Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Price.
Hi Alex, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself and telling us a little bit about your story and how you got started?
I’m Alex Price. A music producer, mix engineer, artist and founder of Half Price Music. For me, it all started when I was a kid. I would come home from elementary school and my brothers Lee, Ant, and Aaron would be playing music on this old Sony double cassette, 5-disk changer boombox. They would be playing the albums they bought from either Cheapo, Electric Fetus, or anything they had in their box of tapes. Albums like Enter the Wu-Tang, Bizarre Ride II by The Pharcyde, Illadelph Halflife by The Roots, and Midnight Marauders by Tribe Called Quest were all in rotation on any given day just to name a few. My dad was always listening to Jazz and my mom listened to R&B and Pop, so I grew up in a very music-oriented household. Growing up surrounded by great music from my family allowed me to fall in love with it early and it’s been a part of my fe ever since. The first time I remember rapping was on this old Talkboy tape player that was a Christmas gift my mom gave me. My brothers and I used it to have freestyle cyphers over the instrumental tapes Aaron made. He would dub music from the radio or from the tapes they had, looping the endings of songs to make breakbeats. That was unknowingly, my introduction to producing music. Fast forward to me being taught by my brothers how to make beats from a video game called “MTV’s Music Generator”. When we got that game it pretty much changed everything for me, basically turning me into a 10-year-old beatmaker. Back then, I thought it was the dopest thing ever because not only was I playing a game, but I was making music at the same time. As soon as I got to Franklin Middle School, Aaron taught me how to make beats on a program called “Fruity Loops” which is now FL Studio, but that was the moment I felt like I was actually on to something. Because by the time I entered North High, I was creating my own sound, burning my beats to CDs to play for everybody and even selling my beats to a local church for some extra cash. By senior year, I had made a name for myself and started a rap group with my then friend James (J-Dante) who gave me my artist name Half.
It wasn’t until after high school that I produced my first breakout single for James titled “Superhypermegacool” featuring Rafael Casal who was already an established artist. The song made its rounds on San Francisco radio stations and had solidified my first ever radio placement. Rafael was our friend, but also our mentor. He was a regular on Russell Simmon’s Def Poetry show, but always found time to support us and our vision. After a few years of college, releasing projects, and performing, James and I parted ways and I went on to further my craft in music production. I learned different DAWs and tried new engineering techniques while still releasing music, primarily for myself and my family. This eventually led to me meeting my next mentor Antjuan Carter, who was introduced to me by my brother Lee. Antjuan would let all of us record our music at what was then called, The Institute of Music and Production (this was the original Flight Time Studios). Being in that environment, working in a professional studio, and walking past all the gold and platinum plaques from legendary artists before we’d hit the studio was always inspiring. With his high level of musical knowledge, now a Grammy-nominated producer and engineer taught me some of the skills that I still use to this day when I’m engineering music and I’ll always be grateful for that.
A few years later, Lee and I put our money together, hired a contractor, and built our own recording studio that I would operate as the dedicated recording engineer and producer. It took some time and patience, but once I got my first client in the Spring of 2017, Half Price Music was solidified, and the rest is history. I’m forever grateful for all these moments, friends and family that helped me get to where I am today.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, but I’m thankful for all the lessons I learned to get where I am today. When I first started my journey with music it felt great to create and have fun. Don’t get me wrong, I still have fun with music and love it the same way I did when I was a kid, but the business aspect is where it has gotten tricky. When I first opened Half Price Music, I was working with any and every person who booked time with me because I wanted as much money I could get. I struggled with time management, and I was spreading myself too thin. I quickly learned that my work quality was not on point and more importantly, not all money is good money. Without a doubt, it allowed me to work with some interesting artists from OVO on down to your run of the mill artist who is just starting out, but after my first year in business, I realized I needed to weed out the less serious artists and focus on the ones who I felt really wanted to make a name for themselves. Once I was able to find my core group of artists, the business side of things got better, and I was able to start producing higher quality work and getting back to the essence.
Money was another issue. My equipment failing, having hard drives and laptops stolen among other struggles would make me ask myself, is “it worth it?” because replacing those things isn’t cheap. I’ve spent thousands of dollars starting my business and pursuing this dream with very little financial backing from anyone. It’s challenging mentally as well – running a business, trying to remain creative while maintaining healthy relationships with friends, family, etc. can take a toll on you trying to balance it all. One of the biggest hurdles I faced in my journey was when my brother Lee went away for a few years because that had a huge impact on me both mentally and creatively, but I knew I had to stay focused and keep going. All of these things were out of my control, but bumps in the road nonetheless. Through resilience, hard work, and prayer, I got through it and can now look back and remember that these learning lessons helped me grow and be better at everything I do.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I do a lot. I’m a music producer, and artist who runs my own recording studio as the sole recording engineer. I started Half Price Music in 2017 to provide a professional, but affordable recording studio for other artists so they can turn their ideas into something tangible. If an artist needs a professional and creative space to record their music, they can book time with me to get their song recorded, professionally mixed, and mastered for all DSPs. As an artist, I’ve released a few projects, but the one I’m most proud of so far is my debut album “One Nine” that I released in 2019. Ever since then I’ve been releasing singles, doing features, and helping other artists in the city release their projects. My most recent single titled “Four Letters” featuring Atlanta-based singer, Christionne will be included on my next album released this year called Only Time Will Tell. This next project is going to be special, featuring a lot of great artists in and out of the Twin Cities, so I can’t wait to release it and start performing again.
There’s a lot to be proud of. I’ve been very fortunate to have had multiple radio placements, released multiple projects, helped many artists release their music while ultimately turning my name into a business. What separates me from others is that I’m like five people in one. I produce, write, record, mix and master my own songs. Even after all that is done, I have to then market and promote myself. I do all of this while simultaneously running a business where I have to record other artists and get their music out too. I don’t know many other artists doing all of that and that’s what separates me from them.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Spending time with my family, friends, creating new music, and being out in LA. My family is my foundation. I talk to my parents and my brothers almost every day. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be where I am today. My extended family Ron, Drake, and Esther have basically been there for me since day one and they always keep it real with me and I love them for that. As far as LA goes that’ll be home soon. Overall, there are so many things right now that I could list that make me happy, but I’m just thankful I’m here and doing what I love. When I make a new song and I start seeing someone bobbing their head or making that “stank face”. You know, that face you make when the beat or the lyrics of the song forcibly makes you have a face in disbelief that it’s THAT good? I aspire for the stank face whenever anyone is listening to my music. But in all honesty though, just making someone feel something or take something good away from my music makes me genuinely happy and that’s all I want to do.
Pricing:
- 1-hour recording session – $40
- 2-hour recording session – $80
- 3-hour recording session – $100
- Mix a two-track with vocals – $70
- Mix an entire tracked out song – $120
Contact Info:
- Website: Halfpricemusicgroup.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/halfpricemusic
- Twitter: Twitter.com/halfpricemusic
- Youtube: youtube.com/channel/UC-VZq-Ua6PXX_aqW1RYaH3Q
- Email: halfpriceproductions@gmail.com
- Other: open.spotify.com/artist/3zRiuac1OnownG7ZGrEl7Q
Image Credits
Desmond Brooks
Eleven11Photos
