They all interlock and

make the collage of rhythm. I just if it

feels good, if it brings something out

of me,

that's what comes out.

Everybody has a different swing. That's

what makes producers unique. Kanye will

swing a certain way. He has his swing

that when he raps on his beats, they so

unique. It fits him. You know, everybody

bounce is different. You know, I just

like rhythms. I try to find all

different rhythms. Some rhythms are not

from the US. A lot of rhythms I study

rhythms from Africa. I studied rhythms

from Egypt, Israel. I went all I went to

all these countries to to dibble dab in

their music culture. That's why I love

Arabic and Lebanese and all that type of

music because they don't play on

American scale. They play on a different

scale. Music is is so different across

the world. So I just search across the

world and I've seen stuff

and I just try to, you know, do what

take all what I've seen and create and

try to mimic in my way and find my

balance to it. Like

if I was a love song like uh let's take

a uh George Michaels a song.

I might

that's my bounce. Somebody might hear

it.

That's their bounce. So your bounce is

whatever fits

That was They don't I don't think they

have them anymore, but that was like a

rack mount. And I remember it was a I

forgot the name. It was a O fat or Oh,

yeah. Something fat something something

fat, right? You scroll through them and

it was a sound like W and I just

truncated and I just said

that B was so interesting when I was

turning trying to find a bass and I hit

that frog kind of sound. I was like,

"Oh, that's dope."

It was just a sound and it sounds so

cool. And now and when we did that, you

know, Static, I remember Static coming

in the room. He was like,

"What's that, Tim?" Cuz he had a country

like he was from Louisville. He's like,

"What's that, Tim? That's fly." Like

then, you know, static. He me and him

when I did a groove, he bounced the same

way I bounced. Meaning, when I say he

bounced the same way I bounce,

um the way I bob my he

rhythm he was going to catch, you know?

We had to have the same kind of be on

the same page. And he wrote that for

Juwine. Genuine came down to the studio

like, "Oh man, Juan got his deal at Sony

10, eight, nine years later." That was

the first song we put out, but that

song's like 9 years old before it before

it hit them. That's what I try. I try I

tried to do timeless things that just

don't sound like what's going on today

at that time. and play it.

Still sound new.

Put the car sound.

Then I had this vocal right here of a

girl. Listen, ah, and I just went down

hit it.

If you hear the piano overlapping,

it's about finding the space. Hear the

You look at Cubert. Cubert. That was a

Cubert. The Cubert when you know the

video game Cubert when it jumped. I took

that sound and put the car crashing. So,

it's like

then I had um I believe at the time this

guy named Craig play some chords over

top of what I had just the base of the

baseline and he add

and I add that

just a little simple sound and he just

put that little part and that was it. We

put the to get to make the chord stand

up. But it if it had none of those

sounds, the song was so powerful, just

that eight up, just that bomb.

That's just extra ear candy. But just

that bomb in the beat,

we already there. We The song is That's

the song. It's right there. And the

pony, ride my pony. Just that line.

Stop. Stop it, Chris. just about the

word the static instead of saying a

vulgar thing he made it made you think

if you're horny let's do it let's ride

it my pony he took he just made we try

to find cleverness and things you know

and try to make it like you know how

would you say it would it be fly would

it be this and static was always that

fly guy at that time and he said a lot

of fly things and we just did a lot and

But when I had the baseline, he already

had the melody cuz he just I'm he

already had it, you know. And when he he

wrote the whole song, I just started

adding ear cannon around it. But the

whole basis of that song was about that

bulb. That was really about it. And once

I once I found that sound, it kind of

like

made me do the beat that way. Like I

found that sound before I did the beat.

So I was like I just did a simple beat

and I put that baseline on top. Then I

add all the extra the cubic the car

crash and the find. I went in the booth

and did a

put my more mouth sounds but not not all

of that. Just

you know before filtering and all that.

I did it with my mouth. I just added all

the rest of the elements. But I made

sure the kick and the snare just like I

did when I showed you how the kick and

snare blended. I just took the same I

found two kick and snares that blend and

did the rest with my mouth. And here we

are.

See how beautiful

that sounds.

So that loops

uh that's actually I had this very

cheesy ac capella.

It's like from a sample CD. It's really

bad. Um and I chopped it in the

keyboard. So I chopped it. There's a

function in Logic which is what I use

that can chop every transient. So then I

have

every note that this guy sang.

Oh. Oh, I could do that on able to

slice. Exactly. Okay. I thought it was

like amazing.

But that is amazing. You took a What

made you take that particular man?

I wanted to have a rhythmic vocal thing.

But what play the play the original?

you knew just

like I wouldn't have See, that's what

makes everybody special. I would have

never thought to take that

and put on top of that. Like that just

would have thrown me off. I would have

went I like what is this man saying, but

you saw the vision in him singing that.

That's beautiful.

Yeah, it's like the raw material and

then you just

So that's how he sounds. And then I just

added a bunch of effects. reverb.

It's like a room delay,

uh, compression,

side chain,

and then EQ.

And

that's it. That's how you make it.

So beautiful.

Crazy.

Then there's one more sound.

It's just like a embellishment for the

down beat of the song.

Yeah.

It's a woo, right?

Yeah. And that just comes on the one

every eight bars. Um

with a delay on it.

Yeah.

Like a woo. That's perfect. And then

there's another sound that comes

here

to to to enhance the the the

exact

perfect.

I'll tell you where it goes in a minute.

Just give it a little

It just blends with the the

Exactly.

Yeah. Perfect.

And then we have the bass. Um,

two different bases for section one.

One is this.

Oo, that's a flanger on it.

That's actually a filter on it. So

good. Like a phaser. It's almost like a

phaser a little bit.

It's almost like Yeah, this is the

original sound.

It's like a electric bass sample. Um,

and this sound is what is called a

foreman filter. It makes like a vocal

sound almost.

It's called wow.

I know that.

Then after that is side chain to make it

funky compression on top of that. And

then I thought it was good to make it

wider. So I widen it up a little bit

with guitar rig.

And then underneath that there's another

layer

with a deeper bass. So when you put them

together, it sounds a little more full.

Uh here goes.

You did that less than two minutes, huh?

I don't know. See, when the feeling

takes over, it takes over. You just

don't think about it. You just go.

Sounds all my sounds.

So, all this is is an Omnosphere patch

that one of my friends made. Um, and all

I did was put the the same side chain

that Fed was talking about, the uh

kickstart.

Um, and then I have this vocal

chop that.

So, that's the original. The original is

like this.

So

that's the the whole pluck, the whole

loop. And then I added this loafy. I

call it uh the 40 sauce.

Um which des it.

So it it brings it

up to 40.

So it it's kind of like EQing, but it's

desampling

um the sample and it gives it a nice

little gritty character. Then I tossed

it through movement

um which is a great plugin that uh is

made by output. Toss it through that and

then it sounds like this.

Then I side chain that to kind of tame

the

the effect the movement effect

and then I eqed it

and it sounds like this.

Oh,

so I didn't take the whole loop. I just

took the front end and I placed it. I

didn't even place it on the one. I

placed it on the back beat. Um, and then

to complete the vocal chops that I did,

we have this other one

that follows that one

and it goes

so together with the other one. It goes

like this.

Yes.

And that same vocal chop, that vocal

chop I use, I tossed it through the same

sauce. I call them sauces. I have like

this folder of like sauces that I use.

It's just presets. It's just grouped

plugins that I go to and line up and

then I turn one on, turn off, you know,

turn it on, turn off, and take off a

certain effect or tweak it um until it

feels right, which is the I think one of

the biggest things I've learned from

working with Tim is just tweak the sound

until it feels right. Doesn't have to be

cool, none of that. It just has to give

you a certain feeling. And this kind of

gives me a certain

kind of gives it this this feel when you

hear those vocal chops

and the room they're in and the effect.

It kind of gives you a certain vibe.

It's very spacey, very airy and it sets

a nice tone.

So what happens is we give Chris our

parts

and we kind of start piecing everything

together and it leads to opening up the

space of like Tim will be like I hear a

a drop somewhere or you know it opens up

spaces for us to add more but we have to

see what we're working with and then

Chris will do his thing with the sounds.

He'll start tweaking them or start

adding effects he may hear and he'll

probably walk you through that shortly.

My whole purpose here is to kind of

consolidate three different computer

rigs making sound. Um, I guess if you're

making a beat alone, you could just kind

of, you know, keep it where it is and

just keep going. But when you've got

three systems going, you got to have

somebody like taking each little bit and

um putting it all together so it all

lives in in one place. when he's putting

it all together and we play it like he's

going to put it all together, play it

loud. I sit or I usually lay back on the

couch and I'm like, "Okay, close my eyes

and let the music take me. Where else

should it go?" Or I can sit right here

and just look at the speakers and the

speakers is I'm weird. So the speakers

will probably say, "You should drop

this." It's like the speakers will talk

to me. It's weird. So, and I just keep

gazing. Somebody might say, "Why is he

just keep staring at the or why is he

closing his eyes? Is he on I gotta swim

in the music? I gotta

let it bathe me so I can know where to

to to enhance what we already have. Now,

we're going to all sit down and listen

to what we have and add on and

collaborate to what's already there and

just just enhance it or just keep

jamming to it because it's a lot there.

We just have to hear it all back.

Everybody want to know what makes a hit

song. There's no formula really to a hit

song because

I believe a hit song is really about the

energy that you put out. You know, if

you really feel strongly about the

record and you know it means something

to you, it really manifests itself to

the world. But a hit song to say, "Oh,

that's a hit. Oh, that's a I mean, we I

know I always I do it myself." But now I

just be like,

if it feels good, it might don't feel

good to others, so it might don't be a

hit, but it's a hit to me. And as long

as a hit to you, then it's a hit. you.

But you can't go in the process saying,

"Oh, this a hit." Because it could be

the the one that you don't like is the

hit. So then what happens? You confuse.

You really don't know. So it's all about

your energy, what you put into the

record. And that's, you know, you just

your your your feeling of what you feel

is contagious and it passes throughout

the room. And you kind of like gauging

off of your, you know, your peers, your

friends and stuff. And if you got like

25 or more people just like, "Yo, I love

this record." You know, then you give it

to radio or whoever, there's a hundred

more

and you hoping that it manifests itself

to the world. But for the most part, you

had fun doing it and it moves you.

That's a hit.

Ah,

hey.

Wait.

All right, drop me on.

Now cut it down some.

that.

All right.

Here

we go.

Right.

Here's your butt.

A breakdown, right? But you should make

up.

I have something that I do.

You got something?

Okay. Might be cool.

Yeah.

Talk to me, speakers.

Yes.

Yes,

for that breakdown. Um, well, this base.

What bass is that?

That's a bass that I made on uh silent.

That's it. That's all you need to tell

me that you made. I know I can't find

it.

It's really easy. Very, very easy. Like

basically in silent if you start with a

initialize preset you get this is a saw

wave

and then you have an option to add more

uh waveforms to it is called unison. So

I added a voices and the tuned them

really easy. And it sounds like that

almost like Lady Gaga, but now we put a

filter to it.

And that's the bass.

This sound

it's like this.

I'll keep going. I heard a melody.

So that sound, how you make that sound

is there's a thing that's called a ebo

evo. It's like someone that you put on

your guitar and it makes the notes notes

extra long. So I what I did is I sample

one note for a very long time. So if I

play one key, you actually can hear

that note.

So with one note, you can actually

spread it in the keyboard. And that

means that every note you play is going

to have a different timing because when

you start stretching things pitch-wise,

then your timing change. So the lower

notes are longer now.

So if you play chords,

it gives you a cool texture

and

then you add some effects, some delays

and you get that um little rhythm thing.

That's a call. That's That's a kill Bill

sound.

Yeah,

that's the original sound.

It's just like a mima.

Put an arpeggiator on it.

Start adding some effects.

You know what that sound like? That

effect sound like you heard moments of

love.

Yeah.

Play it again.

You don't be dope.

Yeah.

You find that little other sound that go

top of that.

Yeah. Like a vocal.

So that's that.

This sound

is another one

with loop looper.

Ooh.

So it was really this um

the original sound.

I play that sequence but then added a

bunch of effects on it. Again, similar

to the other ones, some reverbs,

compression.

This one called looperator is cool.

Little overused now. Try not to use it

that much. But

yeah,

uh has it glitches the sound so it

creates loops and it filters it and it

sequence all these effects. And the same

vocal we had before.

So all combined.

I think contrast is very important when

you're making music cuz

you need to in order to feel all the

greatness of the groove, you need to

come from a place at some point that you

don't have groove. So when it comes

back, it hits you even harder. If you

just have groove over and over,

sometimes it might not hit as hard. So I

think that's why

Fetty I would I think it's just layers.

You take what you have which is

how do you make this better? What can

you do? And sometimes it's not adding

on. It's just breaking down and adding

other layers or other

parts to what we already have. So, we're

just trying to expand what we already

have, right? Expand on what we have.

Yeah. And sometimes you want to make

sure that you still keep a little bit of

the other uh vibe that you're coming

from. So, if he was just pads,

then it's like too much of a breakdown.

But I think adding all these little

sequence sounds,

it just keeps you like moving even

though you don't have drums.

Exactly.

The way I listen to music is I'm

listening for all the acrobats in it.

All the unique stuff, but the uniqueness

could be just in two sounds. Look how I

made you just repeat my repeat my song

and I'm like just saying

boo boo gaga like them Gundam style.

That's two words but but you singing it

like you know what I'm saying? But he

like I got you. But it's the sonics of

everything together in this tone.

You can try and you will make fun of

him, but you can never do it like him

and you'll be like, "That's why I like

it." Cuz he has It's not a lot. It's

just what is coming out. His voice for

that one second makes you cheer up and

make you make a joke. You know what I'm

saying? But you can't do it. And that's

the beauty of it. And I tell, you know,

sometimes stuff comes in small packages.

You don't need a lot. You know, it's all

about the feeling, the voice, the

sonics. Sonics is amazing.

What Fetty played on his drop kind of

inspired me to kind of try to find other

textures and possible sounds I could go

I call that the assassin creed. Like you

know the speakers are telling me like

there's

somebody need help

like at the hospital you're running.

That's a breakdown.

Yeah. Go ahead. I would probably put

that like at the end

or like a part where it just smooths

out.

Yeah. So, it's just bunch of textures

though.

Uh, so beautiful.

Oh, who that talking? That talking is

cold.

Crazy sample I found.

Yeah.

Come on now.

Yeah.

No, I ain't got to follow. No, this how

you got angel. Boom.

You know when that when that part come

on. Yeah.

When that part come up,

the whatever the whatever the piano

thing.

Yeah. Yeah.

Keep it straight. Hold it.

Yeah.

Now we do the

I

almost feel like even might be cool to

have just the 808 on

by the bass instead of the patch.

Or should it be high?

Yeah, I think I think we should probably

do that, right?

I can almost sequence it here real fast.

All right. Now you got got to line it

up. It'd be dope, Chris, if you said

like

do the on the snap. Make it roll.

I guess it's testing us. See if we real

producers.

Pause.

Yeah.

By the way, Chris is like a machine

himself.

Nobody can do what he does.

See on the spot now.

Oo, that sound good.

You know I'm good for it. You know I'm

good for it.

Ain't nobody else

play that but lean it back. You know you

could hold on. I can't even freaking you

know.

Come on.

And I got your back.

And I got your back over your life.

And I got your back over your life.

And I got your back.

And I got your back.

Oh, baby.

Hey. Hey.

Hey, put effect on that. I could have

put a fact, but I was being lazy.

What I just did um with Ableton, it has

this thing that is is called a simpler.

And with a simpler does, you could go

you could like I could play it at at at

each key. You can sample your whole

track and just play it back and

I can play with it.

Break it down.

So I just play with, you know, if I just

play with it. So I use that to make a

breakdown.

Really the breakdown is whatever what

the original is. This the simpler kind

of like widens it a little bit, but you

have to do it a certain way to get it

that whiff. By my kick being heavy, when

I lower it down an octave, it's going to

be even heavier. And that's what we

have.

We either do that or sometimes we half

time it, but it depends on the vibe and

what we're trying to get. Um, sometimes

the halftime beat will work and it'll

sound crazy and give us this whole new

direction or sometimes just by doing

what what Tim did just gives it a whole

different vibe cuz like the drums were

already hitting you hard and then you

drop it and it just sonically gives you

this whole new character in the drums.

It unlocks this whole new like

soundsscape on the low end that makes it

sound crazy.

See

That's example of halftime.

See, that's Chris doing his thing.

I know. As soon as I do it, I usually

have to put that somewhere. So, I try

not to overuse it,

but

it's a cool special.

Every time you use it, it sounds good.

So, it's really amazing.

See?

Ah, yes.

back there.

Yeah.

Okay. I'm going to share some stems with

you. Challenge me. Be a part of team

Timbo. Now, we made this track.

Beautiful track.

Fetty, what you think is next?

We got to get songwriter to topline on

the song and see what we can do, which

is the most important part really.

Yeah. So Adrian be see what he does.

Yeah. And then we can know what elements

are going to stay, what elements are

going to leave. We have all these

ingredients. We have to see how they fit

the vocal.

When you working like this, it's it's

important for the energy to be always

correct. Have fun. Don't worry about

nothing is whack. If you're doing this

at home, just have fun. Let the music

take you over. Don't criticize it. Just

make a bunch of music and just go back

and play it and you'll know. Just have

fun with it. Don't overthink it. Just

let it hit you and let it let it fill

you. Let it come out you.

Now, when it comes to me and Missy,

Missy likes to be in the room. So, when

I was making that, she'll construct me

how to be Take that out. No, keep it

simple. She's hands on. Missy like she

don't and I don't be in the room when

she do her vocals. She kicks me out

every time. So, I never do her vocals.

So, she'll be in the room. She She got

to be in I make it a beat cuz she has to

feel it. She all and she was the main

one. She was the my sister was the one

who taught me about feeling. I'm like I

do I used to do beats

and she'd be like but yeah it's dark. I

got to I'm a girl. She always I I got to

move. I got to dance. I got to feel it.

Like I got to perform the song. So when

I do a groove she'll bop. She like take

that out. take take you know she was

very

particular about what I put in my tracks

it sounds because it's going to mess up

how she write to it you know had to be

less was more for her I had a little

chop a little piece of a horn said when

when and I just kind of like when

when just kept hitting it back and then

I just found little just like I did with

the track before I found little elements

to fill up the space. So, let's hear it.

Let's play it.

Let's up the key.

Stop it. So, it's only the kick, snare,

and the shaker, and a little sound to

give it the rhythm.

That's it. So, let's hear it from

beginning. You hear it. I point it out.

Tobless. Tobless. Snare. Kick. Shake.

She like when I just pick one or two or

three, not clutter it. You know what I'm

saying? So she can

So if it had a It would throw her off.

It had to be burn.

So she can She's a She's an instrument

herself. So she has to be an instrument.

So when it comes to gossip, I just had

to find the right sonics so she can

capture that that um character. And we

just went through a bunch and I did that

loop. Stay right there. And I

and I just

he like Yeah. She started right to just

that. Then I just start adding the

shaker.

And I had this other sound.

So, I just left it with that.

When it comes to me and Missy, we we are

very special. We a special force to be

reckoned with because she's a producer

herself. She don't go up here and play,

but she knows what she want to hear.

She's very clear on what makes her move

and a lot of and that's why she who she

is today. I mean, when it comes to me

and Missy Elliot,

we are we a true team. And I say not

everybody, all the people I work with,

we are team, Justin, but Missy is the

one. She will take her and Aaliyah will

take the track and go off with the

engineer and come back and will add

stuff to your track that you didn't even

know was there. And you like you put

that and it goes with her song. She took

the double Dutch the uh that's from the

that's from an old record called the

double dutch bus.

Mis,

she took that that part of that song

because we loved it when we was kids and

slapped it in there. She said and then

she came and played it. I'm like, "Oh,

snap." Then she sent it to Ludicrous and

he hopped on it. What I did at the

beginning, that's all I done. The rest

is her. The rest is all her. I did my

part cuz getting to my part is finding

the the the ingredients to make her go

to that level. So, that's a process. And

to find that horn, you know, we probably

sit there for hours to come up with that

perfectang

to make her feel something. And she did

the rest herself.

Okay, so now I have Adrian, songwriter,

group of New City, one of my new acts. I

got him here. I did a track. Yes. Well,

a day ago, and I want to play it for him

and show you how we process music, how

we go to the next level with something

that we already started. So, Adrian,

what's up my G?

What's up? So, I want to play you what

the crew what we all did

for sure

and let let's vibe to it.

Let the speaker speak, man.

See, we don't we don't really talk about

it. We just let the speaker speak. So,

with that being said, Chris

Yeah.

Woo. Yeah.

And as you see,

speakers is talking to it as it's

talking to you.

Break it down. Now,

when you get in the room with an artist,

it's all about just

conversation, just,

you know, just talking. Then you doing

music. It's no thought process. It's all

about having fun. And the music come

out. Then when you first get the first

ooh then we should do and everybody's

throwing ideas you know once the track

is like everybody just throwing bouncing

out. It's the energy you know having a

drink laughing going going in the booth

it's all about making this part fun

because after this is work. Just be who

you are. You're a musical genius. You're

you're a gift. You're a gift of sound.

You're presenting sounds to hear his

lovely voice or her voice serenate

across your lovely instruments and your

your well thought out put together

track. You ready?

Yeah, I'm ready.

Let's do this. Come on.

Basically, now he's going to go in, but

I know you heard the track before had a

lot of instruments, but we empty out

some of the instruments to create space,

right, guys?

So now we empty out some of the

instruments so Adrian can go in there

and layer or do what he do what he do

best. See what he see what the speakers

tell him what to do.

That being said,

Adrian, you ready?

Yeah. All good.

Let's go.

Trying to talk about it.

Don't want to fight about it. Risk my

life without you. I put my life on D for

everything. I can't bring it to you.

Tell me where I got to go. Tell me I

take it there. Tell me if I'm on a roll.

Cuz I can't be the one.

You got to let me know it. I'm taking

you to focus. I'm picking up the focus.

I'm talking about your moment. Can't get

you out of focus. Baby, I know. Yeah.

Working around for the half of my life.

taking over where I

no

try this

want to know if you

know that you

trying to make them

go real hard

trying to

Pause it.

Yo.

Yeah.

So, it was a part go back to that where

to break down that.

Yeah.

No. No. No.

Try this.

Don't know.

That's little melody. Okay.

Want me to put something in there like

that?

Yeah.

That's good cadence.

Yeah. I just took for

match that spot.

It sounds like

you know this is a little different

because usually we work in the dark and

right now you wouldn't see me. You would

just hear me and that's what I think is

better. Sometimes people draw in the

studio to look at the mic booth while

the artist in there. And most of the

time it's better for me and most artists

that I work with, they cut the lights

off because it's a feeling. It's a

feeling of seclusion. It's like you're

by yourself and you get the vibe. But if

you see people with the lights on, it

kind of like you you're doing things and

you're worrying about pleasing somebody

else instead of pleasing yourself.

It's free.

just freeing yourself. But we got to

have we have the lights on so you get to

see part of

not all the way free but semireee free.

But but you know when you love music

here it goes. Music sometimes is not

always what you want it to be. Music you

have to love it to get past all the

hurdles that it come with. Some people

want to watch you. So with that being

said, if people want to watch you, you

got to just love music and say, "I could

do it if I'm standing on the mountain,

if I'm laying in the boat, if I'm

walking on water." You got to just be

able to be ready to go. It's like if you

anything that you do, you got to love it

to say, "You know what? This is not my

most comfortable position, but come on,

bump it. I love it. Let's just do it."

So, we're going to do another take and

let Adrian feel it since we have lights

on till he get into that mood to where

you feel like the lights are off.

You ready? A.

Yeah, man.

Trying to make sense.

I got to make sense.

Picking up them down. Trying to make

plans.

I don't want to talk about it. Making

all the [ __ ] about it. Making all my

friends about it.

Yeah. Trying to make sense about it.

Working on my plans about it.

You got to know that I've been waiting.

I've been trying

to

fight

trying to make it. Will we make it out

alive?

Yo. Yo, hold up. Paul, stop. Now, see,

the feeling is getting there. Now I have

to go in the booth because I hear a dope

part to go to what he was doing. That's

how the, you know, the speakers just

talk to us and that's how we do. We just

vibe out. And now I'm going have to ask

him to come out and I want to come in.

Watch this.

That cool for you?

All right.

From the top.

Hey, you got auto auto turn on for me.

Go back cuz I can't

go backy

trying to make sense.

Yeah,

I got to make sense.

What?

Picking up, putting them down. Trying to

make plans.

What you saying? I don't want to talk

about it.

Making all the [ __ ] about it.

Making all my friends about it.

Trying to make sense about it.

Working on my plans about it.

Want to make sense about it.

Yeah. Yeah.

You got to know that I've been waiting.

What you say now?

I've been trying to keep you fading.

Now, right there, Chris

on that part. Take them all out. So,

just play it with the ad libs that I

just did. Just play with that and then

punch me in on that part.

trying to make it

out alive.

See when it comes over. I don't want to

talk no more. I don't want to do it. Do

it. Do it. Do it. I don't want to get

that. She don't want to talk.

I don't want to get that back. She don't

want to do it. Do it. Do it. Do it.

All right.

Now come back in there.

That was hot.

Yeah, that was Let's hear it. Let me

hear it.

What we doing now? Just getting the

melodies.

Don't pay attention to the lyrics. Yeah.

Trying to make sense about it.

Yeah.

You got

the breakdown coming there.

Now I've been trying to keep

brought up a good point. It takes too

long to get to that drop. So maybe we

need to shift the the pre-arrangement.

Bring it in

closer

over. What? What would it be? Eight

bars.

So be eight bars over.

Um, so play from the top and we'll show

you what

studio is about having fun. Let the

music take you over your soul.

You got to enjoy it.

That's what we doing right now. Enjoying

it with the lights.

Yeah.

I got to make sense.

You got to pick up.

I don't want to talk about it. Why?

Making all the [ __ ] about it.

Making all my friends about it. Yeah.

Trying to make sense about it.

On my plans.

Yeah.

I don't want to talk now. I don't want

to do it.

What was that melody that you did there?

Want to get that dete?

Yeah.

You should go do that.

Yeah.

The vibe, baby. The vibe. It's all about

the vibe and the speakers in the music.

Let it flow and let it hit you. We don't

know what the words are. We don't know

what the song is about, but you're

hearing words that are coming out just

freely cuz the music is telling us what

it should say and kind of giving us

notes on what it should be about, but

necessarily it's not we just having the

music is telling us what to say. I just

do it, do it, do it, do it. It just I

just came freely. I didn't think about

it, but the music and what he was saying

made me think of that melody. So is

being

it's like the feeling of what we're

creating becomes this sort of gravity

pool that just starts pulling us towards

a certain direction where we don't even

know where we're going or where the

lyric is going or what the record is

talking about but it's just

gravitating us there in a very organic

natural way and that's what's cool about

what we do

all while having fun

basically. You ready? Hey

you ready?

I'm good man. All right.

I don't want to get that. She don't want

to

get that.

I don't want to get that kind of

life.

Breaking waves and getting by.

Trying to make our life.

Are we going to make it out?

This should be right there.

We make it right.

Make it out alive.

We going to make it out alive.

Are we going to make it out alive?

So, we just building and trying to find

the right elements, seeing if it's the

right melody. See if it feels good. Uh,

if it's right. So, let's hear it back.

Yeah. Yeah.

I don't want to talk no more now. I

don't want to do it. Do it. Do it. Do

it.

I don't want to

make it out.

I can Let me try again.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Trying to make this

back. Always trying to get the back.

Baby, can you get the

I don't want to do it, do it, do it, do

it.

I don't want to get that back.

I just want to hold it. I want to get

that. We going to make it

like that.

That was That was it.

Your rhythm is good.

Thanks, man. Did you want me to do it

again or did you want me to

I mean, that's enough for That's cool.

That's cool.

messing with everything else.

Just listen to it.

Yeah.

I think this right here. This should be

something different. Yeah.

Something

that I did my part. You scrunched. What

you say? What you say? No, I was

thinking going back maybe,

but it might be repetitive. Maybe it

just needs a completely different chant

kind of thing.

Post.

We need a post.

Yeah, some kind of post.

Is that a post what I'm doing or what?

Can you run it back to the hook?

What you were doing now? I think it was

kind of a what?

A pre a pre.

It was a pre and I I think Samuel needs

to come, but it sounded cool to at some

point maybe go back to a melody in the

post. I know it's not really the

typical, but I heard in my head that

could work, too.

Let's try.

So, we have the track. We made the

track. Adrian listened to it. He really

liked it. Jump in the booth and he start

improvising melodies. And out of his

improv, then we picking what we like

best for each part of the song. So,

there's like verse material, precourse

material, and hook material. And then

Tim went in the booth inspired with by

what he did and added some really cool

stuff for the pre. Now we want to take

that pre stuff that Tim did and also use

it on the post chorus of the song. So

now is the moment where we have all

these different melodies and we're like

chopping and seeing what works better on

each part.

Yeah. Just filling in the gaps

basically. When I think about

structuring a a song, I'm trying to

think uh in three levels I guess of

intensity. Again, every song is

different and you can break those rules.

But in general, pop music is structure

starting with a verse uh which invites

you into the song. The pre chorus is

kind of letting you know, hey, something

big is about to happen. Pay attention.

And then to me, the chorus is the

climax. So, we're trying to look into

the melodies give you that feeling. Uh

rhythm and the notes, I think, are

important when there's a lot of space. I

think in the verses for example, he's

leaving all this space and singing a

little lower. So that g, you know, it

invites you into a song. It's not

creating any tension on you. It's just

nice to listen to. The pre chorus takes

it a little bit bit to the next level.

And the chorus usually it might be

higher in pitch, higher in intensity, uh

more repetitive. So we're trying to look

for those elements. Now, we don't think

about it when when we're doing it

because we already heard so much music

that we just go by feeling. Uh this is

me trying to explain to somebody uh what

the thought process is behind. But like

Tim said so many times during this

master class is all about how you feel.

I mean you could figure this out

yourself because I'm sure you listen to

a lot of music and you know what the

chorus should feel like and it's

something that when you leave the room

you got to keep singing it in your head

and it's infectious and you always

remember it. you know, when you have a a

song that you and you're structuring,

it's cool to walk away. Don't let it

frustrate you. You know, lyrics, let it

come to you. So, just do stuff, you

know, like walk away, get something to

drink, walk to the bathroom, just do it,

you know, just walk away from the music.

Even if it's you have all the structure,

you still got to cut it off and

just decompress and come up and just

listen to it again. You'll hear

something fresh. I'm always I always do

that. Always hear it. Cut it off. come

back and I hear something totally

different. Just like when I went in the

booth, he did a melody at first, but

then when he came back and did the

second melody, it drew something out of

me. So, and we got that,

but I wouldn't have got that

if he didn't do other takes or try. But

we start overthinking. I think the

moment you start overthinking,

you start losing the feeling and which

is our goal here to create a certain

feeling off the record. And I find that

this is the process of our team now

where it's a crucial part of stepping

away. And in this scenario, we may not,

but typically we'll jump on another idea

and start building just to refreshen the

pallet.

It's like the ginger and the sushi. The

purpose of the ginger, I've heard, is to

refresh the taste palette. And that's

what we're doing. We're just refreshing

the creative and making sure we're not

overthinking. The moment we overthink it

and we try to put it into a formula, we

lose touch with what the record can be

and what the feeling can be. So

there it is.

Studio time is is is expensive, but if

you're getting going, you don't look at

the being

in expense. You just find a way to get

the music out.

And

if if if it don't, you're going to get

something out whether you like it or

not. But your job is to to me bring that

feeling out somehow because you can't

sit there and say, "Oh, I don't have

money for studio time or studio studio."

You don't need studio time. Studio is on

your computer. You don't need studio

time.

This could be your studio.

Yeah. Yeah. Your phone is your studio.

Like no voice.

That's that's that's an excuse. It's not

about a quality. It's like how people

get signed. and they had a dumb demo or

something they made in their house or

they didn't have the money to put it.

But

it's not about that. We know we're going

to get to the quality. People like, "Yo,

that person talented or that track sound

cra if they was in a studio or people

don't have headphones. They use

ear the earpods

and make their beats on a computer. It

it long as you can hear,

you're good."

Nowadays, we see stuff on Instagram that

is recorded with a phone and it's so

much better than stuff that was done in

an expensive studio and those artists

are the ones that we want to contact and

we want to work with and they just

recorded on a phone and we get demos

from people that did it on a great

studio and we don't care.

Exactly. The Hit Factory is where I did

a lot of my records. I don't necessarily

need the Hit Factory. Like I said, I

just need my computer. You don't need a

big old studio to do what you need to

do. This is where I always started from.

I've been doing it for 25 years. The

difference I I come in studios, but I

don't have to be in a studio. We can be

in a small room and if we have a mic

booth, the feeling gonna be the same if

we're in a studio. It's about the

feeling. It's not about no studio. It's

all about the feeling. It's just that

simple and creating what vibe you want

to create.

I'mma share some stems to see what you

would do. Create your own energy. Send

it back to me. Share what you think it

should be. If you have a part, you hear

it now, you say, "Oh, it would be dope

if it go to this, but I don't have

that." So, show me what you have. So,

I'm going to share some stems with y'all

and let the game begin.

Are you somebody man that that was a

song that was the spirit of the moment

it was for a soundtrack called Dr.

Dittle and I remember we had to come up

with a song

by 11:00 the next day. So it was at

night the other day I mean the day

before

and it was me static and Aaliyah all in

studio and I was just going through

sounds. So let's play the track I show

you

so I had a sound just one little note.

So, I took it,

played it on the keyboard to get that

melody. The same way Fatty showed you

how he manipulated a guitar sound with

the Ebo. It's the same way. I started

off at a slow tempo first. I said,

but the the extra notes came later. like

it wasoom.

Then I took it and sped it all the way

up to like about I don't know 145 or I

don't know at that time but it gave it

that

because it was actually the sequence of

the ASR10

didn't when I put quantize it didn't

quantize it the way I was doing it. So

it gave it that I like it's kind of dope

and then I just kept it. So let's play.

Here we go.

That was right.

That was wrong.

So, it allowed me

to do the drum around that. I did the

drum.

It allowed me to create around that

guitar sound. So, when I created the

drums and the guitar gave me that that

kind of cadence of the of the rhythm. Is

it dude? I got the drum

boom

boom. So the other poly rhythm that did

that part. So, what I did once I got

that rhythm, I went back into the mic

booth and said,

I added my mouth elements on top of the

drum and that just gave it that

sweet sonic sound that I call feeling.

Here we go. Push play.

Now, her voice was the icing on the

cake.

And

static writing,

the way static wrote to the guitar was

so

it was as you hear the background but

his melody it gave it the melody. So I

was like yes we getting somewhere. This

feels good. Then when he did this part

we said

it.

So stop right there. So when it comes to

the hook, if you notice, the beat is

three probably three sounds right there

in my mouth. So it's the guitar and the

drums in my mouth. And then when it gets

to the hook, I just added a lead sound

to follow the

And then I was like, okay, it could be

something else. I need to I need that.

So as you saw me going through sounds, I

loaded up Spirit of the Moment. Back

then it was a disc, so it was even it's

the same as this. I don't know. So, I

loaded up a disc and it had all these

effects like toys and

sounds of like just a whole bunch of

sound and I got to this like this baby.

She This baby was laughing like

and I just chopped the other part and I

chopped it the same way I did over here.

This and playing the beat like,

"Oh man, that matches." It's in the same

key. And Aaliyah was sitting behind me

at the time and she like, "Oh, that's so

cool. What's she she just thought she's

like, "Oh." And I said, "Yeah, we got it

now." I I didn't know we had that like

the song is done. You know what I'm

saying? Like, woo, we finished the song

like, you know, and let's play it.

Are you baby?

This is how how it lands. Watch

the space of where the baby laughed at.

Then you know my ad lips of course.

See it's

infectuous. You don't want then daddy

gave me that.

It's more like

I call it

the Kingsman song. You know what I'm

saying? Like the king and his kingsman.

Like you marching.

It's like a nursery rhyme. Gingerbread

man. Boom boom boom boom boom. It's a

nursery rhyme. Kind of like

really. And you hear

that's the fill in.

But then as you hear the end,

can we go to the end of the song where

just the beat and like the you hear you

can really I

mouth drum kicks.

It's all about drops. All the elements

are there. So, at the end, I kind of

always give you a display of the art.

There you go, Chris.

Tell me that somebody. Are you that

something somebody?

And that's how we came up with that

song. is really just like four elements

and you just play around with those four

elements and make the beauty out of it.

But the baby kind of added the icing on

the cake. Her tone

or his tone, it's amazing. It's like an

instrument that's you can never

duplicate.

Just really just all ideas of what I saw

in life as a kid. Like if you really

think about it, B. It's like looa loo.

I got another puzzle for you. It's what

you hear as a kid. You you you have all

these things in your head and you just

try to make them your way. So

it's like it's it gives you the feel of

Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory.

And Willy Walking the Chocolate Factory

to me was complex but simple. It's about

a chocolate factory, but the factory

itself was very complex, but it was all

chocolate. So that song, the the the

movement of the groove is so simple, but

complex. It's not,

it's sac.

It's making you whoa. Then it's a snare

too that keeps it keeps you right here

through all that confusion.

I'm you still right there in her voice.

If I let you down, you can't tell

nobody. And if I just like that, it's

slow, but on top of that beat, it feels

like it's moving fast. But if I just

play ac capella as a snap, you'll be

like, "Wow,

it's just really a simple song." You

know, when you get to the chorus, but I

still kept you on.

You still bounce the same.

Static is such a amazing writer. He's

not, you know, he's want he was, rest in

peace, the best writer I ever he's he is

at that time was like beyond he was he

was above his game. Him and Missy, they

was they was somewhere else when it come

to writing. They always try to challenge

their self and that's really a static

thing, you know. I just did the groove

to make it feel a certain way and give

it that specialness that I thought or

uniqueness. And when we did Are You

That's Somebody, it was like on a

timeline. And I'm young at that time.

I'm just loving music back again. You

got to love what you do. So I didn't

know it was going to be a hit. I

thought, you know, I knew it was cool. I

knew it was dope. I know nobody going to

say nothing. We had did I think before

that one in a million, all these other

records. So the synergy was already

there. I just had to come. I'm trying to

beat or to be on the same playing field

as all those other number ones we

created. But the thing what it goes back

to this,

the chemistry we had first as a family,

the reason we got that song done is

because of the chemistry.

I don't think people influenced me. I

think people had me interested in them

and like how they do that. Dr. Dre is

one.

Dr. Dre, the way he mixed his simplicity

and when you hear

he made stuff sound so

action-packed, so robust, so loud, and

the beat was so in your face. And I'm

like, my minds don't sound like that.

Like, how do you get? So, I was

intrigued how he hear music and how he's

like, you know, when you watch the

Compton, that's what I did. laying on

the floor, listen to music, it just all

day to kill out all the ghetto noise,

you know, and whatever the problems is

like listen to ring my bell. Boo. I be

like, what is that boo? How do you get

that boo?

So

he was a person like he took all the

sonics that I took all those sonics from

those old records and made it hip for

that time. like Ring My Bell. He did

like I'm like yo how he flipped like

wow

Teddy Raleigh the way he mix records it

was amazing. I'm like

it'll be in your face. I'm like then

remember the time like

and I'm like how did that snare like I

can't have this conversation with a

snare? I don't know about that. I'm just

dancing to it. You know what I'm saying?

But for me, that's what I'm thinking. So

though I've been more amazed at their

craftsmanship,

you know, not, you know, I only um look

up to God, you know, said like I look up

to people's talent and their

craftsmanship, how many hours they put

into a mix. Dre will spend days lead the

mix up on the board. That's fascinating

to me because every day he walk in the

room, he's finding something different

with the high hat. Little simple as the

high head. High head ain't right. We got

on this for a week till we find the

right high hat. That's what you call

producing. Back then Dre, Teddy Riley,

Devonte Swing, they knew the sonics of

analog. They made that analog sound so

crisp and so hidden. When you hear uh

one, two, three, the

regardless of the sample, if you play

the original, it don't sound like Dr.

Dre's. You know what I'm saying? So he

took the time

on the board. He did it himself. Not an

engineer, but he knew all those knobs on

a on a SSL. That was his thing. You

know, I have talks. I was more like,

"How do you get your high hats?" You

know, those are question, you know, I

was more intrigued by his sonics. Me and

Forel Forel had a sound and I was like,

"How you get that thing to bounce?" It's

like you know it's

I always look at the people

craftsmanship how they did something

like if I wasn't doing it like that's

what I was trying to do. Oh that how you

do that

those were the people I love their

craftsmanship for real Dr. Dre, Teddy

Riley, Primo

Premiere. That's if people don't know,

Rodney had a Rodney Jurgens had a great

sound. And then there's Nas.

You can hate me now. It's like, oh snap,

there's another, you know, it was it was

moments. We try to make moments. And

that's why I enjoyed the craftsmanship

of these producers because they made

moments that stills live on today.

You should never try to copy

what's been done. You should always try

to innovate what's been done to make me

reminisce what's been done.

take from the past and add on to the

future.

That's what I can tell most. If you're

doing listen to what we've done, but

make it what you're going to do. We

already did it, you know, and that's

what you love about us. Make what we've

created

a new slate for the future, a new era.

So, if I if it was a Teddy Raleigh

snare, we have so many plugins to make

that snare sound. either

spectacular or stupid but got to take

the chance say oh I want this snail then

when people come in the room history

like somebody like me nostalgic will

come that's something like that Teddy

Rug is it how you know like because I

come from craftsmanship

but to their culture it's going to blow

their mind like it blew other people

mind when they first heard it cuz it's

new to that culture to that to this

generation. So, it's just if you're

producing this, take learn as much music

if you can learn. Learn what you like

about it, why you want to do it. You

know, Boy Wonder, I look at him as the

Timberland of to of Drake. Like, he's

Drake's Timberland. Like, I feel like

they got a great chemistry. And Boy

Wonder always tells me I'm a bounce god.

So, like he the bounce king. And I but

first I you know if he would have told

me that a couple years when I first was

in it I wouldn't have understood what

he's talking about. But now I understand

like

cuz he does it. God's plan is it's

simple. It's very simple but it it

grooves and it's infectuous

and and it shows cuz it stayed the weeks

chop infectuous stuff stay at the charts

for like 14 weeks. Now I know he is the

almighty Drake, right? But the sonics

still speak for itself. Drake put out

records and it didn't last the same.

God's playing had a sonic that sound

like a classic,

you know, and it's like you can't try to

duplicate that. You can't. And at boy

tried to say, I tried to duplicate, man,

I got to make another. No, that was then

move on. Like he made the GZ that was

then you had your two cuz like when I

did sexy back from Mrs. Girl, that was

it. You never heard nothing from Mrs.

Girl from us. It just once you make that

cake, let it be eaten,

you know, move on, make another one, you

got to try. That's the whole beauty

about music. It's like

people always come, I need that set now.

You know, goodness. Well, I can't get I

could give you that

template,

but it it's me, Justin. It's a whole

We're going to create something

different because it's it's this is our

energy. And so producers, you know, I

know you're probably somebody might like

I love Metro Booming. I love all the new

producers, right? So they might say,

"Oh, I need someone like 21 Savage." No,

that's 21. Move on. You have to because

if you try to stay in that, you going to

now it's messing your mental up. You're

not evolving. You're just trying to

create what's already been created.

How do you get heard? How do you get

known?

Ambition, persistence, hard work,

dedication, never giving up. That's how

you get known. Always sticking to it. If

it's good, it'll manifest itself. If

it's not, hey, you gave it your all. I

can't tell everybody this. Say, I'm

going to be a music producer. You're

going to be a music producer. That's not

going to happen. It's all about your

perseverance,

your strive to be better than what you

are yesterday. Always trying to be a

better you. Always trying to better

yourself. Always trying to

figure out what you're doing wrong.

Taking criticism, you know. Well, what

you don't, you know, it's going to be

hard days where, you know, you want to

give up. I still have those days, you

know,

but you can't give up cuz this is what

you love.

My first success

was I think if your girl only knew

Aaliyah and

I I I I just wanted my music to be

heard. I don't know what it took to get

that. I was a young kid that was like

I just wanted my music to be heard and

and I'm was so blessed that Aaliyah

loved my sound. Love me and Missy what

we was doing. And when they called and

told us, I remember Barry, her manager,

her record label said, "Congratulations,

got your first number one." I'm like,

"What?" You know, you know, he put us,

you smiling, but it's still I don't know

about the business. I don't know was

wow, people like my music. Yes. That's

all I wanted. You know what I'm saying?

Have some money to, you know, help my

mom out, my dad, you know. But this

lease, but that one that wasn't wasn't

the drive. It was the drive to make the

people say,

"Wow." You know, it wasn't it really

wasn't a drive. It was I wanted people

to hear my music. You know, then as they

heard it, this what kind of like made me

be like, "Wait a minute."

A girl said to me, "You got dope beats

out of nowhere in a mall." You know,

random. Okay. It's Jay-Z on it. That's

Jay-Z. She looked past Jay-Z to tell me

my beats were dope.

So that means my music has touched her

along with Jay and whoever artist was on

the music. But she identified my music,

my template. Moving that one particular

person was more than money or number one

on the charts

because

I was moved doing it. And I know I

wanted people to be moved. And when she

was when she told me that it's I know

there's millions of other people out

there that might feel the same way, but

I needed that one voice. So

that was a a moment that said, "Thank

you, God, you know, for the gift.

To be honest with you, I'm a type of

guy,

you know, I at one point I didn't spend

nothing, which I'm like that now. Like I

don't spend no I just want to spend on

music stuff, music equipment, new stuff,

new ideas. And you know, you got to be

careful cuz once the fame come, you want

to try things and it's nothing you can

do cuz it's going to hit you in a

different form. I'm telling you how it

hit me. You know, you get hot, you start

feeling yourself. So now you neglect

what got you hot and that's music. So

guess what? Music is now going to leave

you. God's going to take that gift

slowly. Your ears are not going to hear

the same because you're worshiping man

things, not the gift that God gave you.

And

always stay focused on the gift.

The gifts will come, but don't let the

gift leave you.

And

always stay persistent, but you're going

to have falls and bumps.

Do you love music enough to get back up?

That's the key. And realize your

mistakes

to get known out here. You'll be known,

but it's all about your perseverance and

trial and error.

We have so much available to us that

it's all in you and what you want to do.

It's all in your feeling and yo I can

really do this. Your mom might say you

better go to school. Your dad tell you

might do this. But if you believe in

that, why is you on the computer looking

at this MacBook? These squares, these

squares is gonna make this house become

a mansion. You know what I'm saying? You

have to know that. But you don't express

it because music is not about making

money. Money will come, you know, but

you got to know that my music is good

and people want my music. People want

this feeling, you know, and it's not a

joke cuz a lot of people like

my computer's nothing looks real because

you're making something and you're not.

People think you're not working because

you're hitting stuff. You're being lazy.

Get out the bed. Do this. Do that. Or

your mom could be a kid could be that's

on a computer all day. Go. Oh, you need

to get a job. Yes, you do need a job.

You need a job. She can say, "Yes, I

need a job to buy more plugins, more

sounds, more this." Oh my goodness.

Invest your money into school. This is

school. And you know, it's hard for

people to register that music producing

is school. Cuz every day you're on that

computer, you're learning something

different. How to manipulate sound, how

to move it a different way, how to shift

the energy this way. It is school. you

people just don't see the payoff because

I'm not going to a job. I'm not clocking

in. That's the amazing part about

producing and being great at what you do

cuz the sky's is the limit. It's like I

look at it like Infinity War, you know?

You got all the six stones. What you

going to do with it?

Every job that you choose in life is

going to test your faith and your

perseverance and who you made of and

if you easy to quit and it maybe not be

made is not meant for you. Now you can

stop take a break

but to just leave it alone completely.

If people if a handful of people said,

"Man, you got something." And it's like

the opposite people outside of your

circle, you need to keep striving. You

need to keep pushing. You know, there's

confirmation out there for you. It's not

like you don't have confirmation.

There's confirmation out there. You

getting the strangest people saying,

"Yo, your track's dope." But you might

want this person to say it's dope. It

will come. It will come in time. This

will tracks what I thought was dope that

I gave to artists, they didn't take.

maybe want the time to take them. Maybe

I gotta wait. You know, some people when

it do happen, you hear people like,

"Man, I did this all by myself. Oh, blah

blah blah." That's cool. But the real

attitude to have

is

yes, my faith, my trial, my perseverance

paid off and just ride away because

guess what? Everything has an end point.

But it don't stop you from what you do.

Now we come to the end of my class. I

hope you enjoyed what you heard, what

you saw. Thanks for watching. I hope

you're inspired. I hope you enjoyed it.

Until the next time, see you soon.