Today we’d like to introduce you to SweatBeatz Ricardo Spicer and Dia “Kuzi” Hodari.
Hi Ricardo and Dia, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
RICARDO: Dia aka Kuzi and I met each other as freshmen at the University of Michigan. We both were huge fans of music in all of its forms, but hip-hop is what brought us together.
DIA: In particular Wu-Tang Clan, keep it real. But you can’t forget about Mobb Deep, Biggie, BlackStarr, Jay-Z, the list goes on.
RICARDO: In between going to class we spent a lot of our time freestyling and ultimately formed a rap crew called The P.R.O.J.E.C.T. with two of our other friends. We did shows and open mics anywhere we could in the Ann Arbor and Detroit metro area as the late 90s and early 00’s were an incredible time for the Detroit music scene.
DIA: We had Dilla, Slum Village, Eminem, DJ Haircut later to be known as Mayer Hawthorne, Obie Trice, One Man Below, etc. Even on campus, there were amazing producers, artists, and musicians everywhere we went as if we were following a path that was forming right before us.
RICARDO: The University of Michigan had a state of the art fully equipped studio which allowed us to record music.
DIA: For Free-99.
RICARDO: We connected with one of the student engineers and gleaned every piece of knowledge we could about professional recording. We produced and finished our first 12 track album and it lit a fire under us to learn more about production, song creation, songwriting, and finding our sound. Also, while at University of Michigan, I started working for Universal Music Group as a College and Lifestyle Rep because I knew I wanted to work for a major record label or distribution company as a career. I was offered a marketing position after I graduated and immediately packed my Nissan Pathfinder and moved to Atlanta.
DIA: I literally helped get his things together and drove down with him.
RICARDO: As I began to run marketing campaigns for every artist on Def Jam such as Jay-Z, Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Rihanna, Bon Jovi, Fall Out Boy, and many more, I realized that with my connections and our know-how around music production, we could absolutely find a career as music producers. So I convinced Kuzi to move down to ATL as soon as he finished his studies to start a production company.
DIA: Since 2005, we have been producing music for artists such as Killer Mike. We produced four songs on his last solo album Pl3dge. We’ve done songs with major acts such as Chamillionaire, BJ The Chicago Kid, and others.
RICARDO: We really found that making music for TV, film, and ad campaigns was our real bread and butter. We’ve placed over 65+ songs on major properties such as Ozark, DC Comics’, Shazam, Hustlers (Jennifer Lopez, Cardi B), FX’s Atlanta, CNN, BET Hip Hop Awards, Nike, New Balance, Budweiser Made In America Festival, Sesame Street, and many more.
DIA: One of the things we’re really excited about is this new chapter of our career as Music Supervisors for major motion pictures. The first film up is an international heist film called The Blue Mauritius. It’s one thing to have a song placed in a show or movie, it’s another wonderful challenge when you are tasked with overseeing all the music for a film and its original soundtrack.
RICARDO: In addition to music supervision, we are working with artists of our own to continue to push our sound forward for complete projects. We plan to drop projects by our pop artist Mica Nohstadt this year.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
RICARDO: Nothing about the music industry or being an entrepreneur is easy. We have definitely been fortunate to have a huge network of supporters and collaborators that appreciate who we are, how we create, and how we do business. Early on in our careers, we were often chasing down artists, artist managers, and A&Rs trying to pitch our music. After doing the dog and pony show for a while, it became daunting almost “making it”, but falling short. The rejection made us overthink our approach at times in an effort to always be “relevant”.
DIA: I think all artists have the inner debate about creativity vs commerce and it can often lead to times of being unproductive.
RICARDO: The other aspect that creates challenges is growing up. We’ve been making music since we were basically teenagers. As we have become professionals in other realms, husbands, and fathers, the bandwidth to create music and follow our passion sometimes takes a backseat.
DIA: Sometimes, doing business as friends poses challenges as well because we aren’t the same as we were when we were just starting. Luckily, our bond through brotherhood has always readjusted our focus and our love for one another’s creativity has powered us through those tough times.
RICARDO: I think every creative has questioned if they should continue to stay the course. The difference is opportunities for growth and new realms keep opening for us that sparks our creative engines.
DIA: It’s like the universe saying, hey I know yall busy but I need some more beatz out of you.
And once we lock back in on a new beat, the magic kicks in, the world disappears, and it’s like we’re back to day one when it was all about the love.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
SweatBeatz is a full-service music production company that creates original music for artists, tv, film, and ad campaigns. We are deeply rooted in Hip-Hop but create musical experiences in a multitude of genres including R&B, Pop, EDM, Jazz, and cinematic soundscapes.
We are known for our soulful approach to music, but our breadth of musical catalog and creation has also become our calling card.
We are most proud of our 17+ year career creating music for some of the biggest artists, TV shows, films, and brand storytelling content. Our music has been featured in Rolling Stone as some of the best music of the year while also being commissioned by The US State Department and Sesame Street.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
One major characteristic that has led to our success is truly being students of the creation of music and how it’s consumed. Music consumers and the way in which music is consumed are always changing. Staying current on what makes a listener like a song or a music supervisor add a composition to a TV show, film, or ad campaign is a never-ending task. Luckily, we are absolutely passionate about new musical trends, technology, music theory, and consumer engagement. We are fans of music first, so we try to approach music creation as a fan and not a myopic creator.
Contact Info:
- Email: SweatbeatzATL@gmail.com
- Website: sweatbeatz.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweatbeatz/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SweatBeatzATL/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SweatBeatzATL
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdIekq40H2w&t=198s
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/sweatbeatz-atl
Image Credits:
@_marscollective_
