Monte Booker
We are in an era where producers are their own class of superstar. But for all his newfound success, Chicago producer Monte Booker does not move like a superstar. In fact, he does not even care to be famous. As he tells me over the phone: "That's never the focus. Honestly, it's different. I don't care about being famous, but I do want the music to reach more people, so I guess with that comes fame. It's not about personal fame."
The producer best known for his work with Smino and the entire Zero Fatigue camp is all about music and growth. "I try to be as unique as possible," he says. "To me, you can't get burned out if you always trying something new, because you're always challenging yourself."
With that, Booker, 23, spends his time studying new genres of music, learning new instruments, and pushing himself to get as weird as possible with it. So long as Booker stays a student of the game, he believes his music will thrive, and considering the response to Smino's sophomore album, NOIR, he would be correct.
"From releasing that [album] alone, J. Cole reached out," Booker recalls. "He Facetimed me randomly like 'Yo, NOIR amazing, bro! I just had to look up who made the beats and it was you. What the fck!' I feel like that was kinda like, oh shit, that was the biggest moment from NOIR, for me." And before you wonder, yes they linked at the Dreamville Sessions, and yes there is work under the artists' belts.
For as prolific as Monte Booker can be, making beats for 24 straight hours or studying for the same amount of time, he is just as open to criticism. "I don't look at that as a bad thing," he explains. "Me being criticized, if that's how they feel, then that's just how they feel, you know? There's ways to improve."
That forward-thinking attitude is how Booker keeps his sound on the forefront of the Chicago music scene and keeps himself sounding like one of the freshest producers in hip-hop. Currently working on a new album with Smino, only time will tell what new directions the duo take their collaborative sound. Wherever they go, the good news is, only they will have been capable of taking music there. We can't wait.
We are in an era where producers are their own class of superstar. But for all his newfound success, Chicago producer Monte Booker does not move like a superstar. In fact, he does not even care to be famous. As he tells me over the phone: "That's never the focus. Honestly, it's different. I don't care about being famous, but I do want the music to reach more people, so I guess with that comes fame. It's not about personal fame."
The producer best known for his work with Smino and the entire Zero Fatigue camp is all about music and growth. "I try to be as unique as possible," he says. "To me, you can't get burned out if you always trying something new, because you're always challenging yourself."
With that, Booker, 23, spends his time studying new genres of music, learning new instruments, and pushing himself to get as weird as possible with it. So long as Booker stays a student of the game, he believes his music will thrive, and considering the response to Smino's sophomore album, NOIR, he would be correct.
"From releasing that [album] alone, J. Cole reached out," Booker recalls. "He Facetimed me randomly like 'Yo, NOIR amazing, bro! I just had to look up who made the beats and it was you. What the fck!' I feel like that was kinda like, oh shit, that was the biggest moment from NOIR, for me." And before you wonder, yes they linked at the Dreamville Sessions, and yes there is work under the artists' belts.
For as prolific as Monte Booker can be, making beats for 24 straight hours or studying for the same amount of time, he is just as open to criticism. "I don't look at that as a bad thing," he explains. "Me being criticized, if that's how they feel, then that's just how they feel, you know? There's ways to improve."
That forward-thinking attitude is how Booker keeps his sound on the forefront of the Chicago music scene and keeps himself sounding like one of the freshest producers in hip-hop. Currently working on a new album with Smino, only time will tell what new directions the duo take their collaborative sound. Wherever they go, the good news is, only they will have been capable of taking music there. We can't wait.
