A Timeless Conversation with LA Artist Laudiano (Interview)

Since 2017, Laudiano has been creating a producer-resume across the West Coast from Mike Sherm to Drakeo the Ruler to Lil Maru. The catalog includes over 400 songs totaling over 200 million plays. A track record so impressive it led to an online discussion: Is Laudiano already a legendary producer on the West Coast? The Mid-City musician’s success with Blueface and Drakeo the Ruler, is one of the main reasons he dropped out of San Francisco State after his first semester. 

I had the pleasure of meeting up with Laudiano and his girlfriend Alejandra, the person behind the signature “Laudiano” tag. After finding out he and Alejandra are high school sweethearts, I half jokingly asked when the wedding is going to happen. The other half felt the sense of comfort each genuinely brought to each other. Throughout the conversation, there would be moments when Ale would kindly remind her boyfriend about certain details in events or he would ask her, “What else do I like?”

Before we began our conversation, I asked the LA artist if he would be ok if I recorded our conversation to later transcribe. He firmly responded with a “no” creating a moment of awkward silence between the three of us. Before I replied, he broke it with laughter “I’m just playing.” The Filipino artist is not a person of many words, yet he moves with confidence and intention in his velour Pro Club tracksuit.  We sat down for a cup of coffee a few hours before the sunset in downtown Los Angeles. 

Known by many as a top West Coast hip hop producer, he is making it known he is a complete artist. Aside from production, Laudiano writes music, creates music videos, designs clothes/jewelry, and even models for Pro Club. We began the conversation diving into his latest single, Distance.  

Tony: You put out a single with a music video called Distance a couple months ago.  It has a very retro black and white design. What was the inspiration behind that? 

Laudiano: “I made this beat and just wrote what I was feeling at the moment. When it came to shooting the video, I basically shot it in my brother’s apartment in Downtown LA and at this diner called D-Towns Diner. The vibe of the song is a more-so lonely type, so I made it black and white. It’s so sad it takes the color out. [laughs] You know what I mean? I don’t know how to explain it.” 

T: Do you still plan on only dropping singles this year?

L: “Well that used to be my mindset, but I’ve figured out a plan. I figured out a plan where I can strategically drop it. So I am working on a project called Fate and Fantasies. The music and visuals are gonna to be based on that theme. I’m going to shoot a short film to it. It’s gonna involve the music videos and the the music. I’m just trying to make timeless art.”    

T: You’ve mentioned, YID from the Bay, was one of the first artists you connected with. You also plan on expanding Members Only Studios to the Bay. How did the connection between you and the Bay Area begin?

L: “When I first started making beats, what inspired me was Drakeo and Mike Sherm. I started listening to Mike Sherm, then SOB. I started branching off looking at people on Thizzler. Then, after I graduated high school I went to San Francisco State for a semester. That’s where I met YID. I recorded him in my dorm. I made my first 200 bucks! It was my first 100 dollar bills I made off music, so I took a photo of it.” 

T: How did you and YID connect?

L: “I think he said he just wanted to record, and I guess he knew I made beats. So he just pulled up, recorded on some of my beats, and I got paid to record them.”

T: One of the main reasons you dropped out of college was because Drakeo the Ruler hopped on one of your beats. What was the feeling and thought process at that moment? 

L: “I don’t know how to explain it. I had a gut feeling, and I just followed my gut. Some things might just be tough to do but that’s why I have to do them. Whenever my body is telling me not to do something or I’m too scared to do something, that means I kind of have to do it. Face my Fears. Once I knew I had that song, I knew what I wanted to do. In San Fran, my first semester I wasn’t doing anything musical. I was like… I’m not trying to waste my time and money.”

T: I saw that you got the Stinc Team logo tattooed. Why was it important for you to have that? 

L: “Ketchy the Great and Drakeo were two of the first artists I started working with, and inspired me. It’s like paying homage, you feel me. That’s what that signifies, a time in my life.”

T: In 2021, you experienced health issues that you have said made you think about retirement. You didn’t retire, you came back with more music. But what did you learn from that experience? 

L: “Life is too short. Anything could happen at any time. You really only got one life so might as well just do whatever you want while you got the opportunity. I asked my mom, “Aye, am I gonna die?” and she said “Maybe”. I had tinnitus too, I thought I was gonna start losing my hearing. The tinnitus was more of an issue because this is my job. Either way, I’m gonna do whatever I love with what I can do.”

T: [To Alejandra] As someone who was with him through his music journey, what was that like for you?

Alejandra: “Witnessing him find his passion so early on, is something I aspire to do. Chase after something that truly just makes me happy. Witnessing the amount of growth from high school to now, it’s insane to be a part of. Him teaching me those moments of truly doing what you love…is what’s gonna make you happy in life.” 

T: You’re a model too. You’ve been campaigning and modeling for Pro Club. Why were you open to that collaboration? 

L: “Well first off, Pro Club is dope, duh! I was talking to my homie and was like, bro I’m so blessed. I get free clothes and it’s clothes I’d actually wear. That’s the thing that matters.” 

T: You’ve mentioned you want to start your own clothing brand. What are you taking from Pro Club and applying to your own? 

L: “The ethos. It is super distinct, you could tell what it is and the type of clothes they make. I’m working on my designs and figuring it out. I don’t like to rush. My lifestyle brand is coming soon. It’s very interesting, I’ll tell you that.” 

T: What about it is interesting? 

L: “The ethos of my clothing company is going to be based on crematoriums. I want to have my own crematorium too. It’s going to be stylistic things…incorporating my style. I’m a huge fan of black and white. I literally have black and white…damn near everything. She [Ale] could tell you. Clothing. Car. Bedroom. Everything is making sense, I don’t know how to explain it.” 

T: Why crematoriums?

L: “My great grandpa used to have a crematorium. A funeral type of service, they made caskets. It was the family business.”

T: Does that build a different relationship with death?    

L: “Yeah. I don’t know personally because my great grandfather gave it [crematorium] to my dad’s aunt. They sold it, but they still have his [great grandfather’s] name for the funeral services. It makes me realize, death isn’t something people should be scared about. It shouldn’t be taboo, everyone is going to die. It’s like accepting fate and knowing what’s real. Obviously, you want to mourn. But it is what it is.” 

T: Is that an inspiration? Knowing there’s a limit. 

L: “It goes both ways. Sometimes I’m thinking, I could die today and it is what it is. That’s me accepting whatever happens. But then again, I do want to finish my project before I die. You gotta balance it. I quit smoking because it actually made me feel like I was dying.” 

T: I want to ask you about something you said. “I’m most proud of myself for continuing my journey in life and continuing to find myself and be authentically me. My music is an art that makes me feel alive.”

What do you mean by feeling alive through music?

L: “Now when I’m making music, I like using live instruments or actual synths instead of VSTs [Visual Studio Team Services]. Music made with actual sounds…real percussion, drum sets, or anything real, feels more alive. The music is actually living. I want to make timeless music. A lot of timeless music has live instruments or samples. In the project I’m working on, everything has a touch of live instrument.”  

T: Live instrumentation brings a feeling that you don’t always get with digital. 

L: “For sure.” 

T: You’ve produced for some legendary West Coast artist. I’m going to pose the same question from the instagram post to you. Is Laudiano already a legendary producer on the West Coast? 

L: “I’m always trying to get better. I’m always trying to do more. Grow as a person. Grow my art. What I’ve done in the past is pretty cool. Everybody has different opinions, but I’m definitely not where I want to be. If some people want to call me legend or legendary, that’s cool too.” 

T:  You mentioned you want to grow and change every year. Who is Laudiano in this 2023 moment?

L: “I can confidently say I know who I am. I know what I need to do. I know what I want to do. I’m just trying to make timeless music and visual arts. I just want to do what I love doing. I’m done trying to play a game. In the industry you got to play the game. I’ve been offered a lot of opportunities that don’t sit right in my stomach, so I just don’t do it.”

T: What is timeless to you?

L: “Timeless is something I could look at, wear, or listen to 5 – 20 years down the line. It’s unforgettable.” 

Ale: “It’s unforgettable.”  

Listen to Laudiano’s latest single and hits. Follow @Laudiano to see the growth.