Nabeyin is a Ghaninan producer born and raised in San Bernardino, California. The thirty year old producer has a mass arrry of producing credits for the likes of Live 95 with Westside Boogie, Nothing Into Somethings by Drake, and Get MyStaccs by G Perico. He also produced for the likes of Tru Speech which was featured on here along with some of Speech’s friends like Jay Kasai and Cam Archer. He specializes in having an urban sound and is a multi-platinum music producer that also worked with networks like BET and ESPN. It was such an honor to interview Nabeyin and to talk producing with him.
Jay: What led you to begin producing? Have you strictly been a producer or have you explored different avenues of music such as playing instruments, singing, or rapping?
Nabeyin: My brother Kgee is what led me to producing. He was already a well known rapper in Ghana and was part of a group called KgPM. When he first moved to America in 2001, he didn’t have his main producer so he bought his own equipment and tried to learn himself. I was only eleven at the time, but I already had an interest in making music. He taught me how to use the DR-5 Dr. Rhythm Section drum machine and I fell in love with producing ever since. Around that time though, I did try to rap. My brother wrote me this little eight bar verse for a church rap song I did with him and his close friend Kofi. I also had keyboards around the house, but I didn’t know what I was doing. I just learned how to play the keys about seven years ago.
Jay: Do you have a preference within software to use such as Logic, Pro Tools, and Ableton? Maybe even the old PS2 route like how BIG KRIT used to produce back in the day. If you don’t have a preference, what helps you get the job done in any software you work on?
Nabeyin: My main DAW of choice is FL Studio. If I’m scoring, I’ll use logic. If I have to track or mix vocals I’ll use pro tools.
Jay: When working on a specific project, describe your usual creative process.
Nabeyin: My creative process varies in different situations. I’d say about ninety percent of the time I start off my beats with the melodies first, then drums second. One thing I just started doing when it comes to working with writers or singers is just making melodies and not adding drums. I’ve learned that it gives them even more freedom to float on the record and come up with different ideas as opposed to being boxed in to certain pockets to make sense with whatever drums are already there.
Jay: As a producer, how’s your schedule like on a day to day?
Nabeyin: My schedule day to day changes. Some days I’ll be in sessions from the afternoon until the next morning, other days I’ll just be at home working. Then I have those days where I don’t feel like doing anything and I’ll watch a little anime and send out loop/beat packs.
Jay: Do you see producing as a sense of therapy? Does certain events in your life or your current mood influence how you make beats for clients at any time?
Nabeyin: I definitely think producing is therapy for me sometimes. I don’t really express the way I feel verbally, so I let it speak through my music. Life events don’t really affect how I make music for my clients. I usually just go off of whatever vibe they’re feeling at the moment.
Jay: Have you ever heard of synesthesia? If not, it’s when two or more senses blend together to formulate a natural high. Some examples of it could be hearing colors when certain music comes on or looking at twenty green number fives on a sheet of paper and detecting one as red to separate it from the others. Another way to think about it is to catch yourself in that zone like how it was depicted in the famous Disney film Soul. Do you ever find yourself in that zone, or in a synesthesia when you produce and if so, what is it like when everything is clicking for you?
Nabeyin: I get a lot of my inspiration for beats from colors. I definitely can look at a painting or some artwork and make a beat based on the colors I see. I do find myself in a zone too when I really feel like I’m in my bag, but I also have to be mindful and not get carried away with adding too many sounds. Once that happens, it just turns into an instrumental to listen to rather than a record I’m trying to get placed. Which by the way isn’t a bad thing, it just depends on what my objective is for the beat I’m working on.
Jay: You have a championed resume as a producer from working with Nas, Drake, Reason, The Game, Tru Speech, Jay Kasai, and more. Who are some other artists that you would love to work with given your resume already?
Nabeyin: I want to work with Kanye, Don Toliver, Travis Scott, SZA, J Cole, Baby Keem… man the list goes on. However, I NEED records with Xzibit and Busta Rhymes FOR SURE! I already got a placement with Nas, who’s my favorite rapper ever, so once I have those two, I won’t care who I produce for after that.
You can follow Nabeyin on Instagram @nabeyin and on Twitter @Nabeyin . He also has his Produced by Nabeyin playlist on Apple Music and Tidal with his other features such as Cam Archer, Tink, and Big Latto.
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