Laron What Up Bro?
We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to speak with Laron, a producer from Brooklyn, New York. He's worked with artists like: XXXTENTACION, Rich The Kid, Jay Critch, Mally Bandz, and more! He's got some serious talent, check out my personal favorite production of his: "Resort"- by Jay Critch.
Where are you from and what age did you first make a connection to producing music?
I'm from Brooklyn, New York. 90z to be exact, so that's the East pretty much. The cross between like three different neighborhoods (East Flatbush, Canarsie, Brownsville) so a lot of Caribbean culture and gang culture for sure. Growing up and being raised in that neighborhood itself exposed me to a lot of different music types and shit... But my family been in the music biz since I was a kid, so I was exposed to that life way before I ever did any producing.
What's your producer tag? How did you create it? What's the importance of having a producer tag?
“Laron what up bro” is the tag used on “Resort”, I just got my tag last year after all the work with X and shit so it's brand new for me honestly, I be forgetting to put that shit most times because it still isn't that most important thing to me honestly. Shout out this service (Voice Tag Gods) for helping... A great place for any upcoming producer who doesn't have exact access to mics or crazy voices. Producer tags are more important now than ever 'cause most times, a fan won't know ya face but they'll definitely know the tag if the song is buzzing... It's true!
How long have you been in the producing game? What keeps you motivated to keep putting out new beats?
Honestly, I have been making beats since I was like 6 or 7, just a little kid on the computer playing with loops and shit on GarageBand but I always kept at it pretty much. leveling up after a while... Moving onto reason and then logic and shit like that. I love music, so it's always been my thing to do. With producing being so out there nowadays and people having platforms to showcase what they're doing, I get inspired really fast to just create and then take it from there.
What's your scene? Would you rather be at the crib cooking up beats solo?
I think both. A lot of people know me from just making beats on the spot. Back when I ain't have my own laptop, I would use my friends shit and just load it up with samples and programs and just go crazy for a while if they let me borrow it and/or just for the moment. I think having people around you for certain feedback can be very healthy. I always liked impressing my friends when I was creating or making something that could have a whole room freestyling but I always loved being able to experiment by myself and really lock in, it's about balance and how comfortable you are.
Do you work solely as a producer or do you engineer as well?
I work solely as a producer nowadays. I engineer sometimes but I'm definitely not a recording engineer lol... But I've mixed a few records and it was cool you know... It's one of those things I never been crazy about if it wasn't my own records. Everything I do goes by my ear and not a book, so I got way better just tweaking tracks over time.
You've worked with Jay Critch a lot. How did you first connect with him and what is like working with him on songs like: "Robin Hood", "Rockets", and "Resort"?
I went to school with Mally Bandz, (TME artist) and he had gone to school with Jay Critch pretty much. I barely knew anybody that made beats on a street level probably like 1 person. But I knew a bunch of young kids coming up that needed beats. So I have been working with Jay Critch since like 8th - 9th grade. Tracks like “Rockets” and “Robin Hood” (shout out my bro, @clibbo, who I made that beat with) and even “Resort” (shout out my bro, @tonyseltzer) is just years of working with someone and being in a place where you can throw things at them and it won't be off guard. We both trust each other enough creatively and pretty much, he always went for beats that sounded different off rip so I just tried to continue that.
How did you first connect with X? What was it like working with him on "$$$"?
Randomly got a dm from Matt Ox trying to work, and I was skeptical at first but I still sent him some tracks, one of em being "$$$"... I never really knew they worked but ox hit me up a bunch of times telling me. still, I wasn't really taking it serious til X had called my phone... It was cool, I'm glad the song was able to come out and they liked it so much. We had a little bit of a rocky road when it dropped, I wasn't feeling X like that at the time but it felt mad bizarre when he passed. Really sucks that happened to him!!
What advice do you have to someone trying to follow in your footsteps?
Grind grind grind. It's never easy. Put the time in. You gotta want that shit. That's pretty much it! Shit will fall in place if you follow those steps.
Favorite song you've produced? And why is it your favorite?
At the moment, the jawn I did with Wifigawd "Burberry Interlude" it's just a fire flip really. I'm still a beatmaker/producer so I appreciate a good sample flip all the time. "Que Lo Que" is another favorite by my brother Mally Bandz. Shout out my brother Ralphy black for the idea. Aiiiiiii mama!
What's on the horizon for your music career in 2019?
Expect new music all year! Bigger and better things to come!
Check Him Out:
https://soundcloud.com/laron-1
https://www.instagram.com/laron____/