” Hell no”, Kenny Beats says with a grin. He has just been questioned about his intentions to become a teacher while sitting behind a drum kit in his Los Angeles home workshop.
” I have a lot to learn, is how I’ve always felt, and I still feel that way”, continues the producer behind tasks by Rico Nasty, Vince Staples, and more. ” But then some of the things I say have weight because they’ve seen me truly go and do it.” But I guess it makes sense”.
Over the past year and a half, Kenny has developed into a sort of hip-hop manufacturing doctor, spending much of his interruption in the pandemic bringing the curtain back on how he creates his tracks for a large crowd of supporters on his social press. The song creation support Splice has appointed him as the platform’s second always artist in residence, bringing him on for a six-part, 90-minute academic series that covers a range of topics from simple beat-making tips and tricks to using samples and recording vocals. Beginning October 13th, the six bouts will begin regular.
While celebrity suppliers are usually protective of their processes and techniques, Kenny is somewhat translucent. He generally shares insights from his job, and he’ll often move his viewers through his production advice on life Instagram and Twitch live streams. It’s a really conscious choice to promote so much of his generation style, one that comes from his own personal obligation to share the money that comes with his system.
What am I giving up different than a great music as a white developer from Connecticut who specializes in Black music and has been given a chance to work with so many people I always thought I would be able to work with? he says. ” In the past, all I always considered was making music, but now I need to use my platform for something greater. I need to assist in helping someone who might not be receiving it.
Splice itself is one of the most well-known manufacturing companies for artists of all kinds, in part due to the extensive collection of royalty-free samples at the disposal of its clients. As Splice expands, it wants to further establish itself as a broader foundation for empowering artists to create. The most recent addition to Splice Skills, the platform’s video tutorial area, which covers many of the nuances of music production, from layering vocals to learning tracks, is Kenny Beats ‘ appointment as performer in residence. Instead of just outputting out standard, one-size-fits-all lessons, Splice CEO Steve Martocci hopes Kenny will help the platform offer content that highlights an artist’s individual individual genius and uniqueness.
According to Splice CEO Steve Martocci,” we always say that people give up on themselves.” It takes a lot of work for me to pick up a guitar the first time because I want it to sound good. Because it’s so difficult, the majority of people give up before they can play a chord. Because it has opened new ways to empower artists, for us to cultivate the raw creative spirit, software has changed that. Education also aids in that. And Kenny, even when he’s not trying, is a teacher. People will listen to him because he is so knowledgeable and concerned about things that expressing himself alone will do.
According to Martocci, Kenny was by far the most popular instructor in the Splice community for the new program. The producer plans to use his Splice videos to teach emerging artists other technical skills, as well as continuing to promote his own technical abilities through his curriculum.
” There’s plenty of simple how- to production videos on YouTube, but I can talk about what goes on in your career that is n’t just songwriting”, Kenny says. You never hear anyone discuss what it was like during the initial session. What should you do if you blunder, receive no payment, or are ultimately denied credit for your work? I talk about my experiences and what has or has n’t worked for me because of all the tangible experiences I’ve had that I could n’t watch a tutorial on. I’m trying to make an online video that can fill in the gaps left by me when I first started.
Splice and Kenny have a long-standing relationship that began before the artist’s visit. Kenny frequently uses Splice, and the company collaborated with him on the third season of his well-known YouTube series, The Cave. While Kenny himself is a more traditionally trained producer, having previously attended the Berkelee College of Music, he is enthusiastic about the ongoing democratization of music that has come with software like Splice. He also welcomes the idea of introducing a class of musicians who have n’t had those opportunities.
” Making music is the most accessible it’s ever been in history. So many people want to make music now”, Kenny says. ” There may not be 10 bassists, drummers, or guitarists at a school — but I promise you there are 10 kids who can open Traktor or know how Ableton works. It does n’t matter anymore if you went to school for music, if you play an instrument, or even if you’re necessarily musically inclined. Some people detest the fact that the music industry is experiencing such intense instant gratification. The barrier now is’ Do you have ideas? Do you have any songs that you feel you must release?
As the program launches, Kenny wants the series to offer a well-rounded course that will put audiences on a similar path to the one he was able to follow, but with more knowledge than he had at the beginning.
” If there’s anything to take away from this whole series, my career completely changed when I started to cover my blindspots”, he says. There’s always a new technical skill to learn, and there’s always a new conversation to be had, no matter who you are and what you excel at. Slowly, one by one, I’ve gotten better those things, and I became a Swiss army knife for the artists I work with. If you need me to record, vocal produce, set up microphones, or just make a beat, I’m comfortable in all those chairs, which is invaluable. It’s much more powerful to impart that to younger people who want to do this than to release another couple of big records.