One of the worst things you can do as a recording studio intern is show up late. Especially when your first task of the day is to pick up one of staff engineers from the BART station. Punctuality is even more important if said engineer is to start his recording session on time. I was that intern who majorly fucked up and woke up late, forcing the guy I was working for to walk three miles as his clients waited outside of the studio. Why wasn’t I fired? I’d like to think it was because I was viewed as a valuable part of the studio but it was probably because the studio chief needed me around to pull another unpaid all-nighter with rappers in the studio. The previous night was my first late night recording session at the old 17 Hertz Studios in Hayward, Ca. It was also the first time I smoked kush. Before working at 17 Hertz, I had smoked before, but I never smoked like this. In a session that started at midnight I was honored to have the Jacka (RIP) pass me a blunt so I took a hit. Before I could catch my breath another one was passed. I look up and three fat ones are lit with another two in the process of rolling. You can’t blame me for waking up high and missing my alarm clock. That night the Jacka and Joe Blow wrote and recorded The California.
That summer and the four years that followed were full of late night sessions that helped sharpen my producing and engineering skills. I no longer smoke but at the time, OG Kush was a staple and it felt customary for the clients to pass to the engineer. I rarely received tips but getting the ganja passed to me was all the gratuity I needed. The Bay Area 17 Hertz era is a time I will never forget.
Many of the songs on this mixtape are by artists that I have worked with in some capacity at 17 Hertz. I shot and edited videos that featured the Hoodstarz, Lil Blood, and HD. All of whom were cool to work with and extremely talented. I had never attempted remixes before because I was intimidated by the process. Lining up vocals seemed tedious. Not having beats that fit the tempo and beats not sounded better than the original scared me away from remixing. My recent work with the rapper Memphis Reigns helped me develop new techniques to speed up the remixing process for me. He gave me files where he needed beats replaced. Because I finally organized my files and grew my catalogue, it was easy to find beats with similar tempos and match with vocals through trial and error. The key to remixing is to have so many beats on hand that you are bound to have an instrumental that fits the vocals.
So why West Coast? First and foremost, I grew up in the Bay Area. E40 and Too $hort’s Rappers Ball remind me of rocking the Penny Hardaway Magic jersey with the pinstripes with white and blue Nike Air More Uptempos to match. “What a Job” by Devin the Dude came out around the time I started working at 17 Hertz studios and was my go to reference song to calibrate my ears for mixing, especially the line where he says “this goes out to all of the engineers who smoke weed…” The rest of the artists that I remixed represent the West Coast as well. It was tough to find alot of acapellas but I made sure I found joints that had messages and lyrics that were profound. RIP Nipsey Hussle, all of his music is inspirational. It is difficult to remix better than the original so I tried to inject my boom bap flavor along with a west coast vibe into all of the remixes. I used to be uptight about sounding too different than what most producers sounded like but now I see it as a strength. I hope you enjoy the mixtape and the story. Thank you for listening.
