IK Multimedia Mix Class

Today there is a mixing class at Stadiumred studios in Harlem. The guest speaker is Ariel Borujow, who's engineering credits include projects for T.I., P. Diddy, Black Eyed Peas, Kanye West and more. Hopefully this will be a great learnig experience. See you there. I'll post an update of how it went!

This is just for kicks!!...LOL

So I was in the studio last night when I walked into a discussion of Soulja Boy over Lil Wayne. Two out of the three people involved in this conversation (not including me) say they have more respect for Soulja Boy than Lil Wayne. This sparked an interesting debate. The pros for Soulja Boy is that he is young and has pretty much started his career himself. His creativity in songwriting, video blogging, self branding, and promotion have all put him where he is now. Even though people see his music as "bubble gum", you can't knock him for what he has accomplished at such a young age. This kid does mostly everything himself the beats and all, which puts him in a position where the check isn't being split too many ways. Honestly I think that this whole conversation was started out of frustration with the music that Wayne makes. It came up in the discussion that it seems Wayne is growing in reverse as an artist."His earlier work was better up until Carter 2", said one member of the discussion, "we are not even going to talk about his most recent "rock" projects".

With this even being a discussion in a reputable recording studio screams that the hip-hop community is in a crisis. It is up to us to do something about the quality of music that we subject ourselves to. I'm not hating on Soulja Boy or Wayne, in fact I enjoy both of these artists in certain times. Think about what the message is of the music you listen to daily. Is it something you can be proud of?

Another Day at the Studio.

So I have been interning at Quad in NYC for a few months now. I have had the opportunity to work with many major Hip-Hop artists: Pitbull, Nipsey Hussle, Avery Storm, Jim Jones, just to name a few. My current gig is engineering DJ Kid Capri's new album. We have been working together for about three months now and its going pretty good. It's such a journey to get to his studio though... four trains, a plane , and a bus. Just kidding, its really a great opportunity for me. I continue to learn everyday, and we have fun.
Getting about three hours of sleep before I start my next day gives me a feeling of accomplishment (not to mention fatigue), and I crave it. I find myself constantly in search of more. More money, more knowledge, more everything. I guess without that hunger I wouldn't be where I am now. At this point I need to get even more hungry and seek out larger meals. The worst thing I can do is to get comfortable or settle.
When wake in the morning I like to hit the ground running. I've found myself writing more and getting more organized. It's proven to help me stay focused and manage my time well. Looking for new experiences seems to be the current story for me...Stay tuned

The Post

So I'm at the studio and get this crazy idea to start a blog. I have never really been interested in blogging until I started to use Twitter, which i became instantly addicted to. Personally I really didn't see the point in reading what other people think or experience, but now that I am beginning my professional career, I see that blogging is a new way to brand yourself. I haven't really put too much thought in what exactly I would blog about. I am hoping to gather a following and document my journey to becoming a successful recording engineer. Pictures, videos, audio, and words will all help to tell my story. As for the name "Freshly Picked", it just came to me. I wanted a title that would tell my followers that I am new and innovative, hip and upcoming. This is blog 1 of many...Welcome to Freshly Picked!