This week we had "America's Favorite Production Duo" Buda And Grandz Music came through to chop it up with us about mad things. These guys are becoming an NYC mainstay, having produced tracks for The Lox, 50 Cent, Dave East, Wyclef and more. We spoke about their rise to how they've gotten to this point in their career, and what it takes to stand out from the rest.

Subscribe On iTunes

Episode 3 With Buda & Grandz

This week's special guest was none other than Jonathan Master. With 15+ years in the music industry as an A&R (and !llmind's manager), the wealth of knowledge he possesses is second to none. We spoke about shopping beats, what it takes to break into the industry and some great insight on creating a financially stable/long term situation for yourself. Really awesome show. Lots of info. Enjoy!

Episode 6 With Jonathan Master

What an episode. The homie Cardiak Flatline came through and dropped MEGA JEWELS. We spoke about his experience with being consistent in getting placements with Drake, J Cole, his first big record START IT UP (Kanye, Lloyd Banks, Swizz, Ryan Leslie) that literally "started" his career up, his beat battle beginnings, and how nervous he got when Dr. Dre made him change a snare drum a million times and just couldn't get it right. Such an epic show. Enjoy!

Subscribe

Episode 14 With Cardiak Flatline

The Heatmakerz are undoubtedly one of the most legendary music production crews in hip-hop. From the early Camron days, to the Dipset movement and sound in the early 2000's, these guys were running the sound of the streets for almost a decade. We spoke to founding member RSONIST about the beginning stages of his career, how he is able to survive for so many years in this climate, and some really helpful pointers for up and coming producers.

Episode 32 With Rsonist (of The Heatmakerz)

Watch On Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6H-oOwE8lQ&t=494s

"The coach last longer than the player." That's the first quote you see when you look at Steve Lobel's profile. From carrying crates for the late great Jam Master Jay, learning from Russell Simmons, to breaking legendary artists and managing Scott Storch, Steve has seen and done it all behind the scenes. We spoke about his longevity, what it takes to be a real executive, and some valuable life lessons he's learned and continues to learn. A true "one-of-one" in the industry. This one is probably one of our most valuable shows to date. You may need to listen to this one more than once!

Episode 38 With Steve Lobel

We back baby! In this episode we have one of the filthiest up and coming superstar producers on the rise. He's from Toronto (surprise surprise.. seems like all of the awesome producers are coming from there!) With recent placements on Drake's "More Life", Uzi's "Luv Is Rage 2", Bryson Tiller's "True To Self" & more, 2017 was no doubt his break-out year. At 20 years young, what are the next steps as a music producer after just reaching these new milestones? We dig a little deeper into what life is like for Francis now, what it was like during the grind, his years of building a friendship with the amazing WondaGurl beats and how that relationship changed both of their lives and the importance of being open to collaboration.

Episode 48 With FrancisGotHeat

What's it like to go from being too shy to present in front of a classroom at school, to literally rocking festivals in front of tens of thousands of people for a living? Well, we spoke to the man himself. One of our favorite producers and part of the great collective Soulection. We talk about "record placements" all of the time. It's usually a goal for most up and coming music producers. But, what about the other side of the game? What's it like to be a producer without too many major placements, but have millions of streams on Soundcloud, an amazing social media following & the ability to rock stages across the globe in front of thousands of people alongside your homies, playing the music that YOU created? That's an amazing feeling. We spoke to ESTA on the trials and tribulations, and his journey thus far.

Episode 52 With Esta (of Soulection)

In this special episode, we celebrate the release of Dave East's brand new album "Paranoia 2" with 3 of the music producers who contributed a bulk of the production on the project (oh and Illmind produced a song on that project as well, so technically we have 4 producers here lol). What an inspiring conversation. From Buda & Grandz's early days of grinding with Dave East and having to split $10 each in the studio to get some food, to now seeing the fruits of their labor. Also, newcomer JoeJoeBeats on Dave East being his first major label placement and what life is like now. Lots of jewels here and lessons in artist development verses selling beats to indy rappers, including some real life consequences & pay-offs. One of the realest episodes to date.

Watch On Youtube

Episode 62 With Buda & Grandz and JoeJoeBeats

As music producers, we strive to eventually get to that point where we feel like we have our own "signature sound". Like, The Neptunes. Like, Timbaland, Like, Dr. Dre. Like, Metro Boomin'. The list goes on. So what does one have to do to achieve a signature sound as a music creator? We also discuss the current landscape of music and how important of a role music producers play.

Watch On YouTube

Episode 75 - How To Find Your Signature Sound

There's so much I can say about Wayno. Some people know him as the official co-host of Complex's "Everyday Struggle". Some know him as the guy who helped kick start Dave East's career. Some knew him from the early Rocafella days, or his company "Triangle Offense" (artist + production management, amongst other things). Outspoken, honest and will always keep it 100. One of my favorite and most genuine people in the industry. Lots of gems here you don't want to miss.

Episode 76 With Wayno (Everyday Struggle)

After the devastating news of Mac Miller’s passing, I talk about the importance of mental health and how social media has evolved to effect it. What was once a silly platform to post and share with your friends is now something that you can build an entire business around. For many of us creatives, we share with the world our most vulnerable work, our art. We guide you on how to navigate through the negative and hateful comments. And I encourage you to stop and think again before commenting something hurtful on someone else’s post. 

Our guest on the show J Reid ("Chun - Li" Nicki Minaj Producer) talks about what it was like to work with a superstar, what it took to get there, how it changed his career and what he has planned for the future. Gems you don’t want to miss!

Watch on YouTube

Episode 82 With J Reid ("Chun - Li" Nicki Minaj Producer)

Welcome back our special guest SEVN THOMAS for a second episode with us! Appreciate him for taking the time out of his busy schedule to chop it up. We discuss his recent successes with Rihanna, Travis Scott, Lil Wayne and more. He gives great advice on how to manifest and execute your goals and how that mentality got him to where he is today. He also gives a stamp of approval for young producers to grind, sell beats and do whatever you gotta do because he's surprised at how many major artists reach out to these guys off of YouTube/Instagram beats. Also on this episode, my co-hosts and I talk about how to network effectively and genuinely build relationships rather than forcing a situation. A lot of helpful tips that can really change your outlook and trajectory. You don't wanna miss this one!

Episode 84 With Sevn Thomas

Most aspiring music producers' goals are to get placements on a major label. But there are so many different avenues of income and success. Special guest APOLLO BROWN speaks on touring the world playing his music and how he created a demand for it. Instead of having his beats sitting on a hard drive, he decided to put them out as albums and branded himself as a producer. He speaks on his come up in the beat battle scene to now, still in the game as a respected and successful music producer for the past 20+ years. He has a new album out with JOELL ORTIZ called MONA LISA. Lots of great advice and a new perspective on what it means to be a music producer in this episode.

Episode 87 With Apollo Brown

BlapChat Live was a huge success. Thank you to everyone who came out and rocked with us and all our special guests (Just Blaze, Rance1500 to name a couple) We talked to a lot of you who followed the advice from all of my content and how that led to a big change in your lives, placements and so much more. I encourage you to try something new, embrace your failures, learn from your mistakes and grow within the process. Just Blaze also talks about how he came up and his story of failures/successes. So many times, we think our plan is going to work out but it ends up taking you on a whole other journey. Just and I both have a list of placements that weren't supposed to be where it ended up. But the music will be end up where it needs to be and trust that everything will be okay. A lot of gems in this one.

Episode 88 With Just Blaze

On this episode, we talk about the journey through the industry and finding a passion for the hustle (00:04:50), future Pass the Aux events (00:8:00), ATLAS is our other host today, he fills us in on Cruz's "Respect the Engineer" workshops (00:13:40), "if you're a creator you should think about what you can do to nurture and provide your fans (00:29:53),"the long term route is the shortcut"(00:35:12),  !ll explains  "points" on an album and how they pertain to producers (00:48:14) Are you the 5% that apply themselves?(01:00:00), Blap or Crap segment (01:31:08) + so much more with !llmind and ATLAS.

Episode 95 - What I Would Do If I Just Started Making Beats

On this episode the Blap crew goes over the importance of initiative  and a "problem solving" approach to the industry and your career. 
Illmind is back in the studio with Perfection, Atlas, and GLAM  1..2..3.... BLAPCHAT!!!🔥(:2:25)"Are there any projects this year you guys liked?"(00:05:41)Quick shout out to all the creatives coming out to Illminds "Pass the Aux World Tour"!!!(00:07:09)"Having a rich mentality vs. a Poor Mentality"(00:15:18)"There are two different types of people in this world; People who wait to be told what to do, and people that just do shit"(00:19:00)"The keyword is initiative"(00:27:50)IG Live Q&A (00:40:10)"How would you have found your Skyzoo in 2019?"(00:52:33) Blap or Crap segment (00:59:06) + so much more with Illmind, Atlas, Perfection and GLAM!!

Episode 97 - Rich Mentality Vs Poor Mentality

On this episode, Illmind talks solo about coming up on the 100th episode, the power of the mind and the effect it has on success🔥🔥🔥Illmind gives a shout out to fans and gives a brief intro of the podcast to new listeners(00:03:09)"You can go from A to Z and realize that Z is not the end. Realize it's really just one alphabet you've conquered, and there's multiple alphabets for you to conquer" (00:03:40)💯Illmind gives insight into the tools he's been using to be more mindful and how success correlates to your mind state(00:04:44)"There's this elephant in the room that we don't talk about the power of the mind and how absolutely crucial and important of a component it is to reaching ultimate happiness and ultimate success"(00:06:19)Illmind explores the reasons for his success and concepts he's used to get where he is now, "which is rich is success, rich in all aspects of [his] life" (00:09:10) Illmind stresses that there isn't one single safe route to success and that "we've been trained and programmed to believe that you can only accomplish this in one particular way, which is just not the case"(00:10:58)"It doesn't matter how old you are, or at what point in life you are, but I think an amazing starting point is to try stuff"(00:16:53) Illmind speaks on incremental progress and the road to euphoria (00:24:89) Illmind encourages listeners to be "mindful of your rest periods" and how some of his best ideas came from those periods(00:29:38) "Patience is just the idea of living in the moment and not beating yourself up into trying to predict the future" (00:37:39)"If you want new experiences, you have to do things out of your comfort zone"(00:47:20)Illmind wraps up with some of his history and emphasizes the importance of finding what makes you happy + so much more!! 🙏🏽

Episode 99 - The Truth About Reaching Success

In this episode, Illmind, GLAM and Atlas chop it up with special guest June James about his music, history and influences. "We're here to talk about anything and everything music, business, music production." (00:02:50)"I have a couple special things for Spotify." (00:03:42) "I want to announce a couple things... my Throne Loops contest is ongoing." (00:05:09) "I just got back from Miami. I did a 3 city little tour run for Pass the Aux." (00:06:48)"On this podcast we talk a lot about building with your peers and collaborating with each other." (00:07:53) "Go to IllmindProducer.com for tickets to Pass the Aux" (00:09:00) "Atlas, what do you have going on right now?" (00:09:23) "GLAM, what have you been working on? How's the music?" (00:11:20) "We're all really nothing without memories." (00:15:00) "I like the campaign idea about artists that have a 9 to 5 and then talk about the 5 to 9." (00:17:10) "What are some of the things your learning along the way in terms of the 5 to 9 hustle and balancing that with the 9 to 5?"(00:17:45)"That's a key word that you're using - coexisting." (00:22:50) "Everyone has bad days. Everyone has stuff they go through whether it's financial, personal or a relationship... We have the power to give power to certain things."(00:25:30)"If I was doing these Pass the Auxs' for free, not only would I be losing money, but imagine the type of clientele I would be attracting." (00:34:50) "We're here with a very special guest." (00:37:50)"What got you into production?" (00:39:50) "It's all about building direct relationships, but with people that aren't necessarily big yet." (00:47:00) "What's the priority right now?" (00:51:55) + so much more!!

Episode 101 With Special Guest June James

What does "success" mean to you? For some it's money. For others it's happiness and the freedom to do what you want, when you want. For most, it's a combination of all the above. How does one answer this question in the MUSIC INDUSTRY? What does a successful music producer with Grammys and platinum plaques look like? And how do you get there? In this episode, Illmind + his co-hosts Atlas and Perfection go into a deep dive of some of the psychological, spiritual and routine habits of the successful. So many gems in this one.

Episode 103 - The True Pathway To Success

What happens when you're invited to a big studio for the first time? Maybe it's with a superstar? Or maybe it's with a local artist. As a music creator, what is your role and how can you maximize your time in the studio to be as productive as possible. Every situation is unique, but there are some "in studio hacks" that you can apply to help you along your creative journey. In this episode Illmind & Perfection (who managed one of the most premiere recording studios in NYC for years) speak on some tips to help you in the studio, whether you're a music producer, engineer or artist. So much value in this episode so don't sleep!

Episode 106 - Simple Studio Tips That Pay Off BIG TIME

This is by far one of my favorite episodes. We went a little left field on this one and spoke about some real stuff: where did humans come from? Do aliens exist? Are we reptiles? I know. Interesting lol! This all in some weird way ties in to the realities of being human and how our roles coincide with living on earth as musicians and aspiring artists. We also spoke to amazing producer "My Best Friend Jacob" who recently produced & scored Travis Scott's Netflix documentary. Lots of insight on sound design, TV/Film licensing and how you can get into the business, what to look out for and how to get your foot in the door. Also, Jacob was nice enough to share his personal custom ANALOG BANK PRESET LIBRARY for free download. Here it is: https://www.dropbox.com/s/pdft6xw3rrhvl0n/Analog%20Lab%203_Bank_Look%20Mom%20I%20Can%20Fly_20190904_22h01.labx?dl=0

Episode 108 With My Best Friend Jacob (Travis Scott Documentary producer & sound designer)

The title "sample maker" has become more and more popular these past few years in the music production world. So we spoke to one of my personal FAVORITES and in my opinion one of the BEST Mario Luciano. I personally have some placements with him coming up, but recently he just earned a production credit with Cardo Got Wings, HER and YG. We talk about the process of "creating original sample loops", the advantages of using analog gear, doing a ton of research, trial and error and being authentic. We also discussed the controversy of being a "producer influencer" teaching people how to be "successful" without actually being successful yourself. You might have a nice following, but what type of baggage does that come with and does that stereotype you into a "box"? To a certain extent, it does. If you take offense by what I'm saying, maybe you're one of them. Either way, this was insightful asf!

Episode 109 With Mario Luciano (Composer/Arranger/Sample maker)

Blap On The Radio Theme Song Featuring Skyzoo Produced by !LLMIND

In this episode we continue the conversation about how to overcome the EARLY struggles of being an up-coming music producer. The #1 issue most people deal with in the beginning could be summed up in one word: MONEY. So the question is, how do we generate some in the beginning while pursuing a career? What are some ways to generate income quickly to eventually quit that 9-5 job? Is beat leasing, kit selling, youtube hustle a good idea? Does that make it harder to become an "industry producer"? Lot's of questions answered in a nice stream of consciousness. This is a must listen.

Episode 110 - Overcoming Beat Block & Struggle

Meet Gabe. He generated over $1,258,367 in online beat selling without a ton of subscribers or followers. You're probably wondering how he did it (yes that's over a Million dollars lol). Well, we spoke to the man himself about how you can too. This episode was exciting because it really put into perspective how powerful his methods are to start making some REAL $ online as a music producer. The method we're talking about is called a "sales funnel". You've probably been hearing about it here and there recently in the music production community. We dove into the pros (and cons) and what it takes to work up to that level selling beats online using "sales funnels". Really powerful stuff! If you want to get started on creating your own sales funnel, just click this link after you listen to the episode: http://www.legionbeats.com/blap

Episode 111 - Selling Beats Using Sales Funnels with Gabe (Legion Beats)

As an up-coming music producer in 2019 (going into 2020) there are an overwhelming amount of resources, options and routes to choose from. Do I go the beat leasing route? Maybe I should try click funnels. Should I only sell exclusively? Should I just focus on developing artists? I can try to sell drum kits and sample packs but how do I go about doing that? Maybe I should try to become a Youtube influencer? Or maybe I should try all of the above? The possibilities are endless, but also very overwhelming. This is something I've been thinking about for a while and I wanted to dive into an effective way to approach this. My good friend and Grammy Award Winning producer Symbolyc One joined me for a call-in conversation. So many gems in this one.

Episode 112 - Big Gems For Music Producers Just Starting Out with Symbolyc One

Most aspiring music creators have a 9 to 5 job, or some sort of "side gig" to generate income to live. The age old million dollar question is always "when and how should I quit my job to pursue my passion full time?". There is no right or wrong answer because every human being is dealt a different set of circumstances at any point in his/her life. I do think there are some important things to think about, so Perfection and Myself did a deep dive. Lots of "end of year" gems here. What a perfect way to go into 2020!

Episode 113 - When To Quit Your 9 To 5 Job

The music industry is the wild wild west. If you're a music producer or an artist, it's easy to fall victim to industry scams. Not all of them are bad, but a lot of them are. How do you recognize what opportunities to take and which ones to ignore? Do they even work? Are there true shortcuts and "pay to play" services that are legit? Let's dive in!

Episode 114 - How To Avoid Being Scammed

RIP KOBE. RIP NIPSEY. There is so much we can learn from these 2 legendary human beings. Their legacies left a mark that will be remembered forever. So what are some of the practices we can apply to our own lives? Spread love. Be thankful. Reflect. Prioritize ownership. This is a very in-depth conversation about the hustle and bustle.

Episode 115 - More Love More Success

What happens when you get your first major label placement as a music producer with a big artist? How do you handle the contract? Where can you find a lawyer? Do you need a manager? If a big artist asks for STEMS on a beat, do you send them and give up your only leverage? Or do you prioritize the opportunity and hope for the best? Is it ok for labels to take advantage of artists/producers by presenting unfair contracts? Or is business just business? We brought in special guest Karl Fowlkes, an entertainment lawyer who has experience playing both sides. Let's clear the air on this once and for all!

Episode 116 - Producer Contracts & Getting Paid (w guest Karl Fowlkes [Entertainment Law])

Finally caught up with my boy Murda for a conversation about his come up. This is the first BLAPCHAT episode since the "quarantine". Raw, 1 on 1 chat about Murda's up bringing, grinding on type beats, believing in yourself, getting your brand out there, being consistent and so many more PURE GEMS. Load this episode up and take notes!

Episode 117 With Murda Beatz

An all music production podcast. Raw & uncut. Featuring Grammy Nominated Multi-Platinum producer !llmind, Atlas The Plug, Perfection & GLAM.

BlapChat

Pinned to spotlight

Popular tracks