Cosmic what’s up bro, first things first thank you for coming on and interviewing with Nefarious Supply! So just to get the interview started, just introduce yourself to Who Cosmic beats what got you into music production?

Hello, just wanted to start off by thanking you for even having me in this interview. So my birth name is Eric Matheus and I was born in Boca Raton, Florida on May 26th 2000. I go by the alias “COSMIC” but Im also known as “cosmicbeats” or “prodbycosmic.” I grew up really with no musical background other than the love I had for listening to music but I always had this urge to play the drums when I was little. My mom wasn’t really a fan of the loudness it would cause in the house so that wasn’t really an option for me at the time.

So what really started my passion for music is when my older brother introduced me to EDM, Dubstep and House music as a young teen. I also listened to a bit of Hip/hop and Rap as well but the funny thing is I wasn’t a big fan of it at the time I don’t even know why (which is way different now, Rap/ Hip Hop is definitely my favorite genre to listen to). Like just the idea of having words over a beat or whatever sounded funny to me, yes I know that may sound weird haha. For instance if it was rap or hip hop music I was listening to at the time I would always just focus more so on the beat rather than the lyrics because that's what grabbed my attention more. During the time span of 2014-2015 I found myself constantly on Soundcloud discovering new music for me to listen to. This is where I discovered Trap music for the first time and as soon as I heard “Ball So Hard” by Hucci and Stooki Sound I was hooked. After hearing this track I soon wanted to discover more so I decided to make playlists on my Soundcloud, gathering all of my favorite tracks and producers which were literally just beat instrumentals of this "new sound." These playlists would include noble producers such as Hucci, Stooki Sound, Mr. Carmack, SLIGHT, Loud Lord, TNGHT, Gameface, Troyboi, Flosstradumus, RL Grime, Lunice, and many more. To my surprise, these playlists I was making started to gain a following because of how much music it had.

This is when I started to realize that it was about time to try and make the music I kept on hearing myself. It all started when I was in a library one day, supposed to be studying for my upcoming exam freshman year in High School, I came across a Fl Studio ad that stood out to me. It almost looked like a video game to me. I then downloaded the demo as an attempt to learn how to use it. Starting off because of the lack of tutorials there were at the time, I found myself trying to teach it on my own, multiple times which often led to frustration. At one point I even gave up on the program for a couple of weeks. However, I refused to completely give up on the software and started to just experiment and have fun with it. After literally countless hours of dedicating my time to learn Fl Studio 12, I started to get the hang of the software and this is where I would start composing my very first beats. Without any musical background aside from my diverse music taste and ear for music I had, I remember I would have to leave the computer on overnight just so I can go back to working on it later because of the demo limiting your ability to save. This motivated me to get my hands on the full version which really helped inspire me to start posting on Soundcloud and this is how I started, under the alias "Ematheus23." From then on there I changed my name to "COSMIC" after coming across the word online which really stuck out to me. Meaning “out of this world” I started to incorporate that idea into my tracks. At the time I had aspirations to not only become a music producer but also a DJ and build my own brand, so the rest is history.

Where are you from, how has this area influenced your sound and how is the area for connecting with artists to work with?

I know that first answer was hella long my bad for that haha so I’m gonna try and keep the rest of this interview straight to the point. As mentioned before I'm from South Florida, Boca Raton to be exact and honestly I didn’t really start working with artists till 2017. Plus most of my placements as of now have happened online not in person, but I still think it’s a lot better to work with an artist in person than over the internet. Also I wasn’t making any rap or hip hop beats to begin with, I was making the type of beats you can listen to for working out or putting them in gaming montages, beats like those without any lyrics. However I did at one point start to take acapellas of already poppin’ songs and start to put them over one of my beats and the outcome of that turned out pretty well. People really liked when I started doing those flips so I kept that in mind for the future projects I had in store. As far as South Florida when it comes to the music scene and all that I mean there's been definitely some noble rappers who've come out of here successful such as XXXTentacion (R.I.P), Kodak Black, Smokepurpp, Lil Pump, Ski Mask The Slump God, Denzel Curry, and many more. Now though since I'm more familiar with the music industry and all that I'm definitely open with working with any artist down in the South Florida area as long as I like their music and see potential in them.      

How long have you been a producer, and what are some of the things you have learned since you’ve started?

I’ve been producing for 5 years now and I've learned A LOT. I put a lot in all caps because I want to emphasize that I'm definitely not the same producer I was 5 years ago or even a year ago. I always feel like I'm getting better whenever I open up Fl Studio and definitely always learning from tutorials/ interviews and word of mouth. Like I've worked with many producers and artists over the internet and even in person so the amount of knowledge that I get from working with these people, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'm the type of person that's open to learning and teaching, no matter how experienced I think I may be because at the end of the day I'm here to better improve myself as a person and as a producer.

Definitely a major gem that I’ve learned since I started, and I can’t stress this enough is that simplicity is key, especially when it comes to working with artists. Like less is more and it definitely depends on the artist, how much you will include in the beat. I learned this when I was working with platinum producer Danny Wolf, he was one of the first to ever reach out to me from the music industry. He would constantly remind me of this because I wasn’t used to working with artists at the time so I would always go all out with the beats and not leave much room for the artist. The beats weren’t bad or anything, they just had too much going on for vocalists. I learned that when the artist and beat complement each other that's how hits are made. I also learned if you want to stand out as a producer, stay in your own lane, develop your own style because you’ll eventually be noticed by others for your uniqueness.   

If you could go back in time and give yourself some advice from when you started to now, what would you tell yourself?

Definitely something I would tell my early self knowing how important and crucial it is now is to network in person. Like I was always good at networking online and all that but I would rarely network in person and that really opens up doors for new opportunities and relationships that can better help you advance in the music industry and just make you a better producer/ person. Now I'm definitely focusing on the networking part in person because I know how much of an impact it can have on me and my brand. 

What artists and producers have had the biggest impact on you and your production style?

I’m always being inspired by many artists/ producers everyday because there's so many emerging ones but if I were to narrow them down and list them off I would say for the producers it would have to be: Wondagurl, Eestbound, Pi'erre Bourne (also an artist), Mike Dean, CashMoney AP, Jetsonmade, Honorable C-Note and SLIGHT.

For artists I would have to say Travis Scott, Playboi Carti, Young Nudy, Lil Yachty, Lil Keed, Lil Gotit, Lil Uzi, Juice Wrld, Drake, Tory Lanez, Future, Trippie Red, Young Thug, Apollo1027, JusLo, and 561Renzo. 

So you caught our attention because of your work with Apollo1027 but after checking out your soundcloud and your website it seems like you have established a separate brand for yourself. So tell us how you navigate the music industry as a producer and what are some things based on your experience that up and coming producers should know about?

As of now my goals are to stay independent as a producer and develop artists or even producers that I see have potential in them which I think is really the move over the whole chasing placements idea. However, obviously if you have the connection to that one or multiple placement(s) opportunity, go for it because that can open other doors for you and get your name in the industry. But if you were to ask me which I would recommend for early producers it would be to focus on finding an artist you mess with and believe in and stick with them. Develop their sound because the outcome of that relationship and progress you’ll make together is going to better than any placement you may be chasing to get. I also believe longevity and versatility is important when working/ developing an artist or even a  producer.  

What is your go to DAW and why?

I've only ever used and stuck to one DAW which is Fl studio because that's how I got introduced to it and I pretty much know how to use it pretty well when it comes to producing and even engineering on it. I also think it's more user friendly compared to the other DAWS out there but that's just my preference of course. I'm a little familiar with ableton just because most of my friends use it and literally everyone that I know who uses ableton are like musical geniuses so I wouldn’t mind taking the time to learn Ableton.  

Walk us through your production process from start to finish and tell us about how you change it up when working with artists?

Well it's definitely a whole different process whenever I make rap/ hiphop beats versus the Trap beats I'm known for. Like for the Trap beats usually there's always going to be a more complex structure such as a long intro or build up versus the normal structuring of a intro, two bar hook, and three bar verse in a rap beat. Also trap beats will have more automation and fx’s going on and will take longer than rap beats simply due to how much is going into the beat.

A good example is the “ANTHEM” series that a lot of people are probably familiar with. These two tracks literally have up to 8 producers on them and can be up to 6-8 minutes long. On the other hand, Rap beats can literally take 1-20 minutes for me to make, really depends on the vibe whereas I can spend hours on trap beats trying to perfect everything. Whenever I'm working with an artist I always keep in mind their style and to leave room for the vocals to sit well in the mix without them having to fight for space with the beat.  

Outside of Apollo1027 what other artists and producers have you worked with and how was the experience working with different artists creatively as well as a business standpoint?

Right off the bat I want to say Apollo1027 is definitely the most unique artist I've ever worked with in person. Since he also is familiar with producing and all that we can make something crazy when we're in the same room together. Another great artist(s) to work with in person is jusLo, 561Renzo, and Mark Richards. All really talented individuals that I'm glad I crossed paths with. This is why I prefer to work with the artist in person because this gives me the opportunity to work with them more efficiently and possibly get them out of their comfort zone, vice versa.

For most of my past placements like Juice Wrld, Hoodrich Pablo Juan, 6 Dogs, Yung Bans, $teven Cannon, and Scarlxrd all of these were done through a connection such as Danny Wolf or simply through email. The interesting thing about the Juice Wrld placement was a big surprise for me because I had no idea until someone told me that there was a JuiceWrld track that had leaked containing both of our tags. The track was titled “In a Mix’’ and had an open verse on it. Being a big fan of Juicewrld (R.I.P) this was one of the bigger accomplishments for me in my music career. With producers, I've worked with so many talented people like it’s crazy how some of these producers don’t even have a big following or any of that. There’s also some really dope producers I've worked with who are in Internet Money such as Rio Leyva, Cxdy, Spaceman, holy, and Noah mejia just to name a few.       

So what’s next for you in 2020, what are some things you hope to accomplish by the end of the year?

I definitely want to drop merch. I've had many people asking me when I will drop it and all that so I plan on dropping some pieces in the summer, if not in the summer definitely in the fall. The people who are always around me know that I already have stickers and such but I want to drop some hoodies and shirts most likely. 

Who should we interview next on Nefaroius Supply?

I would like to see my boys jusLo, 561Renzo and Mark Richards on here for sure.  

Any last words?

I just wanna thank you guys once again for having me, really appreciate you guys reaching out and all and shoutout to HotBlock Collective!

Big shout out to Cosmic for interviewing with Nefarious Supply , if you want to stay up to date with him you can follow him on Instagram and be sure to check out his site as well. Let us know in the comments what your favorite release from this past week was! And If you want to stay up to date with news and content coming from Nefarious Supply you can find us on Instagram, and  Twitter. We also recently opened the Nefarious Supply shop so if you want to support you can show some love  here.