Few music producers have made a name for themselves in dancehall like Di Genius.
The GRAMMY-winning producer from Kingston, Jamaica has collaborated with world-class artists including the likes of John Legend, Shakira, Damian Marley, and many others. In 2016, Billboard praised him as one of the producers who brought dancehall back to the mainstream, noting his work on Drake’s hit track “Controlla” off the multi-platinum album Views.
“Dancehall really started from the creators in Jamaica being resourceful and needing a place to play the music,” Di Genius tells us. “The actual venue where people would go to dance and listen to the music—that’s what was the ‘dance hall.’ It really started from there—people needed to move and people needed to just really embrace and feel the energy, and go all the way into the music. That’s the vibe of how we get the music to transcend globally.”
In celebration of the recent release of his sample pack on Splice Sounds, Di Genius sat down with us in the studio to showcase how to make a dancehall track in less than ten minutes. Watch along above to get an exclusive inside look into his creative process.
What was your favorite insight from Di Genius? What other genres would you like to see a producer tackle in ten minutes? Let us know in the comments section of the video, and subscribe to the Splice YouTube channel for more tips and tutorials.
Incorporate Di Genius’ sounds into your own productions:
September 4, 2022