JUMA SPEARS GRADUATES RECORDING CONNECTION WITH CONNECTIONS

No matter where our students take part in one of our programs, we know that artists, both big and small in name, are always abundant and provide great learning opportunities. One of those lessons is to find success when working outside of you preferred genre. Read below on how Juma Spears, a local hip-hop artist, came to understand this for himself. Become a student and find out just how much great stuff there is for you to learn as well.

“Some of the artists that I recorded  were everyone from actual bands, like full-on bands because that was one of the lesson plans, and also a rapper named Doobie Shine. He’s locally known around here and it was just interesting to watch another rapper because I love rapping myself.  We actually got connected to a music group, a local label down here that I was able meet. I’m a rapper myself and people know me, that I’m working around here, know my face. As far as the bands, it was way more difficult than working with a rapper.  With a rapper, you put a microphone in front of them and the beat is all he really needs. You’re basically just in and out. When most rappers that have been working for awhile, they don’t need all that extra stuff but the band’s a whole different story. I mean, there were so many mics that it took hours to setup.  I was very surprised by how mentally tired I was. After like an hour and a half, two hours, I was tired from just sitting there, listening and moving some faders here and there. They were pretty experienced in recording. They already knew what they wanted, so we really didn’t have to do that much with them but it was crazy the amount of equipment that was necessary. When they finally left, I was talking with Jeff (the mentor) and I was like, “So do we get to leave too?” He was like, ‘No we got to clean all this up.’ I’ll never forget
how much we had to deal with, putting everything back and stuff. I was like ‘Yeah, so this is the whole job. It’s not all fun and games behind the board.”’

— Juma Spears, Fort Worth, TX