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who?
- My name is CJ, obviously. False. It’s actually Carl. I’m 22. I am a music producer. I love what I do, and I do what I love. I’m PROUD to say that I was born & raised in New Jersey, just outside of Philly.
Right now most of my work is being featured in the Hip-Hop scene. I’ve created quite a few instrumentals for OnCue over the past couple of years. If you don’t know what I’m saying, find your way to my discography section. My music has been used and supported by companies & blogs such as… MTV & mtvU, Bing (Microsoft), at&t, XXL Magazine, 2DopeBoyz, and NahRight.
I love God, and I’m a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. He’s first in my life above everything else. “Soli Deo Gloria” = glory to God alone. My Bible is easily my most prized possession.
I have an unhealthy obsession with PS3, which means I despise Xbox. I love Philadelphia sports. I consistently try to empty my recycle bin on my Mac, even if there’s nothing in it. (Some kind of a twitch.) I can’t decide if I like the city or the forest better. I’m a musician, which means I choose to be indulgent about certain things, like not caring to write my “About” section in a regular fashion.
You know enough. For now. You will know more… in time.
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discography
- all songs produced by CJ Luzi
"I'm Good" - Trip Lee featuring LeCrae
the lead single from Trip's - The Good Life (album released in April)
OnCue - "Rich Kid" (co-prod. by Brenton Duvall)(released in February)_______________________________________________
2011
OnCue - Can’t Wait
(a free mixtape released in November)
- 02. “Running” (co-produced by Matt Grover)
- 03. “The Geoffrey”
- 04. “All the Way” (co-produced by manicanparty)
- 06. “Better Than Before”
- 07. “Can’t Wait” (co-produced by E.M. Ricchini)
- 08. “Feel Tall”
- 10. “Only Thing We Know”
- 11. “Not for Nothing”
- 13. “Make It All Work”
- 14. “Selfish”
- 15. “Alive” (co-produced by manicanparty)
OnCue - “It Usually Goes”
(released in March)
______________________________________________2010OnCue - Leftovers
(a free mixtape released in November)
- 01. “Story of a Lifetime”
- 02. “Your Own Supply”
- 03. “Won’t Matter Tomorrow”
- 07. “She Likes My Music”
- 14. “Eat Your Words”
OnCue - Cuey Sings the Blues
(a free mixtape released in September)
- 01. “For the Moon”
- 02. “Friends”
- 06. “Let Loose” (featuring Nickelus F & Theo Martins)
- 10. “Center of the Room” (featuring PUSH! Montana)
- 11. “Daddy’s Money” (featuring Casey Herlihy)
- 13. “News for You”
- 14. “A Smile Like a Flame”
Mick Boogie & Terry Urban (Jay-Z + Coldplay) - Viva La Hova (Remastered Edition)
(a free mixtape released in September)
Mick Boogie - The ChangeMakers Mixtape
(a free mixtape released in April)
- 01. OnCue - “The ChangeMakers Intro
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contact
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Answered
- Hey Luzi, I love the beat for Oncue's title track "Can't Wait". Who did you sample? Or how did you make the beat?Hey dude. Can't Wait title track is one of my all time favorite instrumentals. There are no samples. Funny story, though. The lead chord progression was actually a melody made by my girlfriend, Erika. It was the first song she had ever written on piano. I was messing around with it, and it sounded awesome in the lead noise I chose. So yeah, I guess I did sample someone 😀Asked by Formspring Nov 28, 12
- Hey CJ. I am a new producer currently producing Hip Hop tracks. The main thing I struggle with right now is the mix and master. I was wondering what steps you took to get bet better at this art? God Bless, Chris.Hey. Listen to your mixes on multiple sources. Every pair of speakers/headphones/systems are different. Listen to your mixes in as many places as possibles.Asked by Formspring Oct 29, 12
- Hey Luzi , I look forward to the future and would love to start my Carreer as Producer. But I want to know , how do you live as Producer ? Is that your job , and what do you have done after shool ? (Sorry for my English , im German) Thank You BlessHey man, yes...I'm blessed enough to say this is my job right now! Some people should go to school some shouldn't. For me, college OR music school was not the answer. I made a lot of music, the right connections, and now i find myself in some awesome situations. Glory to God. He has a plan for each and everyone's life, without him, I wouldn't be in this position today!Asked by Formspring Jun 17, 12
- top 5 songs alltime?Ehhhhh I'm only decided on #1 at the moment.....and that would be Your Hand in Mine - Explosions in the SkyAsked by Formspring Jun 17, 12
- I saw that you and Brenton Duvall produced "Rich Kid" by Oncue. What exactly did you produce on that beat? Also, do you tend to sample or compose your own stuff more?Compose my own stuff 95% of the time, but I love sampling, and always am down to do it when appropriate. On Rich Kid I added the pianos on the chorus, some synths, added the bassline on the chorus...some other stuff here n there. Brenton started the track off, thoughAsked by Formspring Jun 17, 12
- Since you're a christian producer and all, what are your thoughts on tyler the creator and would you make a beat for him? And nice work already btw.I've got no personal hatred, anger, dislike or anything towards Tyler the Creator. Would I want to work with him? At this point my answer is no. The reason being, anyone standing against the name of Jesus Christ, the message of the Cross, Etc...that's not something I want to associate myself with. Now, with that said, by no means do I agree with all or even half of what anybody I work with/will work says...BUT they are not taking a stand against my faith. That's the core difference.Asked by Formspring Jun 17, 12
- As a Christian, what is your rationale for producing for and promoting artists like Oncue that rap about many things that are against sound Biblical doctrine?Great question. It's been a journey through prayer the past few years trying to answer it. The Bible calls Christians to "the sick", or those who don't believe in Jesus. I may make music with unbelievers, but my testimony/difference of lifestyle is why I am there, (and I believe) that is the reason I CAN be there. I want to have an impact...God called me, to be there, so I am following! Thanks for the question. God bless.Asked by Formspring Apr 02, 12
- Hey CJ Luzi, I'm also a hip-hop/rap producer. I see you produced for Trip Lee. Firstly, congratulations on that, the track is dope. Secondly, how should I go about getting myself known to Christian Rappers such as Trip? God BlessThanks, man. Just pursue the source of the artist you want to work with, & do research. Trip is signed to Reach Records. All I did was go to reachrecords.com and go to their "contact section"... I emailed them & that's where it all begins.Asked by DJFlashSoundz Mar 11, 12
- Hey how can i go about purchasing beats?Howdy. Email my management at ContactCJLuzi@gmail.com and we'll take care of you. Thanks!Asked by Formspring Feb 29, 12
- what would you say or what advice would you give to a young producer who's just starting out?Mainly, work hard, put in the hours-learn new equipment, make tracks every day. Listen, and learn. Listen to all kinds of music. Expand your musical capacity. Join websites created for producers, and take advice and notes on others craft. I grew a lot as a producer through producer-based websites. One example is RocBattle.com.Asked by Formspring Nov 29, 11
- what inspired you to make music?I've always loved it, never thought before a few years ago that I'd end up making it. I wanted to play college basketball my entire life, but early in high school I broke some bones which led to my dreams being "shattered". haha. God's my biggest inspiration. He gave me the talents, he set up so many cool connections & opportunities for me in music. So that's why He's completely my inspiration. Cause He's responsible for all of this. I'm inspired by all kinds of different music, (classic rock, classical, jazz, 90's street-hip-hop, folk, film scores, photography, Scorcese drama's.) I'm ranting.Asked by Formspring Nov 28, 11
- I find your your style of beats very different and unique,i really enjoy it. how did you develop your sound was it something that just came to you naturally? or how did you craft this style you have going on?Thanks, I'm glad. My sound on Can't Wait/with OnCue, by no means is my everyday sound. That's simply the OnCue sound. Don't get me wrong, my other instrumentals outside of Cue sometimes have an alternative edge (for example), but, diversity is important to me.Asked by Formspring Nov 28, 11
- is it true you eventually want to score movies?YES. Hip-Hop "beats" are fun to make. I love the work I've done so far.... but, by no means is it my only passion. Movie scores, playing in an orchestra, instrumental albums...so many things I'd like to do. I'm just scratching the service right now, Lord willin'.Asked by Formspring Nov 22, 11
- what are your favorite plug insnative instruments, spectrasonics, east west. I couldn't care less about the name. I just search for new sounds often. Oh, I like to make my own sounds, too.Asked by Formspring Nov 22, 11
- How long have you been making beat for? i love your musicI'm glad that you do. I started messing around with software when I was ehhhh...probably 16. I'm 21 now. It's been a serious passion for, I'd say, 3 years.Asked by Formspring Nov 22, 11
- What DAW do you use and how many of the effects that you use are VST's you bought seperately?Native Instruments are highly respected, East West sounds are ridiculous. I don't use too many CRAZY effects programs... I do mostly everything with basic fx you can find in any production software. iZotope makes some dope software, though.Asked by Formspring Nov 22, 11
- where can i find your beats? been looking for weeks cant find your stuffplease email my manager Jason Salmon - JayTracks@gmail.com. He will direct you to some of my instrumentalsAsked by Formspring Nov 20, 11
- Let's say there was this kid who was an aspiring rapper, but had to get all his instrumentals from other songs. Then this rapper, whom you do not know, comes to you and asks if you might produce a song...or multiple songs with him. Would you do it?I would direct the aspiring rapper in the direction of my manager. You can reach him by email @ JayTracks@gmail.comAsked by Formspring Nov 17, 11
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Posts
Wow, hey guys. I haven’t blogged since November. It’s 2012! I wanted to post a quick life update. Things have been so busy & I am thankful for that. In December, I experienced something beautiful & life changing. A group from my church in NJ of 12 young adults (including my girlfriend Erika) and I flew to China. We visited an orphanage named Shepherd’s Field Children’s Village located in a town called Tianjin. This orphanage is funded 100% by donations from the US, and it houses only special needs children. These kids have been neglected, and some of them even left for dead. There were 88 children in the orphanage when we arrived. The goal at SFCV is to love these kids, teach them at the school located on campus, and help find them a “Forever Family” to adopt them. At the age of 14, an orphan is forced to go out into the world by either finding a job, or being thrown into an adult home. 14 years old…think about that for a minute. Most of them will spend the rest of their lives in those homes. My girlfriend Erika & I made a video the last day we were in China, that focuses on the children at Shepherd’s Field. Check it out in this post here, and please share it. You can go to chinaorphans.org and find out more about the orphanage. On the site, you can find info on sponsoring a child. It ends up being about 1 dollar a day. Everyone cannot afford to spend money, so if you wouldn’t mind, you can truly help by SPREADING AWARENESS. Please share the video I’ve posted above. You can also share the video thru this YouTube link. Thanks for listening to this rant. God bless you guys.
p.s. Leaving for Brooklyn, NY to start working with OnCue again on new music! Follow me on Twitter - @CJLuzi to follow the journey.
CJ
Can’t Wait dropped today. It finally dropped. We spent about a year working on this project. I feel like there’s a lot I could say about it, about this day, these die hard fans, but I won’t. I’m just gonna say… thank you. Mac has the #1 album in the country right now as an independent. His fans are committed. Spread Can’t Wait. You guys are such a huge part of this. I definitely gotta thank the Lord for continually blessing me with new ideas and inspiration for this tape. There were
a few…many late nights where I was drained and stuck, but He brought it all together.If you haven’t listened or downloaded yet —> http://www.datpiff.com/OnCue-Cant-Wait-mixtape.284595.html
CEEJ
- What's your production setup consist of? DAW, VSTs, etc?
For the last few years I’ve been using an Open Labs “Neko” (Timbaland Special Edition)… which means it came with some extra sounds. Here’s a picture of it : http://pianoandsynth.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/timbaland_special_edition_neko_workstation_keyboard.jpg
I run FL Studio on there, and occasionally some other well known sequencers. Most of my sounds come from VST’s.
Here you go. This is “Better Than Before” by OnCue. Produced by me. This is the final music video before Can’t Wait drops November 16th.
- if a person (like me) thought your beats were sick, are they affordable or do I now gotta have that Sony dough to get one to rap over?
There’s always something that can be worked out. Unless you’re talkin’ only wanting to pay in pennies. Email my manager Jason, JayTracks@gmail.com … and he’ll give you all the info you need. He’s the one who can send you snippets of the beats, too. Thanks
“Congrats to OnCue and his fans for dominating this weeks Freshmen vote (maybe the Jason Vorhees mask helped a little.) “Feel Tall” will be added into rotation next week.” -mtvU
Seriously, thank you to ALL OF YOU who voted & spread the word. This is CLEESHAY, but we couldn’t have done it without you. haha. I’m thankful & stoked to see the next thing the good Lord has planned for my journey.
OnCue & I need your support! The winner of “The Freshmen” gets their music video spun on MTVU. Click the picture and you’ll be redirected to the voting booth. Vote a million times, there’s no limit! LET’S GO. THANK YOU.
I am SUPER STOKED to report that my production was used for this new Bing commercial! The ad premiered on MTV during the VMA’s on 8/28/11. It’s the beat from “Feel Tall” with OnCue, you’ll hear it at the beginning of the video. Shout out to my friends Terry Urban, Mick Boogie, and Cuey.
This is Feel Tall. The video. It’s the 1st single off the forthcoming project titled Can’t Wait. The free mixtape will arrive in November.
Here it is. My 2nd mixtape I’ve lead produced for OnCue in 2010, come download it for free.
DJ’s Mick Boogie & Terry Urban hosted an amazing project two years ago called “Viva La Hova”. It’s a mashup cd of famous Jay-Z and Coldplay songs. They have rereleased it, except it’s remastered. Also, there are two new bonus songs. I’m pleased to inform you that I produced one of those two new records. My song is called “Lucifer and Friends”. You can download the entire project @ http://tinyurl.com/27fw2me
Please check out my latest project: Cuey Sings the Blues. It was released on September 7th, 2010, and you can download it here for free.
