One of the rising masters of engineering in the Western music scene rarely incorporates the sounds of Indian-based urban music into his projects. Ramon Rivas, also known as Lifeof9000, is a recording artist and a multiple Grammy award-winning mixing engineer, known for his contributions in helping shape the sound of countless musical projects, including Beyoncé's Lemonade, Jay-Z's Magna Carta Holy Grail, Ariana Grande's Sweetener, and most recently, studio singles for New York City's premier female urban artist of Dominican descent Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, often referred to by her stage name Cardi B.
Given the thriving popularity of Indian-based sounds incorporated into mainstream Western music during the 1990s and 2000s, including Erick Sermon's "React"
Timbaland's "Indian Flute," and Truth Hurts "Addictive," Lifeof9000 was asked about his take of the possibility for an Indian takeover of the American music market similar to that of Korean popular music in this moment.
Check out his questions and answers and what he thinks about the potential for such musical acts to break through into the Western music scene.
1. How familiar are you with Indian urban and popular music?
I know about the Desi movement, my day-to-day manager Ralph El Ralphael Bey put me on to Noel Sean and a few Bollywood acts. I just know from [the top of] my brain Punjabi and Raftaar! Punjabi did that remix with Jay-Z, love the strings and sitar guitars used musically, that's what really caught my ear. And I do attempt to incorporate those Delhi-type drums in my production.
2. Have you ever incorporated any Desi, Indian-style sounds in any of your previous projects?
Yes, Timbaland's shock value album. He created sounds like Raja Kumari. So a few diaspora ideas with Nelly Furtado as well as "Drunk in Love"
performed by Beyoncé were used with that Mumbai essence and Hindi sounds.
3. Do you believe there is potential for Indian urban music to be of major influence on the international music scene?
Of course. The same as K-Pop is making waves and crossover, the Indian urban market has potential to be crushing Billboard bullets and the top 40.
4. Why aren't their many Desi or Indian-style sounds and musicians in the American market?
Only a few artists experiment and most haven't experienced culture to appreciate the incorporation of different melodies and sound patterns of Diaspora. In
conclusion, American artists haven't traveled to give a unique sound to open new ears.
5. American Indians are known to have the highest smoking rates of any racial or ethnic group globally, even more so than non-Hispanic Blacks, according to the
CDC. An experimental study recently published by a team of Dutch researchers based in The Hague, in the Netherlands, found no significant correlation between
the modeling of drug use in urban popular music and an increased encouragement of cigarette smoking in young adults. Do you agree with this study?
I feel biased. It all depends on the individual, it can be an encouragement but it's how you raise that young adult to know it's just entertainment and you have that choice. With the study presented I say I have to disagree.
6. What do you predict will be the next big movement on the international music scene?
Hard to say but it will be a rise to the Indie with a huge supply and demand, same as Akshay Kumar becoming a big hit, established acts are going to always stay
with their core audience. But consumers are going to want a breath of fresh air and sound new faces with undeniable talent.
