Born into a family with a mother who was a singer and a father who was drummer, 24-year-old Laquan Green had music in his DNA.
“I started playing the drums at 2 in my local church, and from there, I went on and started playing piano at 10,” he said.
The Glosser, Virginia, native grew up listening to the sounds of artists ranging from Otis Redding to NWA. By his early teens, Green realized music was his calling, and by 14, was writing and producing.
His big producing debut came from the success of Cardi B’s chart-topping single “Bodak Yellow.” Green’s looping sample company, Evergreen B., had a sample pack that attracted the attention of Jai White, who then sent it to Cardi B.
“It changed my life significantly,” Green recalled. “I was shocked, I was impressed, I was excited. It was such a good experience.” Green also produced the song “Money Bagg” for Cardi’s highly anticipated album Invasion of Privacy.
Since then, Green has been able to transition from making beats on Soundcloud to landing deals with Atlantic Records, Sony BMG, and Amoni Media.
His advice to all up-and-coming producers is to stay genuine in your creativity in the midst of your success.
“It only takes one big song to change your life. I learned that very quick,” he said. “When you become successful, the bar is set a whole lot higher for you now and you feel that pressure to keep working and working and working, trying to get that next hit.”
While this can be good for your work ethic, it can also cause you to burn out. “A lot of times when you gain success you have a tendency to always try to create that kind of cookie-cutter type of design,” Green said. “But you have to keep creating from your heart because that’s what got you successful in the first place.”
In the future, Green said he would love to expand his repertoire and work with artists like Katie Perry, Adele, Meaghan Trainor, Post Malone, and Migos.
