Meet Tyler White

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyler White of “BadTalks”.

Hi Tyler, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I want to start off with I do this all for the love of the music. I was born and raised in Hanahan and I started out freestyling with my friends when I was 15 (2016). I got the bare minimum equipment, downloaded Audacity (free audio software), and spent most of high school writing rhymes to free YouTube beats. I spent the course of 2017 creating a 10 or 11 song mixtape titled “Sometimes Happy”. From the start, I’ve always gravitated towards emotions and it led me to make the music that I do today. I’m super proud of the writing style that this project cemented in.

After “Sometimes Happy” dropped at the end of 2017, I immediately went to work on my second project “Ambivalent”. It was a hard departure due to it being much more upbeat, optimistic, and energetic all around. This is where I think I truly had found a voice for myself just experimenting with a range of different tracks all sourced from YouTube. (This project went on to be released in 2019.)

My first two mixtapes were completely SoundCloud based except for a single or two on “Ambivalent” due to being broke and not being able to afford leases at the time.

Here’s where it gets cool, I swear. I had been dabbling with Ableton since 2018 but never fully dove into it until after Ambivalent was released. Post drop, I started focusing on self-producing for the future. One hiatus, half a pandemic, and one million YouTube videos later, I released my first official self-produced track onto all platforms in August of 2020. Since then, I’ve released various singles utilizing my own production skills.

I’ve met a bunch of amazing people here locally in Charleston that has pushed me in the right direction. Since last June I’ve been performing frequently at places like John King, The Pour House, and The Purple Buffalo. It’s truly just the community showing love to each other out here and it’s something awesome to be a part of.

Mainly I just want to convey you can do something if you set your mind to it. I never exceeded at anything in my life until I took something seriously and honed my craft. It wasn’t something I picked up easily, I had to spend the hours.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
There are always challenges when you’re trying to be creative. I feel like I personally try to balance a lot of things and I’m never content with how it pans out. It leads to feelings of being unproductive and like there’s no way to route through, but I’ve always tried to think about it in a way more tangible. When I see people in the industry making a living off of doing what they love, I don’t get jealous. I observe and take into account that another human made it through to the other side by doubling down on their cause every day at any chance they get.

It’s hard to manage something like a music career if you want to take it seriously. Just within the past two years or so taking on self-production is a whole other task in itself along with being my own manager, creative director, media and up until recently, mixing. I’ve just been super grateful for some of the people who’ve helped me ease some of that load like Producer/DJ Rural Resonance who’s been mixing some of my most recent tracks, and Photographer Zach Pollak, who’s helped me with almost all of my photo, and video needs within the past year. I’ve even taken on different hats like editing videos, and helping other artist’s producing beats and mixing vocals.

With the type of music, I make, it’s hard for me to tell if it’ll resonate with people due to it not conforming to a certain genre of rap/hip hop. Hip hop has an exstensive history in approaches so there’s alot to draw from, for me it’s about blending things together to make a completely new story. It’s been interesting for me to see peoples reaction sometimes, because this music I’m making is coming straight from my bedroom, not some crazy studio, so you can have imposter syndrome sometimes, but it’s nothing that you can’t overcome. With that being said, I have limitations to my knowledge and places I’m looking to improve production-wise that can make you overthink, but if we were to be completely honest “Studio Quality” doesn’t mean as much as it did 10 years ago and if it sounds good then it’s probably good.

Writer’s block will be the death of me and voice memos are my best friend. This is something that everybody struggles with. I feel like for me it’s just a matter of catching myself at the right time, but honestly, your environment makes a huge difference. Switch things up every once in a while. Writing is something I’ve gone in and out on with since taking up producing. It adds another layer to work on, but honestly, it’s one of the most gratifying parts, as well.

The last thing for any aspiring artists getting into leasing, I’d highly suggest taking steps towards getting familiar with a DAW like Ableton, FL Studio, Logic, or even Garage Band. Learning how to do your own production will save you so much money and stress. Also, it’s a lot of fun.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I think the sound sets me apart, not saying no one’s done it before, but due to me doing my own production, I can go in any direction. It’s led to a freeing creative process. I love the type of music that gives you an instant feeling when you hear it and that’s been my whole goal with BadTalks. It’s super cliché to say, but things that take you into its world are my favorite.

I think there’s a lot of room to grow for me, but I’ve gotten so much more confident over the years in not caring what the next trend in music is. On top of my solo artist work, I’ve been working with other artists as a producer. There are so many talented people just here in Charleston that it’s hard to get to them all, but it’s really been assisting me in going outside my comfort zone.

I’ve been hosting my own show titled “Untitled Sessions” at a local venue monthly where I showcase the artist’s that I find dope. It’s definitely been a big task to manage, but It’s been awesome to be able to bring other artists to the heart of the downtown area.

I’m probably most proud of the past couple of years going from just a kid on SoundCloud recording songs on Audacity and using free beats from YouTube, to doing more things now like performances, music videos, and being on all platforms all with my own production backing it. I’ve never given up on this dream and have always made an effort any way I could to progress and not grow stagnant. It’s so easy to get discouraged and quit, because no one else is gonna tell you what you’re capable of. Truly, you’re the only one, so if you have a vision, use everything in your power to get one step closer. It’s led to so much love in my life pushing this passion.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
Related to music, I’d have to say currently any video of Rick Rubin is a good one. It’s cool to see someone in the industry be such a down-to-earth person. I’d absolutely recomend Splice for any aspiring producers, as it’s been called before “the google of samples” you won’t regret it.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Zach Pollak