Centered in San Francisco, California, The Big La (a.k.a. Todd Kelley) has been concocting beats and loops since the age of 9. Using a MacBook Pro with Soundtrack, GarageBand and Sound Studio III, The Big La relies heavily on loops in his production. "I really yearn for that classic material period." he remembers. "Back in the 90's. The Renaissances Period with Tribe and De La and Pete Rock. I'm not trying to do sh!t to keep up with the times and stuff. I don't really care about selling beats and things. This is something I need to do. It's a part of me. If i heard a sample and it's dope, I gotta try and do something with it... for my own peace of mind."
After 10 years of seriously making music, Todd dropped the well-received "Blue... Kinda Grey" in 2006. The unreleased CD (and it's title) literally defined his style. Syrupy-smooth grooves, laced with hip-hop beats. His 17 track opus actually pulled him out of retirement. "Hip-Hip had changed so much and I really wasn't feelin' most of the stuff on the radio and on TV, so I kinda left it for a bit. I started looking into other forms of music that would give me that same feeling i use to get with Hip-Hop back in the day."
What he found was that he gravitated toward old soul and blues music. He began his trek to grab hold of all those original sampled songs that were floating out there. And by accumilating this old vintage sounds, he began to get that itch he needed to scratch.
"I remember hearing these incredible drums and strings and stuff. And I started daydreaming about looping and droppin' drums. It was crazy. I was like a crack addict being drawn back!"
Eventually, he found hisself loading up his MacBook Pro and crafting "Blue... Kinda Grey" over a 7 month span. "It was such an incredible feeling! It was like rediscovering an old love and gettin' that old feeling back. I love it, mayne!
On the prospect of actually trying to take beats to the market: "Man, I'm not against it. I mean, I don't think my sound (which is dated by a decade) is relevent in this day and age, but you never know!"
Along with "Blue... Kinda Grey", The Big La re-released alot of his past material in a "Greatest Hits" compilation. "There were a lot of beats that I've done in the past that I think still hold up. Most of them are just experiments, ya know? Kinda like 'what if it do this' type of stuff. But people are feelin' it. So I'm happy. I really don't care about getting props for beats. But that don't mean it doesn't feel good to hear your peers and music lovers giveing you your propers..."..
Currently, The Big La is working on his next release "Water... Under The Bridge", a collaboration with singer/songwriter Doyle Robinson for "The Rhythm Teachers" Project, and droppin' some gems for his bro and longtime production genius T-Bob at Balance Records.
skills
music production, graphic design
Influences
88 Keys
9th Wonder
Ali Shaheed
Blitz
DJ Craig Rip
DJ Premiere
Ernie G
ILLmind
J Dilla
Kev Brown
Madlib
Nicolay
Noel Zancanella
Pete Rock
Obsidian Blue
Symbolyc One (S1)
Soulpersona
T-Bob (Off Balance, Muthaf#$!#$!!!)
Zo!
Website
http://www.toddkelley.net
Sport/Activity
Football
Hobby
music production
TV Show
The Wire
Looking for...
music heads
Languages
English, Broken English
Occupation
Graphic Designer
Hidden talent
writing upsidedown
Relationship status
married
Movie
Leon (The Professional)
