Today we’d like to introduce you to Ricardo (Dj Stikuhbush) Johnson.
Ricardo (Dj Stikuhbush) Johnson, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I moved from Birmingham Al to Atlanta, Ga in 2006 to pursue music as a career, I worked temp jobs on Fulton Industrial Blvd in the daytime and at night I would go out to local studios, events, etc. all access with a guy I had met before making the permanent move to Atlanta by the name of A.K. who was a member of Grand Hustles C.E.O Mr. Clifford (T.I.) Harris group the Pimp Squad Clique a.k.a. the P$C.
Just being in the atmosphere of the Atlanta music industry was all the motivation I needed to excel, I built my own healthy relationships with every Artist and music executive I came in contact with, leading up to me becoming Young Jeezy’s personal recording engineer from 2012-2014, this experience really took me from a boy to a man in the music industry, I learned the politics of the business.
During my time as Jeezy’s personal recording engineer, he hired a popular DJ from Florida to be the president of his label C.T.E (Corporate Thugz Ent.) by the name of Bigga Rankin, he brought a entire new feel to the label by having me work with all types of artist and producers, from there my music skills broaden, I went on to record Jeezy’s entire TM 103 album, 2 mixtapes (Real is Back 1&2) and multiple Platinum and Gold singles which feature Dj Khalid, T.I, Ludacris, Future, Nikki Minaj, B.O.B, 50 Cent just to name a few.
To date, I’m currently a 50%Owner of ECO Beats, an all-genre music production company based out of Atlanta Ga alongside Tyrone (Ty Cutta) Orr, also a multi-platinum producer who produced the Hit Single Tat Tat tatted up by the rap group The Alliance and many more, we are overseen by Bigga Rankin who’s now A&R for T.I.G./Atlantic records and owner of Team Bigga Rankin Music Group where I’m also currently the Head audio engineer and a minority owner.
I’ve worked with the development of careers such as Naomi(WWE), Young Dolph, YFN Lucci, Shy Glizzy, Moneybagg Yo, Ball Greazy, to name a few, as well as hundreds of independent artist from around the country, from recording, mixing and mastering records to assembling there mixtapes we do it all with over 500 mixtapes produced with Bigga Rankin and counting.
Great, 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 was without a doubt a struggle for me along the way, I was homeless for six months living out of my 1996 Ford Wind-star Minivan off (Thornton Rd) exit 44 on I-20 behind the Extended stay motel across the street from the Racetrac, If it where not for those 99 cents Racetrac Hotdogs I would’ve perished by now, I would get up early go in the bathroom before it got busy clean myself and be on my way to Fulton Industrial Blvd to work.
ECO Beats – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
ECO Beats specializes in music consulting, producing, recording, mix and mastering, and getting it right the 1st time. I’m most known for my recording works with Jeezy and Bigga Rankin, and I’m most proud of the fact I sold over 230,000 copies in a week of the 1st major Album I ever recorded (Jeezy’s TM103) and I get to see young artist grow from a beginner to a superstar and now, I have the opportunity to develop my own artist be looking out for Baby Drip and Zay also Brenda Xhanel. My experience, relationships, and work ethic defiantly set me apart from the others.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My proudest moment is when I was in Jay Z office with Jeezy, us three just cooling listening to music, I looked out the window thanked God and said to myself that this is really happening and at God’s speed.
Contact Info:
- Website: Bushworkhard@gmail.com
- Phone: @djstikuhbush
Image Credit:
Photos By Travis Elston
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