FreshNerd: Tell us a bit about your production background. What are some of the artists you've worked with?
NobodyFamous: I start producing about 10 years ago. My friends and I were into making video comedy sketches and we needed our own music for our videos so I purchased a $40 program from Best Buy that you could edit videos and created looped based music in. A few months later, someone introduced me to FL Studio and the rest is history. I have worked with Kyle Lucas, Donnis, Bohagon, Chris Young, Wax, Justin Figueroa, and a lot more. I tend to luck out and work with a lot of artist right before they blow…maybe I just have a good ear, who knows?
FN: How did Project Generation D start? Who else is involved with running the program besides yourself?
NF: When I moved to LA back in 2007, the idea for PGD came about but it just never happened. I even have a folder on my computer dating back to like April of 2007 with a business plan, budgets, and ideas, for the program. When I moved back to Georgia back in November I decided that getting the program off the ground was my 2010 goal. I was actually aiming to launch it this fall, but once word got out about what I was trying to it really took off, I landed a couple of contracts and things got to rolling. As of right now, PGD is just myself. My wife has also helped out with a lot of PR. I have some folks that I work with that I am looking to bring on board this fall when I secure some more contracts, trying to get those Obama tax credits for hiring new employees
FN: The U.S. has been cutting education costs (esp. in music programs). How does this affect your program (if at all)?
NF: Surprisingly, thus far it has actually helped me. Since districts are cutting back on music and art programs in school, they can actually have a PGD program in their school for a fraction of the cost it takes to pay a teacher’s yearly salary plus benefits. Music is every important to across the nation in education, there are actually education standards in most states that call for children to create and write their own music, so I am just trying to fill that empty void.
FN: What are some obstacles you have experienced while getting your program off the ground? Is there more work involved than you imagined?
NF: I am actually really big on visualization and law of attraction, so I have actually been writing down goals, ideas and thinking on what I wanted the program to be. So when I starting putting action behind these ideas (getting incorporated, making the website/blog, etc.) things just flowed very naturally. It is definitely a lot of work involved, but I have worked with kids for 7 years and been making music for nearly 10, so this is what I love to do so the work I put into it really doesn’t seem all that bad.
FN: Tell me a bit about your students and the process in enrolling in PGD.
NF: So far, the program is a sites where kids already are, such as high schools, Boys and Girls Clubs and other similar sites, so if the kids are interested, they just come on the days I am at their site.
FN: Which do you prefer more....working with your students or producing tracks for artists? (yes, I'm putting you on the spot...LOL)
NF: I like working with the students better. It is far more rewarding helping someone else learn and making strides towards their dreams of creating music. Don’t get me wrong, I love producing but seeing a kid’s face light up when they grasp a concept that it took me maybe years to learn is awesome. Plus, a lot of these kids don’t have the best family situation, so this is like their daily escape and you can see it in their faces. A lot of them even told me they never thought they would ever have the chance to do what they are doing, so that alone makes it all worth it.
FN: How do you feel about the current state of the recorded music industry?
NF: The music industry is forever evolving and that is cool, I am just not too big on it. The deeper I got into it, the more I was turned off by it. I even tell the kids that there are more jobs in the industry than rapper or singer, and that being behind the scenes isn’t a bad thing, and they will have longevity as entertainment attorney’s, managers, booking agents, etc. and they will make better money.
FN: I saw you perform in L.A. before I moving to London and you had passion for what you were doing. What are your plans as an artist?
NF: That is a tricky question. I am working on my first and solo album, and sometimes I am really into it and sometimes I am not really into it any more. Music took me a lot of places I never really dreamed about 5 years ago. I have been in magazines, on national TV, toured Brazil, did major shows in major venues in L.A., etc., but I am also smart about things, I wasn’t making a lot of money and it got to the point to where starting PGD was really weighing heavy on my heart because I knew that everything I did musically was just a foundation for what I am doing now and will do. PGD is my calling.
FN: How do you balance being a father/husband along with producing music and running a creative technology program? In my head, it seems impossible....
NF: I guess when you do what you are meant to do, it is effortless. By starting my music program, it frees up a lot more time in my day then I wouldn’t otherwise have if I settled for a 9-5. Since I have control of my days, it allows me to spend a lot of time with the family, work on music and teach. It is really the perfect situation for me.
FN: Where do you see PGD in five years? Where do you see yourself in five years?
NF: I see it being on a national level like the Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, etc. and even on an international level. We are actually planning on doing a month long workshop down in Rio De Janerio this November, which will hopefully be the start of workshops and seminars around the world in cities with large hip-hop communities.
FN: Last but not least....your World Cup 2010 prediction.
NF: Brazil! I have been a Brazil football fan since 1998 when I saw Ronaldo work his magic, ever since then I was hooked. Plus I love the country and I even have been mistaken for a Brazilian a few times, so I have to roll with them. I wouldn’t sleep on Argentina this year either though!