6. Drix #2
“Alright, Yo. Do it like that again two more times and I’ll piece it together from there.”
“Alright. Start me over.”
“I got you.”
I restarted it and found myself adjusting her volume just a little. She ran through the next two recordings then I had her come out of the booth and sent Charm in.
“Let me know when you’re ready. I’m gon’ let you lay your verse and I saw a few issues in the chorus I want you to touch up. I’ll send Myome back in for that last chorus then have y’all lay adlibs.”
“Okay.” Charm nodded and I started her. I glanced at Myome while Charm recorded. “Where’s your girl?”
“I don’t know.” Myome grabbed her phone and immediately started tapping the screen.
“I can cut her verse if it comes to it.”
“It won’t,” Myome said simply, her face still focused on her phone.
“Y’all ain’t even got an album out, Yo. It’s not a good look to be begging for production or features then fucking around with people’s time and the label’s money.”
“I know that, Berlin.”
“I feel like you got some attitude in yo’ throat and I know fucking well it ain’t directed at me when I was here on time and ready to work.
” I looked back at Charm and adjusted a setting on the soundboard to make sure she sounded good with minimum vocal adjustment.
“If you gon’ be upset, take it out on that bitch, not me.
If I get what I need and she ain’t here, I’m leaving, whether y’all shit is album ready or not. ”
“Okay.” Myome nodded, then put her phone to her ear.
She paced slightly in half of the studio while I restarted Charm.
“Bitch,” she said tightly and I glanced at her.
“Get the fuck to the studio, Retta! What are you doing?” She walked toward the back of the studio into the small bathroom, slamming the door behind herself.
I shook my head but gave Charm my full attention and we got her knocked out after one more take since she was who I’d had a verse locked in for initially and we were just cleaning things up.
Myome came out of the bathroom after just a few minutes and I had her and Charm in the booth together immediately.
They’d both recorded verses and choruses so we just needed to get the chorus they wanted to record together then Retta’s verse and the adlibs.
Thankfully Charm and Myome were good at taking instructions as well as writing and having a good idea of what they wanted their music to sound like. It was always easier to work with someone who had a musical ear.
Shit. I was supposed to be producing songs, not arranging them and helping people with writing and organizing their fucking verses.
However, I also wouldn’t slap my name on something that sounded like bullshit just because the check cleared.
If I had an opinion, I would share it and didn’t care who liked it.
“Berlin,” Myome said softly into the mic and I looked up at her and lifted an eyebrow.
Apparently that real name shit was going to stick, which I actually found funny. I didn’t walk around letting people call me that shit, but I also knew she somewhat needed to get used to it with my family and everyone else staying tapped in on damn near everything we did.
“What’s up?” I lifted the sound of their mics to make sure I could hear them.
“Can I get you to stack my vocals on that first chorus where I’m raised a little bit above Charm?”
“Yeah. I can do that. You know how you want it stacked?”
“I think the last two lines with three different vocals.”
“A’ight. I got you.”
“Okay.” Charm nodded and I moved to the right starting place and got her set up.
I had her punch in all three stacks and replayed them.
“Can you layer Charm under it with a held out note?”
“Yeah.” I moved the recording over and added a line. “You ready for that?”
“Yep.” Charm nodded once and I started it so she could lock it in.
That shit sounded amazing the first time I heard it, no rerecording necessary.
Charm and Myome spoke to each other back and forth, asking me to adjust and add things and take others out.
The song sounded almost ready for release by the time Retta wandered in, a bag on her shoulder and shades over her eyes.
I didn’t even look back at her.
“About fucking time,” I grunted and pressed the speaker. “Retta is here,” I announced.
Charm looked over at Myome who pursed her lips and rolled her eyes.
“Okay. Punch me in on that last chorus again so we can adlib it and we’ll be done,” Myome said.
“I wasn’t rushing you.”
“I know.”
I set her up, and when she finished, she and Charm sauntered out of the booth.
“About fucking time,” Myome snapped as soon as she was out.
I snickered a lil bit at the fact we’d had the same reaction to her arrival.
“I told you I wasn’t feeling well!” Retta snapped.
“Wasn’t feeling well or got fucked up last night and slept through your alarms?” Charm asked.
“See! This is the shit I be talking about. Y’all are always ganging up on me!”
“Imagine accountability feeling like an attack.” Myome sucked her teeth.
“You’re the last one who needs to say anything about being accountable or getting fucked up when you just got so high you blacked out, got married, and didn’t give a fuck about the group or the optics when we’re coming up on an album release.”
“What album release if there’s not a fucking album to release?” Myome snapped. “The fuck you want us to release when you can’t show up to the studio?”
“Okay. Y’all, let’s not argue,” Charm offered.
“Nah. This bitch ain’t about to play the victim when she’s wrong in this instance,” Myome argued.
“Retta, you’re wrong and I didn’t even bring up you being fucked up.
Charm did, so address those issues with her and not me, especially when you gon’ want my nigga to share that weak ass shit you wrote when the album drops. ”
“Your fake nigga,” Retta corrected.
“Oh.” Myome held her hand up to her face, showing off her new ring. “Looks real enough to me, just like that boost in numbers and sales, bitch. You’re welcome. At least when I’m drugged up, I bring something to the team instead of a sore throat and wet ass.”
“This how girl groups get down behind the scenes?” I asked genuinely.
I couldn’t believe these women were in a group together. Shit. I’d never heard Rome and Merch go at each other this hard. I didn’t think I’d even heard them argue before.
“Not all the time,” Charm said quickly.
“But enough of the time,” Retta snipped.
“Well either way I’m not here to referee. I’m here to produce.” I lifted my hands in mock surrender. “Get in the booth.” I nudged my head toward the door.
“Ain’t nobody—”
“Bitch.” I cut Retta off. “Get in the fucking booth. You’ve already been wasting time yo’ label can’t afford. Don’t piss me off.”
Retta glared at me and I turned back to the soundboard to set her up to record.
She knew better than to talk to me the way she’d spoken to Charm and Myome.
Despite how they argued, they’d been in a group together for a lil minute; so maybe that was how they got down.
But we weren’t cool like that and my reputation preceded me.
Even though I didn’t actually beat women, I had a bad rep from that headlock I’d given Niecy and that stupid arrest with Monica.
Retta was a lot of shit but she wasn’t stupid.
I didn’t take her for the type of woman to try to push her weight around on a man with a rep like mine.
There was silence for a beat but ultimately Retta went into the booth and slammed the door.
“You better lay this shit right since you ain’t feel like you need to warm up or nothing,” I said simply.
“I’ve got it,” she said confidently.
“A’ight. Let’s do it.”
I started her off and Myome sighed but walked over and collapsed into the seat next to me.
I looked over at her. “You straight?”
“Yeah. She just gets under my fucking skin.”
“I can see that shit.” I leaned back in my seat. “How often do y’all get like that?”
“Not often,” Myome said.
“But when shit is bad, it’s bad,” Charm added.
Myome nodded in agreement. I whistled.
“How many albums is your contract for?”
“Three. Why?”
“All jokes aside, you think y’all gon’ make it?”
“We don’t have any other option.” She sighed and I nodded once but didn’t comment.
I just looked forward again.
It took over an hour to get Retta’s verse the way I needed. I had her do underlying vocals and the women got together to do adlibs and harmonize.
I immediately started editing and mixing the song and had the final draft approved and sent to their label before I let anyone leave the studio because I wasn’t about to have a third session with the group.
When we wrapped up, Retta was the first one out of the door.
“Should I talk to her?” Charm asked.
“If that’s what you want to do.” Myome shrugged. “I’m not babying her though.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know.” Charm gathered her belongings. “Are you leaving now?”
“Yeah. I’m heading out.”
“You want to get lunch?”
“Hell yeah.” Myome grabbed her things. “Do you want to tag along?”
“With y’all?” I scoffed and shook my head. “I’m good.”
“Alright. Well, I’ll see you later tonight.”
“Yeah. I’m supposed to finalize a track tonight so it may be a lil late, but I’ll be at your crib whenever I finish.”
“Okay. Cool.” Myome put her bag on her shoulder. “Have a good rest of your day.”
“You too.”
Charm gave me a lil awkward wave and I nodded once before they slipped out of the studio.
I listened to the final draft of their song one more time to make sure I really liked it. Then I saved all my files, grabbed my stuff, and headed out. I hadn’t lied about needing to finalize a track but I wasn’t scheduled to get back in the booth with Trapp until about ten so I had a free day.
I checked my phone as soon as I walked out of the studio and saw Chandler and Rome had both texted in our siblings’ group chat.
Chan Chan: Thank you for that post!!!
Rome: I showed Pops that new ring.
I laughed as soon as I saw Rome’s message and shook my head but responded.
Me: What he say?