FKi 1st Producer Come Up Story w/ Post Malone, How Engineering Launched His Career + More

We are back with another Producergrind Podcast episode filmed out here in Los Angeles. We had the pleasure of interviewing multi-platinum producer & artist FKi 1st aka 1$t at his studio where he told us his legendary come up story being from Atlanta and working with Travis Porter, Post Malone and Iggy Azalea early on to eventually selling many records with Migos, Travis Scott, 2 Chainz and more.

FKi 1st shared with us many gems and music career advice, including how to build relationships in the music industry through having good intentions, studio etiquette and tips on how to get in a recording studio, and how engineering launched his career!

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Timestamps
00:00 – Intro
01:10 – Reflecting goals during pandemic & getting ready for 2021, getting plaques as an artist
03:09 – Manifestation/law of attraction, going to Tokyo for the first time
05:53 – Everything we say might happen, stop joking & start saying more positive things
08:10 – Growing up to family’s music, George Clinton, Parliament-Funkadelic, Led Zeppelin, the power of music controlling people
11:30 – FKi 1st come up story continued, growing up to older sisters’ rock & rave/techno music in the 90s & 2000s, influence from Three 6 Mafia, Memphis & Atlanta music
14:10 – First rap album heard, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Nelly, other music they grew up to, needing more rap music genres in the Grammys
18:45 – Dreams/goals as a kid for baseball, playing beats for his friends, recording artists in his mom’s basement, knowing in 10th grade that he wanted to be an artist & producer
22:40 – Going to Full Sail University for 1 year & going in student loan debt, learning Logic Pro X
24:40 – How his dad randomly connected him to Beyonce’s producer & got him in the studio
26:40 – Don’t focus on the little money, keep your eye on the big prize, getting in the studio, working at Sam’s Club before attending Full Sail
28:00 – FKi 1st brain only thinking music & not thinking regular thoughts
29:30 – Moving to LA w/ Post Malone & making music, getting in the studio & staying there to work
31:20 – Mixing at Collipark studio for Charlie Rocket, Travis Porter & Waka Flocka song being the first song he mixed, using a Triton keyboard on FL Studio & Logic
34:15 – Getting a manager as rapper AND producer & meeting Travis Porter, making ATL classics “Make It Rain” and “Bring It Back”, “Ayy Ladies” w/ Tyga
39:10 – Kanye West “Through The Wire” inspiring him, linking w/ Gucci Mane
40:30 – Collabing with ATL producers Sonny Digital, Metro Boomin, being in the studio where Young Thug made his first songs, linking w/ Rich Homie Quan, meeting Diplo, DJ Green Lantern, having a studio where people can pull up, smoke & hear good music, abandoned studio building in Atlanta
45:15 – Working w/ Jeremih & Lil Wayne, rapping w/ his friends, making beats & figuring it out, meeting an engineer in LA & started working w/ Post Malone
48:00 – Meeting Iggy Azalea in London to work on music randomly from his dad’s connection w/ Beyonce’s producer, learning music production tips from older producers in Queen’s studio in Wales
54:00 – Using old Travis Porter beat w/ DJ Spinz for A.CHAL “Love N Hennessy”
55:08 – Use Dropbox & iTunes to archive music, useful for future sessions, beats getting lost in the sauce because it wasn’t labeled, only make beats with people you trust, or else you won’t get credit for the collab, working with Kanye West & Rick Rubin
01:00:00 – Being broke in LA, being in the studio was his escape
01:01:20 – Negative Phil Jackson Speech, controlling the vibes in the room, location affects the vibes of the studio
01:05:15 – Not letting money get in the way, how to have business conversation in the studio session & having good intentions, not being jaded from past experiences, controlling your ego & emotions
01:10:47 – Don’t talk s***, even if you’re joking, everyone will hear it, esp. if they’re famous
01:13:24 – Working w/ Lil Uzi “Love Is Rage” & Mac Miller
01:16:10 – Gems on managing relationships, filtering people, having your music ready to send on time w/ deadlines
01:18:07 – Being serious when you hit up people in your contacts, not being clingy, bringing value to help the situation
01:22:00 – Make your own circle & come up with artists, don’t jump in other people’s squads, staying patient & persistent, having good intentions, producing songs that will never come out, planting seeds
01:29:00 – Meeting Pharrell & Kanye in the studio, balancing music as an artist & producer
01:31:50 – FKi 1st album Tokyo Project featured on LA Weekly, having relationships for press as an artist, being prepared to have money
01:35:12 – FKi’s best advice & Outro