Since 2014, the multimedia artist MeLo-X has gone from importing unofficial remixes of Beyoncé songs to turning into one of many celebrity’s regular collaborators. The shift started with the discharge of Yonce-X, an EP on which the Jamaican-American producer born Sean Rhoden reimagined 5 tracks from Beyoncé’s self-titled album. Although MeLo needed to deal with Beyoncé’s label eradicating the venture over copyright claims, the work ultimately discovered its approach to the artist.
After the 2 met, Beyoncé tasked him with designing the intro for her 2014 On the Run tour. “I killed it,” MeLo lately advised DancehallMag. Since then, he’s develop into a daily member of the pop icon’s mind belief. His credit embody co-writing and co-producing her music Sorry and co-writing and singing backup vocals on Hold Up, each from the 2016 album Lemonade; scoring Lemonade’s accompanying movie and 2020’s Black is King; and contributing music to a number of of her reside performances, such because the 2016 Formation World Tour.
Most lately, he equipped Beyoncé with writing and background vocals for MOVE, a music that options Grace Jones and Tems and which made the lower for Beyoncé’s seventh studio album, Renaissance. The album is up for 9 Grammy awards, together with Album of the 12 months and Greatest Dance/Digital Album.
It’s a considerable achievement for MeLo largely as a result of, like many of the music he’s labored on, MOVE accommodates heavy nods to his Jamaican heritage. “I’m at all times placing these seeds of Dancehall and the Caribbean into my stuff,” he stated.
The assorted roles he’s taken on — as a Beyoncé collaborator, as one-half of the music duo Electrical Punanny, and as a solo artist — mirror the dizzying expanse of his artistic pursuits and impulses. Raised in a Jamaican dwelling in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, he started toying with music-making as a baby earlier than branching out into different disciplines like pictures, filmmaking, and artistic route. Although his sound is continually shifting, components of Dancehall, digital, hip-hop, dance, and Afrobeats are frequent touchpoints.
Now, MeLo-X is narrowing his focus to Dancehall for his forthcoming album, code-named MTA. The thought was birthed from some 2020 quarantine classes and a want to create an album with “bangers from high to backside,” he stated. “You understand what it’s? I’m utilizing it as a instrument for me to get my ass to Jamaica extra.”
MeLo-X talked with DancehallMag concerning the origin of MOVE, his collaborative relationship with Beyoncé, and constructing a world out of Dancehall for his upcoming solo venture.
Congrats on the Grammy nominations. How are you feeling coming off of that information?
Good, man. I’ve been working with Beyoncé for about seven years now, so it feels good to nonetheless have some joints on the board together with her. I work on a whole lot of issues for her, so any time one thing comes out and will get nominated, it’s a giant blessing as a result of I’ve actually been an impartial artist for many of my profession — even now.
How’d MOVE come collectively?
It was cool. I’m at all times engaged on songs, commercials, and concepts for her, so once they began engaged on these [Renaissance] classes, I simply began getting hit up with a whole lot of new tracks. Like yo, can you’re employed on this? Are you able to add one thing to this? So at that time, I knew one thing was happening.
I really like MOVE, as a result of it’s that Dancehall, Caribbean music on the album. They acquired Grace Jones on it, Tems, and GuiltyBeatz, who I work with rather a lot. However the model that I did was completely completely different [from what was released.] My model was extra of a deep home monitor.
And to juxtapose with it being home, I used to be pretending like I used to be an previous, Jamaican lady deejay. So I used to be within the background screaming Yow! Yeah, man! Transfer out di method! And I used to be doing that all through the entire monitor. They ended up conserving all of that, and a few of my sounds and my transitions, after which meshed that with what P2J and GuiltyBeatz did for the ultimate model.
So I work on a whole lot of issues, after which she’ll use my components in several methods, however work with different producers to totally construct it out. And who is aware of? My model may come out as a remix later.
And from that Dancehall affect, there’s that reference to [the Jamaican dancer] George Adams’ Bruk Up dancing fashion, which was large in Brooklyn within the ‘90s. Was that one thing you recorded for the music, too?
You understand whenever you’re listening to music and also you get a sense in your backbone? Relating to producing music, I at all times go together with that feeling. I simply trip the wave of that feeling.
I must really feel that at any time when I’m engaged on new music or a remix or something for Beyoncé. By looking for that, I’ve at all times gravitated in the direction of issues that make sense to me. So these Bruk Up components had been already written by Tems and The-Dream when the monitor was despatched to me. And after I heard it, it gave me that vitality, that feeling.
I’m from East Flatbush, Brooklyn and a whole lot of my buddies had been into the flex dance scene over there. So after I heard the Bruk Up components, it was similar to, that is good. It made me wanna sound much more Jamaican. I used to be like okay, I’m gonna sound like one among my aunties.
Once you work with Beyoncé throughout codecs – from doing the commercials to the reside performances to the feature-length movie initiatives – does the strategy to collaboration between you two change in any respect?
After we work on the longer-form items, it’s positively far more intense. Largely as a result of there are such a lot of edits. It’s a whole lot of issues. Day by day there might be two or three completely different variations, if not the total movie, then particular scenes you’re engaged on.
However she’s actually vibed with me from the start due to how I envision her sound and the way I manipulate, alter, and mess together with her music. So in the case of me doing scores for her, it’s vital for me to do the identical factor. Nevertheless it’s honing it in and reeling it in to be much more collaborative. As a result of for the Black is King movie rating, it was me, her music director and a string participant doing it collectively.
She additionally loves how I discover and mash up these completely different genres of music, concepts, and components as a result of I’m extra from that experimental, bizarre facet. So together with her being as big and revered as she is, we’ll discover a good assembly level within the center the place it is sensible and it’s palpable for her viewers, however nonetheless has that edginess to it.
How has that collaborative relationship affected the way you strategy your personal work?
If there was one factor to sum up what I’ve discovered from her, I might say work ethic. That and time administration. There’s additionally the musical inspiration from after we create new and authentic stuff collectively, which is at all times enjoyable.
All through engaged on all that stuff – the music, the excursions, the IvyPark collaborations, and the commercials – with my very own work ethic, I see an much more polished and outlined work ethic together with her. From engaged on the On The Run tour together with her, I noticed that it actually took a complete village to make that tour run. Whereas she’s on the stage, there are folks underneath the stage transferring issues. There are the lighting guys, the engineers, the sound guys, the pyrotechnics particular person, and so forth.
So from that, I noticed that point administration is about being on level with the imaginative and prescient and using the most effective folks to execute sure components of the imaginative and prescient, and never feeling like that you must do all of it your self. That goes into the work ethic, too. Not overworking your self, however having the precise folks in the precise place to do it.
Like, for me, when she wanted an intro for her On The Run tour, she introduced me in as a result of she appreciated what I did with remixing her music. So when she introduced me in and I killed it, she was like, he’s the precise particular person to do that for different components of the tour.
So I simply turned the man to do it. So I did it for On the Run 1 and a pair of, the Coachella efficiency, and people on BET and MTV. However that’s time administration. She’s like, he’s not gonna waste my time. He’s gonna execute it appropriately, and the imaginative and prescient’s gonna be ailing, so right here you go.
You spend a whole lot of time working in several mediums moreover music, too. The place does that drive to pursue so many different artistic pursuits come from?
I’d say one of many the explanation why I do it that method is as a result of after I was a child, I’d purchase an album and begin studying the liner notes to see who took the quilt photograph, who engineered it, who did the artwork route, and so forth. And I’d be like, oh, it takes mad folks to get this finished.
Then any time my buddies had been like, we don’t acquired anyone to do the album art work, I’d be like, what? Imma do it. That acquired me into art work and pictures, after which my buddies would say they want a DJ and I stated I’d do this, too.
And I’d have a look at reside reveals that appeared loopy, like [Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg’s] Up in Smoke Tour or a few of these Jamaican festivals like Sunsplash, and I’d see what went into singing that I liked on the radio appear nice reside. In order that acquired me into stage design and artistic route.
Additionally, as a result of I used to be impartial arising and doing all of it myself, I needed to put on these hats and I didn’t wish to half-ass something, both. So I actually went on a deep dive into the strategy of doing these items like taking pictures movies or taking pictures movie.
I simply didn’t wanna restrict myself creatively, so when it was time to take a break from rapping or making beats, I might additionally artistic direct. So I used to be by no means actually taking a break. I’d simply soar into one other hat and study from that. Nevertheless it all comes from music. All of the aspects of music creation and the way it’s delivered to us – that’s what impressed me.
Are you engaged on any initiatives proper now?
Yeah, I’ve an album I’m engaged on now and the code title is MTA. It’s a full-on Dancehall album. I’ve at all times put a whole lot of the place I’m from in my music, however I additionally approached a whole lot of my earlier music by enthusiastic about what number of genres I can put into one factor. How can I bend and manipulate these genres to sound the identical or make sense with one another?
[Electric Punnany] has toured all around the world – we’ve finished Glastonbury Competition, and gone throughout Europe and Asia. And we’re at all times pushing Dancehall, Afrobeats and a fusion of music. However with this new album I’m engaged on, Dancehall is on the forefront. The brand new album is extra about taking this one facet and constructing a complete world inside it. It’s a complete Dancehall album.
So have you ever been travelling to Jamaica for this one?
You understand what it’s? I’m utilizing it as a instrument to get my ass to Jamaica extra. That’s sort of what occurred with our album Zulu Guru; me and my good friend Jesse Boykins III labored on that and it introduced us to Africa.
The final time I used to be in Jamaica was in all probability 4 or 5 years in the past, however I used to go extra continuously as a child. I might go like every year to go to household in Clarendon and St. Elizabeth — scattered throughout.
What else ought to we count on from the album?
Jesse Boykins III and Machine Drum are two of the artists I’ve been working with. Jesse is an incredible author and producer – he works with Steve Lacy and all kinds of artists. Identical with Machine Drum. He and I’ve been placing music out for over ten years now.
Throughout COVID, when all the pieces acquired shut down, I’d been engaged on this album known as Massive Chunes. And the concept was simply that I would like large chunes. Naked large chunes. And I tapped into this sure sound and magnificence with two songs the place Jesse and my spouse had been telling me to go deeper into that world.
So I simply made it a complete world and simply began constructing and creating. And since the surface world was shut down, I really had time to only sit with myself and sort of see like, okay, what do I wish to create subsequent? How do I wanna push myself?
And from there I realised I must discover an album with bangers from high to backside. I’ve finished experimental, however I haven’t finished one constant venture with a sound and the identical components. I’m not saying one is best than the opposite, but it surely was only a area that I haven’t labored in but. In order that’s how the album happened.
And likewise from having youngsters. I had my first son three years in the past and I had my daughter final 12 months, and the method of seeing them come into this world was life-changing. It teaches you a large number and I put a whole lot of that into the music.
It’s gonna be a solo MeLo venture, however I’m engaged on some collaborations proper now. It’ll be out subsequent 12 months and proper now we’re engaged on methods to get my followers and neighborhood concerned. I wanna construct an ecosystem the place individuals who assist me can reap the advantages of the music blowing up as nicely, with stuff like NFTs and Web3 and all that.
