Thanks for checking out my debut album! Since it's my first album I wanted it to really reflect who I am since I'm completely unknown in the industry. The tracks are separated in three categories: Soul, heart, and mind. With that concept, I picked music that I felt reflected who I am and my style as a producer and a writer. Yes, my music is all over the place, but that is truly how I am. I love hip-hop, jazz, classical, electronic, and many other genres that don't seem to fit together. Now you're probably asking why did a twenty-eight year old with a degree in electronic engineering move into the hip-hop scene? I don't have an answer; it's just something you feel. It's like asking someone why they love someone. Sometimes it's just a certain connection. Only problem is, unlike becoming a doctor or lawyer, there is no direct path to becoming a “hip-hop producer/writer/engineer.” You can go to school and learn some of it, but I'm sure there are people out there with audio engineering degrees that don't know jack about hip-hop . Being a producer is much more than just making instrumentals. You have to see the bigger picture of a project. Unfortunately it’s hard to connect with people you can learn from either because they don't have time or they don't want share their secrets without getting paid for it. Completely understandable from my point of view but that didn't help me, so I said, “I'm doin' me! I'll learn as I go.” I still have much to learn, but I knew I had enough skills to move forward after working on music for several years. I told myself I would learn the process from doing my own album. For “The coolest nerd you know”, I produced every track, wrote lyrics for 95% of the songs, performed on every track, and mixed every song from start to finish. The process included many long sleepless nights filled with frustration while holding down a day job as an electronic engineer but the reward was worth it. I've learned so much from this process. Along with learning, I wanted to put my music out there so I could connect with other artist and producers because one thing I'm sure of is “Game recognizes game.” For those that aren't familiar with the slang, it means “Talent recognizes other talent.” I figured if I kept working hard and put my work out there, if someone in the industry feels like my music has merit, they will seek me out and want to collaborate. If not, that's fine; I'll just keep on moving forward. With that said, there are several things I would have done differently, but overall I'm happy with the production and I hope you are, too. Now go listen to “The coolest nerd you know” and tell your friends! JXD aka the coolest nerd you know