RayDaChef is a hip-hop producer who happens to be coming from a super curious background. A former frontman of a metal band, then a part of the skateboarding community which as we all know gravitates more around the punk scene he’s been through a lot of subcultures and scenes which helped him create a style and sound of his own. Collaborating with numerous artists and writing and producing for his wife, his music is emotion-driven and always taking him out of his comfort zones. Learn more about the person behind the music from our interview with him.

Hello! Tell the world about yourself. How did you grow up to become the musician you are today?

Well, in high school I tried to be the frontman of a band called Kasket Bound with some of my closes friends but for whatever reason it didn’t pan out and I kind of moved on. I did the skateboarding thing for many years so skateboarding all over but between the two experiences I picked up my musical taste. The style I have today has nothing to do with neither the band nor skateboarding because the band I was in was metal and skating with my skate junkee krew it was all about punk rock. What they did for me, however, was make me fall in love with creating something out of nothing. Fast forwarding to now this is exactly what I do with my music – I sit down and create something out of my feelings or a situation I’ve been through during the day. When I’m creating music it’s all about the feeling and my emotion is what makes me the artist I am today. That’s why one day I’ll make a trap beat and the next day I’ll release a folk-country track.

Please, introduce your current musical projects and tell us what makes each one special for you?

Well, I’m always working on new concepts to introduce to the people I’m working with. I have a few artist I’m working with right now. We are tossing ideas back and forth. One of them is a talented rapper named ONESHOT who has a really great style and voice. We are at the mixing and mastering stage. The track we made is called “GRIP THE HAMMER” and I’m very proud of it. It’s a great hip hop song with great lyrics and I love the beat I made for it. All in all, it’s a very special track for me. I also have another song track coming out. It’s called “BELOVED” and I made and wrote the lyrics for it. It’s about when I first met my wife and it describes the emotion a dude would have when experiencing love at first sight kind of thing. The beat is very pleasant even though I got a mixed reaction when I played it to a few people. Some think it’s a sad beat, others feel the very happiness I incorporated when I made it. I can’t wait for it to be done.

You have been playing music for a long while! How do you find the drive and inspiration to keep going all this time?

Well, it’s funny I didn’t have the need to do it at all until I met my wife and she started singing. She blew me away. I will sometimes literally cry listening to her. I think her voice is amazing and it was really because of her that I began this music journey. I wanted the world to hear what I got to hear every day and I still do. She is an amazing talent but is not confident enough. That’s what I’m here for – to help her become more confident in herself . I’ve always said she has a Selena feel to her singing in both Spanish and English. I can’t wait for us to get some music done together.

How is your local music scene in your perspective? Do you feel like you belong there?

To be honest, I’m not really plugged in the long scene. I kind of stick to myself writing music here at home. There are two guys that I’ve been talking with to get a collaborative project going but are schedules are always conflicting somehow but they are both great rappers. One is named Nick Furi and the other Cortlan Chaisson. Nick has a dark style of body bags with victims buried under his house type style where Cortlan has more of a Kendrick type of classic hip-hop vibe talking about life and a true lyrical kind of a dude. Well, both are very lyrical, they just have two completely different ways of telling it to you. They are both great dudes

What is your all-tI’me favorite record and how did it change you as an artist?

Hmm my all-time favorite record I would say is Killswitch Engage “The End of Heartache”. This record got me through a pretty tough time in my life. It’s a metal LP but it has a lot of melodic breakdowns in it and that’s what I try to incorporate in my tracks – big trap drums with dramatic melodies and big emphasis on strings. I absolutely love instruments like violin, cello and viola and if done correctly they can sound really great in hip-hop.

What are your favorite software and hardware tools for music production?

I use FL Studio and Logic. I use plugins like Nexus and Kontakt as they both have such a huge potential. They really are my go to instruments when I make my tracks. As far as hardware it’s pretty simple. I use MPK Mini 2 and a Launch Key 25 although I’m about to buy a Launch Pad to help me with the drum aspect of my production

What is your songwriting process like?

It’s all about the emotions for me. The lyrics come first, then I build the beat around them. If the lyrics are dramatic I’ll write something in that vein to fit the words and vise versa. However, there are times when I will find a track that I made that fits the mood I’m in and I’ll keep it in loop and I’ll write to it. I have a catalog of 300 beats so, I have enough I can write to. I think I have well over 1,000 pages of songs lyrics that I’ve written.

What is your biggest goal in music?

My goal is to leave something my son would be proud of, something my family would be proud of. I hope carve my little corner in the music world and when it’s all said and done I just want a legacy I can be proud of and a one that I didn’t sell my soul for. I don’t want to be rich and famous, I just want to make music that people love listening to.

How has being on Drooble helped you as a musician?

It has helped me meet many really cool people. It helped me interact with more people that I normally would have had. For the most part everyone I’ve met on Drooble ha been really cool and willing to give me feedback when I asked for it. It’s not a competitive environment like other places. It really does feel like genuine community. I’m happy I found this place.