Stash thank you for agreeing to interview with Nefarious Supply to get to get this interview started tell us about your self who is Stash, what got you started as a musician, how long have you been making music, and what is your experience so far as an underground artist.
I wanna start off by saying thank you for having me, and giving me the opportunity to talk a little about myself on your platform. The name StashtheWave is a moniker I created a little bit after high school, around 2016. I’m a Boston-based music producer from Randolph, MA. My musical journey started at a young age, listening to the music my father would play around the house. Everything from classic Spanish music to Marvin Gaye or Lionel Richie, and the soft rock and R&B of the 90s/early 2000s. Around 9 years old I started taking piano lessons for several years and going into middle school I started listening to more music that I discovered on my own. By the time I was a senior in high school in 2015, I started experimenting with FL Studio trying to teach myself how to make my own beats with the dreams of one day being the one behind many future hit records. Since then, I’ve been able to work with some of the best artists from around my state and have gotten some pretty dope opportunities along the way.
I would describe my experience of being an underground artist from Massachusetts as community driven. I feel like everyone from around here really supports one another, especially the people I keep around. My career thus far has been short, but I’ve learned so much along the way and have been blessed with opportunities that most people don’t get. My first big break in Boston’s music scene was in 2018 when I produced the music on a Celtics’ commercial that also included Cousin Stizz’s narration. Since then, I’ve been working with a lot artists from around the city and from neighboring states including artists from Van Buren Records, Notebook P, Lonny X from CT and Hennessy from Providence. This journey has been a rollercoaster ride so far but I know I have so much more in store.
Being based out of Massachusetts how has this area influenced you as a producer , in addition to Van Buren having a big presence in the area what other artists are prevalent in the area, and in terms of talent who do you think is the best underground artist or artists to come out of your state right now/?
I think I’ve been extremely blessed by being around so many great artists from my area, and everyone around me keeps pushing me to be greater. Having that level of talent around really does wonders for my own creativity. In addition to what Van Buren has been doing, artists like Notebook P, Donald Grunge, BoriRock, REDLINE Agency, Latrell James, my guy ROHO who’s a fire, multi-faceted producer, my guys from Rebel Mafia and my own collective Dienue have proven that there is great talent here in Massachusetts as well as many others. My personal favorite in terms of talent is Notebook P. We’ve been working together for years and seeing his development in real-time has been beautiful to witness. My guys over at Van Buren Records really been doing their thing too.
In addition to your location what artists would you say have had the biggest influence on you, why, and which artists are you currently listening to right now?
My biggest inspirations have mostly came from Pharrell, Kanye West, 9th Wonder, KAYTRANADA, Metro Boomin and many many more. Definitely everyone in Dienue and VB, Latrell too. All of them have been pivotal in my growth as a producer and artist in general. And since ROHO and I started making beats together he’s also helped me apply a whole different approach to my own beat-making as well. Currently I’ve been listening to Babyface Ray’s new album, Saba’s new project, this dude BashfortheWorld from Texas, and Curren$y and Alchemist’s new album too.
So the journey as an underground producer is never easy and is filled with all of ups and downs if you could go back in time and give your younger self advice about your career what would you say, and for new producers that are just now getting started what advice would you give them.
I would probably tell my younger self and to producers who are just starting to keep working as hard as possible on your craft, and that you might not like everything you make all the time but that doesn’t mean someone else won’t. Keep drawing inspiration from all avenues of life and that it’s also okay to just live life for a while until that inspiration comes back.
What is your favorite thing about being an underground producer, and what would you say is the most challenging thing?
I think my favorite thing about being an underground producer is also the most challenging thing; I love being a versatile producer who can create with almost any artist and I feel like that makes me one of the state’s best kept secrets. With that being said, that feeling of being “slept on” comes with some negative baggage sometimes but you always have to overcome those emotions of self-doubt.
So talk to us about your creative process what platform do you use to produce from start to finish how do you get inspired, what’s it like when you get in the studio, and how do you know you have something you are ready to share with the world?
I’ve been making beat on FL Studio since the start and I honestly don’t plan on moving to a different DAW. The first thing I think of when I’m starting a beat is whatever emotions I’m feeling at that moment. I try my best to translate my feelings into the music I make and I heavily incorporate that into the sessions I’m in. The studio is like my sanctuary, it’s my place to relax and wind down, and to open my mind to any and all kinds of possibilities. Having that level of comfort in a room really gets me in a position to be as creative as I can be. I usually know I have a record that I want to put out when I’ve been sitting on it for a bit but I can’t stop playing it. I might not like it for like a few days or a week but I always end up going back to it like “nah, this is hard.” That’s when I know I’m ready to release something or send it out.
So back in 2020 you released a small single featuring three songs titled Cruise Control walk us through this project including what inspired it, the meaning behind the title, and the making or inspiration behind each of the songs?
The COVID pandemic left us all stuck in our cribs for good amount of 2020, so I had the idea of releasing a small beat tape with an independent label called Dust Collectors. Some things happened and I ended up not releasing with that label and decided to put it out on my own. I handled almost everything about that project from production and art direction with additional help from my fellow Dienue member Clyde Black.
The main reason why I wanted to release Cruise Control was to showcase a certain vibe from my beats that most people didn’t know me for at the time. Until then, I felt like most artists expected trap beats from me so I just wanted to show that I can be very versatile as well. The creation of the beat tape came from the last track, ‘Otw Home.’ It’s the most recent beat on there and my personal favorite, and that beat was what drove the inspiration of the entire project. ‘Noir’ was an old beat from like 2017 that I touched up with some new drums and ‘October’ is actually the oldest beat on there.
This year you entered into the new year on a high note and followed up with Cruise Control with your new release To Whom Much Is Given tell us about this new single and the three tracks?
To Whom Much is Given is 3-track EP that I released to further showcase my production and curation capabilities, and to also showcase the talent of some of my closest friends and collaborators. Everything was made over that past year or so and everything was made organically. I’ve been sitting on a lot of records with various artists so I really wanted to just put out a few of them that I loved and was ready for the world to hear.
On cruise control you really show cased your production but with this project you decided to feature artists over your beats including: Donald Grunge, Jiles, Arold, Clyde Black, and Notebook. What made you feature each of them, and how was the experience working with them for this new project?
I’ll start with Grunge. Grunge is an amazingly versatile artist that can hop on almost any beat imaginable. I sent him the beat for ‘BORDERLINE’ while he was in LA and he sent back a record like the next day. From the moment I listened to it I knew that we had one. Most people know him for his autotune but he’s not rapping with autotune on this one and that alone also really made want to release the record. Jiles and I have more than a few records together and he really just be snapping on all of them. ‘I.D.FW.N.’ was a record made so organically one night and once I heard the freestyling from everyone while I was making the beat I knew it was going to be a special one. That track so raw, man. ‘FEBRUARY’ came from one of the darkest times for me in recent memory. It was a record that originally me and Clyde were just working on together before I sought the help of ROHO and Notebook P to complete the song.
So 2022 is just started what are your goals this year including where do you want to be by the end to his year, and where do you want your career by the end of this decade?
My goals for the year is to keep my foot on the gas with my music. I have so much music in the vault and I’m honestly more ready than ever to release it. I have a lot of great ideas I wanna share with everyone once they’re fully realized and I can’t wait for what’s next. By the end of the year I want everyone from around here that I’m one of the best out. I’ve always believed in myself and knew that I could do anything that I applied my mind to. By the end of the decade, I just hope I could leave my mark on my community, inspire the next generation of dreamers and help my team achieve great success.
Who should we feature next?
I’m going to be biased and say that I think you should feature either someone from Dienue or my boy Notebook P (LOL). Everyone one of those guys are immensely talented and have done so much for my own creativity. Clyde is an amazing rapper/singer/stylist/graphic designer. Man’s really a jack of all trades. Qwan? is a the only rapper-producer in Dienue and he’s got some crazy records in the vault that I know he’s ready to release. Demaris is one of the best producers and sample-choppers I know and is also multi-talented. And Notebook P got the voice of an angel. That man can sing his heart out and can write songs like nobody else that I know.
Any last words?
I just want to say thank you again for featuring me on your platform. I love the way you guys highlight underground artists and also give a lot of free game to up and coming artist who might not have this information at their disposal. I hope you all liked my project and be on the lookout for more releases from me this year!
