Metro Boomin, the Conflicted College Dropout Who Became Rap's Hottest Producer

StoneColdMikey · February 2017

The wunderkind producer behind last year's most ambitious rap records says music is just the beginning.

It's 2 o'clock on a Tuesday afternoon, and Metro Boomin's manager has to pull him away from his home studio for our phone interview. He's been working on his new LP since he rolled out of bed. And if the day goes like most do for Metro, he'll be laying new tracks well into the night.

Metro Boomin's Highlights and Influences

Not that any of this is surprising. Metro is already winning 2017. Just ten days into the new year, the 23-year-old producer landed his first No. 1 song, "Bad and Boujee," alongside Migos; he went platinum with another, and has fans eagerly awaiting his next release. Metro has been on a winning streak since "Karate Chop" with Future in 2013, working with the likes of Nicki Minaj, Future, Young Thug, Wiz Khalifa, The Weeknd, and Gucci Mane (among many, many others), and last year saw the Atlanta-based beatmaker's signature 808s grace some of the year's best rap records.

He's a thoughtful speaker, often taking a few moments in silence to meticulously craft his answers. Though his voice lights up as he talks his passion for music, it's at his most excited as he talks about where it'll take him next. Like his role models Dr. Dre, Pharrell, and Kanye West (among others), Metro has his sights set on much more than just making hit records.

TRENDING THIS VERY SECOND

What are you up to right now?

I'm at home. I was just making beats. I'm about to go back to making beats in a second after this.

Are you working on any projects in particular?

I'm really just working on my album. That's the main focus.

Were there any musicians outside of hip hop that had an impact on your sound?

Michael Jackson. He was always inventing ? and reinventing himself and his style. Green Day, just because, when I started making beats back then, they had that ? out, American Idiot. Just the sonics of that ? —that whole dark, moody vibe. I naturally, when I make beats, aim for a darker tone just because I've always preferred those types of feelings. More than any artist, I feel like horror-movie music influenced my music more than all that ? .

How it builds a mood?

Exactly. When you're playing that ? , you feel like you're somewhere.

How long have you been DJing?

I always try to answer this question. I would say a year and half. I guess it's been two years now. It feels new to me, compared to making beats.

Gucci Mane first inviting you to the studio was a big moment early on in your career. Gucci's proven to be one music's biggest tastemakers. Is that a role you aim to take on yourself?

That's always been something I want to do. I'm heavily influenced by a lot of people like Dre, Pharrell, and Kanye. They're all big time tastemakers and trendsetters, just for culture, period. So I strive to do that as well. I'm starting my label up, so of course I'm going to keep bringing new things to the table: new artists, new sounds, and new vibes for people to love and live with.

You've designed shirts, sneakers, and tour merch—all of which sold out immediately. Do you plan on doing more of that this year?

I'm always going to be heavy in producing. It's always going to come first. It never can't come first. But last year, 2016, I focused on DJing. Now that it's 2017, I'm gonna gravitate towards fashion. Like we just had with the Alexander ? campaign and things like that.

You've given lectures at the Red Bull Music Academy and have a YouTube tutorial on making beats. Do you like teaching and helping younger artists get a foot in the door?

I'm not too much into all the technical teaching really. But, I'm more into that Red Bull Music Academy, like, that type of teaching. Just a regular person telling you firsthand about all this ? that I know you're probably wondering, so you can try not to make the same mistakes that I made because I didn't have anybody to tell me. They have all types of ? for you to learn the more technical stuff, but that real-person knowledge is more valuable.

"I was like, Damn. You know how many young kids in St. Louis would ? to go to Morehouse? I'm from St. Louis. I'm from a black family. I know how many kids would ? for that but can't pay for it."
How did the idea for your scholarship fund start?

I'm from St. Louis. I was at Morehouse [College] for one semester. As grateful as I was to be there, I didn't want to be there. It was bittersweet, because I knew for a fact that I need to put all of my time into music. School is the same as producing: If you want to make it far, there are a million, trillion people trying to do the same thing. If you're not in over-grind mode, it's probably not going to work the way that you want it to. Sure, you can stumble across something. But to be in this ? for real, to be a player and not somebody who's attending the game, you've got to be on over-grind. There was just no way—me being in school and trying to do this. I wasn't going to excel in either one of them.

So you want to give kids who want to take college as seriously as you take music a shot at being able to do that?

Yeah. Looking back, I was like, Damn. You know how many young kids in St. Louis would ? to go to Morehouse? I know it because I'm from St. Louis. I'm from a black family. I know how many kids would ? for that but can't pay for it. Because that was one of our problems, too—it was like "Man, this ? is expensive." So it was just like, man, if I could just give someone else the opportunity I threw away because someone else could've been in my chair, I want to be putting people in there.

What are you next set of goals for 2017?

I want to have the album out. I want to get on that Top 10 list for albums, for sure. I can't tell you how serious I am about this ? and how serious it is. That and everything with the label. That and more DJing. More fashion ? . To be a better person, and in better health. To be better to the people in my life. Not to say that I'm not, but you can always be better. You can always be better. 2017 is just better. Better entertainment. Better records.