Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick “Guitarboy” Hayes.
Hi Patrick “Guitarboy”, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Patrick “Guitarboy” Hayes and life is truly an adventure. I am a music producer and song composer. I come from rich talented roots. My journey began in a small, rural Mississippi town called Mendenhall. Learning guitar captivated me from an early age. Church was one of my main stages to perform on. My family helped to mold and shape my craft. My mother Frankie is an exceptional bass player and singer. She, along with my grandparents and uncles introduced me to different genres of music. These genres included; Blues, Jazz, Country, Gospel and R&B. During my formative years, I was an outstanding athlete that had a promising future in baseball. In high school, I chose music over sports. I contemplated this decision a great deal. I was a member of my family’s gospel group, The Harmony Doves. The group consisted of my mother Frankie, my brother Lance, my grandmother Basheba and myself. During my college years, I acquired 2 degrees. I then began to tour the world with blues legend Bobby Rush. I play lead guitar, bass, classical, acoustic, banjo, piano, organ, drums and harp. Basically, I am the epitome of a one man band. After graduating from college, I relocated to Chicago. I became an educator, mentor and sports coach. Throughout my tenure with Chicago Public Schools, I began to develop do some recording. I was introduced to R. Kelly at a basketball game. He asked me to audition for him as a musician at The Chocolate Factory. He was playing me some songs from his upcoming album TP3. He asked me to play a few notes. The rest became musical history. Under the supervision and leadership of his top engineer, Abel Garibaldi, I mastered recording myself. This training allowed me to sharpen my skills and enhance my levels of knowledge. I learned how to arrange and execute a full track. I was also introduced to other outstanding producers and musicians. We collaborated together as a team. These individuals are Kendall Nesbitt, Rodney East and Bigg Makk. After being in Chicago 9 years, It was time to grow into my own platform. I decided to relocate to Atlanta, GA where the entertainment was industry was booming. I started playing at church with a talented friend who was also a music producer. His name was Blac Elvis Williams. We met in Chicago prior to working on R.Kelly’s projects. I then created some magic with veteran Troy Taylor and Trey Songz. Trey’s project got me signed to Warner Brothers. My hit songs were Neighbors Know My Name, Panty Dropper, Your Side of the Bed and It will be You. This derived from the Ready album. My manager, Author Tenisha Younger orchestrated my deal. Manny Halley is my co publisher. I was Manny and Yolanda’s first signed producer to the label Imani/Warner. I met and collaborated with the following producers and writers: Jazze Pha, Polow Da Don, Little Ronnie, Ensayne Wayne, Drumma Boy, Greg Curtis, Sean Garrett, Danja and numerous others. During the pandemic, I relocated to LA. It was time to reinvent myself and to be closer to the label. During this time I produced Stolen by Chris Brown & Young Thug. I started working on The Game’s project at Chalice Recordings. I was reintroduced to music executive Dallas Martin. From this relationship, I produced 6 songs on Symba’s album. I then proceeded to work with the legendary Diane Warren song composer. I worked with American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks. I had a film placement in the movie True to the Game. The song is called Happlily Never After, by Keyshia Cole. I had another movie placement in the movie The Dutch called Mondrian. In 2024, I produced a record entitled Naked on Usher’s Coming Home album. This song was hand selected by Kim Kardashian for her SKIMS campaign featuring Usher. My most recent records are with young, rising star Christone Kingfish Ingram. We both are Mississippi brothers who are changing the game in today’s world. We created a masterpiece on his project Hard Road. We bridged the gap of blues, country, blue grass, R&B, rock and gospel tones. Our songs SSS, Hard to Love, Standing On Business and Clearly are purely diverse for all audiences. I produced his new single SSS; which was written by Justin Carder, T. Younger, Little Mil and Kingfish. The deep groovy bass line features Tim aka 88 Karats Tyler, rhythm guitar by Patrick GuitarBoy, Solo lead guitar by Kingfish, Organs & Rhodes by CJ Ramsey and drums by Joseph Knox. This album is groundbreaking and inspiring to all who love the blues and rock n roll.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Life is not a smooth highway. It has its detours, lows and curves. If the journey was easy, then anyone could do it. It requires hard work, dedication, sacrifice and loyalty. Patience is an imperative virtue. In order to survive the music game, you must have tough skin. You will receive more no’s than a yes sometimes. In many cases, rejection is protection. In this music journey, I have learned that losses are not failure. Failure is a lesson and winning is a blessing. Before the glamour and lights of success arrived; I invested into myself. I used time, money, knowledge, reading in order to make myself better. If you stay ready for success, you will be well prepared for the results.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am music and music is me. I love to inspire others by giving them parts of my innermost self. The epitome of organic creativity derives from within. What sets me apart from others is being authentic to my craft. I am original and I create everything from scratch. My Professor Martin Epps always told me to become my best self. My greatest strength is being eccentric . I am most proud of my journey and still striving for the destination. My scars make me beautiful.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Something surprising about me that most people do not know is that I love to go fishing. Fishing is peaceful and helps me to meditate. I also love taking long train trips. I think deeply and watch the scenic routes of nature. I love attending basketball games. Go Lakers and an ode to Kobe Bryant. I just did a television taping on The Tamron Hall Show with a close friend, actor/artist Luke James. It was such an awesome experience doing an acoustic set with Luke. I also participated in a NASA project. I actually helped my manager construct a Robot!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @Guitarboymusic1
- Twitter: @Patguitarboy
- Other: pl.03800280abc44e67a8b92e33066423d1
Image Credits
First photo: Jimmie Allen & GuitarBoy
Second photo: Dathan Thigpen & GuitarBoy
Third photo: Kingfish & GuitarBoy
Fourth photo: GuitarBoy
