In 2004 when I started making beats I realized that none of my friends nor I knew anyone who was an audio engineer and although many people I knew were rappers or singers they all lacked a professional and reliable engineer. So at the age of 16 I made the decision to not only pursue a career as a music producer but to also become the go-to audio engineer for recording artists, film directors, and anyone else that I know who needed audio work done.
After graduating from Oakland Technical High School I was accepted into Howard University in Washington D.C. where I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Radio, TV, & Film production with a focus in audio production. While in college I interned for different people and companies within my field to hone my audio engineering skills such as Howard University’s student radio station WHBC 830AM, Gary Drew (Raheem Devaughn’s former manager & audio engineer), & MTV. I also created a home studio and began recording music for people who I went to college with for a fee. After graduating from college, I had music that I produced featured on the show BET’s Black Carpet as well as being featured in The Source Magazine. I also moved back to the bay area after graduating where I began recording and producing music for local artists as a 2nd job. During this time I worked for different non-profit organizations teaching children how to use audio and music production software and I also worked for Academy of Art University within their music production and sound design for visual media department. After a few years of gaining more knowledge and experience as well as building my clientele, I decided that it was time to cash in on all the time and effort that I invested into learning audio engineering by opening and establishing 10,000 Hours Of Music, LLC. & Rich City Studios. While still a teenager I made a big decision for my life that I sought out with plans and goals and now as an adult I’m able to act on and achieve what I set out to do. With this book I hope to help current and future generations of artists achieve their music goals.