MUSIC MYSTRO

Introducing Music Mystro. If y’all are sleeping on this kid, you’re making a mistake.

Music Mystro
Interview by Eric Sakla

1. Mystro what’s up man? What’s going on?

What’s good man! Maintaining. I’m ok.

2. It’s interesting to hear about your past and how you got into producing. It seems like a lot of producers have a similar history as being emcees and then needing beats. You had to make it happen yourself. Let us know how it began.

Well, to put a long story short, when I was rapping in my group, I had a falling out with the dude that was making our beats so that forced my to take in everything I learned from watching everybody and put it to use because I always had an ear for music. The transition pretty much started when I was an intern at Untertainment. I use to test the waters with A&Rs Troy and Just. Just told me to start over and produce my own shit because when I played the other dudes stuff and then my beats, mine got a better response. Then I remember one time I was playing a song for Charli Baltimore in Untertainment’s conference room, and she actually liked the song, saying the beat helped the song. Then there was another time when I was working with a young artist named Wrecka and played one of his songs I did for Bianca in promotions (at Untertainment) and she liked it so much she called Cam and played it for him and he liked it and asked “who did the beat”? She said “E”, and Cam yelled, “Why you ain’t tell me you did beats”? He already knew I was trying to rap. We was at Charli B’s video shoot for the “Feel It” song and Cam put me on the spot and told me to Spit sixteen for Digga. It caught me off guard and I froze up. I was like seventeen at the time, but what really made me switch to producing a hundred percent was the fact that I put so much time into making beats; I lost the passion to rap. I remember I use to cut seventh and eighth period of high school to go to Untertainment and the studio to sit and watch Un, Digga and Cam do what they do. I used to ask a lot of questions and made up my mind that it was what I wanted to do, and Digga always gave me great advice.

3. What type of gear are you working with?

My main piece is the MPC2000xl and the rest switches up as far as keyboards. The main three I use are the Triton. I heard a multi platinum producer tell an up and coming producer if you have a Triton then throw it away. My response to that is don’t throw it away. Those four knobs are there for a reason so use them. There are plenty of effects to change the factory sound. I love the Motif XS, and I use the Roland Fantom, 1080, 3080, and 5080, which pretty much have the same sounds.

4. What are your thoughts on using software? Are you going to eventually be using software only or is it too hard to give up the equipment?

I used to be against software, but a couple of my dudes made me think different when I heard and saw how they used Logic. And the sounds in Logic are crazy. I started using Logic, but I combine it with the hardware. I combine both into Protools.

5. Do you need a specific type of atmosphere to get you inspired? Or do you have any weird rituals you do in order to start working?

For me the worst part of making a beat is tracking it because it takes a lot of time and has to be done right. Also starting a beat! I am the worst at that. I’ll be outside and have a beat in my mind all day, and when I get to the studio, I’m blank and can’t think of anything. Sometimes I start to walk and pace around until something comes up, then I’ll mess around and see if I like it and take it from there. Sometimes I do need to change environments. For some reason when I troop out to Far Rockaway to my dude Melstaxx’s studio I get inspired. Dude lives right on the Atlantic ocean so sometimes in the middle of a beat I’ll stop and walk to the beach which is a block away to clear my head and then come back to attack the beat again. Yes, I work slow (laughs)

6. Producers aren’t “on” at all times. Sometimes they get in slumps. What does it take for you to get out of that slump and start banging out tracks?

For me, sometimes the cure to a slump is to not make a beat. Sometimes you have to leave it alone and not force it. It will come to you. And when it does, while you are in the process of making one, you might get an idea for another one. That’s why if you look at the way I sequence in the MPC, you may see that I used thirty sequences out off the ninety-nine you can use. That’s from me catching other ideas. I might have three or four full beats in those thirty sequences. Just put them into song mode.

7. In today’s day, artists and producers are rarely getting in the studio and collaborating. Have there ever been times when you had an idea for a track and when the artists sends it back, it’s not what you envisioned?

Plenty of times, but there have been times when I pitched an idea and it came out better than what I thought it would.

8. This is always interesting for people to know, and you don’t have to state names, but have you ever had difficult experiences with artists? Maybe they had too big of an ego, were plain jerks, etc.

Hell yeah, and the funny thing about it was that Mofo wasn’t even signed yet! Truth be told, I wasn’t in the studio with fifty percent of the signed artist I worked with. Some figured “oh, he a new dude, he don’t need to be there” and then you have other that want you there. But in my case, I have more Hollywood run-ins with unsigned artist than signed. It’s cool when they do your record and want your honest feedback.

9. How important are connections in the game of production? We know you need to have the skills, but explain how important good networking is.

Connections and networking is very important. One thing I praise my team for is taking the connections I gave them and building on them to make there own relationships. Working at Untertainment built up a lot of connections and built a lot of relationships with people that can take you a step further. It’s always good to network because you never know who’s who!

Well right now I’m just cracking out music for writers to write to. Hopefully linking up with Jack Knight soon. He wrote a lot of hits. Trying to get this Publishing deal straight, and working with two of my artist Agonee and Gage. Also working with up and coming artist like Esso, Nina B, Tiger the Great (from West VA), Sacario, Serius Jones, and others.