What Do You Like The Most About Being a Music Producer?

I remember the first beat I ever sold….

I was up all night working on my smoke gray MPC 2000XL (I know I may be dating myself here but it’s all good lol).

I had just bought it used from Guitar Center a few days prior for around $900 bucks.

I opted to buy this much-acclaimed drum machine instead of making a down payment on some new wheels that winter. I didn’t have a car at the time and we were in the middle of one of the coldest winters that Atlanta has seen in a long time.

I must admit, those 2-hour Marta bus rides on the way home from work in the middle of the night made me regret my decision initially.

But on this particular night, I stumbled upon the ‘note repeat‘ button and accidentally rolled my hi-hats. I nearly fell out of my seat because it was so ill the way it sounded!

And this was a couple of years before the trap music era had really taken off here in Atlanta, so a lot of producers hadn’t even started programming their hats like this yet.

I was so amped after that moment that I stayed up all night finishing the track. After I added my intro, chorus, hook, some transitions, and drops, it sounded something like a Mannie-fresh type joint.

I was so proud of myself. I couldn’t believe I had actually made something so hard!

My homie came through to my apartment the next day to hear it, and he went crazy. You know, that moment when someone other than YOU hears one of your creations, and they start bobbing their head back and forth along with you in unison.

Yea, that’s when you know you got something…..

Later that day, when I went to work, I found out from one of my co-workers that the security guard for our building was an up-and-coming rapper. I quickly gave him a beat CD.

He went to the break room in the back of our store for about 10 minutes and came back with 3 crispy hundred dollar bills in his hand. He purchased 2 beats from me on the spot!

I felt like a king. And from that point on, nobody could tell me nothing lol. I knew I was meant to do this.

Well, long story short, that’s what I love the most about being a producer. That warm feeling of selling my first track, or the rush I get every time when someone instantly is feeling a beat that I made.

It’s almost like a junkie getting his first hit. And I’ve been searching for mine ever since.