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Tay Keith, a Grammy-nominated producer, has worked on some of today’s biggest hits. The producer is most recognized for his work on Travis Scott and Drake’s “Sicko Mode,” Beyoncé’s “Before I Let Go,” and Moneybagg Yo and Lil Baby’s “U Played,” to name a few.
Tay Keith’s experience in creating for top artists inspired him to open a studio to let people create their own music. Nonetheless, its position aroused concerns among outsiders.
Tay Keith reveals why he created the first Black-owned Hip-Hop studio in Nashville, TN, rather than his birthplace of Memphis, in an interview with Earn Your Leisure.
“Nashville is known as ‘music city.’ Why’s it known as ‘music city’? Because it’s the home capital for country music and pop,” Tay Keith tells Earn Your Leisure. “The thing is you have all of these big pop records and big country artists blowing up out of Nashville, Tennessee. Why can’t it be a first Black-owned Hip-Hop studio in the middle of the two? So I was like, it’s a big fish, small pond.”
Although the producer has worked with musicians from a variety of genres, including country and pop, he sought to increase his Hip-Hop presence in Music City.
“In terms of Hip-Hop, that’s my specialty. “I’m the owner of a Black Hip-Hop studio in Nashville, Tennessee,” he says.
Furthermore, Tay Keith mentions that purchasing the studio building with the assistance of his realtor was his first commercial property. Along with putting down 15%, he says he spent an additional $50,000 remodeling it.
