Today we’d like to introduce you to Jose Hernandez.
Hi Jose, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
There was always music playing in my house growing up. Cumbia, Bachata, Reggaeton, Rap, all that.
My grandpa was in a band before I was born. He played the guitar and would mess around with keyboards at home. I can without a doubt, say that he passed along the music bug to me.
I was in orchestra in middle school. I played the stand-up bass. I know that has some relation to me loving 808s and heavy bass lines. I was also in Choir throughout all of high school. I was a tenor.
After graduating, I got into some legal trouble. This was all due to me not having a set plan and not knowing what I wanted to do because I always thought music was a dream…
I did half a semester of college, and then I began to sell cars at the age of 18.
I dropped out because I was going to school to learn about what I was doing at work. It made no sense.
In 2016, I met my girlfriend Liz, @hufbunny. Her and I bonded heavily, and still do, over hiphop. She encouraged my creativity, which was something no one had done before. A few months after dating, I bought a laptop and FL Studio.
There’s been no looking back.
We also came to LA for Camp Flog Gnaw that year. By the end of our vacation, we had set a date to move here. It was a three years plan set for January of 2020.
I began to reprogram myself. I watched all YouTube videos I could. I called all the studios in the area to see if they needed interns until I found one.
I learned how a studio session was ran, I learned about engineering, mixing, different writing and recording methods from various artists, and most importantly, how to make and structure beats.
My music foundation/DNA comes from Detroit. Shout out to @breadboi, and @t_turn_up
I attended recording school through RRFC. It was cool, but looking back on that. It feels like the half semester of college I did.
Tip to future producers: Just intern at a studio. LEARN THE PROCESS. You’ll be fine after you learn how a legitimate recording studio is ran.
While all this is going on in the physical world, on IG, I’m tapping into the scene. I’m finding local artists, local shows, venues, house parties, everything and anything that screamed music. In that process, I’m meeting people.
I’m also looking for side jobs to help me learn more about my craft. I found a weekend DJing gig for a production company. We did weddings, bdays, corporate events, etc.
That’s where I met my best friend and business partner, @therealdjbgolden. He taught me how to DJ and we began to throw parties together.
At this point, I quit my car sales job, and was living off of working at guitar center, the weekend DJing gig, engineering at a studio in Downtown Detroit, and still making beats.
I came to a realization that I’m moving to LA in 1 year, and I’m not making that much money. I’m doing A LOT of free work, and I don’t have much to get me to LA.
I get a full-time job at Cheesecake Factory bussing tables. The cash every night and late hours really paid off. I was able to get a job transfer from Novi, MI to Santa Monica, CA all through Cheesecake Factory. That meant a secured job, so I could apply for an apartment in LA.
January 2020 comes along, the car is packed, and the road trip begins from Wixom, Michigan to Los Angeles, California.
I’ve gone from bussing tables to door dashing to engineering at various recording studios in LA to being able to work for myself.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The list is endless. In the moment, they seem like challenges or hurdles to overcome, but it’s always a lesson learned at the end of the day.
Having the courage to move from a small town in Michigan to Los Angeles was an internal challenge I had to overcome. Monetary challenges, I don’t come from money, and I didn’t know about financial literacy, so saving was tough for a minute. Covid happening and then not having a source of income, and still pushing through it.
Not getting sucked into the Hype. Running into people that do bad business. Being stuck up at gunpoint and getting all of mine and my girl’s stuff stolen. Having my dog get hit by a car. He’s fine now lol. Being behind on rent for a minute.
So yes there has been challenges, but it’s not the end of the world.
“It’s not about what happens, it’s about how you react to what happens.” I live by this.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I run a music label. It started off as a production specializing in Guerrilla Marketing.
After doing so many projects for the big 3, being Universal, Sony, and Warner. I realized that they are outsourcing for most of the processes when it comes to an album or single rollout.
In other words, they’re hiring a bunch of people to do the work, then they just throw their name on it after the creatives have done all the work.
I’m a creative, but I’m a businessman as well.
I’ve figured out the departments to the labels. After that, I figured out what each department does and their everyday processes. From there, I took their sauce and I’m doing it on my own.
I make beats and so do my friends. I record, mix, and master. I have great relationships with media companies that cover all of the US with guerrilla marketing. We’re setting up interviews and PR. I have amazingly talented friends that are photographers/videographers. We’ve got sample clearances handled, thanks to Tracklib. I’m reaching out to Sync libraries and reps and pitching our album for possible TV/Commercial/Movie placements. I’m setting up EPK’s to pitch to venues and music festivals.
They’re not any different from anybody else. They’re regular ass people pushing pencils, all for pennies. Then the guys at the top get to eat good.
Difference with me is that it’s a partnership. It’s even with everybody that is part of the creative process.
No one is under a label, we’re all just teaming up, putting our heads together, and making dope a** sh*t, so we can ALL eat good!
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Being real with myself. Staying humble. Extreme work ethic. Understanding business. Urgency. Building my mindset/confidence thru reading (Audio Book), I hate physically reading.
“The more you learn, the more you earn.”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.BlessedByBrozay.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/BlessedByBrozay
Image Credits
All images were taken by @_Lunarhaus_ Personal Photo – BTS Music Video For upcoming album, “Almost There” 1st Additional Photo – BTS Music Video For upcoming album, “Almost There” – Outside of car: @BlessedByBrozay. Passenger Seat: @RapGodPatRon. Driver Seat: @UglierInPerson 2nd Additional Photo – At Melrose Sound in NOHO – @BlessedByBrozay 3rd Additional Photo – BTS Music Video For upcoming album, “Almost There” – On the Left: @UglierInPerson. On the Right: @BlessedByBrozay.
