What I Know So Far … 'Luke Cage' composer Adrian Younge

Adrian Younge has worked with some of the biggest MCs in the game, but he definitely isn’t your typical hip-hop producer.

Instead of utilizing samples and computers to create his soul- and funk-inspired tracks, Younge takes an analog approach, preferring to play live instruments and creating his compositions on a vintage mixing board. Examples of his work range from scoring the Michael Jai White-led film Black Dynamite, producing two of Ghostface Killah's solo albums and teaming with A Tribe Called Quest’s Ali Shaheed Muhammad on the Kendrick Lamar hit “untitled 06 | 06.30.2014″ from 2016’s untitled unmastered.

Recently, Younge and Muhammad united yet again for the blockbuster Netflix series Luke Cage, where their score has garnered widespread acclaim.

Fender.com caught up with Younge to talk about his musical journey and how his unique style in hip-hop came to be.

"I started making music with a little cassette 8-track, and I realized that the music I was sampling was inspiring me more than the music I was making out of it. It got to the point where in order to really be my best, I needed to learn how to play instruments. Sampling is a highly respected instrument, but it’s got limitations. There are no limits when you’ve got live instruments.

"I was never the one in high school in band class. I didn’t pick up an instrument until I was, like, 19 years old. When I did, my friends were like, 'What are you doing? You’re not a band guy!' People were talking so much sh-t. Hip hop producers, because we listen to so much music, compositionally there are so many things stuck in the back of your head that you can’t get it out. When you get an instrument, you’re throwing up all over it trying to catch up and get all those ideas out."

"One of the most difficult parts of learning to play was making the transition from a person who isn’t defined as a 'player' to being a player. That’s a big jump, because you have to have balls. You have to have confidence and not care about what other people think, if you’re shooting to be a professional."

"A lot of the most interesting records were recorded in what was then thought about as a wack studio, but the equipment had vibe. They weren’t doing the things that were 'right.' Those great sounds are made from all that wrong stuff they were doing back then. I was listening to some old Turkish breaks, or some Afro-beat sh-t, and it wasn’t recorded with the best equipment, but it sounds so ill. It’s tapping into being different."

"My favorite amp is a Twin Reverb. For my first Something About April album and the Black Dynamite album, all my bass was recorded through a Twin Reverb. I know the Beach Boys did a lot of that. That Carol Kaye sh-t. What’s really great about the Twin is it records great. You’re not getting too much bottom, but you get enough bottom to really let it sit in the track."

"One thing about picking up an instrument is that it should always speak to you. When you pick up an instrument, it should tell you where to go. So if you’re searching for a new bass or guitar, regardless of whether you know how to play it or not, it should emit a story to you. It should tell you there’s music here for you. If it doesn’t, that’s not the instrument you should be playing. I identify with the instruments that reflect who I am—something unique. My favorite bass is a Fender P Bass, but the reason why I like it so much is it spoke to me on so many records, from Pink Floyd to Motown."

"I didn’t start learning scales until the last few months, and I’ve done albums and scores. I knew scales in my head because I know what sounds right, so I could do a lot of complicated stuff without picking up a book on scales. The reason I wanted to do that was because I wanted to understand who I was inside. To get to the point where Ali and I are scoring a big Marvel thing, it goes to show you don’t have to know the technical things backwards and forward."

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