Summary:
In this 49th episode of SOB: Style of Business podcast, Keetria interviews JazzFeezy about his personal background as a producer, advice for aspiring producers, memorable moments and his perspective on developments in the industry. JazzFeezy is a producer who has worked with Boi-1da, T-Minus among others. JazzFeezy began his career contributing beats and has expanded to creating sample libraries and sync licensing. This episode focuses on the experiences that JazzFeezy has in the music industry and how his career developed (and what lessons he’s learned).
Show Notes:
- Keetria introduces JazzFeezy of JazzFeezy Productions & Publishing
- JazzFeezy explains his background
- He was a fan of music at the end of high school
- He’d use SoundForge to crossfade songs
- He left college to study production and network with artists
- Discussing projects (big and small)
- Signed to Boi-1da (2010-2012) and contributed to placement in the movie Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.
- Post 2012 on T.I.’s Paperwork album (submitting ~150 beats, credited as executive producer)
- How does developing a career (and getting placements) work?
- You’d ask the artist for a “narrative” or “inspiration” are they looking for?
- Work 10-12 hours per day generating creative ideas, making beats, etc.
- Not every day is going to produce good results
- Grew up around rock music and Bollywood
- Discovering new music inspired his early career
- Discussing sound design
- Recording/sampling his own sounds
- Low budget sampling helped him develop skills around sound design
- Technological advances in music and instrumentation have changed the industry
- These days, we have access to great synthetic instruments and excellent sample libraries
- Overview of what a sound designer is:
- Starting with a recorded sound, using FX and editing to create a sound (snare, sound FX, etc.)
- Discussing memorable moments from career
- Running into Kendrick Lamar
- Learning about being in charge of a project
- Where are new artists showing up first?
- Check out the Viral 50 playlist (on Spotify)
- Which producers have been most influential to you personally?
- Boi-1da
- T-Minus
- Note: Many current artists are producing demos on laptops
- Influences
- Boi-1da gave JazzFeezy important opportunities
- Upcoming productions?
- TV, Film, Video Games and Commercials
- Independent, unsigned artists for sync licensing
- Introducing new artists
- What advice for aspiring producers?
- Do research into mics, software and production tools
- Always keep learning
- Get out of the basement and network!
- Develop great communication skills
- Deliver on quick turnarounds
- Where to find sounds from JazzFeezy
- JazzFeezy.com
- Splice – packs, samples and drum kits
- Landr.com – 750 free sounds
- Beat tutorials and gaming on twitch
- Also available on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter
3 Key Points:
- Producers often work persistently (as much as 10-12 hours a day), even though not every day will produce a successful result.
- Sound design is simply any audio result that you produce from scratch that is used as a “sound” in a production (e.g. snare, fx, etc.).
- Successful producers need to get out of their studios and network, keep learning and build relationships.
Tweetable Quotes:
– “It’s great we can make all this music in our basement, but you still have to get off your butt.” – JazzFeezy
– “Have the trust and the relationship and the communication with the artist to decipher what exactly you’re creating.” – JazzFeezy
– “Here’s the thing – you sign to a producer, who knows if you ever get your moment.” – JazzFeezy
– “It’s really amazing to see the artists becoming the producers and that’s becoming more of a normal thing” – JazzFeezy
Resources Mentioned:
- Style of Business – Website for Style of Business
- Facebook – Keetria’s Facebook
- Keetria’s Twitter – Keetria’s Twitter
- JazzFeezy – JazzFeezy’s Website
- On Landr.com – JazzFeezy Samples on Landr.com
- Boi-1da – Boi-1da Twitter
- T-Minus – T-Minus’ Twitter
- SoundForge – Website for SoundForge Software
- Viral 50 – Up-and-Coming Spotify Playlist
- Dre – Dr. Dre’s Website
