Photo by Alex Brown.
YoungBoy Never Broke Again recently earned his third No. 1 album in less than a year with his latest release, Top. YoungBoy moved an impressive 126,000 equivalent album units in his first week, surpassing expectations for a rapper who has a huge following but doesn’t do much press. To learn more about the album, we talked to Trauma Tone who produced YoungBoy “Cross Roads.”
Trauma Tone first got into music back in 2002, when his cousin Bump introduced him to FL Studio. He spent the next 10 years developing his sound and production skills, and caught his first break in 2013 producing Chief Keef’s “Blew My High.” He would later produce songs for the likes of Yo Gotti, YNW Melly, and Shy Glizzy. Genius caught up with Trauma Tone over the phone to discuss his work on YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s “Cross Roads,” how he draws inspiration from movies, and his advice to young producers.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Interview by shy ink.
Genius: What’s the origin of your producer name?
Trauma Tone: I really gave myself that name, my family and friends always called me Tone. I put Trauma on there because I felt like that’s what my beats represented. It was like pain music and something that can be stuck with you, something you wouldn’t forget, traumatic.
How did you get involved with the YoungBoy project?
Trauma Tone: That happened through a friend of mine called Suede the Remix God. We made that beat probably last summer. From there we just cooked up different joints. I had just got out of the hospital like a few days ago, but the first two days I was in there, he text me and was like, “Man we got a placement with NBA YoungBoy” and he sent me the beat and I was like, “That’s a beat from like a year ago, that’s crazy.”
So, when you were making the beat to “Cross Roads,” you had no idea who it would end up with?
Trauma Tone: Yeah, that’s how I always cook up. I don’t ever have anybody in mind, I’m just tryna make some dope vibes so I can blow [the minds] of whatever artist hears it.
Do you remember much about the session?
Trauma Tone: I remember I had pre-played some of the chords over a melody with a guitarist named Seph. He sent me a pack of guitar loops and I had just played some chords over it. I came to Atlanta and met with Suede [The Remix God], that was one of the first beats we did. I played it for him and he was just like, “This is dope, let’s build on it.”
And it was only a few days before the release that you found out it was on the album?
Trauma Tone: Yeah, it’s crazy.
NBA YoungBoy has managed to build a strong fanbase without doing a lot of press or extra things outside of the music. Why do you think his fans are so loyal?
Trauma Tone: His music to me is like the blues, it’s like pain, and it’s soulful. The vibe that he gives off on his music man, people in his age group and my age group can relate to it. It’s a dope soundtrack to whatever situation you’re in. Whether you’re riding, just dope vibes, when you’re in the club, he’s got songs that go crazy. He’s got music for every situation.
It’s crazy you said that because before when you were talking about your name and where the Trauma came from, it almost fits his aesthetic because you kinda get that feeling in some of his records, they just hit your chest.
Trauma Tone: Definitely, I think that’s why I relate to his music as well and artists like him. That’s the type of music that I like. I just like real sh-t man, I like to hear stories and hear what’s going on in somebody’s mind because that’s really where you get to unlock a person through their music. That’s why he doesn’t need to do interviews because he puts it all on the line in his music.
I watched an interview you did back in 2014 and you were giving advice to up and coming producers and you suggested getting beats out through as many avenues as possible. Now that it’s 2020, has your approach changed?
Trauma Tone: Honestly not really. I feel like the best way to break yourself out as a producer would be to find a new artist, reach out to artists in the industry, or artists on the come up. You know you got websites like Airbit and Beatstars where you can sell beats. A lot of people are using YouTube now to put their beats on there. A lot of labels find producers like that as well if I’m not mistaken.
So I still feel the same way, you just gotta put yourself out there. A lot of producers will be making a lot of beats but just sitting there holding onto them and not doing anything with them. You kinda just gotta find your niche and move forward with it.
How do you keep yourself motivated and inspired to reach out to new artists?
Trauma Tone: I feel like I gotta keep going crazy, keep coming with dope melodies and switching up the drums. I think not being in a box in terms of what I listen to or the type of sound I make when I make beats, that’s what’s going to keep me evolving.
I’m always listening to new music, different genres, and finding inspiration from that. I’ve always been that type of person. Also, movies help me a lot when I’m making beats. For some reason that helps, I watch a lot of horror movies, a lot of suspense-thrillers, and all that type of stuff. Movies that are dope visually always seem to help me.
In terms of classic horror films that you feel like you’ve drawn inspiration from, what would be your top three?
Trauma Tone: Man, off top, I’d say the original Pet Cemetery, a movie called High Tension—I think it was in French—and I’d say a movie called The Descent.
Do you ever play movies without the audio while creating beats in the studio?
Trauma Tone: I do that a lot. The last movie I did that with was a movie called Requiem For A Dream. It’s a drama, but it’s like a real life horror to me. [Laughs.]
So you’ve worked with some dope artists, who’s next on your wishlist?
Trauma Tone: I want to hit some different genres, I want to work with M.I.A. because I feel like she’s a dope artist, I get a lot of inspiration from her concepts. As far as rappers, I’d love to do some sh-t with [Rick] Ross, I like when he does like the hip hop sh-t. I’d like to do a song with Erykah Badu. I’d really like to work with [Young] Thug too, he’s like one of my favorites.
Young Thug is dope and you never know what you’ll get when he jumps on a beat.
Trauma Tone: That’s the crazy thing, I wouldn’t know what the hell he’d do but I know that sh-t would be crazy.
