The Women Pushing the Buttons | Itsashleetho

So it wasn’t easy choosing a producer out of the thirteen names given. THIRTEEN candidates and you somehow managed to stand out the most to me. First, I want to thank you for having your work readily available in your bio (via your LinkTree). It made finding your work so much easier. That first step is really important. Many times, I come across artists and they have no links. It’s like they want the listener to do extra work to find their art. The first link I clicked on in your LinkTree was for your Spotify playlist showcasing completed songs. I’m impressed that this list is comprised of 76 songs. The ability to craft production and have a full songs come out of it often feels like two different battles. Which I suppose leads me to my first set of questions:

When did you start producing and how soon after did you have an artist turn one of your productions into a song?

I started producing during the spring of 2014; I was entering my freshman year of college later that summer, selecting ‘Music Industry’ as my major, and ‘Business’ as my minor. I figured the courses I took within said major would aid in my progression as a musician, while learning about various aspects of the music industry overall. It wasn’t until I graduated with my Bachelor’s in 2018 that I began to take my production more seriously; seriously in the sense that I knew I wanted to make a full time career out of it.

It only took a couple years after I initially entered college for me to work with and produce for an artist. A very good friend of mine named Anthony Ray (shoutout Ant!) wanted to create a small EP during the summer of 2016. He hit me one day asking if I could produce a couple of tracks for him. We managed to make two really good ones, which I’m very proud of and still play to this day. Honestly, I have much to thank Anthony for in regards to helping “jumpstart” my career. Shortly after Anthony and I released his EP (titled My Testimony-EP), I was approached by my now manager of 5 years, Nova (shoutout Nova!).

Interesting enough, I see you’re from South Carolina. That’s actually where some of my first clients originate. How would you describe the scene there?

Oh snap, that’s dope! Admittedly, I’m not too tapped into a whole lot of artists and producers from here. Shame on me. I am aware. *Laughs. I have my handful of wonderful people that know of and/or work with regularly (i.e. Mantiz, Cheri Amor, Anthony Ray, BGFromTheBurbs, and Junior Churchill to name a few), but outside of them, I haven’t met (in person) nor been introduced to too many. A lot of my connections over the years have been made with creatives over the internet from all over the world, so I’ve been curating music and relationships with people that way, as opposed to solely networking locally. I’m looking to change that for sure.

Listening to the songs on your playlist, it sounds like you’ve managed to link with some talented artists. You mentioned the use of social media to find artists. By what other means do you connect with creatives?

Thank you! Some artists were brought to my attention via management, and others by way of music producers I’m cool with and collaborate with regularly. A couple notably, Marr Grey and Kennedy Rd., were initially brought to my attention by way of my manager mentioning them to me, and sending me some of their music in hopes that I could create something for them. To keep a long story short, I would then contact them and we’d chop it up, just so we’d be on common ground in regards to what kind of sound they want, what kind of vibe they’re going for, etc etc. Thankfully over time, I’ve managed to establish a great genuine relationship and rapport with both of them. I’m actually as we speak, working on material for both of them, so I’m very excited to see what we create this time ‘round.

Is there a song or project that you consider your favorite? If so, why?

Oh man this is toughhhhhhhhhh. *Laughs. I’m sure this will change as soon as this interview is posted, but at this very moment, I’d have to say ‘Walk Away’ by Marr Grey. I say that because for one, just to give everyone reading some insight from a production standpoint, I built that beat around a completely different version of the song – different verses, hooks, flow, everything. Marr wanted to keep the concept of the original song that he created with the same title, but wanted a different beat for it. The original had an Omarion feature, so I had to work around his vocals as well. Once I received their acapella vocals, it took me a good two or three attempts to land on a solid chord progression that felt good. Soon as I got the progressions down, I knew I had something special going.

I love your production style. I feel like you allow the songs to breathe in areas. The pacing always feels right. Where do you draw your inspiration from?

Thank you so much! You mention a word that I try to heavily base my style around: feel. I’m all about the feeling when I’m creating, internally asking myself questions like, does this chord progression feel good? Do the drums on this have a good bounce? Does it feel as though the artist can breathe, harmonize, or do what they please during this section? Does this reversed rhodes phrase fit here?

I tend to make more R&B styled tracks compared to anything else because I feel as though I get to express and try different things the best through that genre. Hopefully that makes sense. *Laughs. Throughout my college years, I would listen to a lot of Soulection style music on Soundcloud, eventually crafting my sound around lush melodies, crisp drum sequencing, and a lot of ear candy, similarly to the producers featured on there. I often get comments from folks showing gratitude towards the type of beats I produce, which I greatly appreciate because it’s usually the type of music that I genuinely enjoy creating.

How would you describe where you are in your creative pursuit and where are you headed next?

I’d say I’m in a pretty solid place. While chasing for bigger placements is nice, I honestly enjoy working with Indie artists that I come across, or those who I get put on to by way of someone else. As I briefly mentioned before, I’m working on music for a couple of artists’ projects currently. I have a track with a wonderful artist named Twellly dropping soon, which I’m looking forward to. I have a couple on Jahkoy’s upcoming project as well, which are really, really dope. I’m heading to LA for a few days soon at the time of this interview, so I’m looking forward to linking with more producers and artists while I’m out there as well.

It seems like women are becoming more prominent on the production side of things. That’s partly why I wanted to highlight these producers putting in the work. As a woman, how has it been for you to maneuver in the spaces you’ve been in?

It’s been great, honestly. I count my blessings every day knowing that I have good relationships with the people I’m usually in creative sessions with; a relationship in which we all look out for one another, and won’t let any disrespect or discouragement fly. It’s also been fun and kind of surprising when I meet someone new and they say something along the lines of “yeah, I heard you made such and such, you’re dope!” Those remarks genuinely catch me off guard.

How has the pandemic affected your work?

Again, I have to county my blessings, because from a production standpoint, I’ve managed to create more while I worked from home most of last year. While working in person with other producers and artists is fun and essential in certain scenarios, I’ve thankfully managed to collaborate easily via sessions and ideas sent through email with various producers and artists throughout a majority of this pandemic. It’s only now that I’m starting to '“go outside” as they say. *Laughs.

What songs or albums have you been listening to in the last couple of weeks?

No lie, I’ve had Phabo’s ‘Soulquarious’ album on constant loop since it dropped in July – that album is flawless from top to bottom. I recently listened to Jojo’s new album as well, which I loved. The songs ‘Bitter’ and ‘Healing’ by FLETCHER have had me in a crisp chokehold as of late too, I can’t stop playing those!

If you could work with three artists, who would they be?

H.E.R, Khelani, and Victoria Monet.

Now that we’re entering the fourth quarter of 2021, what are your personal goals to wrap up the year?

To continue building my catalog in preparation for 2022, I feel. I have a good bit of songs set to release this quarter, just gotta keep my momentum going as we approach the new year!

Is there any advice you would give other producers? Anything for women specifically?

Absolutely. It may sound cliche, but please, never get discouraged – to my female producers, especially. Never let self doubt creep up here (*points to brain) and negatively influence any potential opportunities that come your way. If YOU know you’re dope, own that shit! I emphasize this because growing up, I’ve always been the introverted, “keep quiet” type – rarely ever expressing any thoughts or opinions I may have had. Rarely “bigging” myself up properly when I did or created something worth mentioning. As I continue to maneuver this industry, meet new people, receive more opportunities, I feel as though at some point you have to stop and appreciate the notion that people are reaching out to you because they find you valuable. They find something in you and your music that they can attach to. They want YOU – not the other way around. It took a friend telling me that for me to begin coming to grips with the possibility of my music moving and connecting with people.

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