Celebrated hip-hop producer and WAYBETTR co-founder Naki opens up about his journey in the music industry in the latest episode of Billboard Philippines Volumes.
In 2021, Naki and fellow producer NEXXFRIDAY teamed up to launch their hip-hop record label WAYBETTR. They aim to create a safe space for budding hip-hop and R&B artists to develop their artistry in the industry. Some of their artists include the biggest names in the music scene today: hip-hop duo Tus Brothers and viral R&B singer DENY.
“You know when I was trying to learn Logic [a digital audio workstation], I wasn’t really surrounded by a lot of creatives as well. You know I didn’t really know…a bunch of producers who were trying to do the same thing that I was doing. I felt like I was just doing it by myself. That’s where I learned to like…’alright, I need a beat, I’ll try to learn how to make a beat.’ ‘I wanna learn how to record, I’ll try to record myself.’ ‘I wanna make a song, I’ll try to glue these things together.’ The thing that really got me to where I am today is the fact that I’m basically driven by curiosity,” Naki shares in the podcast.
He also opened up about the state of hip-hop and R&B in the Filipino music industry today. He shared, “I feel like it deserves more. The reason why I say that is that the majority of numbers you see now for hip-hop and R&B — it’s from the younger generation. I feel like we can get those numbers up. I also see that this younger generation uses hip-hop and R&B as kind of like…a personality trait, [especially] with them growing up these influences…you can really see that this was part of their childhood.”
Listen to Naki on Billboard Philippines Volumes below.