QUICK INTERVIEWS|→ THE BAMAZ INVADE THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
THE BAMAZ: (l-r) Jesse, Eddie "E-Trez,"Johnathan
In the past few years, "producer-turned-artist" has become a prevalent trend in the music industry. A slew of producers have successfully crossed over including Timbaland, Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, Ryan Leslie, and The Dream. Following this trend and looking to make their own mark on the music industry is the Grammy-nominated, Dove Award Winning production team The Bamaz.
Eddie "E-Trez" says that the guys all “grew up in the same neighborhood…and before it became business we were friends.” The neighborhood Eddie spoke of is the neighborhood of Woodley Park in Montgomery, AL. Although The Bamaz knew one another throughout childhood, they did not begin creating music together until they were in college at Alabama A&M University where they became known as the musical party crew.
After making a name for themselves at Alabama A&M, the guys got their introduction to the music industry as marketing interns at Music World Entertainment where they met their future mentor Matthew Knowles. Because they were marketing interns, Knowles had no idea that the guys were musically talented. The Bamaz knew that they couldn’t miss their opportunity to showcase their skills, so they made a bold move to hip Matthew to their talent.
Jesse reveals, “at the time, ‘Crazy in Love’ was hot and we went to the A&R and we requested an accapella. We had our production stuff set up in our apartment [and] we remixed it. One day after a staff meeting, we snuck into Matthew’s office. He had his back turned and before he could turn around we had already put the CD in the CD player and pressed play.”
After Matthew heard The Bamaz Remix of “Crazy In Love,” he opened his studio to group and the rest is history. They have production credits on songs with Beyonce, Destiny’s Child, Mya, Rick Ross, Solange, and more. When asked who they look forward to working with in the future, Johnathan says that “we just look forward to working with [artists] who are making good music*.” *Speaking of "good music," make sure to download their dope EP Socially Awkward at their website.