Chicago Music Producer HittMaker knows a thing or two about sleep deprivation. In fact, he knows so much about it that it is the inspiration behind the name of his first full length project, which dropped this past July. Entitled "No Sleep, Vol. 1," the story about how the project got its name is a testament to HittMaker's tireless work ethic behind the boards. After a week-long time period where he blew off sleeping in favor of honing his craft, the local musician received a stern warning from his family doctor. "You need to sleep," the doctor had told him. "If you keep living like this, you're going to die." Like countless other artists around the globe, HittMaker is a perfectionist. He spends hours on end each and every day working to perfect his art and promote his brand. And when he isn't in the studio making beats, his mind is running rampant with ideas. Elaborating on this, HittMaker says, "I'm so driven to be the best at what I'm doing. If I'm out at a function, my mind is constantly making melodies cause I'm not in the studio. It drives me crazy....I'll rush home and start making something." HittMaker is a mad scientist of sorts. Every little detail in his music has to be perfect, and he will not go to bed until he is truly satisfied. On the weekends, he says he spends about twelve hours a day working on beats, and his goal is to make ten a day. He stated point blank that he refuses to rest until he has reached that goal. "Sometimes I'll be up until 2 or 3 in the morning and I won't be able to sleep....I'll be up all night."
HittMaker, whose real name is Paul Whittaker, originally hails from St. Louis, Missouri. Stating that he was always around music throughout his childhood, it was when he started playing around with Garageband on his dad's computer that he started to take music seriously. "I'd always play around with it," he says, looking back on the earlier days of his journey. "I'd always be listening to the radio and a lot of Hip-Hop later on. Eventually it led to me investing my money into it and that's where I am now." Once he discovered how passionate he was about music production, HittMaker hit the ground running right away. Devoting virtually all of his free time to making beats, late nights occasionally spilled over into the school days that followed. He reflects, "I would go to school, come home, do homework right away and try and finish by 6. Then I would try and make beats until twelve. Sometimes that didn't work out....I'd bring my laptop to school and skip lunch to make beats." Knowin g that he wanted to pursue his passion as a career, Hittmaker decided to attend Columbia College Chicago where he is now enrolled as a freshman studying Audio Production.
Through the soundboards where he channels his creativity, Hittmaker has managed to develop a sound that is unique and all his own. However, that doesn't mean he is devoid of influences. He stated that well-regarded Hip-Hop producers Metro Boomin and Travis Scott were influential early on, and that he was later influenced by the work of Pi'erre Bourne, Mike Will, Wheezy & Turbo. Hittmaker cites Rapper Playboi Carti's project "Die Lit" as being influential as well. Stirring these ingredients in his own personal melting pot, Hittmaker has been able to carve out his own niche in the modern trap music scene, a subgenre of Rap often regarded as being redundant and lacking substance. With his No Sleep album, HittMaker is able to come through with a project that is intoxicating yet effortless. Every song blends into one another perfectly, creating a balanced, cohesive body of work as opposed to a thrown together collection of tracks that sound messy and disorganized. He proves that pr oducers are every bit as capable of putting out a well thought out project as MC's are. Even though HittMaker works harder than most, he crafts a cutting edge, pristine sound on this album with ease.
HittMaker has his eyes toward the future, but he also has both feet grounded firmly beneath him in the present. He has an EP on the way entitled "Timeless," which is slated for an October release date. Speaking on how it might differ from No Sleep, he says that the sound of the record will have more depth. "I want it to be something more deep with in the sound...Something more deep and meaningful within the production value." He also says he will be dropping No Sleep, Vol. 2 on July 7th, 2019, which is his birthday. He wouldn't say much about this project, other than to say he will be expanding upon his sound more and more with each release. For now, HittMaker says he is working on the upcoming EP, and is focused on networking and building his name around the Chicago scene. Figuring he'll put just as much of himself into networking as he puts into his music, he should have no problem garnering attention. As for his sleeping habits these days? "Better," he says with a laugh. "As lo ng as I can sleep in I'll be fine."
Listen to HittMaker's Debut Album "No Sleep, Vol. 1" currently available on all streaming platforms.
Listen to HittMaker on Soundcloud @HittMaker
Follow him on Instagram @1hittwonderbeats
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