We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Solomon Rodney a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Solomon, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I knew at a very young age that I wanted to make something music related professionally. I was surrounded by music all my life. With my father being a drummer and my mother being a singer I was fortunate to sit in rehearsals, sessions, concerts, etc. Around my sophomore year of high school, I determined that I wanted to make beats for artists and tv/film so I began researching programs for college and also watching youtube tutorials to learn as I progressed in my music journey.

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’m a music producer from St. Louis, Mo known as “Soulo”. I graduated from Nelly E’xtreme Institute which lead me to work with some award winning, grammy nominated producers and mixing engineers known as Adam “Wyshmaster” Cherrington, Alonzo “Zo’ Lee, Wayne “Wavy” Adams, and Carl Nappa. I produce music for R&B, Hip Hop, Pop & EDM, and Dancehall. The one thing that sets me apart is my work ethic and how my production tells a story without words. I have the luxury to make music for tv/film and you can hear some of my work on some of your favorite networks such as BravoTV, Peacock, Lifetime, & Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) to name a few. I had the opportunity to produce Pro Tools (Avid) Demo song for Pro Tools along with Talented Singer Songwriter Lydia, the coldest mixing Engineer Wayne Adams, and My production Partner Darryl Bennett also known as dB Tha Producer. One thing I’m most proud of is making music for tv/film, its always been a dream and a goal of mine and being able to fulfill that dream makes me work even harder because I am a true believer of putting the work in to achieve anything you put your mind to. My goal for every client and every project is to produce quality work while paying attention to the details that fit the client or the brand. I want my music to move the listener but also tell a story within the production.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I worked with an independent label out in California known as The Write Key and as one of their main producers my job was to create music for independent artists, tv shows, and major artists as well. Before covid things were going great, and business was booming. Even with living in St. Louis and the label located in Cali I was able to push out records on a weekly basis. Then Covid hit and like with a lot of the other small businesses, The Write Key decided to shut down. I went from making a living off of upfront costs to nothing just like that. This obstacle pushed me to look into other outlets like tv/film. With Covid shutting everything down I notice the amount of binge-watching went up. With people not being able to do anything but fall back on tv, movies, and social media I saw the opportunity and started researching and reaching out to tv/film companies, and music supervisors to create the opportunity to work with them. In the process, I was shut down multiple times for different reasons. Depending on the projects they’re currently working on, they look for tracks that evolve around that show and if you don’t produce that sound they may not need your genre at that time. Long story short I was blessed to get signed on with Signature Tracks as one of their main producers. We work on a variety of shows from Keeping Up with the Kardashians to Below Deck Meditteranean. I receive 4-6 briefs a week for different shows that need music and it’s my job to meet the client’s needs and turn In the tracks by the deadline.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I’d have to say the most rewarding aspect of being a music producer is being able to do what I love and also being able to make a living from it.

Contact Info:

• Website: noiseyneighborz.com
• Instagram: @souloproducedit
• Facebook: Noisey Neighborz
• Youtube: NoiseyNeighborz