Sir Tall Black Guy……

Proverbs 3: 5-7

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight

Terrel Wallace or better known as _Tallblackguy through the social media networks, your work has been making its way to many projects, how has the musical journey for you been so far?

It’s been interesting, I never would have expected to be noticed in different parts of the world for the music that I make. Sometimes I want to quit going after the dream of making music my career, because of some of the people I have had to deal with and the music politics. But what makes me continue on this journey is when I get the chance to hear how my music has impacted someone who heard my track in another country and helped make their day better.

How have your roots, starting in Detroit, Mi now taking home in Chicago, IL helped shape your music?

I actually returned back to Detroit, I started making music here so for me its comfortable as it was my foundation for learning the basics of production. My father is a real avid collector of soul and jazz music, so he also has really influenced my taste in music.

Working with a plethora of artist, what has been your favorite moment so far?

The best thing is when we are all on the same page musically and the; music, voices, textures compliment each other. I have been blessed to work with many talented artists, for example I can definitely see the chemistry musically with Malice and Mario Sweet, a husband and wife team who are both sing and are based in Seattle.

Which artist do you hope you can work with in the future?

Jill Scott, Dwele, Faith Evans, Amel Larrieux, Choklate and Ntjam Rosie.

Establishing yourself as one of the top Chicago producers, creating a distinguishing Chicago feel with your drum beats, how do you strive to continue to set yourself apart from other artist?

By incorporating more live instrumentation, trying to come up with my own sounds and melody’s and just being open minded to listen and be inspired by other genres.

Winning many battles over the years, can you describe what’s going through your head during the battle?

You have to play the right beats so definitely, “which beat should I play first?” I would prefer to go first in the contest as it was good to be able to set the tone to put the pressure on the person who would go next.

Any rituals or prep you do before you hit the stage?

Pray, drink a beer or two and listen to the beats over and over again to make my final decision on the selection.

What can you say has been your biggest influence on your journey?

God, my wife and family

What are your musical influences?

Primo, Timberland, Lonnie Liston Smith, Pete Rock, Neptunes, Madlib and Jay Dee

Your Hollyweird project has been receiving a buzz in the indie scene and now with recent releases of “Melodic Healing” and working on the Roy Ayers project, what else can we expect from Tall Black Guy productions?

I have several releases coming up: Darling Lure (The Primeridian and me) September 13th on All Natural Inc., Gilles Peterson Presents Brownswood Bubblers 7 Compilation September 26th, Water No Enemy 7inch on BSTRD BOOTS September 27th (2011) and Return of the Here and Now/Dance Forever 7inch which will be coming out on First Word Records by the end of September.

What do you hope your fans to gain from your productions?

Well really what I hope for listeners and fans to gain from my music is, positive uplifting music.I want to make music that you could play to your mother, father, girlfriend, or elders. I believe that music is so powerful it can affect you either in a positive or a negative way.

Where do you hope to see yourself with your music?

Wow, you are asking some deep questions.Lol. God willing I want to travel across the world helping people that are disadvantaged. Possibly have a studio space in between the states and overseas to create, collaborate and build relationships with other musicians from other countries.

What L3GACI do you wish to leave behind?

My legacy would be…Being responsible for the energy and music I put out into this world.

How is your music Creating, Inspiring, Evolving Society?

By being true to what my morals and beliefs are, by not compromising and doing different styles of production just to keep up with what the industry tells you to do to become more marketable.

UPDATE

Check out this submission in Robert Glasper Experiment – "Move Love" Remix Contest on Indaba Music.