Photo by Shun Powell
Tae the Don
Tae the Don
Rhythm x Records is a multimedia recording studio owned and operated by Tae the Don. An R&B artist and producer who has worked with both industry and emerging artists, Don has built the space over the last year into what he describes as “home to a strong roster of elite, musically inclined creatives.” Located at 2837 W. Green Tree Rd. near the border of Milwaukee and Glendale, Rhythm x Records is fitted with state-of-the-art equipment that make it a one-stop shop for producing, vocal tracking, mixing, mastering, podcasting, visuals and more.
Tae the Don, real name Ayjante Garry, grew up in a musical family and has always been right at home in the studio setting. “My dad is an organist at Holy Redeemer and he also writes music with the choir, so since I was a kid I have been going to the studio,” he recalls.
Growing up singing in the church, Don got interested in the AV department there, and that became his foray into beat production. He continues, “I would take beats I made and put lyrics to them, but it was never something where I thought I would become an artist; I was just doing it for fun. I started sending samples out to my family and they encouraged me to pursue it, and that’s when I started doing it more.”
Entrepreneurial Spirit
Don did poetry in high school and began making music as a rapper. As he continued his journey into self-taught production he learned to mix and record other artists. He would make money selling shoes or fixing phones and computers as well, fostering his entrepreneurial spirit from a young age. After graduating from high school, Don got into a serious car accident that rendered him immobile for a period of time. The tragic event halted his plans to attend college at Marquette University but ultimately ended up leading him in a different direction. “I took a leap of faith and decided to pursue what I really wanted to do, which was music,” he reflected. “It took a long time for me to figure everything out, but I really had a passion for it and grew it into something that I never would’ve expected.”
|
|
Fast forward six years later, Rhythm x Records was launched last October and is now the third official space Tae the Don has had. His previous studio, located in the Lincoln Warehouse, was known as Tae the Don Productions. Rhythm x Records occupies a building that is completely theirs; the music-oriented half of the space is Rhythm x Records while the other half, Pixel Visionaries, focuses on visuals. Running the space alongside Tae the Don is filmmaker, photographer and makeup artist Shun Powell, owner of sci-fi/horror film production company ShunPFilms.
“My ultimate goal for the studio is to eventually have my own record label,” Don said. “That’s kind of where the name Rhythm x Records came from; it explains everything altogether about how we create here. Music is rhythm-based, and we’re creating records that have effort and meaning behind them.”
Starting rates for creatives are $35 an hour for consultations, $50 an hour for studio sessions, and $70 for two hours for space rentals. Producers can work with the studio’s equipment or bring their own equipment, artists may bring in their own engineers and vice versa, podcasters may record their shows in the space, and songs may be mixed and mastered even if they were recorded elsewhere. The studio’s website is designed to be as welcoming and trustworthy as possible, even including a full list of equipment available as well as an FAQ section. “I’m big on presentation, and as a business owner I try to eliminate the need to ask questions,” Don explains. “I want people to know what they’re getting into from the beginning.”
Creatives can and should cross-utilize the space’s resources as well. “When you walk in, you see the photo area first,” he continued. “It becomes a conversation starter where we can talk about Pixel Visionaries. We know what it’s like not to have many resources while you’re coming up, and that’s why we want to be a production house where you can get anything done that you need to get done.”
In future plans, Tae the Don hopes to soon expand his team within the space as well as potentially tap into a new market such as Atlanta. His latest single “For Me” was released on February 24.
On what he’s learned through launching the new studio, Don said, “Everything goes wrong (laughs). You can have an idea or vision of how you want stuff done but a lot of times it won’t happen like that, and that forces you to adapt. That’s a good thing though, because if everything went the way you planned it then it wouldn’t be as exciting. Don’t be afraid to explore and branch out a little bit; those one-off things might work in your favor.”
For booking and inquiries, visit Rhythm x Records’ website at rhythmxrecords.com or email booking@sonicastudios.org. For Tae the Don’s music, visit his Linktree.
