Life & Work with Pr.od of Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Pr.od

Hi Pr.od, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m was born and raised in Columbus, OH. Through out those years I’ve always been around music. Like most musicians, it started out in the church. My mom would always take me with her to choir rehearsal and when I wasn’t busy running around all over the church, I would listen to how the musicians would play and learn how they would come up with the structure of each song. During my middle and high school years I was in band. I played alto saxophone but one instrument wasn’t enough. My 7th grade middle school teacher showed me where middle C was on the piano and I ran with that. We weren’t able to afford lessons, so it forced me to teach myself the rest of the notes, not only with piano but on guitar as well. I’m thankful to be in the era where the internet exists. Spent hours upon hours after school practicing learning chords, scales, modes, and theory. Learning guitar helped me become a better piano player. Even then, I always had a song in my heart or melody in my head. So I downloaded this free DAW called LMMS and started making instrumentals and figuring out sounds, chord progressions, midi, etc. Writing was a different yet interesting experience. I say that because I wasn’t into writing essays or anything of that nature but when it came to songs sometimes the words came naturally to help paint the picture I had in my mind. After high school I got a job at Walmart working overnights to save money for school. When I was 19 I moved to Arizona for school to study audio engineering. Not going lie, I thought it was a music school like Berklee but no more torwards the engineering side of music. There I learned how to record, mix and master tracks. I could have gone into different fields of audio, but I’m still drawn to music. The school is called Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences, or CRAS for short. The studio rooms at the school were open at night and on the weekends, so I spent as much time as could learning the engineering side of music. Once we’ve completed our classes on campus (nine months) the school allows us to choose wherever we want to go in the country for our internship and I chose Atlanta. I first interned, helped run sound, at a historic place called Gallery 992. Every Sunday night for about 2-3 months and then also at a studio called American Sushi Recording when it was in Little Five Points. I stopped interning at the Gallery once the pandemic hit but I eventually became an engineer for American Sushi which was exciting. During that time, trying to maintain a job while being an engineer was challenging. But with all that now free time I started to practice again. This time with the piano, again thankful for the internet. I learned songs that I like on the keys to keep myself interested. I started writing about the new experiences I’ve gained and the feelings I had for a while. Once places started opening up again I started to go out to open mics and jam sessions. Met new friends and like minded individuals. When you’re an artist, you know you’re different, but when I entered into those spaces I felt at home. I performed some songs at the open mics people liked them and they asked me to perform at events they were having. One night at an open mic, honestly I was feeling burnout but still went and performed my song ‘Changes’, which I already had recorded at American Sushi, the feature for that night Queen Sheba was moved by the song she wanted to remix it for her album. I was like ‘why not,’ then that album became Grammy Nominated. Which is pretty nice. The musician side of me still needed to go to jam sessions and play my heart out. Now I play keys for a band called Beef and Broccoli. We’ve performed at a variety of venues all over the city. I would love to perform for as many events all over the world as I can whether it’s a solo act or in a band. I’m grateful for this long journey and I know there’s still more to come.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth journey. Unfortunately, my father was a victim to police brutality, was falsely accused and gunned down by the police outside of a bowling alley before I turned two. So I had to grow up without a healthy father figure in my life. His passing left my mother heartbroken but she had to take care of my brother and I. So she also wasn’t in house as much cause she had to work and then eventually my brother lived with his dad. In some way shape or form I had to raise myself. I did the best with what I could. It was my mom and I for a while moving around from place to place. Then, her kidney disease got worse. And at the time I didn’t know she had kidney disease and one kidney. Nobody is going to tell you anything as a nine year old child, so all I could think is, am I going to lose my mother too? Taking care of her while she was taking care of me. Thankfully she recovered. After all that still got dragged along to go to those choir rehearsals. Few months after I graduated high school I got a job working overnights at Walmart trying to save money for school. Unfortunately, my mother started to get sick again and now being an adult I had to start taking care of the house. I was conflicted, should I still move out to Arizona or stay and take care of my mom? To my knowledge, she started recovering again and I decided to move out at 19. Now having the taste of the real world already, I worked overnights and attended to my classes during the day. Being in AZ for nine months I moved to Atlanta, three months in the pandemic hits. I was left to sit in all that I endured throughout my life. And that’s not even scratching the surface.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m an artist/musician, I play the guitar, keys, bass. I’m also an audio engineer. I’m the person who behind the board at concerts and other live events making everything sound good. I’m proud to say how far I’ve come from being alone in my room making beats to now performing for crowds of people. I believe what sets me apart from others is walk with a purpose and when I get on stage I try to transform that into a space of healing and let other know they’re not alone.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I view myself as a risk taker but I always have a plan b. People tell me that moving out on my own was a risk.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/pr.od
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prodisus?igsh=dzR2dnAwdTNscHNv
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1E5aEk7nHW/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCOFwoBKgpQHwec8LWmNNq4A?si=SQaebV1ZTF7QFE6Z