Adrian Younge Quotes

Adrian Younge is an American composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is known for his work in creating soulful and cinematic music, blending elements of classic soul, funk, and jazz. Younge's musical talent and his ability to create nostalgic and evocative soundscapes have made him a recognized figure in the contemporary music scene.

To me, recording with live instruments and tape takes things back to an older sound that I like but that's still fresh.

I'm a film composer, but I'm a hip-hop guy.... -Adrian Younge

I'm a film composer, but I'm a hip-hop guy.

Having Ghost and Raekwon together on multiple tracks is almost like cheating because they fit so well together. Their chemistry is undeniable, and they clearly make each other better.

I know all my different formulas to get certain sounds. I've been doing this so long that I don't experiment anymore. Or let me rephrase: I've been doing this so long that I don't have to experiment as much. You always want to evolve and change, but if I go in and I know it's a certain type of song, I know exactly where I'm going to place the mics.

'Luke Cage' came out in 1972 at the height of the blaxploitation era. It was a literary response to this notion of blaxploitation movies. It was the first time in American culture that Hollywood was embracing black movies.

I'd never record digitally. It's not because its' a horrible way to record, it's just not the best way to record my music, because my music is rawer, darker and a little more nostalgic.

It's the ownership of what's off that's the beauty... -Adrian Younge

It's the ownership of what's off that's the beauty in art. Its not about being exactly perfect.

I'm a hip hop dude who loves scoring for film.... -Adrian Younge

I'm a hip hop dude who loves scoring for film.

It's important for a young black kid to see a Mexi... -Adrian Younge

It's important for a young black kid to see a Mexican hero, just to know that we're all equal.

I basically wake up at five in the morning and grab coffee and just get to the studio. And I have a list of things I need to get done every day. Sometimes it's just mixing, sometimes it's actually writing, sometimes it's writing, recording, and mixing. It all depends on what is necessary that day.

Like with me, like around '97, for Christmas my parents bought me an MPC 2000 sampler and a little eight-track cassette recorder. And I started sampling records and, you know, producing hip-hop beats. And it got to the point where I realized - I innately realized that the music I liked the most was made by people that played instruments.

It's important to the world to see superheroes tha... -Adrian Younge

It's important to the world to see superheroes that are spread across our demographic.

I want listeners to feel as though they went throu... -Adrian Younge

I want listeners to feel as though they went through an experience.

Luke Cage is seen in 'Jessica Jones,' but he doesn't really come into his own until the 'Luke Cage' series. That's when you really see who he is.

I like golden-era hip-hop because they were recording on a 2-inch tape. There was dirty, raw sampling. It's nasty. It has a vibe to it.

When people make the educated argument that things should go back, it's more like going back to a feeling they had when they heard some of the music that came out. Not going back to that music being rehashed. That's stupid.

When you're recording live, really good vintage instruments onto two-inch tape, it's the best fidelity you can get.

I don't like to focus on just hip-hop because with hip-hop, I can only do so much; with a vocalist, I can only do so much, but the limitations are varying.

I always say to people that I left hip-hop in '97, meaning that I departed from listening to predominately hip-hop and just started really getting into records from the late '60s, early '70s. And once I made that change, I realized how much great music was made back in the day, and it started to become apparent how much we've lost in music.

When I did 'Venice Dawn,' there were times where p... -Adrian Younge

When I did 'Venice Dawn,' there were times where people would cry after listening to it.

Sometimes, a concept is needed to spark myself and the vocalist; sometimes a concept isn't necessary for that spark. It all depends on the moment, because I don't want to be that dude that every album has to be this story or that story.

As a freelance artist, you have to please somebody instead of just making music. But when the employer trusts and leans on you to determine what is right for a scene or feeling, that's ideal.

I have a J.D., but I'm not a practicing attorney a... -Adrian Younge

I have a J.D., but I'm not a practicing attorney as far as entertainment law goes.

When Curtis Mayfield made 'Super Fly,' he used the... -Adrian Younge

When Curtis Mayfield made 'Super Fly,' he used the lyric to make a statement.

I can't do too much musical movement with a lot of MC's, because they don't know how to follow me. But with Souls of Mischief, I could go anywhere because they are musicians - they rap as musicians, and they play instruments and produce, so they get that.

We love high-end art, but when you're looking at high-end art in music, a lot of the time, it's appreciated academically, but you can't feel it as much.

As me being somebody that makes arguably nostalgic music, I cannot stand when somebody tries to make old music just to sound old.

I've always been a big fan of Kendrick's, but it's different when you hear him on your own production.

When you get older, you try to get what you wanted as a kid. Maybe you wanted an arcade in your house or Q-Tip rapping on your beats.

Change the sound. Make people rethink what they're... -Adrian Younge

Change the sound. Make people rethink what they're doing. That's what I really wanna do.

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