Meet Nephew Hesh | Music Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nephew Hesh and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nephew, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I’m from Los Angeles, I was born in Atwater Village and then I moved to Glendale when I was 7. LA definitely influenced who I am, not just musically but also my overall perspective towards art and the industries surrounding it. You don’t really realize it until you get older, but LA is one of the cultural epicenters of the country. Like, you do realize it, you hear people talk about it, but it doesn’t really hit you until you get older and see other parts of the world. Hollywood is here, the music industry is centered here. Playing for a sports team here is always seen as a bigger deal than playing for a small-market team because the fanbases are so dedicated and the expectations are higher. LA is a huge melting pot of cultures too. This city has a great artistic legacy. So growing up here, I loved it.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My art is for everybody. To be honest I feel like my style is limitless. I’ll make a trap beat, then some DnB, then loop a sample up. I make a lot of different types of beats, but I’ll always put my own spin on it. There’ll be one or two details in a beat I’ll do differently, like little moments that people remember. I might use a pitched down hi hat instead of a snare, or chop a sample in a weird way. Just something slightly different, but also familiar enough for it to click with new listeners. I’m inspired by life, so some of my beats are meant to be like, soundtracks to memories or memories that people are going to make in the future. Not saying every beat is that deep though, sometimes it’s just a fire beat because that shit is fire.

I got here originally just by being a fan. From middle school on, I was just listening to music 24/7. At first it was a lot of rock and EDM, when I was younger. As I got older, it was a lot of MF DOOM, Odd Future, Griselda, a lot of Lucki. This was back in like 2014-2016. I got to a point where I wanted to do more than just listen, so that’s when I downloaded FL Studio and started producing.

When it comes to making music, you gotta compartmentalize, a lot of it is mental. Learning how to navigate new situations, how to put your ego aside to get things done, how to be self-directed. You just gotta learn as you go and trust in your process.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
First off we’d hit Poobah Records in Pasadena. They have a great selection of records, a lot of really good rap over there. Some record stores won’t have anyone but the biggest names, but they got everything at Poobah. Plus it’s right by a GuitarCenter too. After that we’d hit Bacari, the Silverlake location. There’s like 3 or 4 locations in the city. It’s a tapas spot so you can get a variety of things there. After that, I’d say we hit a few bars in Silverlake/Echo Park area. Just go barhopping, walk around. LA’s not really a walkable city but I don’t care, I go on a lot of walks. Gotta get my 10k steps in. Silverlake is such a beautiful area to me, it would be great to just walk around, enjoy the neighborhood. That’s a solid day for me.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I gotta shout out my family first of all. I feel blessed that they support my music. Shout out to God of course. I work with a lot of talented artists and producers, it’s really a group effort so shout out to all the people I’m working with. Can’t wait for everyone to hear this music. Shout out to my bro Zeke Ultra, we just hit the 1 year anniversary of our album “Speak to the Jungle In The Hills”. I’m so proud of how it turned out. Go listen!

Instagram: https://instagram.com/nephewhesh

Image Credits
Personal photo: Benjamin Uribe

Additional Photos

First photo: Khalil Hardy
Second Photo: Derek Proxmire
Third Photo: Anthony Aka
Fourth Photo: Quincy Davis