It’s the Work in the Background That Makes You Look like a Winner on Stage
I recently had a conversation with a buddy of mine that’s been producing music as long as I’ve been in this business. We came up together and went on our own paths all the while remaining family. He’s been chipping away at achieving success in this business like many of us and recently he went off the grid for a short while. When I asked him why he responded by stating two producers he recently competed against in a beat battle recently got signed to labels. He felt bad about it because he started to wonder when he would start to see his own success. I told him that he shouldn’t compare his journey to others and to remember that he still controls his destiny and to control his destiny he would need to focus on the work he does everyday, not just during the big moments.
Looking over at the next person’s progress can be very demotivating especially when they are on a winning streak. It can seem as though you are standing still even though you are running as fast you can. This is an illusion because what you’re not noticing is the tens if not hundreds of miles behind that person. What you may call a “run” is actually an accumulation of ten years of rejection and building relationships all the while creating their own sound that finally broke through. Take my last two years for example. Since August of 2019 till today December 3rd 2020 I have had 20 records that I have produced come out. That’s about 1.25 records a month not including WIN’s “Project Mayhem” that I co-executively produced. [editor’s note: a “run” is when a producer is getting streak of placements or constantly putting out hit records back to back to back in a span of 9 months to several years.] To the outside world I have been doing great. What they don’t see is the constant follow up emails, the records and reference tracks I pitch that get rejected, the studio sessions that lead nowhere, and the tracks that have been recorded since 2018 that may or may not be released until 2021 or even later. Its the work I’ve been putting in since 2014 that led to a rewarding 2019 and 2020. It’s not that I’m that good, even though I would like to believe so, or that I got lucky. It’s that I’ve been putting in my hours of work and have now hit a stride. From 2014 until the summer of 2018 when Trigga Don released his debut on VPAL (VP Records + Atlantic Records) I only had two records on my resume as a producer. Based on the work that I continue to put in I can then predict that my “run” is going to last for awhile. How long is determined mostly by my continuous effort and/or if the artists I’m working continue to like my production.
So for my friend who’s a bit down, this is what I’ve been conveying to him for awhile now. It’s the late nights in his home studio, studying his craft, watching tutorials, continuing to get involved in beat battles, and the tiny little battles he fights on the daily that will ultimately result in the progress he’s seeking further down the line. The secret isn’t so much to work harder than the next person even though that is a chunk of the percentage of what leads to success. The other chunk that doesn’t get mentioned enough is the consistency. I’m constantly sending out beats to artists I want to work with. I’m constantly learning how to improve my mixes. I’m constantly working on the little things in the background away from the public eye that leads me to my wins. The mindset I have isn’t to hit it out the park everyday, its to show up to bat regardless of how many times I strike out.
I believe if you implement this same mentality that you yourself will go on a “run” yourself. I’ll see you on the field.
