My Process

I don't give a fuck

In all seriousness, there's not a lot that goes into it.

Writing

This is the component of music that changes the most.
One of the reasons being I do it the most. My Google Keep is filled with (literally) thousands on thousands of verses, choruses, and song Ideas, each one ready to record, or partway there to a full song.

My goal is to keep it honest. I ain't saying get up on the mic and be all serious, just speak from a real place.

Production

There is one rule of thumb that I always follow:

KEEP IT SIMPLE

 also
If ever in doubt, ditch it
A song isn't one sound, it has to do with each individual sound and how it's selected in accordance with each other (the mix).
Because of this, it is never a good idea to spend extra time on a sound, trying to get it to sound good. Move on and find another that fits that spot better.

Do Not Succumb to the Sunk Cost Fallacy.

Quality Audio

Early into my music journey, I found that sound quality was a large factor in whether people would even consider your music as valid. Because of that, I chose to build a broke-man's vocal booth (of which I am pictured in below), constructed out of a mattress, two blankets, and many pillows.
Albeit, this did not gain me any listeners, I pressed on, knowing this improved sound was something I am actually happy with.
Lens looking into the camera, standing in his Homemade Vocal Booth behind the mic

This booth has under-gone many iterations, but the concept stays the same:


  • Place a Mattress Behind Artist and In Front of the Microphone, Reducing Direct Reverberation with Flat Wall Surface (Early Reflections)
  • Hang Blanket Behind and to the Sides of the Microphone, Causing Excess Reflections from Behind to Dissipate Faster (Late Reflections)
  • Cover any Flat, Hard Surface Visible from Artist POV while Recording with Soft, Irregular Surfaces (Pillows on Exposed Wall Sections, Jackets Hung in Corner of Room, etc)

I also found that the more thought you give something, that doesn't necesarrily translate into the finished product or, what really even matters: You.

Vibe

After a few months of rapping, I started to be able to think of lyrics not as words, but as what they truthfully are: a tool.
With this revelation, I started to understand music I had not been able to before, as when I started out, ALL I could focus on (especially in a rap/hip-hop song) was the words that went with the lyrics.
But then, I got it!

Sometimes life is so shit, all you can manage to do is (barely) bop your head to whatever useless frequency is mindlessly flowing through your ears, into your skull.
And without that mindless, unbiased frequency, it can seem like all you are left with is shit...

Once I realized this, I started to make new goals. No longer was I after the 'most-intricate bar' or 'spitting the fastest verse'. No... Now, this was real

As real as Wind against the Stone.
Water upon the Sand.
A breeze in your face, carrying your soul to a far-away land...

In short, Music taught me to


LET THE FUCK GO



And,
Truthfully,

I have.

It took music, Support from amazing, amazing people (Shouts-Out you, Pops!), and (too much) time, but I did it. I removed my slugworth-self from it's previous habitat: A pill-filled, arrogant, ignorant, shitty, shell-of-a-human-being that I am ashamed to have, even once, been.
Although, without each previous moment, I wouldn't be who I am in the current one...
So who knows...

Maybe One Day I (or those around me) Will Appreciate all the Shit I Went Through

Until Then,
Cheers.