We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful The Genius Party. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with The Genius below.

The Genius Party, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

MV: Millie Vaughn, PX: Professor X, ER: Epic Rell, Amp: AmpurSand, ADF: Ace Dizzy Flow

MV: I decided to be in my first beat battle back in 05. I got slaughtered in the first round but it didn’t discourage me to stop. I was really intrigued by all the talent I had seen that night. It propelled me to perform in nearly 40 battles over the span of 8 years starting in 2008. I proceeded to win 6 beat battle titles which I could have never fathomed when I started. The beat battle league taught me a lot about music transitions and the beauty of building a beat up so the crowd would stay interested and vested in what you are playing during the battle!

ER: Using the sp for the first time live. At Lofi Lounge to be exact. I had only gotten it 5 months prior, until then i used MPC & Ableton. I was new to my own vibe but put it on display in front an audience and didn’t look back

PX: In the middle of the pandemic I was laid off from my job at Lenovo, and it was also difficult to sell beats. But during that free time, I was able to practice on my deejaying skills. I would spend hours working on my mixes, and I would even take beats I’ve created previously, add an acapella and make whole new track. I would even livestream my dj sets which brought a lot of attention from people all over the world. I got to a point where I was limited in the beginner dj controller I had so I took a risk and invested in the The Rane One dj controller. It seem like a crazy idea to do being laid off and not sure what was going to be the outcome of this pandemic. But I took the gamble and it worked out in my favor. 2021 comes around and businesses started to open back up. More and more folks wanted to be outside and be entertain so the calls for me to deejay started coming. I learned that sometimes you got to take that risk and invest in yourself.

ADF: I took a risk on learning how to read music. I think everyone should learn how to read music, I went in with the expectation of knowing everything and not really understanding the process and meaning.

AMP: We recently had success this past year as a collective with the Genius Parties and we had the idea of doing another event, but we had been focused on keeping the momentum going. Our focus was entirely on the regular monthly parties, but I felt like we needed something else to keep our name up and around the city. So, I decided to reach out to Schoolkids Records to start laying the groundwork for what we now know as The Cutting Room Floor Beat Battle and Vinyl Party. The Cutting Room Floor is a beat battle where music producers must spin a wheel with random music samples on it and once it stops, they must sample that record and make a beat out of it in 20 mins or less. All while DJ Halo spins vinyl record sets for the people waiting to see what the producers create. It was an idea I had presented with the crew awhile back. But once I came with a format, I ran it by the team, and they all gave great input on things to tweak. I wanted it to be for 25 minutes, but Strizzy suggested 20 minutes be the time limit and he made a great call there. Once we got the format down, the producers to get involved, and the date for the venue we were set. Granted it was a huge risk because we didn’t know if the people would want to see it or not, but it’s been going well. More people are becoming interested in this format because it’s fresh and different. It’s paid off so far. What I took away from that experience is you must take risks to get greater gains. You can’t let fear stop you and you can’t let “what ifs” deter you from doing what you are supposed to do. You must give something to the people that they didn’t know they wanted. That’s where growth is. You always want to keep growing.

The Genius Party, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

ER: Hello readers, It’s me Epic Rell aka Dawless Rell, bka Killa Killua. I am a master of the sp 404 and a slave to no one. I specialize in my own brand of lofi/downtempo/hip hop and at my height training wise i made 5 beats a day. I’m getting back to that now. I’ve been in the industry 10 years and producing the whole time. I’ve produced for Getty Images as well as Sony and am now a free agent contract killa. What i’m most proud of is the fact that i have my own unique vibe and sound that couldn’t be duplicated if I taught it.

MV: I started making music around 2005 as a small hobby to pass the time. The more and more I played around with the demo version of fruity loops the more I fell in love. Once I grasp an understanding of what the heck was going on I just kept going. Fast fwd almost 20 years later and I’m still doing what I love. I have gained some amazing friendships because of music alone. Music will always be my therapy. On bad days I turn to making beats. On good days I turn to making beats too. Whatever I’m feeling at the moment I can translate over into a beat.

PX: I’ve been around music my whole life, from marching and jazz band, church choir to making music on my laptop. I got introduced to The Genius Party in 2021 during the pandemic when we would come together, network and share beats as friends which in turn became something so much bigger than we all would’ve thought. Everyone in the Genius Party brought something different to the group besides just making beats, I was great at deejaying and have a great background in logistics from working with different festivals and organizations. I’m proud of the community we created where beat makers, creatives and casual listeners could come together and share this one thing we all have in common the love for music. We want to continue to create spaces where people can make connections to collaborate together as a community and curate live events that connect talented creatives everywhere.

ADF: I got involved in the music business by just wanting to learn how to create music. I create instrumentals for albums, artists, commercials, reels, promotions. What sets me apart from others no matter what it’s always the respect of the artist, love of the music first and the business last. I’m very proud of being able to showcase what I love to do with The Genius Party and being apart of that collective to influence other artists who love culture.

AMP: We got into what we are doing now just by going out and putting in the work and effort to create the platform. Nobody showed us how to do this. We just figured out what we needed to do to curate a show and we went and did the work. LD gave us some tips along the way as well as some other helpful folks in the area. But we started curating shows on our own. With our own money. We are still investing into every show. We’ve run into pitfalls here and there. But what I think sets us apart from others is that we have a clear vision of what we want to do, and we don’t want to stay complacent. We want to always keep moving and be a part of something groundbreaking and original. I think that’s what we are good at. We are just ourselves and we create things that we want to see in the world.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

ER: Honestly, be receptive to the fact that every artist you love was someone you never heard of before you loved them. If that makes any sense. Apply that shit to every new artist you hear.

MV: Organizations could provide platforms/programs for musicians to showcase their music. Maybe workshops and other events to educate people on the music business side. There is a lot to know in the industry. This all helps an artist in the long run! This is why we started the GP to provide these platforms for our people!

PX: The best way society can support artists and creatives is by physically purchasing their music, art, merchandise, buying a ticket to a show and bringing a friend. Even if you do not have the funds maybe reposting their art and music on social media.

ADF: Society could bring many things. More community teaching events, classes. Invest in the youth, support & build with creative and obtain knowledge of their creative processes.

AMP: I think that society could and should support the local artists in the area. Everybody is trying to make something happen out here. Whether it’s the guy in the cubicle or the person out on the street moving their mixtapes or busking around the bus station. If you like the art from the artist support the artist. Don’t wait for them to leave and blow up. They are right here working to present their best work to you. Go to the shows. See what they are doing. Buy their merchandise and make sure the city knows that they are valued in the community. Most importantly, if you want to support local artists truly… All you have to do is tell a friend and put them on to the music you love by that artist or take them to an event put on by local artists. I truly believe one of the marks of a good friendship is putting people on to new music they’ve never heard before or introducing them to art they’ve never experienced.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

ER: 808’s, that i needed 808’s. I don’t even program them anymore, so I feel baselines are more adequate.

MV: I learned not to ever rush on your art! You can lessen your quality by rushing your artwork and the more time you put into your craft the more rewards you will receive. The more time you spend on your craft the better the results. If you put in half work in while bite you down the line. On my first project I rushed to have my project out at a certain time and I put unnecessary pressure on myself which resulted in a few artists not being able to appear on my debut album “The MillieTape” as a featured artist.

ADF: You can’t lead a team if you’re not a student. One lesson I had to unlearn was thinking I know what exactly to do when it pertains to music. Instead of just sitting back and watching/listening. Learning is key.

AMP: When we got The Genius Party started, I had a hard time trusting my team to do things. I always felt like I had to be on top of everything and it got exhausting. I know I’m not the only one on the team that has felt that way. I know life comes at you fast and you must adapt. I learned that I couldn’t do any of this alone or by myself. It’s gotten a lot better for my mental health since then. Strizzy probably gave me the most valuable advice I’ve been using since we’ve been doing this thing. He told me, “Don’t overextend yourself bro”. It’s been a mantra I’ve been going by ever since. I also had to unlearn bad habits when it came to my time management. I used to procrastinate for a lot of my childhood up into my adult years. It’s something I still struggle with, but the growth is coming. I make sure I do what I need to do in a timely manner. I start early so I can finish strong. Being a part of this collective has really helped me develop. Not only as an artist but as man and I have to thank the team for that because they’ve all played a part in my growth. They have become like family to me.    

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