Check out our Producers Spotlight on South Coast Records in-house producer/ composer STUPID GENIUS! Read all about what Stupid Genius has to say in this in depth one on one interview as he discusses his favorite producers, gives us a first hand look into his thought process as a composer and more!
The Beat Yard: How'd you get the name "Stupid Genius"?
Stupid Genius: It's me. It's a condition of being "all the way live" when you embody the duality of life's opposites. Initially the name was created for my group with life long music collaborator and friend, Hank Tate, but I ran with the name with his blessing once I began to solidify a career in production. To be a stupid genius, you think and live outside the box in a manner that is confusing to most people, so 'different' appears to them as strange or stupid, but when they hear and see the end result, they see genius.
The Beat Yard: How long have you been making beats?
Stupid Genius: 18 years
The Beat Yard: What inspired you to want to make beats?
Stupid Genius: Music is my magic and my medicine. The amount of times that music touches the nerves and soul of listeners throughout their lifetime is immeasurable. Whether it creates a celebration or provides a light of inspiration a to dark place, it directly touches the heart. No matter what purpose your hands serve, they are guided by the heart. If I can be a part of this legacy on a grand scale and give back even a fraction of the gifts I've received, I'll be aight. And this is beyond making beats. Making beats is a fun craft which I love, but dope beats are just an unfinished part of the equation. The producer must assemble all components musical, lyrical, and technological to create a sum greater than all parts that is precisely crafted to touch the heart.
The Beat Yard: Who are some of your favorite producers?
Stupid Genius: Timbaland, Dr. Dre, Dungeon Family, Diplo, RZA, Sly & Robbie & Stephen Marley to name a few .
The Beat Yard: What do you use to produce your beats?
Stupid Genius: Logic
The Beat Yard: What is your process for making beats? What do you start with, the idea or do you tinker around with a sound until something comes out or what?
Stupid Genius: Every scenario imaginable depending on why and how I sat down in the lab to begin with. I may have 5+ typical methods, but no one set-in-stone approach.
The Beat Yard: Do you like to be hands on with an artist when making the song, or do you prefer just to send a beat to them and let them do their thing?
Stupid Genius: Hands-on the vast majority of the time, but there are a couple artists like Jay Fresko who truly can deliver most of what I need from a satellite location if needed. That can only be done with a seasoned recording artist with great studio efficiency. I do so much shit in post-production, and I do prefer that buffer of bringing my vision forth before we start evaluating the song.
The Beat Yard: What types of artists do you vibe with the most when it comes to rhyming over your beats?
Stupid Genius: Ones that hold up their end of the bargain with quality control to match and surpass the production, which makes me work more diligent to create a polished product.
The Beat Yard: What other genres of music do you produce?
Stupid Genius: Reggae, EDM, Trap, R&B, pop, Latin, & Indian.
The Beat Yard: What's one of the worst experiences you've faced as a producer and how did you bounce back or learn from it?
Stupid Genius: Overall, the glorified superstar X-factor make-believe air that too many industry-related people will blow up your ass with no hesitation set me back. The 'recovery' is in progress and just comes with years of learning and growing and sticking to basic principles of karma and paying-it-forward.
The Beat Yard: I know you don't want to give all your tricks and power moves away to the competition, but do you have any advice or tricks you would like to share with other producers?
Stupid Genius: Yeah. Don't let industry skew your objectives. Make music because you love to, need to, and need to share with the world. Once your mind crosses into a lottery mentality (winning BIG by doing nothing), you find it easy to break universal laws of logic, business, and how to treat your neighbor. No one is that cool.
The Beat Yard: Is there anything else you would like to mention?
Stupid Genius: Yeah. No matter if you have 10 jobs, don't ever forget who you are during the day. If the beat drives your night, don't keep it a secret during the day. If people are going to criticize you and say "he thinks he can be P. Diddy" they may not truly be your friends and may just be talking shit because when they go home, their talents may be non-existent so they compulsively insult you when they secretly envy you.
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Matt "S.G." Nawada (stupid genius)
DJ/Producer, songwriter, composer, vocalist, mixologist
STUPID GENIUS LLC [FLORIDA]
