Kenny Beats on Community Building, Creativity, and the Art of Collaboration | IDEA GENERATION

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Producer, musician, and connector Kenny Beats takes us on a journey from his college days at Berklee College of Music, to blowing up on the EDM scene, to reemerging as a beloved producer and content creator, all while building one of the most interactive music-obsessed communities on the internet.

A true renaissance man, Kenny Beats has built an entire network around his “Don’t Over Think Shit” mantra, and from that created his sensational YouTube series ‘The Cave,’ landed record deals for members of his Discord, produced records for some of the biggest artists in music, and somehow still found time to release his own debut album, ‘Louie.’

In this episode we hear how Kenny’s father’s basketball career influenced his music, why Billboard placements don’t matter if your friends think you’re whack, and how to keep creating and reinventing yourself through all the trials and tribulations life throws your way.

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Act I
0:00 – Intro
1:21 – Childhood, cassette recordings, watching his dad play basketball
3:23 – His first guitar, playing instruments
4:48 – Drum machine, starting to make beats
6:22 – Getting drum sounds on MySpace, early networking
8:12 – First time someone rapped on a beat, finding his sound
10:25 – Getting into music industry circles
13:01 – Interning for Johnny Shipes, running around Dame Dash and DD172

Act II
15:10 – Going to berklee, learning how to use Boston to his advantage
18:00 – Learning the business side of music
19:29 – Getting into EDM
21:00 – Forming Loudpvck, success
23:00 – The desire to return to hip hop

Act III
24:40 – Reinventing himself, learning from young artists
27:33 – Financing a new studio in California
29:00 – Doing full albums with artists, the art of collaboration
31:00 – Making artists comfortable, forming powerful relationships
34:00 – The Cave, Twitch, Discord, and beyond

Credits:
Noah Callahan-Bever
Creator & Host, Idea Generation

Starring: Kenny Beats

Musical Director: A-Trak
Animations by: Sang Bleu / IDEA GENERATION

Executive Producers: Helena Ox, Tricia Clarke-Stone and John Walaszek
Producer: Adam Fleischer
Creative Director + Editor: Kyle Gaughan

Produced by: Stadium
Director: Roxanna Dunlop
Producer: Katie Thierwechter
Line Producer: Hannah Horton
DP: Alyssa Brocato
Cam Ops: Kalea Calloway, Jahre Spriggs & Raegan Frazier
Gaffer: Emma Forthofer
Sound: Joe Costner
MUA: Deena Sennie
PA: Mike Mentor
Photography: Sandy Rivera

Special thanks to:
Dylan Johnson
Michael Powers

Shot on:
Canon

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