Many people remember the first time they heard Givēon sing his now certified-gold single “Like I Want You,” especially LosHendrix. He contributed production to it.
While he’s grateful for the opportunity to have adorned the song from Take Time, one of this year’s Best R&B Album nominees, the Philly-born musician is most proud of his participation in the creation of “The Beach” and “This Ain’t Love” since he was the mastermind behind the melodies.
Ant Clemons’ Happy 2 Be Here is also up for Best R&B Album at Sunday’s Grammy Awards. It, too, has LosHendrix’s imprint on it. He remembers learning about the two nominations through a series of tags on Instagram. Both considerations were added confirmations for him to always trust the process.
“It’s great to see things happen from the beginning and see where it can end up,” LosHendrix tells Rated R&B. “Givēon and Ant [Clemons] both deserve it. They are great guys.”
Growing up in a Puerto Rican and Cuban household, LosHendrix’s family would regularly play artists like Celia Cruz and Gloria Estefan. They also played a lot of soul-rooted music.
“My folks were listening to a lot of rock and soul in the house like The Temptations, Phil Collins and The Stylistics,” he recalls.
LosHendrix also immersed himself in hip-hop and rock with artists such as The Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg, Metallica, Nirvana, and Jimi Hendrix, to name a few.
Having played the guitar since an early age, LosHendrix, whose alias is no relation to the latter guitar demigod, credits himself as one of his own musical mentors. He also acknowledges Santi Debriano, a music professor and jazz bassist who guided him during his two-year stint at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
His time with a Grammy-winning producer also informed his musicality.
“On the production side, I would say I learned a lot from Che’ Pope because I used to work with G.O.O.D. Music early in LA, and he showed me how to really finish a record.”
Seeing that he’s had countless placements for artists, ranging from Kiana Ledé (“Ladylike”), Arin Ray (“Stressin”), and Kehlani (“Everybody’s Business”), it’s clear that the self-proclaimed leader of the New Age Vintage world has mastered the art of completing songs. A part of it has to do with the power of collaboration.
“Honestly, I try and give my input when I feel it’s not the best product going out,” he says. “I pretty much collab in a true sense of the world. I just read the vibe of the artists, writers, and producers I’m in the room with and go accordingly. I don’t want to tell people how much to do their part because otherwise, I wouldn’t be collaborating; I’d just [be doing] it myself.”
There was a time when LosHendrix did production alone. He had some self-doubts about the songs he captained, though. “I remember being scared of putting [out] records I was producing myself, but now it just happens,” he says. “It’s like you had to be scared or vulnerable at some point [because] that’s where great music actually comes from.”
With hits like SZA’s first top 10 Hot 100 single (“Good Days”) under his belt, LosHendrix is still working at perfecting himself as an all-around musician.
“I’m good at singing melodies, but writing is the hardest for me,” he says. “I’m still working on it. I feel like I’ll get better eventually.”
When asked about his involvement in SZA’s still-untitled sophomore album, LosHendrix isn’t forthcoming about the sessions, respectively, for the sake of her creative privacy. He is excited for his credits to keep growing, specifically with artists such as Summer Walker and Don Toliver.
“Right now, I’ve been working like crazy, but I’m taking the calls as long as I get them. I feel blessed to work with some of my favorite artists,” he says.
One of the esteemed artists is Brent Faiyaz, whose Sonder Son album is bathed in LosHendrix’s self-termed New Age Vintage sound.
“Brent and I have a process that’s different than most people I work with because we’ve been working together for so long,” he states. “It just has to be different than everything that’s out and that we did before, so it can take a bit longer, but when we find the sweet spot, it’s special.”
Recently, Faiyaz released “Eden,” a song he and LosHendrix worked on together in 2016. It has great significance to the sought-after hitmaker.
“It’s funny [because] ‘Eden’ was actually the first song me and Brent ever did,” he notes. “I sent him this guitar loop after we had been talking for some time in 2016 around when he was to move to LA for the first time.
Literally, he wrote the record on the flight, and when he landed, he went to my boy Paperboy Fabe’s studio and cut the song. I came through and added more production and later had Jordan Waré play violin on the record. The same week we did that song, we did ‘Invite Me.’”
With more big tunes on the way from LosHendrix, he plans to continue his faithful practice of giving each person involved their due credit when they’re all released. It’s probably one reason his phone won’t stop ringing for more placements.
“When you are not the artist, that’s how you get notoriety, from [the] credits,” he affirms. “If you get left off the credits, it’s a shitty feeling. It’s like someone stealing your music that you actually created. When I have songs come out, I always mention everyone because it wouldn’t be the final product without everyone’s hand, no matter how big or small.”