The Producer as Scientist

Producers are no doubt a peculiar breed. At any hour they can be found (in their underwear) at a computer experimenting with different sounds, their wife/helpmate in the next room counting sheep or wondering what they got themselves into with this basket case. This is, in large part, how the producer communicates; he mixes together thuds and echoes and reverberations to form a composition. This is his language, his contribution to the mess that is the music pot. 

The truth is producers are vital. Without them, the emcee has no canvas on which to lay his brush strokes. The emcee depends on the producer to provide him a backdrop that will stimulate an array of emotion. Without variety in production, and this is to be noted, the orator will be limited in his song concepts and in turn, music as a whole will not evolve. We might even go so far as to say the producer/beat maker is a chemist, a catalyst in what we call a chemical reaction. 

What a chemist does is “study the composition of matter and its properties.” In doing so, he will “produce and synthesize large quantities of useful naturally occurring substances and create new substances and useful processes.”  

Now. While music is no doubt scientific, it is also spiritual, and the scriptures are quite clear on that. That being said, there are many producers in the genre of Holy Hip Hop whose convictions will not allow them to collaborate with the secular. They are protective of their compositions and choose not to have them intermingled with those who do not profess the same faith as they. This makes sense because, again, music is spiritual. Then there are those who do not hold to the same conviction. They are not exclusive on this matter and see no fault in building musically with those outside of their faith. They see it as a good and positive way to foster relationship.  

To each his own.  

Another thing worth noting is that a producer (to his own frustration, perhaps) is reliant on technology. Over the years, technology and its advances has provided ample room for the producer to run wild. But it has also made things all the more complex, primarily in the area of troubleshooting. The producer is dependent on what his machinery (computer, MPC, SP1200, etc.) will allow him. When the producer encounters a technological/equipment malfunction it is the equivalent to an emcee being forced to wear a muzzle. He is left angry at technology and the emcee is left doing crossword puzzles (in his underwear) during the late hours instead of penning songs. 

Thank you to all the producers/scientists out there who do what they do with excellence and conviction. You are appreciated. 
 

G-Styles, did you get that cable thing fixed yet!?

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