Grammy-nominated producer Tay Keith has been behind some of today’s biggest records. The producer is known for Travis Scott’s and Drake’s “Sicko Mode,” Beyoncé’s “Before I Let Go” rendition, and Moneybagg Yo and Lil Baby’s “U Played,” to name a few.
Tay Keith’s success in creating for top artists led him to launch a studio to support people making their own music. However, its location raised questions for outsiders.
In an interview with Earn Your Leisure, Tay Keith explains why he opened the first Black-owned Hip-Hop studio in Nashville, TN, instead of his hometown of Memphis.
“Nashville is known as ‘music city.’ Why’s it known as ‘music city’? Because it’s the home capital for country music and pop,” Tay Keith tells Earn Your Leisure. “The thing is you have all of these big pop records and big country artists blowing up out of Nashville, Tennessee. Why can’t it be a first Black-owned Hip-Hop studio in the middle of the two? So I was like, it’s a big fish, small pond.”
Although the producer has worked with artists across genres like country and pop, he wanted to maximize his Hip-Hop influence in Music City.
“As far as Hip-Hop, that’s my niche. I’m a Black Hip-Hop studio owner in Nashville, Tennessee,” he emphasizes.
What’s more, Tay Keith notes that purchasing the building for the studio, thanks to the help of his realtor, was his first commercial property. Along with putting 15 percent down, he says he put an extra $50,000 into renovating it.
“I feel like you spend $100,000 on jewelry,” he says while on the episode. “You spend 200 racks on cars. You could go buy property. You could go commercial. You ain’t gotta just go buy cribs…the least you can do is rent them out.”
While the studio is not yet open, the producer says construction is ongoing with one room complete, as of this writing.
