We recently connected with Kingsley Adeyemi and have shared our conversation below.
Kingsley, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I started engineering back in college @ Prairie View A&M back in 2012. My journey began helping my long time friend & brother VRSE record his first mixtape in my closet with the worst gear, just trying to learn. Knowing what I know now, I would’ve interned at a studio earlier than I did. I really tapped into my craft working for Barron Studios here in Houston, TX. Being able to learn from the best engineers in the city while having live sessions daily helped speed up my process. The best skills acquired were knowing how to record vocals in the best manner provided & commanding a session for best results.
If their were any obstacles, it would be just not being in walking distance of the studio. I would drive almost 30min there & back just to work a few hours my first 6-8 months, before going full time at the studio.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I got into engineering from dabbling in production first. In middle school, I played the trumpet & trombone. Always loved music as a youth but never dreamed of going into the band when I got into high school. I was able to watch some of my closets friends in college begin to pursue music early & wanted to provide a skill set to the creation. Before you know it, I would go to studio sessions & learn what a true audio engineer entailed. Fell in love with engineering & began to figure out every detail I could with what I had.
Working for Barron Studios provided me a great source of foundation. Interning taught me the core while tracking sessions showed me the importance of recording & controlling a session. Those skills manifested into something bigger & I started to be more precise with mixing.
My biggest accomplishment in engineering has been being able to mix a song that eventually was apart of an album that was nominated for a Grammy. The 10,000+ hours paid off in the best way & fueled me to go harder. Not winning the Grammy also solidified that dreams & prayers come true, just have to stay focused & grind for it.
Any future clients should know that I approach music & engineering the same for EVERY client. I pour my heart & soul into projects. It’s my skill set that makes me an artist in my own right amongst the singers, rappers, musicians, etc. I provide what’s best for the record & be sure to bring the vision to life.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Expression & Releasing.
As creators, we get to pour our feelings & thoughts into art that lives on forever. Music is a language & being able to communicate with listeners through frequencies never fails to amaze me.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Consumers should continue to BUY & INVEST into aspiring artists. At all levels of the journey… Starting out, underground with a buzz, mainstream, etc. Artists can only scale when consumers buy into the art. In the world of social media, we often think a retweet, a share, etc., suffices as spreading the word. As it is appreciated, streaming services has devalued the return on investments for artists. Purchasing merchandise, limited work, or just buying albums while still streaming will change the trajectory for artists. As a great artist named Tobe Nwigwe always says, “don’t buy my music, buy merch”
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @bigkang713
- Twitter: @kangofthecrew
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bigkang713
- Other: Twitch: @bigkang713