December 11th, you got something major going on?
ADV: So yea, December 11th Bando Beatz, a company I’m a part owner of, is hosting Atlanta’s first official beat auction, hosted by Skygod Spence. The auction will be live streamed on IG, Twitch and Clubhouse. Originally it was supposed to be an in person event, but due to COVID we decided to make it virtual to protect our team and all the producers involved.
Taking precaution is beneficial. I think this is a really dope idea. Who are all the producers that will be auctioning off beats?
ADV: The producers are Losif Stalin, SK808, Wavy Wallace, MTRSPRT, and Popstar Benny are the producers for the first one. In the future we plan on having more than 5 producers and the list will have a few more big names along with ones who are on the come up.
What is/was your inspiration for the beat auction? How did the idea begin?
ADV: I came up with this idea in 2016 after winning a few beat battles/showcases and not feeling fulfilled all the way. I felt like the interaction between the artists and producers during the events could have been more streamlined to make real connections.
What are your goals for the beat auction?
ADV: I think my goal for the auction is to break the barriers between bigger name artists/producers and underground artist/producers. For ex: A up and coming artist would have a chance to get a Sonny Digital beat or and up and coming producer could sell a beat to an artist like 6lack. But I think overall I just wanted to create an environment void of politics.
How has it been challenging?
ADV: The biggest challenge at first was finding a venue. But we ended up getting a commercial space this year so that made it much easier. Also with COVID it made it easier to make the auction virtual since Versus has been successful and with the invention of Clubhouse it’s also easier to connect people without certain barriers.
I watched your interview w/ Skygod Spence (who is hosting the show) and he mentioned you were primarily a producer and now you're moving into a different version of your art. Can you tell me a little about that? And your new album, "I'll Be Ready"?
ADV: So, what we were talking about in that part of the interview was the fact that people are just now seeing my artistry but I’ve been singing, rapping ect since I started producing. I was in a group in high school and had hella different names, I’ve released 6 projects minus my recent one. My first solo album was meditation album in 2014 lol I had so many different version of my sound and I didn’t really have it in a form that made it digestible for listeners. I just found the balance of all of what I do on this last album, thus where the name came from. It’s really the part two of the series “When I Feel Like It, I'll Be Ready”. I dropped the first part of that in 2019 and it’s the start to me figuring “it” out.
This is all sounding like you're at a beautiful place in developing and expressing your artistry. After the beat auction is there more we should expect?
ADV: And I appreciate it! For the last quarter of this year and first quarter next year, I’ll be releasing a few videos from “I’ll Be Ready” and executive producing a few albums coming out of Bando Beatz. My next album isn’t coming until 2022.
Anything else you'd like to say to those reading?
ADV: The only thing else I want to tell people is to focus on their own peace and happiness in these times. Shit crazy!
photography: eastside.bizz