Linking Up With Akachi, Producer And A&R For 300 Entertainment
20 years old and from Sandwich MA, Akachi is a signed producer and A&R for 300 Entertainment. He's worked with artists like Famous Dex, Thouxanbanfauni, Yung Bans, Yung Lean, CHXPO and more! Check out my favorite production of his:"No Mercy" by Yung Bans (feat. Yung Lean) with additional production by Ripsquad.
Where are you from and what age did you first make a connection to producing music?
I am 20 years old from Sandwich, Massachusetts which is a small town on Cape Cod with virtually no music scene. I started producing when I was about 15 years old. The reason I actually decided to start producing was due to my involvement in the EDM culture. Don’t get me wrong, I totally listen to a plethora of other musical styles, but EDM was what I was producing before Hip Hop. I was inspired initially by a group named Flosstradamus when I heard one of their early songs “Total Recall” on BPM (a Sirius XM Radio Station). It was a fusion of Rap Beats and Hardstyle music, a type of Aggressive EDM music, that was absolutely revolutionary to music at its time. I then began researching how to make music like what I was hearing. A lot of the sounds used in the production were in drum kits like the “Luger Kit” or just drums like “Rack Kick” etc. These kits eventually introduced me into the producer culture of late 2013. This was right around the time where the “Super Producer” was becoming a title, and I would sit in bed for hours watching Lex Luger, Southside, TM88, Sonny Digital, and Metro Boomin all build into what they are today (via. their youtube channels). From then on, Hip Hop culture and producing was all I truly cared about outside of my academics and social relationships. I was determined to make this my career path, regardless of how much effort it may take.
What's your producer tag? How did you create it? What's the importance of having a producer tag?
Well, it depends on which one you are referring to. I have multiple producer tags. I started with a Jaye Neutron beat tag that said: “A-A-Akachi Beats” (he also created the iconic 808 Mafia Tag). That tag is featured on a lot of my early work with CHXPO and other artists including Soulja Boy. After using that tag for a while and gaining some recognition in the culture and in my hometown, my cousins began discovering me as well. My baby cousin was joining my family one day for Thanksgiving dinner and would not stop saying “Akachi Beats”. So, I decided to record him on my Snapchat saying it. My mother actually was the one that told me I should use the clip audio for a tag, so I did later that day. That is the tag that is featured on “No Mercy” by Yung Bans. After this replaced my tag, I began to gain an even larger amount of name recognition which allowed me to have tags made by artists I work with. Yung Bans made me a few tags like, “Akachi on the beat lil b****”, and Famous Dex parodied my baby cousins tag with “Akachi Beats, yea that’s my brother right there you know what I’m sayin’?” I have other tags that I will start using in the future from new artists I collaborate with, Joey Trap being one of them. Having a tag is extremely important for name recognition, creation of a brand, and protection of intellectual property. If you are a producer and you are reading this, make sure it is easy to draw the connection between your tag, name, and brand. It should be easy to understand, catchy, and short.
What was your first taste of success like?
Honestly, my first taste of success was reaching my first million plays but that seems like such a small milestone now. What brings me the most joy is when other people resonate with my music and are able to enjoy it and incorporate it into their daily lives, no matter what they do. I could care less about how much money I make. I want to change music and create a new sound of music that invites more creative energy and transformation. Rap and Hip Hop music is like a melting pot of ideas, genres, and people and it always will be. I just want to leave my mark.
What's your affiliation with 300 Entertainment? How did you get the opportunity to work with them?
Currently, I am signed as a producer and A&R to 300ent. I got the opportunity from Mike Q who is an A&R for Famous Dex and NgeeYL.
In the process of making a beat, what's your favorite and least favorite part of the process?
I love every process of making a beat, but the drums really stick out to me. It is usually pretty easy for me to come up with non-traditional melodies and once I have a melody the drums come naturally. I really just love bounce, and I try and give the beat some depth and feeling to it. But again, I really am just focused on making the beats sound like myself and no one else. My least favorite part of the process would have to be laying the beat out. I find myself always playing patterns over and over and tweaking things to make them even weirder, so the end of it all kinda sucks. But overall, there's no part of the process that I truly do not enjoy.
How did you first connect with Yung Bans? What was it like working with him and Yung Lean on "No Mercy"?
I remember linking up with Bans because he was working closely with Cap$ule Corp when I was first coming up. I had a good relationship with Milan and Chinatown so they would connect me with artists that they knew and we would get working. I have good memories working with bans. We used to facetime a lot and I’d always be making him beats and showing him stuff. We have a couple unreleased songs, but No Mercy was one of our best and we both knew it. He sent the song back initially with no feature and I expected it to be just us and Ripsquad on co-production. After the song sat in the vault for a while, I remember he called me while I was on my way to my girlfriend's house. He told me that Yung Lean was on the song and that he was going to send it to me to hear. I was shocked because I had been begging my friend PJ Beats and Ripsquad to get packs to Lean and Bladee for a while. Ripsquad touched up the final version and as soon as you know it, the song had a set release date. I never got to directly contact Yung Lean, but it was a pleasure to work with him, and he showed love in reposting my promo. I'm forever grateful for the opportunity.
How did you first connect with Smokepurpp? What was it like working with him on "No Smoke"?
I first connected with Smokepurpp before he really had much fame outside of SoundCloud. I had been working with a producer named Gnealz at the time who was always around him in Los Angeles. I would send Gnealz tons of melodies and practically finished beats, and he would add a little sauce and then place them. It was a good working relationship, other than in a lot of circumstances I was not credited. “No Smoke” when initially released said prod. Danny Wolf and Gnealz which was frustrating, but is a part of coming up as a producer. It wasn’t the first this happened, but I would rather just leave that in the past and move forward. Too much money to be made, why dwell on the past.
What kind of marketing is involved in music production?
It is all marketing. I had the ability to take a Marketing for my Business core education at Fairfield University this spring in which I learned a lot that I can pull from to apply in the industry. Marketing is important for the music producer that strives to be more of an artist than someone behind the scenes. Marketing is all about creating demand and in this case it is for your own brand. Not only this but it is also about incorporating the four p’s of 1) pricing [what you charge] 2) promotion [how you promote products] 3) place [where you sell product] and 4) product [what you deliver]. All of these are important for anyone who is creating intellectual material that will be sold at some point and released for profit.
What's a day in the studio like?
When I am able to go to an actual studio it is al work. I try and get the most out of my money in the given time we have. New York studios are not cheap and my engineer DJ or “Knice” is not either so we need to get the most out of our investment. We get right in and work and if my manager and I do not like the track because we're paying for it, we cut it off. I rarely attend studios to make beats, unless I am making a beat in front of an artist. I make beats at my home studio or in my apprentice, cBass Sounds, shed. We have a set up in there where we make beats and work with local talent. One artist I’ve been working with is YBT Jugg. We are working on developing his sound to break him as one of the first rappers from Cape Cod to enter the scene. Back to the question, we typically restrict people who do not produce music or rap from coming to the studio given we try and be as productive as possible. We have so many artists to send beats to, that we need little distraction during the creative process.
What's on the horizon for your music career in 2019?
I will keep dropping exclusive music on my SoundCloud page “Akachi” on SoundCloud as well as working with new artists and current artists on their projects. Joey Trap, who I have executive produced two albums for so far (Akachi Trap and Akachi Trap 2) will be my focus in the coming years. We have a completely new sound that is emerging and I believe we will be able to create a new sound in hip hop. I am excited that he trusts my creative direction and he will be an outlet for you all to hear some pretty experimental beats. I am excited for you all to hear our newest projects and especially Trap Jack 3 coming in the fall of 2019.
Check Him Out: