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Meet Tyler James of Shamu the Panda (DrumDummie) in Shiloh

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyler James.

Tyler, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My first venture into the music period was in like ‘04. I was like 10-11. My twin brother had just written his first rap and talked me into writing my own. I wrote my first AWFUL like 4-6 bars to T.I.’s “Rubber Band Man,” and it was on from there. ‘07 I touched my first free demo of FL Studio, then maybe ‘09-‘10 I finally got a full version of FL 7. That’s when I started “seriously” making beats, By that I mean I fell in love with the beats then, but I didn’t know how to be serious with it. I was making beats for me & the homies to rap/sing over.

‘12 was around the time I started kickin’ it with T-Rap (KingDrumDummie). That was also the year he created the name DrumDummie. He had seen I was just as serious about music as he was but just needed a little direction. Shortly after that, maybe a year after, I was added to DrumDummie. Since then, we have just been trying to keep the internet flooded with beats, challenging ourselves to get better every time, and from that came placements with bigger artists, opportunities and deals.

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?
NO! I mean, I already come from a super small town with a small town mind state. Like, if you don’t go to college or work in a factory, or so some labor jobs, it’s not realistic for people that live there. Family, friends, whatever else. It’s just the same negative mentality, and they don’t mind at all telling you that. Especially the older folks, they couldn’t wrap their head around how in the 2010’s somebody could make a living on the Internet. Past that, the struggle with music already isn’t very easy. Like folks have this misconception that they can start making beats and get money, like NOOOO, it doesn’t work that way. You’ll go through long periods in the beginning and sometimes a few years in where you don’t make money. You start second-guessing yourself, then comes the depression. I even dealt and still deal with this bad anxiety bc music CONSTANTLY changes. You gotta stay trying to keep up with it. It can be hard, man. Like you really gotta be in love with it to stick with it.

Please tell us about your work.
DrumDummie. Founded by Tevin Revells (AKA KingDrumDummie, and to all of us back home, “T-Rap”). I was added as a member back in 2013, I believe. We make beats of basically EVERY kind, but we’re more known for Louisiana influenced sound you hear. The “Boosie” or “NBA Youngboy” Type beat, if you will. I guess you could say that’s our “specialty,” but we’re extra dope in doing so many other kinds of beats. If anything, I think DrumDummie’s versatility is the specialty.

We also call ourselves “the coolest producers in the world,” because We’re probably the most humble folks doing it. To a fault, sometimes. I know this for sure about myself. Like I’ll do my best to answer EVERY DM that comes through my Instagram. Every text, email, etc. except phone calls, dude. Like if your number ain’t on my phone, I’m not bout to answer it. If it’s that important, send a text. Haha. Seriously though, it’s hard to keep up with it all, but I think that’s another big thing that sets us apart. Of course, the work ethic is CRAZY, put that down to earth mentality. That’s the lifestyle, man. We’ve even flown to Hollywood a few times and still ain’t a damn thing Hollywood about DrumDummie.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Like my childhood in general? Hmmm. Probably all the backyard wrestling I did with my twin brother and my homies. 😂 We couldn’t be normal kids and play football, or something like that. Oh No! We had to fuckin’ body slam each other and even hit each other with chairs and shit. I remember a time we even wrecked some leftover drywall my grandma had at her house setting that shit up on two sawhorses and using it as a table! 🤣 Jumping off of ladders and whatnot. Man, we were reckless. Those “Do not try this at home” messages we saw on TV never stuck with us.

Pricing:

  • $25 Leasing. Leasing is like a rental. You get a high def mp3 beat with one tag at the intro. This package allows you up to 2000 sales before you’ll need to buy a new lease..
  • $50 Premium Leasing. One tag at the intro. You get the mp3 AND the HQ WAV file (2-track) this allows you 5000 sales.)
  • $100 Trackout Leasing. Tags are optional. You get everything above, plus the individual stems of the beat tracked out. The allows you up to 10,000 sales.
  • $500 Unlimited lease. Everything Trackout leasing gets you, but with unlimited sales. The beat will stay online, it’s not completely yours, but you never have to buy a lease again.

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
The Vault TV
Passion Photography

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