When I was in Houston I got the random opportunity to interview producer The ARE. You may not have heard of him, but you surely have heard one or more of the songs he has produced. The ARE started producing in the early 90’s and has been part of The Trackmasters production team since 2007. His  production credits include Lil Kim, Keyshia Cole, Nicki Minaj, LL Cool J, EMC (Mata Ace,Wordsworth, Stricklin & Punchline), Headkrack, Wordsworth, Truth Enola and Canibus to name a few.

As an artist he has released his own projects as well, such as The Jacksons, Uphill Peace of Mind, Still Climbing and Manipulated Marauders. Before he started working independently, he was part of the group K-otix. I have witnessed this Houston based producer to be a great DJ and tastemaker as well, during my stay in H-town.

The ARE talks about how it all started for him as a producer, what he considers his “big break” in the industry and most of all, how he maintains the balance between mainstream and underground, while always keeping the focus on his family, his daughter.

Photo by Adam Israel Valadez.