He's a Grammy winner, a producer and sound designer for Beyonce's Renaissance album, one of the top selling albums of all time.

Growing up in Sylvania, Ohio, and finding his music niche in sound design and production, Jameel Asthey is now legendary in the music industry, and he's only just begun.

Jameel, welcome.

It's fabulous to have you here.

Jameil Aossey: Glad to be here.

Kristi: So talk to us a little bit more about how many years you've been in the music industry.

Jameil Aossey: 24 at this point, professionally since 2014.

Kristi: So tell us about that.

In the years that you've been in the industry, what is it that you've been doing and that kind of evolution for you?

Jameil Aossey: Jeez, I mean, I started it, you know, recording it when I was in high school, right?

Just going down and making ideas on a keyboard booking studio time, 50 bucks an hour.

You know, you leave with cassette tape back in those days, and just working with people locally and just trying to help them create their sound.

Even when I was young and over the course of time you work with more artists, then you figure out what your best.

So for me it was production, so it took someone to tell me later on like, hey, you know what?

You're not the greatest artist vocally, you know, maybe focus on your production.

So that's kind of when I made that switch about 2013 into production.

Kristi: That was a pretty significant moment.

Then little did you probably know at that time, like, wait a minute.

So I'm shifting and maybe you didn't think about that originally, but that was probably some of the best advice you received.

Jameil Aossey: It really was, you know, focus on what you're best at, master that first, and then you can kind of go in depth a little bit.

Kristi: Tell us more if you were kind of, a quick synopsis of what it's like to be in the music industry, some of those jobs.

Jameil Aossey: Yeah.

So, you know, for me, production wise, it's helping the artists get to the destination of the song.

that's pulling resources, that's conducting the sessions, or just making sure that the music gets where it needs to be, bringing in, you know, certain writers or just you know, whether it be, you know, everyone but Ted's, and someone has to make a decision.

songwriter composer really comes in and says, okay, well, let's create the lyric in the melody and let's make what the song is about, if that makes sense, is make it catchy.

Let's find a way to help the artists identify their vision and how to take it home and make it understandable to the listener.

so and then talent managers, of course, are there, so we don't have to worry about negotiating deals or having those phone calls and conversations with people.

We just solely focus on creative freedom.

And so that's kind of like the brief overview of the creating part of it.

And then the.

Kristi: Managers, when we talk about your IT factor, you know, what was it that Beyonce and her team said, okay, this is the guy.

This is who we want.

Jameil Aossey: I think that we Covid allowed everyone to take a step back and just try to find a way to connect with them.

So we decided, well, you know what?

Maybe we should stop taking on projects that don't resonate with our passion.

We made a sound design iPad that her team got hold of, and they kind of came direct to us and said, hey, y'all, we heard this sound, we want this sound.

Would you mind working on the album?

Of course, of course we do.

Right?

And that's just how it happened.

Within a couple days, we worked on preexisting demos that she had, so we didn't make them from scratch.

They were already demos, and we just applied what we were doing at that time, which is what we believed in to her songs.

And then it just so happened.

So it was just confirmation again of if you follow what you believe in, then those things start to happen, because before that you had so many almosts and never panned out.

I feel like we were trying to fit into this circle that we just didn't have a passion for.

Kristi: What about the business side of you?

You have a great business mind to do you not?

Jameil Aossey: You try to be.

You know, I think the problem in music is everyone's out to take advantage of the creative and they have a business to run.

So that's understandable.

But I think we have to be smarter.

Business people ourselves.

We can't let those things happen.

We need to align with the right management and team.

And I've had a great mentor in S1 since 2013.

And I'll see you this one.

Yeah.

So he was my first industry producer that I had met who heard something I did and gave me a chance.

And we worked monthly.

We did AI chats at the time and I was sending folders and we just he would critique and we'd go back and forth and he would just show me how things are done and then identify, hey, this should be better.

We could try this.

It was never good.

Stuff is no good.

It was just, well, here's how you should look at it now and then that 18 months of kind of working back and forth.

And I was winning competitions, and he gave me a chance to work on a project through Interscope at the time, and we kind of took a vocal and rebuilt a song, and then it got placed and he offered me a deal.

And that was in 2014.

And ever since then, we've just kind of we work every day.

It's just been a great relationship.

He's been a great mentor and a brother and just everything you could ask for, and it helps you develop your own character.

Also because you see there are good people in the business.

Yeah, I was pretty fortunate to have him.

Kristi: There's something about that uplifting and that believer in you who sees you for exactly who you are and sees your potential.

Jameil Aossey: Yeah, and vice versa.

You want to see that in other people too.

Some people just want to make money.

Some people just want to use you for your ability and just kind of kick you out and bring the next guy in.

And, you know, I haven't had the experience that.

Kristi: You know.

Jameil Aossey: We've had a long growth process of of growing together.

And then you understand each other and how you work.

And now it's effortless to make anything now and, you know, you don't fight about it.

You just you understand each other.

Kristi: You know, there was a Wall Street Journal article that you were featured in and it said that music wasn't just made during the pandemic, but it was written by the pandemic.

How does that strike you?

I know you mentioned a bit, a little bit about the process during the pandemic and what you were going through and how it worked, but tell us more.

Jameil Aossey: Yeah, now you can do things remote.

So at that time no one was in rooms together, so it made it okay to just do things virtually.

It's not easy.

You're working remote isn't as good as being in the room, right?

I mean, you know, you you don't get to feed off people's energy that way.

But that whole era, if you will, created it a new pathway, especially for musicians to accomplish those things.

And what's great about that time frame is me living in Savannah, Ohio, gave me an opportunity to do something like Beyonce, a remote right?

Because that was a thing.

By then it was okay, was accepted.

Most people like that, you're in the room.

If you weren't in the room, you might not have that opportunity.

So I think that that that Covid might have been one of the best things that happened for technology in in many ways, not talking at all about the sickness or anything, just based on it, forced us to be more creative with how we were going to continue to work.

And so, yeah, I think that the whole Beyoncé situation was possible coming out of Covid.

It made it more possible for someone from a small town to have a chance at something like that.

Kristi: And you had mentioned before, too, about Beyonce and how her creativity really kind of was changed from the pandemic and how she was looking at music as well.

And you were quite that match for what she was looking for.

It also.

Jameil Aossey: Things just were in alignment.

I feel like sometimes you're drawn into the right things at the right time and with the right people.

We thought right when we found out.

I would never guess with the odds.

If you asked me years ago, we've never thought something like that would put that would be the artist.

But she's such an innovator.

And we were trying to be.

And we've always tried to be.

And I just think at the right time we just everything aligned.

And you know, it was a good fit.

Kristi: Jameel, we can't thank you enough for being here, for sharing all that you've shared with us today, your talents, your business acumen, your musical abilities.

We're so glad that you're here and joining us today.

So thank you.

Jameil Aossey: I'm glad to be here.

Thank you so.

Kristi: Much, and thanks for all you do for the music industry and well beyond.

Jameil Aossey: Thank you.