Orlando based producer golden child has been setting the underground on fire as of late. In addition to landing a spot in our Focus Five series, he’s been dropping heaters on some of the best underground labels out including Jadu Dala, Below The Surface, Trap Party, Presently Lifted and more. His signature style infuses hip hop influences, foreign soundscapes, skillful vocal manipulation and some incredible bounce for a formidable trap sound. It’s only a matter of time before you start seeing golden child blowing up so we opted to connect with the talented producer now. Delivering a 30 minute guest and an in depth interview, this is the perfect way to fall in love with his sound. The mix features a number of his own originals and remixes plus music from Dabow, L*O*J, TroyBoi, Jon Casey, Decap and more. As for the interview, we discuss his love for trap, the recipe for his tracks, what he’s planning for the rest of the year and what makes him happy outside of music. Dive in below.
How’s Orlando treating you? Did you grow up there?
Orlando is a nice little city to live in. I recently moved out of my parents’ house to move in with a good friend downtown, and it has been a huge growing period for my life already. I was originally born in New Jersey and moved down to Florida when I was around 8 years old. I was raised most of my life in Orange City, FL which is between DeLand and Deltona. I am definitely excited to see my growth as an artist and an individual as I continue to learn from the world around me.
Is Florida as crazy as the internet and media portray it to be?
Haha, well there definitely are some crazy things that only happen in Florida. Our recent history isn’t the brightest lol. Especially at my high school, kids were getting into trouble for the strangest things, but hey we are still managing to make it out lol.
Why did you start making music?
I just grew up listening to music a lot because my mom absolutely loves music and my mom’s side of the family was very musical so it was always around me. I played various instruments in middle and high school just to get an easy elective class or an A and things like that, but I was too ignorant to understand the love I had for it.
Anyways, I started djing in 6th grade on Virtual DJ and that eventually led to my buying a launchpad mini that came with Ableton lite. So freshman year of high school it really started calling me, and it’s been a long few years since then, but I do not regret a single thing that has happened so far and look to never stop following that feeling and love I have for music in general.
The colors and imagery I see when listening to any trap genre are much more vivid and real for me which is why I still continue to produce trap beats.
What drew you to producing trap?
I’ve always been a fan of hip hop and electronic music. I actually started by trying to make dubstep a longgg time ago lol. I do remember hearing some Trap Nation tracks on Pandora while studying for school and what not. This is when I started listening to Flosstradamus, Baauer, and Great Dane, which led to Hucci, Stooki Sound and TroyBoi, and then way into the underground genres as well. Something with a smooth trap beat with this super bouncy flow has always hit me different. I feel like I relate to the genre the most out of any others. I love the diversity of the genre and how it influences so many other genres. I especially love how there are so many different rhythms and percussive element that you can play with to create a realistic and natural environment for the listener. The colors and imagery I see when listening to any trap genre are much more vivid and real for me which is why I still continue to produce trap beats.
Back in August you tweeted, “im so self conscious about my music that ive legit restarted my ep for the 7th time now.” How’s the EP coming along now?
Ah yes. Well I now have some ideas down for the direction of where I want to go with it, however I want to develop just a few more things I lack before hitting it hard. I am really picky and tend to overthink a lot, which holds me back sometimes. I just want to make sure when it comes out I am fully happy with my work regardless of how well it’s received.
Why are you so self conscious about your music? Have you been able to make any strides in getting over this feeling?
It goes back to the picky thing, I just like to try and perfect the idea in my head, and when I can’t create it for myself I tend to delete or just never touch it again. Recently, I have just been creating some stuff that feels more off the head and on the fly, which has helped a ton in my creative process. The creative process for me can be exhausting especially when I don’t feel inspired. Taking breaks and not overthinking everything really helps when trying to get over that little creative rut.
It’s okay to throw stuff way off the grid to make your beats sound more clunky. I mean if it sounds good it sounds good, there aren’t really right or wrongs here.
If you had to write a recipe for your tracks, what would the key ingredients be?
Melody – If your beat has great structure, great mix, great flow, etc. but a weak melody then it won’t stick as much for me. I like to start with a solid melody and just keep expanding on the ideas until I hit the money one. Then I’ll take the others I started with and place them in other parts of the track I’m working on. It really feels like you can keep expanding upon melodies for hours sometimes.
Drums – I love gummy snappy drums. For me it thickens the whole track and just gives it this strong body that helps drive all of the other elements. It can be a tedious process, but putting in a few extra minutes or hours to get those drums knocking will definitely be worth it for the final vision. Creative drum patterns and percussive elements can transform the beat with this insane flow and put the listener in a more clear environment.
Flow – Sound placement is everything for this. Me personally, the more off but on things sound, the better. It gives a stiff track life and movement which makes it feel more real and human.
Sometimes adding a little bit of imperfection can bring out that last little bit of feel you were trying for. You should want to hear a beat and move your whole body without thinking about it or even trying to. It’s okay to throw stuff way off the grid to make your beats sound more clunky. I mean if it sounds good it sounds good, there aren’t really right or wrongs here.
Sound/Sample selection – All the drums, synths and vocals should fit in the same environment. I think of it like a canvas. This where you can give your track a voice and color. The better the sounds fit together, the better and more clear the picture is conveyed.
What should fans expect from you before the year ends?
I have a few more standalone tracks that will be coming out soon. I don’t think anything from the EP will be ready until the new year. Honestly, I guess we’ll see what happens. More music soon I promise.
The more I have been experiencing life the more I have been realizing the things that really hold weight in my life. Staying off social media for a good amount of time has been one of the best things…
What makes you happy outside of music?
I value friendship a lot. Being downtown, it’s easy to work on music all day and then go for a short walk or grab a drink or something like that. I enjoy driving around and just listening to music, it helps me think and organize my thoughts. The more I have been experiencing life the more I have been realizing the things that really hold weight in my life. Staying off social media for a good amount of time has been one of the best things for myself because I felt like I couldn’t help but compare myself to others, and it was unhealthy and really bringing me down overall. It just honestly stresses me out.
If this mix were a movie, what would the tagline be?
For the love of the bounce or something haha.
Tracklist
- l o j – atmo
- l o j – moontoys (golden child remix)
- olswel – 120 bounce
- dilip – levels (feat. l o j)
- dilip – dots
- julo – drip
- fucking shit up (feat busta rhymes) [troyboi remix]
- l o j x dabow – hyped
- olswel – knock
- olswel – we thoomin w/ inimicvs & dilip
- jon casey – ruminate
- julo & golden child – click
- sterfry – red
- golden child – dark matter
- troyboi & stooki sound – warrior
- hookah (anoop edit)
- jon casey – sticky
- golden child & julo – pharaoh
- golden child – malice
- l o j & jon casey – chance the monopoly card
- golden child – eclipse
- decap – who’s there
- yunis – wucf
