"I definitely contribute to pop culture every year, whether people know it or not."
Bobby Brackins is a fixture in the L.A. songwriting scene. The Oakland-born artist has leveraged his natural melodic sense into a music career both behind the scenes and behind the mic, crafting hits for the likes of Tinashe, Chris Brown, and Ty Dolla Sign, while always keeping some material aside for his own use. His musical beginnings were in the Bay Area, as he formed a group called Go Dav in high school with his friend, Nicholas Balding, who would later become Nic Nac, the producer behind Chris Brown's "Loyal," and Pia Mia's "Do It Again," and a consistent collaborator of Bobby's.
After Nic moved to L.A. to pursue music, Bobby followed in 2008, where he began to build a solo career, eventually landing his first hit in 2010. "It really all stems from the first big song I ever wrote called “143” which was my song with Ray J," he said. "I got a publishing deal right after that." That deal is what got his foot in the door of the songwriting business. "Right after I got my publishing deal, they started setting up sessions. I was really only focused on my stuff, but I wrote another song for Ray J, “I Hit It First”. After that song came out, my publishers wanted me to start writing not only for myself, but for other people. They started introducing me to other people too. They actually introduced me to my friend Red Wine who made the beat on [Tinashe’s] “2 On”. They make introductions when they can. Some of them don’t end up being the best sessions, but some of them end up being cool connections to build from."
Meeting Ty Dolla $ign and co-writing Chris Brown's "Loyal"
Meeting Ty Dolla $ign and co-writing Chris Brown's "Loyal"
The Success of "143" led to Bobby meeting YG and Ty Dolla $ign, who were promoting their own breakout hit, "Toot It and Boot It" at the same time. "Me and YG were doing shows together pretty much like every weekend cause we had the two biggest songs of the summer in the west coast," he explains. "And then Ty would come and I ended up being super cool with Ty. Then Ty started coming to the studio with me and Nic Nac and then me, Ty, and YG when on our first tour together. It was called the Young & Hungover Tour. Then we made a whole mixtape after that tour. Then yeah, so that’s how me and Ty – we just kept making music every since, you know?"
Nic Nac and Ty Dolla $ign were the two main collaborators for "Loyal," a song that Bobby was originally set on keeping for himself, but it eventually made its way to Chris Brown, becoming the songwriter's highest charting hit to date. "It was going to be my song," says Bobby. "Me and Ty were working on that for myself and then Chris’ people heard it and they hella wanted it. At first we didn’t want to give it to them, but you know it was just a long process but eventually he ended up doing it. But yeah, like I said these placements just all happened recently. You never really know what’s going to happen."
While the song was lifted out from under him, Brackins' fingerprints are still very visible if you look close enough. "Chris says “I took her to the Bay with me”. That was one of the lines I definitely threw in there," he revealed, pointing out what really should've been obvious if you were paying attention. "I mean, he’s from Virginia, why would he say that? People don’t necessarily know how much I influence pop culture."
The hit-making process
The hit-making process
Bobby's writing consists of vocals and arrangement, but his process isn't all that technical. According to him, his melodies naturally reveal themselves when he hears an instrumental. "They just come to my head," he says. "If I like a beat, I’ll just hear all different kinds of melodies. If it’s for a singer, I normally just like to think of three or four melodies that I really like. Then I figure out what I want to be the verse to be, what i want the pre-hook to be, what I want the hook to be, and what I want the bridge to be. I’ll figure out the three or four strongest melodies and structure out the song, then I’ll just put lyrics for whatever I want the song to be about. I don’t have a solid set process."
The thing is, Bobby's most comfortable performance space is a raspy Bay Area rap flow, always sculpting out the entirety of his songs, but usually passing his hooks to carefully selected collaborators. On first glance, you might not assume he was the mastermind behind the gigantic choruses on his songs. He also works closely with his producers, talking his vision through with his collaborators and arranging the different pieces.
"I don’t press the keys or really go on the programs and move stuff around, but I like to make all my songs from scratch for the most part," he says. "I definitely just tell the producer what I want, how I want it to sound, and what to add and take out. I’m not fully comfortable just going on Fruity [Loops] or Logic and just moving shit around. I definitely just kind of give a verbal picture of how I want the shit to sound."
Though he's always been a natural, he's become more efficient at the this process with experience. "I definitely get better as the days go by. You definitely just get more refined. I’ve always been good at it. Now I know how to focus and concentrate, and get the ideas out even better now. I’ve always loved writing music, but now I feel there’s a little more madness, where i’m like ‘I just have to figure this shit out’. I know how to execute a little better and faster. We can do a song in less than an hour."
The L.A. scene
The L.A. scene
When it comes to writing, the payday comes with hit-making, something Brackins hasn't had trouble with, revealing that at the time of the interview, two songs he contributed to are on the Hot 100 -- Ty Dolla Sign's "Saved" and Jeremih's "Oui," though he's only credited on the former. "If the song gets on the radio, that’s how a songwriter makes their money, just if it gets on the radio. The more radio spins it gets, the more lucrative a song can be. So any song that pretty much makes it on the Hot 100 is going to be able to pay some money for the record, you know?"
Bobby credits L.A. with providing inspiration and access, giving him the opportunity to work with people that he would not have been able to back in Oakland. "It’s just the industry scene period," he suggests. "As far as modeling, acting, and music. You can only really be in L.A. or New York if you really want to get constant work,” he says. “Miami and Atlanta too. But those are really the only places that have strong music and industry kind of scenes." Still, he's been able to establish organic relationships with a network of artists. "I know who I like to work with out here. I feel like you get in where you fit in," he explains. "The people I like to work with are some of the most talented people in the world. We all happen to live in L.A. for the most part. There’s 50 different recording studio out here, the majority of artists live out here. It’s easy to get work done out here. I like working other places too. I don’t know if it’s just the L.A. atmosphere, or that there’s a lot of work to be done, but whatever the case, L.A.’s a good place to be if you’re going to be making music.”
Solo career and next steps
Solo career and next steps
Though he'll always be tapped to put his magic touch on other artist's records. Bobby is building a foundation as a solo artist, releasing his To Live For earlier this month, which contains some of his most well-known singles from the last two years, as well as a wealth of new material. It's actually the first part of a planned trilogy. "After To Live For, it's going to be To Kill For -- and I already have a bunch of songs done for that," he said. "It's a three part saga. It'll finish with To Die For. I'll probably put those all out within the next 6 months."
As for the sessions he's been a part of recently, Bobby has certainly kept himself busy with some exciting prospects. "I was working with Diplo just last week, doing some stuff with him for the Major Lazer project," he said. "There’s a bunch of songs with Pia Mia that are really dope that are coming up this summer. I did a new one with Chris that really dope, I think he’s putting it on his next album. I did one with Shlohmo, he’s a really good producer. I did something with Tink recently, she’s really talented."
It's safe to say Bobby won't stop contributing to pop culture any time soon, but next time, you'll hear it from him first.