Excerpts from my interview with Producer, Jim Jonsin

For those who don't know much about Jim Jonsin, here are some clips from my interview with him. If you enjoyed Jamie Foxx's lead single, "Unpredictable", Jim Jonsin was the producer for that Smash hit...

Every producer has a different answer for the job specifications of what they do… how does Jim Jonsin define the word producer?

I define the job specifications of a producer as artist development, taking a track from nothing and building a unique idea for it. I don’t just make beats to hand out to the artists, I really like to work with them. Although I do end up just sending out beats depending on schedules, I prefer to be in the studio, coming up with the concept, all the way down to the mix. Arranging for different instruments to be placed on tracks, and assigning different writers to work on those tracks. It’s all about place the right people together to make it a song, instead of just placing a rapper or a singer on a track and hope that they have what it takes to make it happen. I like to follow through with my work.

What do you think is the biggest misconception of what a producer does?

A lot of people just think that producers are beat-makers. That we just sit at a drum machine with a keyboard, make a beat and get rich off it. It’s not about that at all. It takes a dedicated person to be in the studio at all times of the day, consistently, to baby-sit the song creation. Although some records may happen in a flash, there are records that you really got to work. You might have to work 4 or 5 different choruses or guitar lines until you come up with the right melody. People just think that you can go out there and get a Motif (Popular Keyboard) and then they can just bang out beats like a Jim Jonsin. It’s not that easy, although I don’t want to discourage anyone, so please go out there and get that Motif, because this is a beautiful job to have for the hardest of workers out there.

If you would like to read more of this interview, stop back through... and as it is posted online and printed, I will document it on this blog...

Stay strong and motivated