I absolutely love the Waves OneKnob series. She later removed the tweets and told her followers that the "party is over.". Craig Kallman, the head of Atlantic Records, called me in 2017, and said, “Hey man, we signed Cardi B, and we want you to mix her album. However, my process and the way I’m driven is mostly about feel. Tonight (Feb. 10), Bardi takes home the award for Best Rap Album at the 2019 Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif. What would you tell people who are looking to be better music producers at home? I feel like vocals are the most important part of the song. Do you have a favorite song on Invasion of Privacy in terms of the way you mixed it? The new Netflix star currently has six songs on the Billboard Hot 100. “So sorry, had to come make some tweaks on a Pharrell mix upstairs in my room!” the message says. But she gave me space to work and do my thing. So it had all their vocals, and then the track itself was a replay of a sample. — Cardi B. Cardi B was born Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar on Oct. 11, 1992 in New York City, N.Y. She released her first No. When we were trying to hook up at the National Association of Music Merchants show, I had my laptop with me and was mixing a Pharrell song for the upcoming Pokémon movie soundtrack in my hotel room. What do Cardi B’s session files look like for Invasion of Privacy? In general, the thing is, I like music, but I’m not a particular fan of the music industry. In the post-Grammys glow, he talks with The Verge about what a mix engineer does, what it was like to work with Cardi B on Invasion of Privacy, and he shares some of his favorite studio tips, tricks, and plug-ins. I just had to be a mixer. They do have control over the basic EQ bands like lows, mids, and highs, but when it leaves my hands, the mix and the blend and the relationship between the vocals and the instruments, that’s what you’re hearing. Voice Of God is my go-to. Once the artist and the musicians and the producers and everyone gets together and records all the material, I have to sift through everything and make decisions like which vocal take is the best? Within a year of its release, every song on the album has reached Gold status or higher. Cardi’s latest single, “Money,” sits at No. What plug-ins are your favorites to help achieve that? It’s a plug-in for low-end shaping, and it’s amazing on basses, kicks, and 808s. I saw that mentality in the ‘90s. And then I just like “Ring” because Kehlani combined with that record sounds so good. UPDATE 8/29/19: Cardi, following her reflection on the Invasion of Privacy success, responded to several people on Twitter. I was an unpaid intern, but I had full access to the studio. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. A little bit, yes. Turning stuff up, turning stuff down, adding a little lower end, adding a little high end. I know I’m done when I start asking too many questions and second-guessing my decisions. Simple and to the point. Before I knew it, I was mixing. On my album I showed different sides of me.From my intro talking about my pass.To living my best life inspiring people.Relationship songs while I was going thru my own relationship drama to shaking ass like Bodak & that ASS .Every song went platinum! I could probably say that about most of the songs I mix. And so I like that buffer between me and all the BS. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. Leslie Brathwaite is the mix engineer for Invasion of Privacy A push of a button saves your session. You just have to make sure there’s compensation and credit for their songwriting, but you don’t have to clear the actual use. I’m not interested in technical readouts. When I took the tour with my dad, I was like, “This is where I want to be.” I felt like I was home, seeing all the buttons and the boards and the speakers. So the physical use of an assistant went away for me. THANK YOU EVERYONE THAT SUPPORTED ME AND LISTEN. Anitta’s Single “Me Gusta” Featuring Cardi B & Myke Towers is OUT NOW September 18, 2020; Cardi B has BROKEN the RECORD for MOST Monthly Listeners by a Female Rapper on Spotify September 15, 2020; Cardi B & Megan thee Stallion’s “WAP” Debuts on Billboard’s Global 200 Charts September 14, 2020 You can’t teach that, and you can’t buy that. By the next day, these murmurs grew into a full-on scream leading Cardi to explain her work ethic. I work hard for my motherfuckin' album. If an instrument needs tuning or if somebody can’t sing that well, I can help fix that up a little. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity. Basic concepts can make things sound good. I love anything visual. That’s probably the most common one, where people are yelling into microphones or into pre-amps or the recording engineer just didn’t understand what type of level needed to be set for the incoming audio. If I had to narrow it down to one plug-in, I would choose Little Labs Voice Of God. It contributes to a better product because I don’t spend half my time trying to perfect things. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 26: Offset (L) and Cardi B during the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards at STAPLES Center on January 26, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. And Bruce was Michael Jackson’s mix engineer. When you’re deciding if something is perfect and you’re going to move on, are you relying on technical tools like spectrum analyzers or a gut instinct? Normally, I would boost at a lower frequency, but this needed to have punch and feel more like a kick drum. I listen to my album and I cry because I know the hell I went thru doing the album is always a bittersweet memory. This coverage continued when the rapper decided to explain on Twitter the effort she put into making Invasion of Privacy. 1 single, "Bodak Yellow," in 2017 for which she earned her first two GRAMMY nominations at the 60th GRAMMY Awards. Do you have a home studio, or do you work out of a professional studio? When I won Nipsey said on a comment to me WHEN IS YOUR TIME IS YOUR TIME! Even a lot of pop like Ariana Grande or Beyoncé has a hip-hop drift, so the kicks and the 808s and the bass all have to work really well together. Second, it’s to make everything on an album sound consistent. 13 while “I Like It” featuring J. Balvin and Bad Bunny is at No. Even in the case of stuff that I get from new artists like Lil Uzi Vert, sometimes the fix and the way to really make something sound good is to revert to primal mixing. What exactly does a mix engineer do, and why is your job necessary for a song or album? And that’s my honest-to-god approach. © 2020 Complex Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Sure. I remove mistakes or strong S’s. There were times when we would actually take physical Polaroids of the gear and keep them in a folder. She didn’t care how tired she was. [Laughs] Yeah! Some people are stuck all the way in the technical, and then some people are stuck all the way in the feels and the vibes. Those are my two favorite mixes, and they were coincidentally the first two records I mixed on the album. Every song is gold or platinum or higher. As you can tell, I’m a minimalist. Or when things advanced a little bit and most of the consoles had recall systems, the assistant would be the one to save all the recall information or recall the mix when I needed to bring it back up. Once I get the vocals sounding to where I love, then I go to the drums. I assume they rerecorded for “I Like It” because of sample rights? We didn’t have this. And what I mean by that is when people depend too much on plug-ins and are always waiting for the new software pack to come out. The trend in the industry was that people wanted specialized things. A lot of times, the song in its raw form can’t really communicate what it’s trying to communicate unless things are put in the right context. That just makes it convoluted. I went from being an intern to an assistant engineer and then from an assistant engineer to a recording engineer. What’s the most common recording mistake you see when you get audio to mix? That’s the kind of stuff I tend to avoid. That was my exchange. Let me clarify. I use their Renaissance line, the de-esser and compressor, their SSL plug-ins, and their H-Delay. The History Behind Cardi B. Cardi B, whose real name is Belcalis Almanzar, was born and raised in The Bronx. When the audio goes through that particular plugin, it kind of smoothes things out.