If you’ve heard a pop song in the last two decades, odds are you’ve been witness to the work of our guest this week.
Kuk Harrell is the vocal producer in the music business. He’s won 5 Grammy awards, and has worked with nearly every superstar making music today. Including Rihanna, Beyonce, Shakira, Justin Bieber, and Jennifer Lopez, just to name a few.
We got the chance to sit down with Kuk to learn how he became the go-to vocal producer in the music industry. His journey took him all over the country, through several different industries.
Kuk joins us to tell his story, on this episode of The Big Break.
You can follow Kuk on Instagram and Twitter
Show Notes
1:33Growing up in Chicago, Illinois
2:50Learning guitar and drums, and being honest with yourself
3:40Charles Stepney
4:42What kind of music did you listen to growing up?
6:26What happened after you made the decision to go into music production?
6:50How McDonalds helped enhance Kuk’s understanding of the Music Industry
8:51Making jingles at Joy Art Music in Chicago
10:42Moving to LA
11:47Taking a break from the music scene to explore the spiritual
14:23Joining up with Tricky Stewart and pursuing the secular side of music again
16:14Tricky move to Atlanta and gets involved with the music scene there
17:30Learning about the different Vocal Production players
18:30Umbrella for Rihanna
19:40“There’s a difference between a demo, and a record.”
20:00How familiar were you with the equipment when you came back to the music scene?
20:50The story of how “Umbrella” came to be
23:35Doing what you do, because you love doing what you do.
26:20Learning to let projects go if they don’t feel right
28:18With Umbrella made, what was the next step to get it out?
29:30Flying to LA and cutting the record for Rihanna
29:55How did your day change after the record blew up?
31:30Do you get a sense of pride knowing that you had such a personal touch to such an iconic
record?
33:40So how did your professional life change?
35:20The power of word-of-mouth
36:30“Don’t be a jack-of-all-trades, become an expert”
37:00How do you recommend people go about learning what to specialize in?
40:05What do you think artists today should focus on?
42:38Has your approach to vocal producing changed over the years?
45:03Letting the artist be who the artist is
47:25What are some of your techniques when you are struggling to get things flowing?
48:05Disconnecting from the mindset of “I gotta make money.”
49:10Do you have any advice for your younger self?
52:10Core Ent Management, and how Kuk is helping to cultivate the future of music.
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