We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Manny Walker a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Manny , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
It’s one thing to create with words and executing as a creative songwriter. But once I started learning how to produce and engineer it felt like i was learning to walk all over again. New Vocabulary, techniques and strategies to remember mixed with the pure excitement and anxiety that mastering all of this equipment could yield. If i figure this out, I could never work a 9-5 again, win a grammy, and collaborate with the very artist i listen to on apple music daily. I started enginneering music in 2017 of a mack book air in garageband, mixing x songs off a beats pill and apple headphones. In this industry you use what you got and that was all i had. I mad beats on that until the great Uber Eat Sushi delivery spill of 2019 that ruined my laptop and ultimately forced me to sacrifice and save to buy a new computer and learn a whole new system…6 years later here we are! I’m no master but I’m very skilled in all things music production from starting a beat thru mastering and publishing. I’ve got so much more to learn too!
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.
BrothaMans is an extension of Manny. BrothaMans is a manifestation of all my confidence and creativity embodied into 20 minutes of a recording studio session or a few songs performed at a block party as an opener for a larger act. BrothaMans is every emotional experience i’ve ever had channeled into a creative outlet for expression, partially for my own healing and clarity but also for the worlds entertainment. I’m a producer a songwriter, a photographer, videographer, engineer, actor and whatver else my clients dm me and ask me to do @manmadestudiosllc. I started my production company to originally be a fan page for my music; spam links and post performance stuff about me but one day someone reached out and asked me to create cover art for them. And then another day someone wanted a music video and now all of a sudden i’m up late drawing logos for a company i didn’t even plan on starting. It started itself. People seen how creative I could be with my own art and embraced it and wanted me to do that but for their art as well! It’s been an amazing validation. I’ve been rapping and singing for about 7 years now but as a child i was an actor and performer! My mom Cheryl El-Walker is an award winning costume designer and actress herself so it was no choice of mine that I’d be a theater baby! But i embrace that time of life. I learned a lot, gave me the confidence I have today. My passion for music comes from family and something internal. I always sang inthe car church choir musicals i love to sing. Making sounds and music feels intrinsically like what i was put on this planet for. I went to Obama High School and Aisha Sharif, the band director, unlocked the door for creation and helped me define myself as a drummer. The student leadership thru marching band as Drum Major two years made me imagine if I was in control of the bands music and what we played. It set the tone for me and my bro Vance Voughn (producer & engineer) to connect after highschool and begin recording together on top of the brotherhood we had from band already. My older cousin Dewey Markie had been rapping for years and i had mad respect for that being something he was good at. It wasn’t until 2016 that i learned coukd play off of the duality of being able to sing and rap. That duality and creativity is everything that BrothaMans is.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
I wish i knew about small business start up grants! There’s so many. Google “Start Up Grants” “Your City/State” and “your field of work” I PROMISE YOULL FIND SOMETHING. I’m from pittsburgh and there are so many. I’ve applied for some for this upcoming winter to help me get better equipment for the studio that can advance my profit and increase the quality experience of my clientelle and customers
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
@ManMadeStudios & @BrothaMans7 are here for accessibility and affordability. I’m here for the artists who might gotta pay me in pieces or have a budget but are still new to recording or production and need support thru each step. I’m also here for the established artist who need someone to push them and never settle for mediocrity. Primarily the goal and mission is to make art accessible and as creative as possible. Art makes me happier so hopefully it can do that for other people as well. Man Made Studios will always meet you where you’re at! Finance will never be a barrier to creation with us. We know how to keep the lights on and operate ourselves effectively! And when i say we i mean me and sometimes my cousin Dewey when he helps lol. BrothaMans is Man Made Studios and Man Made Studios is BrothaMans!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://siteid-2009839.univer.se/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/brothamans7?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@ManMadeStudios?si=4BuWtsytjSTwntrL
Image Credits
Too Hot for July – LeeWay Images All other photos were taken by Man Made Studios