As I sit here going through my old session files looking for something I can pull out of for this catalog I’m getting ready to pitch for an artist’s album I come across some of the best music I’ve ever made. Unfortunately in these folders are records, demos, even reference tracks that can’t be released without the artist (or their label at the time) consent. In my 13 now going on 14 years in this business I’m starting to discover that this is a commonality amongst producers. It’s heartbreaking.
One of the first records I put together as a producer was with a 16 year old beatmaker at the time in Mexico City. He just had this ear for creating samples and putting a J Dilla swing on his drums that you just wouldn’t expect from a kid in that environment. I was originally working on what would be my last album as an artist and reached out to another artist who was rapper and singer for the hook. She had a smokey tone and a pen game that was off the charts. Witty, funny, bold, and sensualness that only a woman could express through words.
I sent her the beat to come up with her own lyrics for the hook. She sends back a demo and within 15 seconds my mouth was on the floor. “This is it!” I yelled as I shot out of my desk chair because I just knew I had found my single for the album. However, it was a demo so the vocals had some artifacts, you could hear the room she recorded in wasn’t acoustically treated, and there had only been a light EQ. As I sent her a text saying that she captured my idea perfectly and to proceed to send over a better mixed version. She replies back, “my computer got stolen.” My heart sank for her. I, too, have had someone break into my place and steal my possessions. Its not a feeling you get over quickly, or ever depending on the type of person you are. No worries, I thought, I’ll just invite her over to record her vocals and we can get this thing going. I knew the mic and interface I had wasn’t the greatest and I hadn’t sold any beats that month so funds were too low for a professional studio. Somehow, and for some reason, we could never coordinate in a span of 2 years. Either she was on the road touring or I was DJing an event or had a session that I couldn’t miss. Once things finally settled and I had some free time, she went ghost. I believe she may have come across some personal things she had to handle, which is fair, but by the time we could coordinate anything I had moved to New York and she was in Atlanta. By that time the record has collected dust as the world had moved on from that sound.
These are just one of the many stories of music that couldn’t be released because of a management contract or financial bind that the artist found themselves. Of course this meant we couldn’t cut the record at a professional studio. I sometimes wonder about all of this wasted “potential” and think to myself that maybe its just me and how I feel about the records. It would be nice to know for sure but somethings never see the light of day. My business partner, Rivers, has played me music that was supposed to be released by an artist on Sony where the entire album was produced using sounds of a piano; even the kicks and snares. It sounds incredible but due to a contract negotiation that never got settled it can’t be released. A possible Grammy Award wining project that will forever sit on someone’s hard drive.
How many artist have ground breaking albums that just sit on the shelf due to situations like this or their own doing? As a creative you want the world to hear what you have to offer and it is extremely frustrating when you can’t share it due to circumstances outside of your control. If you have a record that you love, release it. It's better for it to flop out in the world than to hang onto it and always wonder what could’ve been.
Until then, I’ll keep this playlist of what could’ve been the greatest compilation album of all time. At least, that’s what I think.
