HOW TO KNOW WHAT BEATS TO PLAY IN A SESSION – Illmind BLAP:CAM 068
On this episode, I give advice to an aspiring producer who has a background in shooting videos and how that...
The world of hip-hop is as competitive as ever, and nowhere is that truer than among producers, one of the few lucrative positions left in the market.
The name !llmind first popped off on the Beat Society scene (circa 2001), one of the first live producer events in existence, where he showcased with heavyweights like Kanye West and Just Blaze. He soon began to make a name for himself, producing tracks for underground legends such as Little Brother (Good Clothes, Nobody Like Me), Boot Camp Clik (Let's Go), Akrobatik, El Da Sensei, Diamond D, KRS-ONE (Survival Skills) and more. In 2005, he produced and released an entire album on BBE with fellow producer Symbolyc One (Kanye's "Power" producer & now G.O.O.D. Music family) called "The Art Of Onemind", which featured a slew of underground artists, including Ghostface Killa.
In 2006, Sha Money XL (former G-Unit records president & current VP A&R at Def Jam) signed and upgraded the New Jersey beat-smith's seat from economy to first class, bringing new !llmind produced songs with Erykah Badu (Get Live), 50 Cent (Queens, Make A Movie, All His Love), Ludacris, Lloyd Banks, Prodigy, Kool G Rap, Redman, Scarface (Who Are They, It's Not A Game), LL Cool J, and even The Jabbawockeez (America's Best Dance Crew season 1 Champs).
Since then, he's released multiple full-length albums, one with acclaimed lyricist Skyzoo called "Live From The Tapedeck" (released on Duckdown Records & considered a modern day classic to some), along with his own full-length instrumental album called "Beh!nd The Curta!n" (released on Nature Sounds records). He is also plays executive producer for 3 separate groups (all of which he is also an official member of); Fortilive (Mushmouf & Slo-Mo), SunZoo (Drunken Tiger, Yoon Mirae, Roscoe Umali & Styliztik Jones), and Smokey Robotic, a band which has garnered the attention of multiple Hollywood superstars such as Lindsay Lohan, Samantha Ronson, and more.
!llmind has also been featured in multiple magazine and online publications, such as Scratch Magazine (Top 20 Best Producers), Hip Hop Weekly, Mass Appeal, The Source, XXL, Hiphopgame.com, and Hiphopdx.com.
As an advocate for education in music business and production, !llmind taught Music Production Business classes at one of NYC's largest non-profit organizations, Harlem Children's Zone, from 2007-2009. Recently, he was hired at the prestigious Clive Davis Department Of Recorded Music at NYU as a Technical Music Instructor for a program called "Future Music Moguls".
Taking his entrepreneurship even further, !llmind started his own bi-weekly producer showcase event in NYC called "Beats, Love, Alcohol & Party" (B.L.A.P.), which gives up-coming and established music producers a chance to showcase exclusive music in a club atmosphere. The event has been a huge success, with participants such as Amadeus (Hitmen/Bad Boy), Mr. Fingaz (Ja Rule/Fabolous), Digga (50 Cent/Jay-Z), and more.
With an on-going digital compilation series called "Blaps, Rhymes & Life" (touting over 200,000 downloads worldwide & 5 Volumes), an exclusive bi-monthly event for his fellow producers, and a handful of music for both underground and mainstream/pop artists in the works, things can only get bigger. "Reach for the stars, and the sky can never be your limit." - !llmind
Credits
Placed records with 50 Cent, Eminem, LL Cool J, Ludacris, Scarface, Redman, Apl (Black Eyed Peas), G-Unit, Erykah Badu, LLoyd Banks, Drunken Tiger & Yoon Mirae (multi-platinum Korean hip-hop/pop artists), Music Licensed with Movado, ESPN, MTV, & more.
http://www.illmind.biz/
http://www.facebook.com/TheRealillmind
http://twitter.com/illmindPRODUCER
http://illmindbiz.tumblr.com
http://www.myspace.com/illmind
http://soundcloud.com/illmind
http://illmind.bandcamp.com/
On this episode, I give advice to an aspiring producer who has a background in shooting videos and how that...
You know what I did early on that worked? I tried stuff. A bunch of stuff. I tried rapping. I...
On this BLAP:CAM episode, I talk about what keeps me humble and excited (00:47), how having money is really not...
On this episode, Illmind and Glam talk about how to balance a 9-5 job vs. pursuing a passion (17:30), IG...
Someone asked me how I went from producing "X" on the Black Panther album to "You're Welcome" on Disney's Moana...
BlapChat Live was a huge success. Thank you to everyone who came out and rocked with us and all our...
The biggest and most important thing you can have when you're an independent artist/producer is LEVERAGE. That means growing a...
I was one of the finalist judges, alongside JustBlaze and Mannie Fresh, for Battle of the Beatmakers in Toronto this...
In our current social media/digital world, it's important to strategically market yourself. That comes down to branding yourself, your name...
Here's what we did. I went on IG Live and asked the viewers to drop their phone numbers in the...
I recently met with a group of aspiring music producers at an NYC studio, gave feedback on their music and...
Special guest TRILOGY speaks on producing the viral hit, "Get The Strap" with Uncle Murda, 50 Cent, 6ix9ine & Casanova...
I decided to rant for an hour (no edits) about what I did to become successful as a music producer...
I recently went on IG live and answered many of your questions. We discussed how to set up your laptop...
I’m always inspired by stories of people who were able to climb out of extreme low points to eventually reach...
After the devastating news of Mac Miller’s passing, I talk about the importance of mental health and how social media...
I recently went to CLEVELAND, OH to meet with up and coming producers, songwriters, etc at a private studio. We...
I recently took a trip to CHICAGO to sit in a private studio with over 30 music producers & artists...
What's the difference between working with a rapper and a singer? If I'm a music producer or an audio engineer,...
Last week, I tweeted a secret location in Brooklyn, NY to come meet me. We chose 70 random fans to...
Even though it may seem like I’m creating at such a high level, there’s still so much more I need...
So this is what we did. We put a tweet out the day before recording this episode saying "meet us...
I recently took a trip to San Francisco to link up with a handful of up-coming music producers, artists and...
I had the pleasure if being invited to speak to some of the staff at the YOUTUBE HQ (most of...
What is an A&R? It stands for "Artist & Repertoire". It's the person at a record label who juggles a...
This might be one of our most informative episodes to date. We talked about various ways to generate income when...
I met Mike Kuz when I was working with Slaughterhouse (Royce da 5'9", Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz & Crooked I...
People ask me all the time "what kept you going in your early days of grinding and did you ever...
There's so much I can say about Wayno. Some people know him as the official co-host of Complex's "Everyday Struggle"....
Loved this conversation that I had with !llmind, a 4x Grammy Nominated Producer, while I was in LA last year.....