{"id":5069,"date":"2012-02-29T01:30:19","date_gmt":"2012-02-29T08:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=5069"},"modified":"2012-02-29T01:30:43","modified_gmt":"2012-02-29T08:30:43","slug":"sean-garrett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2012\/02\/sean-garrett\/","title":{"rendered":"SEAN GARRETT"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"SEAN GARRETT\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Does this R&B hitmaker want to change the world through music? Yeah! \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Michael Gallant<\/strong><\/p>\n

Atlanta native Sean Garrett grew up the son of an Army man, moving along with his family to wherever his father might be stationed. Everywhere he found himself, including a variety of military bases across England and Germany, young Garrett had his ears wide open. \u201cLiving abroad and listening to so many variations of music in different cultures gave me the sensibility to mix what I know,\u201d he says. \u201cUrban music is in my blood, but growing up abroad gave me the pop sensibility as well. I can always say that pop music is in my blood, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Garrett entered his first recording deal as an artist in Europe at age 15, he found his mainstream break stateside in 2004, less than a year after signing as a songwriter for Antonio \u201cL.A.\u201d Reid\u2019s Hitco Music Publishing. Garrett\u2019s edgy crunk-R&B hybrid \u201cYeah!\u201d was an international hit for Usher, Lil Jon and Ludacris that year. Following a string of further songwriting hits, he moved on to handle production for artists including Diddy, Chris Brown, Nelly, Lionel Richie, Gwen Stefani, Jesse McCartney, the Pussycat Dolls, Enrique Iglesias, Plies, Kelly Rowland, Trey Songz, Kelis, Fantasia and others; he was working on tracks for Michael Jackson when\u00a0the legendary singer died.<\/p>\n

Garrett recently presided over the diva summit \u201cLove a Woman,\u201d by Mary J. Blige and Beyonc\u00e9; his multiple collaborations with the latter earned him his nickname, \u201cThe Pen,\u201d bestowed by the singer\u2019s husband, Jay-Z. Most recently he\u2019s been at work on R&B star Brandy\u2019s upcoming sixth effort. Garrett aspires to join the pantheon of multifaceted mega-producer icons that inspired him\u2014masters like Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones\u2014yet he harbors no illusions about what it takes to get there. \u201c\u2018Icon\u2019 is not a title you can give yourself,\u201d acknowledges Garrett, who plans to release his own second solo album in 2012. \u201cI just hope that my fans, peers and community look at me as such one day. But at the end of the day, I\u2019m just focusing on working as hard as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

How is working with Brandy?<\/strong><\/p>\n

She\u2019s one artist who I\u2019ve been longing to collaborate with. I\u2019ve always admired her voice, tone and delivery on records. She\u2019s just amazing, and she\u2019s lived up to everything I\u2019ve expected her to be. The album is phenomenal, and I feel like her voice has gotten even sweeter.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How have you approached it?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I crafted her records from the perspective of making them fit her like a glove, but also fitting exactly what\u2019s going on right now. Sometimes you want to lead your artist forward and get them more of a futuristic sound, but that wasn\u2019t my goal. I wanted to remind everyone of what she\u2019s done in the past, and allow her to reintroduce herself in such a way that people will say, \u201cWe\u2019re so glad she\u2019s back\u201d\u2014but also feel as though she was never really gone. As a producer, these are the moments that can define you as a legend. I\u2019m very aware of this opportunity, and I\u2019m taking it very seriously.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Do you feel any pressure?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019d be lying if I said there isn\u2019t a lot of pressure. But if something feels comfortable and organic in the studio, I know it\u2019s right. When you have that feeling, and you know in your heart of hearts that the record feels the way it\u2019s supposed to feel, that\u2019s when the nerves go out the door.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Who are your role models?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis and I worked together on a record for Janet Jackson called \u201cMy Baby,\u201d with Kanye West [2004]. They\u2019re like big brothers, mentors that I look up to. I completely studied their way of doing things. L.A. Reid and Babyface, too\u2014from the songs to the sounds they use, the production, the whole emotion. All four make records that have such dynamics.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You\u2019ve also cited Lionel Richie.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

He took his career from being an artist to being a great songwriter\u2014and not only did he kill it in that vein, he also became a philanthropist, doing records like \u201cWe Are the World\u201d with Michael Jackson [1985]. He reshaped the world through music. Those are things that I have aspirations to do, but I\u2019m just getting started. Where my career is going, it\u2019s not just about doing hits for others, but doing philanthropic things that help my community.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What inspired \u201cYeah!\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Originally I reached out to Lil Jon for some tracks, but his lawyer told me, \u201cLil Jon doesn\u2019t do R&B records.\u201d All I wanted to do was create a record for Usher, but at the time I was a brand-new songwriter and they didn\u2019t know who I was, so it was crazy even trying to get my hands on some tracks. Fortunately I had a relationship with someone who worked for Lil Jon, and she got me 10 tracks from him. One stuck out, so I went into the studio and wrote vocals to it, along with all the Lil Jon parts: \u201cYeah!\u201d \u201cOK!\u201d At that time, Usher needed to do something bigger than life. He needed an event song, and that\u2019s what I was trying to create.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How did the label react?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I played it for L.A. [Reid, then president of Arista Records], his reaction was, \u201cI can\u2019t see my superstar doing a record with Lil Jon.\u201d And at that time it was sort of a strange pairing\u2014Lil Jon was crunk and Usher was so polished, like a modern-day Michael Jackson. I understood where he was coming from, but as a creative person I\u2019m putting chemicals together. I\u2019m not looking at the politics or the marketing. From the raw talent perspective, this really worked. L.A. allowed me to cut the record, and once that happened it was magical\u2014though there was still some resistance. They already had the entire album ready to roll and had a whole concept around it. But Lil Jon leaked the song and stations wouldn\u2019t stop playing it. They even got cease-and-desist orders from the label but \u201cYeah!\u201d was already huge by then.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What do you recall about Michael?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We were working together just before he passed. We were talking about new records for his upcoming album. From that first moment I met Michael, we talked on the telephone every day for five months. He was such a perfectionist. He was always discussing concepts and ideas of where he wanted to go and what he wanted to do. I have a lot of respect for Michael, so I\u2019m going to keep those ideas to myself for now. But I will say this: Some of the ideas and records will come out at some point.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How was producing Beyonc\u00e9 and Mary J. Blige on the same track?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had the joyous opportunity to work with both individually, and it was great to put this record together with the two of them. They\u2019re like family\u2014and their voices are huge. You can tell they honed in on what needed to be done and did an incredible job. They\u2019re very hard workers. They\u2019ll stay in the studio until a song is completely done\u2014as opposed to some artists who take a break, and take another break and another break. Once they\u2019re there, they lock in.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How did you get to know Jay-Z?<\/strong><\/p>\n

He\u2019s always been there when I\u2019ve done records for Beyonc\u00e9, listening to tracks we\u2019ve been working on and giving his thoughts on different things. He\u2019s been there for me as a mentor, offering a blueprint of how to build a business. I\u2019ve learned the do\u2019s and the don\u2019ts of becoming an icon from him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Such as?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do always truly value the opportunities that you\u2019re given. Don\u2019t get so caught up in your own success that you forget how to work, and the importance of working hard. Cherish the moments and work as hard as you possibly can each and every time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Do you prefer using live musicians or programmed tracks?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A combination. I have a team of producers I work with, people like Bangladesh and Hit-Boy. Some of the tracks we create in Logic, some are created with the classic [Akai] MPC\u2014which we still like to use. We try to create different sounds that elevate the artist\u2019s overall sound. With Brandy, we kept the integrity of using piano and a melodic vibe, but we also gave her a brand-new dynamic. We put her on top of beats she had never been heard on. They were more aggressive, risky tracks that would lean more to rap\u2014a lot of singers wouldn\u2019t even approach them. So a few of the records with Brandy will make people reminisce, but on others we want people to say, \u201cThere\u2019s something strange about that, but damn, I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Prefer digital or analog?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are pros and cons to each. Digital is a lot more efficient since you can do so many different things. But I\u2019m a big fan of analog, just because the sound is incomparable. When it comes to sound and warmth, analog is a beautiful thing. There are so many amazing older albums recorded only using analog technology.<\/p>\n

What are your go-to microphones?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s really about the taste of the situation, but lately I\u2019ve been using Sony mics like the C800. With certain voices they can pull out a great deal of highs. Brandy loves that type of mic since it creates a different type of sound. In general, I don\u2019t marry just one piece of equipment. When you marry any one thing you stop growing. You learn about different devices, compressors and mics and use the right ones for each occasion.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How do your roles as artist, songwriter and producer inform each other?<\/strong><\/p>\n

They complement each other, always. You have to be an artist yourself to truly understand the artist mindset. Working as a producer also helps you as a songwriter. And sometimes being an artist helps you as a songwriter\u2014writing a song for another artist is like throwing an alley-oop to another player. You know what it feels like to be on the court, so it gives you a certain type of advantage versus not being an artist. Actually, it gives you a big<\/em> advantage.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SEAN GARRETT\u00a0 \u00a0 Does this R&B hitmaker want to change the world through music? Yeah! \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 By Michael Gallant Atlanta native Sean Garrett grew up the son of an Army man, moving along with his family to wherever his father might be stationed. Everywhere he found himself, including a variety […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[3032,970,3156],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5069"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5069"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5072,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5069\/revisions\/5072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}