veggi
Takes Us Through His Artistic Journey, From TikTok Viral 'Illegal Mashups' To His Groovy Original Beats
By Jackie Procacci
Everyone loves a crazy mashup with songs you would have never imagined would go together. For Southern California native veggi, creating this concept has truly become second nature. Through what was once a fun pastime during quarantine, the artist’s viral “illegal mashups” on his TikTok account @veggibeats have provided a major boost to his production career and original music. Given his ear across all genres, it’s no surprise that veggi’s original tracks are absolute bangers. His recent releases, “RIDE” and “THINKING”, are truly feel-good songs that will make you want to get up and dance. Veggi’s funky, groovy dance tracks are perfect for any vibe, and paired with his TikTok mashups, he has proven himself as one of the most versatile artists in the industry today. From his most recent mashup of Weezer’s hit “Say It Ain’t So” combined with the trending “Pushin P” by Gunna, Future, and Young Thug, to his bouncy, soulful originals, his creativity and experimentation will keep listeners of all genres on their toes. We recently spoke to the artist about his TikTok virality, favorite sample packs, and more!
You’ve become a super recognizable and influential figure on TikTok and your original music is amazing as well. Let’s start from the beginning - how did you get started making music?
I’ve been doing music for most of my life really, I started out playing saxophone, drums, and all sorts of other instruments. However, it wasn’t until my freshman year of college back in 2015. That’s when I got my first Macbook and downloaded a copy of Ableton, and really dove into production. I was going to school for music in Nashville, and I started out making a bunch of EDM. Then migrated to hip-hop beats in 2017. When I graduated college is sort of when I got more into producing the current style you’re hearing in my most recent music and have really fallen in love with developing my sound.
I’m glad I was able to get out of Southern California to be in a different area (Nashville) during college. It helped me meet more people from different backgrounds to widen my palate in terms of musical influence. The college degree was super helpful too.
Your content blew up in 2020 – what was it like starting the pandemic off going viral on TikTok and continuing that success until today?
It was really wild! At the beginning of the pandemic, I was quarantined like everyone else, so naturally, I had a bunch of time on my hands. Like many others, I was on TikTok all the time and started posting more and more because I had the time to. It was around June/July 2020 when I made my first mashup video and that's when things started to really take off. After that, I’m continuing to expand my creative horizons and stay consistent in my process to take everything to new heights.
Your “illegal mashups” are a mainstay on TikTok. What was the inspiration for the series?
I had been DJing since college and was doing it a lot for fun in my room to pass the quarantine time. One day I saw that I had the instrumental for “Party In The USA” and the acapella for the Bobby Shmurda song sitting in my Serato. I was messing around with the two songs and it sounded amazing/hilarious so I decided to just record it and post. It was sort of a happy accident that started from me creatively messing around. It was kind of funny, and then it turned into something that I really liked and began to identify with creatively. Once I found something that people really liked, I wanted to expand on it and keep the momentum going by curating the right instrumentals and acapellas to always have on hand. Now it’s just a matter of trying new things and staying consistent.
Which mashup are you most proud of and why?
Honestly, I’m a big fan of Part 1 and Part 2 because it was crazy to see how it all started and how that changed my life. The “Paper Planes x Ice Cube” was like the first really big viral one, so that holds a special place in my heart.
Another one that I loved was “Family Ties x SexyBack.” It’s funny because in my comments for that video everyone was saying the mashup sounded like a BROCKHAMPTON song. The video ended up going wild amongst their fanbase as a funny video. Kevin Abstract ended up posting it on his Twitter saying “This Is Just BROCKHAMPTON” which was hilarious that their fanbase sort of identified with the mashup.
I’ve had artists like Gwen Stefani and Adam Levine re-post some of my videos using their music which is just crazy and always blows my mind haha. Sorry, I guess that’s more than one but it's hard to pick, they’re all special to me.
Was there a moment where you felt like you “made it” on TikTok?
Great question haha. After posting Pt. 1, the fact that each video consistently kept growing after like part 4 or 5 was when I felt like I had “made it.” At that point, I had cultivated an engaged audience for something that I was doing consistently. The dopamine hits when those early notifications were flooding was great, it felt like water was breaking through a dam. I think after that first few the coolest thing was just to see that people were excited for more and really seemed to enjoy discovering my account.
Have you figured out a formula for creating successful content?
Sometimes I like to think I do, but honestly not really. TikTok has such a mind of its own. There are certain things I do to sort of “read the room” and keep my eye on trends as to how the app and its algorithm are changing. But also I will just post videos at like 1:00 AM and I’ll wake up and it will be at like a million views. Timing doesn’t matter much for my content. TikTok is still such a wild west in terms of its algorithm and format. I guess the formula is that there is no formula for me. Just create your own rules, be open, and be consistent.
Do you have any advice for up-and-coming producers promoting their music on the app?
Find your niche, and don’t be afraid to experiment. Stay consistent with it, even when there is no response at all. Some people blow up overnight off a video, other people it can take years. Also, keep an open mind as a creator, and don’t be so worried about what your image is. You really never know what's gonna blow up.
Now let’s talk about your upcoming EP “LIQUID.” What was the inspiration behind this project?
The inspiration for this project was sort of pieced together as it went. Is any key driving factor. I feel like all these songs incorporate a new avenue for me as a producer/artist. When I put out some of my early music it was really lo-fi/underground inspired and this new EP is me growing into new sounds with a ton more influence with four on the floor, funk, and a lot of hip-hop influence.
The title LIQUID was an ode to the artwork and design of all the tracks. I normally design all of my own single artwork, and I like to use a liquifying effect on the font. Since I was in the mindset of liquifying the artwork it also was a metaphor for this new era of veggi music being liquid. Meaning that I’m staying fluid and taking shape with my sound to influence all of my collaborators. I had the opportunity to work with a ton of amazing vocalists on this project like DijahSB, Benita, Ben Beal & KhakiKid. All of them are incredible artists from different genres, and from different parts of the world. With LIQUID I wanted to find a way to have consistency in my own sound while also being able to flow harmoniously with my collaborators’ sounds.
At what point did you decide to start releasing your songs professionally? What was inspiring you to release music as your own artist project too?
I always thought I needed my image/brand locked down before I started releasing my stuff professionally. Ever since I started gaining a following on TikTok I was doing lots of one-off projects producing for other artists. Crazy now was more of a class project. Before that, I had an EDM EP. I’ve always wanted to release music and once. I can work on who I am throughout the process.
Where do you typically find inspiration from when making your original songs? Do you have a method or process to your producing that you typically use, or is it always different?
I’d say 75% of the time when working on tracks I do melodies first then build drums and everything else out from there. I am such a melodious person. Sometimes I hear a sick new song just scrolling through my music library. A lot of times listening to music that’s fresh it scratches an itch for me to make something of my own. When I get inspired it usually starts with a melody which I’ll sing in my head first, and then I put it all down in the studio from there. I work pretty quickly on some of my songs too, when that inspiration strikes I try and knock the entire song out in one sitting/session. When I work quickly and knock something out without second-guessing myself is when I feel confident with what I’ve created.
Are there artists you look up to most and/or influence your sound/creative process?
Kaytranada, Toro Y Moi, SG Lewis are all really big ones. Neon Indian is really sick, and his synth-heavy stuff and imagery I really identify with as well. I also pull a lot of influence from hip-hop artists too like Mick Jenkins, Mac Miller, and tons of others. I really identify with all sorts of different music and try to find influence to add from different genres into my own stuff.
If you could go B2B with any artist who would it be?
It would be really sick to do one with Kaytranada. He’s such a legend.
How has the pandemic influenced your creative process and you as an artist overall? What do you think your biggest transformation has been looking back to the start of the pandemic versus now?
Before the pandemic, I had no real structure. I was just making music willy-nilly. A big transformation now is having a manager and building out the overall veggi team. Having people working with me has added a lot more structure in terms of creating a process of what to work on and what we’re building towards.
One of the biggest transformations now is definitely me being a lot more front-facing as an artist. I started out my journey in music more behind the scenes as a producer. However, now people know me as veggi the artist/DJ. Didn’t see that coming as much but I really love it. Having a very forward-facing artist project has allowed me to develop a sound and a creative direction that has trickled down to my production work for others and everything I’m working on. I’m super happy with how things have turned out in that regard and plan to release tons more original music and reach new audiences around the world.
Do you have any favorite sample packs or any go-to plug-ins?
“DECAP Drums That Knock” is the best sample pack. I think there are like 8 volumes of those now so any of the packs are the best. In terms of plugins, I really like SERUM. Also, a lot of the Ableton stock VSTs too. I’ve really come to know and love some of the new stuff in the Ableton Live suite expansion pack, their stock plugins are awesome. Could name a few more but I don’t wanna give away too much more of the sauce.
You’ve been featured on arguably some of the best Spotify playlists already including Choice Edit, aloe, metropolis, Friday Cratediggers, and more. As a versatile artist, what can we expect from your upcoming releases this year?
Look out for more of this new avenue of indie-dance stuff. I’m going to be continuing to develop my sound as an artist and producer and I’m getting super experimental with it. Expect tons of new left-of-field singles from me. Going to keep things eclectic and wide, and that’s what I love about some of those playlists you mentioned, they feel like they have no super specific genre just really driven by vibes and overall good music.
What’s next for Veggi? Where do you want to be in January 2023?
Being on some upcoming festival bills would be sweet. COVID willing of course. It’s a dream of mine to start playing some of the big festivals like Coachella, Lollapalooza, and Gov Ball. I just want to release a ton of new music I’m sitting on then get on the road more.
I also just signed a publishing deal with Ultra Publishing. Super excited to be spending time growing as a producer by working with lots of exciting artists, songwriters, and producers to grow as a creative. I wanna help produce music for a lot of other people in addition to my forward-facing project. Let’s do this again next year and we can check back!