Phoenix With The Flames

Hello World! I hope you're just as excited as I am for this journey, because it's going to be one hell of a show! In the music world, I go by "Phoenix WTF", or just "Phoenix" for short. 27 years of age, I am a professional hip-hop artist, music producer, mixing engineer, mastering engineer, and multi-instrumentalist. Besides hip-hop, my favorite genres of music include: rock, classical, 1930's, 1940's, EDM, R&B, and many more.

My music curiosities began at the age of 6. I was writing rhymes that early into my childhood. I recorded my first song at the age of 12, saved up and bought my first recording setup when I was 14, and the rest is history! It's always difficult when you're striving for greatness in such a vast and opportunistic field. Many doubts arise, and the criticism and pressure that you place on yourself becomes overbearing at times. Keeping my eyes on the prize has always been my inspiration when I need to pull myself out of a mental hole. I have watched and listened to my music grow as I have grown. As I have matured, so has my music. That's how I keep my learning curve on the up & up. I find new ways to better myself so that my music can progress as well.

Yes! It's definitely a thrill ride when you're performing in front of a live audience. The unknowns constantly play in your head, like, "Are they going to feel me? Am I going to mess up? Are they going to like my music?" It's daunting! But once you rock it just ONCE, you're always looking forward to your next performance, like, "Yeah, I can do this! I can kill it every time..." I remember - - When I was in my teens, I was part of a rap group and we had a performance one night. After they performed a few songs, I noticed that the crowd wasn't really feeling it. Like, they weren't engaged like they could be, you know? So, what did I do? I grabbed the mic after they cut the song and just started SPITTIN'! Dropped a mean freestyle and the crowd went CRAZY! I couldn't have us leave the stage with a weak performance. So, I just did what had to be done.

When it comes to hip-hop, Eminem! He is my BIGGEST influence. Hands down. Lol. He's the G.O.A.T. Right along side of him is Dr. Dre, Scott Storch, and Jay-Z. In no specific order, my other influences include: Royce Da 5'9, Nas, YelaWolf, Black Thought, Rapsody, The Game, Miley Cyrus, Drake, Pusha T, Mobb Deep, and many more. As far as music in general, The Donnas - specifically Alison Robertson - actually inspired me to learn how to play guitar. And I've been playing ever since. Other influences include: Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, BB King, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Steve Krenz, Tony Royster, Neil Peart, Graham Cochrane, etc. Too many to name!

Mid-2012 Macbook Pro (10.14.6), 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7, 16GB Ram Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro's (250 Ohm's) Reference 4 Systemwide MOTU 1248 Daking Mic Pre One Microphone Amp Custom MXL 990 from Michael Joly Engineering Mogami Gold Cables (for everything) Seagate 1TB Hard Drive (for backups) Kali LP 6's Furman SS-6B Pro Tools 12 Logic 10.5.1

*All of my beats/mixes are professionally mixed around -6.0 dBFS as to leave plenty of headroom for mastering. This simply means that my beats won't sound as loud as the other competitors. HOWEVER, this tried and true method ensures optimal recording quality, and a finished product like no other! Cheers! I wish everyone the best in their musical journeys! :)