He makes the sounds.
A young Harlem-based music artist and producer Evan Brown is rising in the hip-hop music industry as a sound maker. He is no newbie to music, having began playing the piano since eight years old. He recently released his downloadable all-instrumental album, “E is for Excellence,” compiling a variety of his sound creations to introduce his work to the world and other artists, he said.
“I like to introduce my work by showing my craft and how I can impact the culture,” said Brown. “The album has all of my instruments and it’s me playing the piano, sampling, and there’s hard drums.”
He explained that the title behind the compilation was a reminder of his drive as an up-and-coming producer, and what he strived to attain.
“My name is Evan and excellence is the standard I put for myself — everything you see or hear from me is going to be excellent and I want to show that I’m passionate at it,” he said.
Originally from the Bronx and of Jamaican and Panamanian descent, the young prodigy set sight on music at an early age and started producing music professionally at 16. He studied at Syracuse University and Finger Lakes Community College in Rochester, New York, where he started to focus more on music. Initially studying music as a minor, Brown says he was proud that he made the switch to his major because there were times when he doubted his artistry.
“There was a time when I couldn’t make beats and wasn’t good at music producing,” he said. “So I just locked myself in and honed in on what I wanted to do. I worked hard for it and now it’s coming to fruition and I have so much more to go.”
And he has scored quite the luck for himself. He snagged an internship working with P. Diddy at Bad Boy Records, getting to work with artists such as Fat Joe, Dave East, and Shaliek Rivers. Brown also gained the attention of major music networks BET and MTV, having been featured in some programming.
Inspired by famous producers such as Diddy and Bryan Michael Cox who serve as his primary exemplar, Brown said getting the opportunity to meet his idols was rewarding. When he had the pleasure of meeting Cox, he was thrilled to learn that a major influence was familiar with his work.
“The first time I met Bryan he already knew who I was,” said Brown. “That was a priceless moment and I couldn’t tell you how I felt. He told me he was trying to make his own productions like mine, and I really look up to him so it was an amazing feeling.”
Working as a producer full-time, Brown runs his own production company called Key Majors, which he co-founded with fellow musician and producer, J. Track. He just completed a project with Bravo TV, for their reality-television show “First Family of Hip-Hop.”
But making beats is not all Brown does. Having various talents, he has big ambitions for his career.
“I really want people to know when they listen to my music that I play multiple instruments — the drums, piano, trumpet,” he said. “I want people to know that I’m not just a producer and I don’t just make beats — I make all types of musical beats.”
Brown said he can see a Grammy in his future, and was working on a musical tour set for Brooklyn this September.
