Terrace Martin

Terrace Martin Says He Will No Longer Work With ‘Rap Friends’ In A New Letter

by
Terrace Martin 2020 Destination Crenshaw Groundbreaking Event
Getty Image

Terrace Martin’s work in the music industry dates back to the mid-2000s. He started off as a jazz producer, but following some work with Snoop Dogg in the mid-2000s, Martin would go on to combine his jazz palette with hip-hop sounds as he worked with rappers like Kendrick Lamar, Denzel Curry, Cordae, Big KRIT, Travis Scott, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, and more. Martin has also put nine albums over the course of 10 years with his first one being 2011’s Melrose with Murs and his most recent one being 2021’s Drones. Despite all his success, Martin is putting an end to his work with hip-hop artists.

In a lengthy letter that he shared on social media, Martin revealed that he would no longer work with “rap friends” in the future.

“It just hit me, I’ve helped people my whole career. I’ve helped the biggest artist to the smallest artist.

Whether it be producing a record or playing keys or sax solos or bringing in musicians to enhance an album to just giving game from all of my experiences.

Now I realize that the love and help I’ve been giving for YEARS has never been returned when I need it.

“I have waived publishing, credits, money etc on the strength of relationships, on the “love,” and to watch my “rapper friends” overpay these producers who come to me for pointers and tips is the ultimate slap in the face. So I’m done. I’m not working with anymore rap friends.”

While Martin’s presence in the rap world will be missed, he’s still helping craft some great records through recent projects like Robert Glasper’s Black Radio III.

You can view Martin’s letter in the post above.

TDE’s MixedByAli Launched His Own Record Label And Said His First Artist Reminds Him Of Kendrick Lamar

by
mixedbyali.jpg
Getty Image

At the end of last year, TDE’s in-house engineer Derek “MixedByAli” Ali announced that he purchased Death Row Records, the iconic studio where rap legends like Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and Tupac Shakur recorded classic records. He renamed it NoName Studios, after his newly-launched label, NoName Recordings, and quickly signed his first artist: Malik Moses, who recently released his new single, “Show Me Something” with Bas. Fresh off the singing, Ali explained what he liked most about his new artist.

“The way he was able to really catch my attention with his selection of beats, the way his production was laid out, the way his songwriting and just how he carried himself sonically, that reminded me of working with Kendrick [Lamar] and working with Thundercat and Terrace Martin,” Ali told Rolling Stone. “It gave me that same feeling instantly as soon as I heard the first four bars of his music, and that’s rare nowadays.”

Ali also spoke about his overall vision for NoName Recordings. “We just want our label to be that safe place where artists can create, artists can have that creative freedom,” he said. “I don’t hear of too many audio engineers starting ventures like this, so it’s a different perspective to bring into the industry, the perspective from somebody who’s in the trenches understanding how it works and the grind that it takes to really be successful.”

You can listen to Morris’ new single and read the full Ali’s full interview with Rolling Stone here.

Terrace Martin’s New Album ‘Drones’ Will Feature Cordae, Kendrick Lamar, And Ty Dolla Sign

by

Although Terrace Martin’s last solo full-length collection came out four years ago (2017’s criminally overlooked Sounds Of Crenshaw Vol. 1 with The Pollyseeds), the Los Angeles producer has nevertheless remained busy throughout the past year, co-producing a number of EPs including They Call Me Disco with Ric Wilson and joining the jazz supergroup Dinner Party with 9th Wonder, Kamasi Washington, and Robert Glasper. However, today he announced his solo return with Drones, a new album coming out this Friday, November 5.

Included on the album’s 13 tracks are appearances from a veritable who’s-who of hip-hop luminaries including Cordae, D Smoke, Kendrick Lamar, Smino, Snoop Dogg, Ty Dolla Sign, and YG. Martin’s Dinner Party bandmates Kamasi Washington and Robert Glasper are also set to appear, along with a genre-hopping collection of rising stars and well-known hitmakers including Arin Ray, Celeste, Channel Tres, Hit-Boy, James Fauntleroy, Kim Burrell, and Kim Burrell.

In his press release for the new album, Martin teases the eclectic mix of sounds he intends to display throughout: “There are touches of R&B, touches of jazz, touches of hip-hop, touches of classical, Cuban music, West African music, house music,” he says. “You’re going to hear all elements of Black music within this record. It’s not one element I can leave out if I call myself a true Black artist.”

Drones is due 11/5 via Sounds of Crenshaw / BMG. You can pre-order here and check out the lead single, “Leave Us Be,” above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Robert Glasper And Terrace Martin Are Staging A ‘Dinner Party’ Global Livestream This Weekend

by

A four-time Grammy winner, Robert Glasper fluidly straddles the world of jazz, hip-hop and R&B with vigor and class. Last year’s Dinner Party EP with multi-instrumentalist Terrace Martin, saxophonist Kamasi Washington and hip-hop producer 9th Wonder brought Glasper together with like-minded eclectics for one of the best releases of the year. Now, Glasper and Martin have announced a global livestream of a Dinner Party performance going down tomorrow in the U.S. and Saturday in Europe and Australia.

The performance sees an opportunity for fans worldwide who can’t attend Glasper’s ongoing Blue Note jazz club residency in New York City, to engage with his music in a visually stunning, high-fidelity environment presented in 4K UHD and Dolby Atmos sound. Joining Glasper and Martin, are decorated New Orleans trumpet player Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, along with bassist Burniss Travis, drummer Justin Tyson, and DJ Jahi Sundance, who make up the Robert Glasper Trio backing band. Glasper shared some thoughts on the performance in a statement:

“I’m really excited for people to see these shows. People have been asking when I’m coming to their city but I can’t travel everywhere right now, obviously. It was a really cool experience to perform in the space with 3D screens. It looked kind of trippy and fun while we were recording, so I’m looking forward to watching it again and being able to experience it with fans that can’t see me live right now. I hope they have as much fun watching it as we did while recording it.”

The collective played a show together last month, which is also currently available, and both streams will be available for on-demand viewing now until November 30 via On Air. Glasper/Martin Presents Dinner Party happens 10/29 at 8 pm ET and 8 pm PT as well as on 10/30 in London and Sydney at 8 pm in each region. Tickets can be purchased here and the performance will be available On Demand until 11/30.

Watch the trailer for the performance above.