Kaytranada and similar stories : Soundcloud DJ Producers to Grammys

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Soundcloud is the place where music gem producers started and has allowed them to be approached by record companies. One produced for Bryson Tiller, then, another is a triple Grammy-nominated. Want to know who? The answers below

First of all : what is Soundcloud?

Surely you have already heard about it or are a regular user. Nevertheless, a little reminder doesn’t hurt, does it? Created in 2007 in Sweden, Soundcloud is a music platform, which over the years has enabled communities to be created, allowing any music producer to create his fanbase, and also to share and experiment its sound creativity : 76 million users are registered to date. (Source : Soundcloud)

Unique currents of music have thus blossomed and bring together many music lovers: afrobaile, future baile, jerseyclub, newsorlean bounce, soul dancehall, soul. Often remixes of black music revisited are at the origin of this current always in constant evolution. If you want to make the kind of beats I’m talking about above, you can download free samples here, inspired by the music of the African Diaspora.

It is thanks to it that many talented producers have been able to broaden their notoriety and even to be signed in record companies, like some of the ones we will talk about below.

1. Kaytranada : from Montreal to the Grammys

Kaytranada is a haitian-canadian leading DJ producer and remixer of Soundcloud. His music is a mix of future beats, soul, funk and J Dilla’s similar rhythm that only he has the recipe for.

Often first affiliated with Soulection, his remix of Teedra Moses, “Be your girl” was his first breakthrough that undeniably allowed him to break through. Moreover, he is always ready to deliver a memorable DJ set whether it is in a Boiler Room or a festival!

He is currently signed to XL Recordings and major label RCA Records. As a result, he has moved on to remixing and creating amazing albums. He has since collaborated with Pharell Williams, Estelle, Anderson Paak, Tinashe, The Internet, Cassie and many others : he is triple nominated for the 2021 Grammy Awards.

2. Sango : Soul, Baile and much more

Sango, also a flagship DJ producer of Soundcloud, has been an inspiration for me and many others: he is the main precursor of the baile movement mixed with the future beats.

Located in Seattle, he has a love for mixing soul r&b with the sounds of Drake’s early career years, 808, vintage samples and percussion from the African diaspora into music productions or DJ sets made his trademark.

He has a collective made up of a rapper with whom he has been working for a while, Waldo. Moreover, before Goldlink’s rise to the mainstream scene, he had the opportunity to collaborate with the latter.

Signed to Soulection since the beginning of the collective, he has since worked on Tinashe’s album, Bryson Tiller’s classic R&B “Trap Soul” and recently with the Afrobeat sensation Juls.

His album below, collaboration with Xavier Omär, of which Sango also made the cover, is one of the rare projects that I have listened to over and over again and dissected every sound : epic.

4. Masego : Trap, Soul and…Jazz

Tadow : that doesn’t sound familiar? Yes, before having made a breakthrough with this track alongside FKJ (250 million views on Youtube), Masego is basically a jamaican-american saxophonist producer and artist who was first, very active on Soundcloud with his concept Traphouse Jazz.

He also has other flagship tracks far from going unnoticed ” Navajo “produced by one of the producers also listed in this article : J.L.L. Then, he did in addition collaborations beneficial to his musicality : Tiffany Gouché, Sir, Goldlink, Vanjess, Shenseea…

5. KRS, Iotosh and J.L.L : New waves of Jamaican producers

Jamaica, the birthplace of reggae and its legendary spokesman Bob Marley, has always been a Caribbean island bursting with sound creativity.

Thus, on Soundcloud, four jamaican producers stood out : KRS, Iotosh and J.L.L. They are thus partly responsible for the futuristic touch of the sound of Jamaican music from Chronixx, Protoje, Masego and many others. In this video below, KRS and JLL also thank Soundcloud, for allowing them to land some key opportunities in their careers

KRS

KRS is a remarkable remixer, his music productions are tinged with sweet r&b, 808, and futuristic dancehall identifiable from the very first second.

After working with his collective Film noir sound for years on Soundcloud, and creating beats types, he had a golden opportunity : creating sample packs and loops with the Splice platform.

Currently a resident of Los Angeles, KRS’s packs with Splice have been very successful and have certainly been financially favorable to him. One of the samples from this pack ended up on one of the last tracks of Bryson tiller. Then, he also worked with Popcaan, Smino, Roy Woods and more.

J.L.L

J.L.L, a rather discreet music producer, has produced for artists that we no longer present : Sizzla, Kranium, Mavado, Masego, Popcaan and more.
JLL’s musical style is quite similar to that of KRS, which allows him to work regularly with the latter: to be continued!

Iotosh

Iotosh is a singer and producer, who mix vintage Jamaican music with futuristic sounds, got noticed after an unofficial remix of one of Protoje’s tracks. Since then, he has been working on the latter’s album and surely on many other unreleased tracks.

6. Jarreau Vandal

Jarreau vandal, from Amsterdam is one of the producers of the Soulection label. He has made notable remixes, hence the nickname given by his family and friends : Vandalize.

His work on Soundcloud gave him access to live Redbull, the creation of albums and then the opportunity to officially remix many times, for artists signed in record companies : Diplo, French Montana, Rema, Stefflon Don…

7. Say 3

Say3 is a Londonian Afrobeat producer. His most popular Soundcloud remix is an afro tribute to one of Kaytranada’s tracks : AfroKaytra.

By the way, even if he has only 3000 followers on Soundcloud, his streams are huge on Spotify, especially thanks to an opportunity that allowed him to officially remix one of the tracks of the rapper Bas, signed in Dreamville (J.Cole’s label) : Jollof Rice.

In conclusion, even if it is a platform that for some is no longer relevant, Soundcloud has allowed many music producers to come out of the shadows.

Most of Soundcloud producers mentioned in this article, often remain independent. Moreover, they are almost all DJs in parallel and each of them has a particular musical path that allows them to stand out from the crowd.

And you, do you think Soundcloud is an opportunity for a music producer? Tell us all in comment.