Breaking Into the Music Biz

Photo by Shabaaka Smalls / VOX Staff

By Shabaaka Smalls / VOX Staff

So many people — both talented and untalented — think they can break into the music business. They dream and plan and scheme, but ultimately don’t do anything to make things happen.

While the reality is that few artists make it big, there are still lots of jobs to be had in the business. The music industry has never been bigger. Today, music is created, edited, mixed, remixed, re-remixed, unmixed, uploaded, downloaded and everything in-between in the free world. And it is enjoyed by nearly everyone around the world.

VOX interviewed two teen music entrepreneurs — Arturo “Tutu” Christy, 16, and Roderick Cooper, 16 — who are working hard to make their dreams come true. And, believe it or not, these two Tech High juniors actually are getting help and encouragement from their school.

With a mix tape due out this winter, these two professional and ambitious young men just may make a big name for themselves in the biz. After all, some years back VOX interviewed another duo from the area who met in high school and wound up doing pretty well — specifically Tri-Cities’ Big Boi and Andre Benjamin.

VOX: What is it that you do exactly?

TUTU: Production. We make beats and tracks for hip-hop, R&B and rock-and-roll songs, movie soundtracks and so on.

ROD: You can make a beat and say you produce. But making a beat is just a part of producing. There’s so much more to do, including making master tracks and such.

TUTU: We have concepts for the songs to the tracks that we make. If you don’t have the songs, we can help with our tracks.

VOX: Is it safe to say you always knew what you wanted to do?

ROD: In the ninth grade, it was actually a hobby. Now it’s a profession. We get artists and work with them on their songs to produce something we all can be proud of.

TUTU: Back in middle school it was a hobby for me, but then in high school my teacher Mr. Gibson made it a reality. As producers, we help people who come to us with lyrics but no music and we work with them until we get something that’s great.

VOX: How did you start together?

ROD: We were close friends first off — brothers even so. Tutu made a beat that I heard and likes, so I tried it, too. We made it into a competition.

TUTU: Our little competition lasted but never escalated to beef. Rod was at my house and we just started making beats. We recently established a name and a structure to what we do.

VOX: What is your name?

ROD: Kahliber — don’t get it confused with the gun. It’s a stylistic change to the word caliber to talk about our high standards. We wanted there to be a difference.

TUTU: The K stands for knowledge and we meshed it up with Tutu’s old name Killa, and Rod’s old name, Caliber, and it became Kahliber.

VOX: Where are you going?

ROD: We haven’t rushed anything. It would be nice to hear us on radio and CDs but we’ve got a mix tape that will be done within a month or so.

TUTU: The goal of it is to progress a little bit at a time and do everything effectively. We work on our tracks nearly everyday and they get better and better.

VOX: How did Tech High help?

ROD: We met here, became friends, and I got interested in producing in the ninth grade.

TUTU: The business classes gave us the spirit to become entrepreneurs.

ROD: I had engineering, he had business and there was information technology, and we learned a lot from those classes.

TUTU: Our teachers and vice principal supported and helped develop the talent they saw that we both possessed.

VOX: What is your message?

ROD: In music, it’s not about snap finger. I have exactly one snap-finger track. I’m not saying it’s lame or whack but I try to expand all my tracks into different genres. I’m making music. In the community, it gives me a chance to express my cultural diversity and to encourage others to do so as well. I do not mean to say snap is bad — it’s just not all there is.

TUTU: Music is used for many different things, but one of the best things it should be used for is a way for the urban community to express themselves and for all the people who are forced to sell drugs because of financial circumstances.

Shabaaka is a junior at Tech High who can’t wait to see where the winds of fortune will take Kahliber.