We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Hakeem Bennett. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Hakeem below.
Hakeem, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
It wasn’t till very recent I decided I was going pursue a creative path. I’ve dabbling around with music for the last 12 years of my life whether it was rapping, recording artist, djing, I always felt at home doing it. As a kid (15) I got a little studio bundle for Christmas with a microphone, headphones and interface and shortly started to record my own my music. Of course it wasn’t the greatest but that’s probably where the interest had sparked. Growing up having 2 older brothers that DJ’d I guess that came about subconsciously around the same age just an excited kid finding joy in learning the process. Over the course of the next 12 years I still recorded myself and fellow friends (artist) subconsciously tailoring my craft and passion. As I grew older life became realer and I started working retail jobs here and there for means of income but nothing ever stuck. I’d work somewhere for 3/4 months and just quit cause I felt I was wasting my time. Just knowing I was capable of more than retail halls for minimum wage. After failed attempts at college (where I did learn a lot in my 2 years, as I attended Queens Borough Community College) I found myself at my last job making decent money Jan 2024. At this time I’ve spent more hours than I ever imagined interning at studios, djing at clubs/bars or producing for my favorite artist. It came to a point where I was leaving work early, or not going cause I going to make money from my craft and if not more money than I was making here. I always knew I wanted to pursue a career in the arts but it’s not the easiest to rely on financially. But I quit my job with maybe $300 to my name beginning of the year and 8 months later I haven’t looked back. That spark from 12 years ago and my love for music gracefully allowed me to better my craft just from my own passion. And to ultimately put me in one of the best positions I’ve been in my life year to date. With my craft now and the skills I’ve developed I feel ready for most if not any situations I may encounter in my field as audio engineer or artist or dj/producer.
Hakeem, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I got into my industry from word of mouth. I got started around 2012 and it didn’t really start making sense until late 2022. When I decided I was gonna purse audio engineering my motto was to offer people better quality at a lower price, just to get my foot in the door and gain some clients. I wasn’t really a popular kid but everyone knew me, I was quiet and to myself a lot which is ironic based on the industry I’m in. My job in short form is I make people sound better (not that they sound bad). And if you’re serious about what you’re trying to do, you’ll be serious about what you’re trying to do, I don’t know how else to explain it. Some people will do it for the money or benefits of being around the industry, but the goal is to make great quality sounding music at all cost. Whether my client just has an idea or has the song ready, I help bring ideas to life, and clients trust my ideas and decisions to bring it to that level. I think what sets me apart from other engineers / producers is that people know that I’ve been doing this for the last 12 years of my life and I haven’t stopped and it’s gotten way better. I have my own unique approach to finishing a song or getting to the starting line and my clients know, appreciate, and trust me enough to sit back and let me work and know I’ll make the right decisions. I’m most proud of the collaborative tapes I’ve been able to accomplish with my own favorite artists that I am a fan of. I’ll reach out to them with a pack of beats I think they’d be interested in but offer recording strictly at my studio. (My Beats / My Sessions) That way the setting is more intimate and collaborative rather than just sending an email and never hearing anything back. What I want the people to know about my work is that it’s well thought out. Always. Doesn’t mean I spent all year planning but everything has purpose, reason, time and place. I want people to know that I find real joy creating music. My work is driven through feeling as music should be, an emotion. When I play a beat I can almost guarantee you’ll feel something. If I’m behind that crowd on the 1s and 2s I have no doubt in my mind you’ll be moving your feet and singing along.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
The possibilities.. it may sound cliche but the thought of knowing how big and far music can reach always keeps me guessing. Some might argue but I don’t think there’s a formula to make a hit. I’m sure you can put together some catchy lines and hooks and put a team together to make it groovy but if it isn’t absorbed by the consumer.. it just doesn’t matter. And no matter if you have 10 fans or 20,000 I can almost guarantee you’re inspiring someone and you don’t even know it. For me that’s enough to keep me going. I never needed 300 people to tell me my music was good or bad. If even 1 person honestly enjoys it, it’s enough to drive me to make that 2 people and so on and so forth. I still believe word of mouth is the best way to get around. If what you sell is good, you won’t have to tell people. The people will have already done it. The goal is simply to see how many people we can gravitate to and possibly introduce them to music they might enjoy, anything else extra is cherries on top.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Don’t fake support. For many creatives, most of them don’t really work along side what their passion is. So what they offer is really what they need to take home most days or times. If someone’s rate is at ‘x’ amount your first response shouldn’t be “damnn can I give you..” it’s hurtful and honestly annoying. Majority of those people have never walked into an establishment and told the cashier what they had and or what they were gonna pay. If the price seems too out of your reach or not worth it that’s fine. Either come when you have enough or don’t waste people time who are trying to hopefully one day make a living from what they do. A simple share of a post for a friend, or even bringing up their name in a room when they’re not around does wonders. ‘Support’ is always free but if you are inquiring just respect the price given or try to offer something that would work out for the creative. It works way better than just trying to pay what ‘you’ or ‘society’ feel it’s worth.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keem61?igsh=eXJhcDJvN3l1ejEy
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@keem61?si=1-bhgMIJjbAZT8-c
- Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/bMTzyneTKhLbTind8
- Other: Beats
https://keem61.disco.ac/playlist-new/13599453?date=20230515&user_id=1541502&signature=sTXHfgVfKMrMb7B0tFZrdsayZVg%3ArGZ7Rcv8
Image Credits
Beaveess
Niami_tuu