Coach Brodie says he manifested working with DaBaby and talks the rapper being a dedicated dad
We’ve all seen DaBaby be the rambunctious, polarizing, and unpredictable rapper in public. Behind the scenes, however, engineer Chris “Coach Brodie” West has been the artist’s creative conduit since 2017 and has witnessed how DaBaby the father and artist coexist in the same space.
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“I’ve seen him holding his babies while they sleep, cradling them while recording at the same time,” West told REVOLT.
In this installment of “Studio Sessions,” the multiplatinum engineer discussed how he influenced DaBaby’s music, working on a separate project before HOW TF IS THIS A MIXTAPE?, and what fatherhood looks like for the lyricist. Dive into the exclusive chat below.
When did you start working with DaBaby?
I first started working with him in 2017. I moved to Charlotte from the Raleigh/Durham area, and we locked in in 2017. I kinda really manifested getting with Baby. I graduated from Full Sail [University] in about 2012, so I was working out there for about four years in Durham. I remember in 2015 hearing about this guy named Baby Jesus. I started checking him out, watching him work and stuff, and I loved the way he was marketing himself. So, I was like, “I gotta get to Charlotte.” I had a producer homie in Durham who kinda tapped me in with one of the studios that Baby was going to at the time, and I kinda finessed my way in over there. Baby was the first session I ever did when I got to Charlotte. I don't even think I was paid for the session.
Around then, I was used to people writing their songs, coming into the studio, cutting what they got, and if we gotta do it over and over again till we get it right, we do it. What I hadn't really experienced too much of was rappers not writing. So, we get into the session, and as soon as he gets done punching in, he's ready for the next punch-in. Not only that, he wanted it to sound decent. I didn't really grasp the sound. I wasn't really on the level I am now. Back then, I was green. We were doing the session, and at one point, we finally got through a song. It took forever. I didn't realize he punched in so much, and I needed to keep up with his workflow.
What did you notice about his personality when you first connected?
I knew he had that star power early. We were working on Baby Talk 5 around 2017, and there weren't a lot of breaks with him. He'll step outside or make a phone call, and it might take 20-30 minutes. I remember I stepped outside for a second, and I saw this lady walking into the studio carrying a table. I get back in the studio, and DaBaby got a whole massage table set up in the studio, getting a full out massage while we were in a session.
What’s a typical DaBaby session look like?
It depends on what we're doing. Sometimes, he'll hit me, and he’s got a very set agenda on what he's trying to get done. Usually, those days are like: Jump in, get to it, [and] get out because he has somewhere to be. But I'd say 80 percent of the time, if it's just a vibe session, I try to get there somewhat early, whether we’re at his crib or a studio or something. I try to get there early to get things set up. He likes to record right next to the engineer, so he can see the computer screen and see what's going on, too. I usually have to set the microphone up in the control room next to me or something.
He'll pull up and a lot of times, he'll have some beats he's working with... But most of the time, he'll let people play beats, or he'll play some beats, and then we'll start setting a few aside. We might have three or four beats laying aside, and then that's when we get started.
Were there any suggestions you made for DaBaby songs that stuck?
In the earlier years, I didn't really try to do as much 'cause he was very particular about what he wanted. I never really tried to slide something in. There are definitely drops, little delays you hear, and throw effects that are pretty much me in the studio while we’re cooking. I'll make a move, turn around, look at him, and he might give me the head nod, and I’ll know he liked that. When it comes time for the mix, I'll try to sneak some stuff in here or there, play it, and if he doesn’t say anything, we let it ride.
For the “I’m Outside” record, we were in the studio, cut the record, it was cool. But they had a grand piano sitting in the live room. I asked the assistant engineers, “Can y'all mic this up just in case we want to do something crazy?” The producers were there for that session. Baby cut the record, and then an hour and a half later, I talked to the producer, and he went in there and added the piano.
When did you all record his latest project, HOW TF IS THIS A MIXTAPE?
Last December we started working on everything. He kinda locked in with the recording. He started having the producers pull up. He would have the producers pull up, and that's how we cooked up records. When he took off in his career, he was on the road so much, people were just sending him stuff, and he wasn't always in the studio. But, for this project, we started locking in to record around December of 2023. He started hitting me more frequently to pull up, and every session was with his producers.
We started in December, and we were working on something totally different, a different project. We had about 15 or 20 songs before we went out to LA in August. That’s when we rerouted, in a sense, our approach to what he was wanting to put out. We had a whole different project planned, and then he was like, “You know what? I'm trying to drop this mixtape.”
Most of those songs on the mixtape were probably done within that one-month period from the beginning of August until I turned the project in, in September.
How have you seen DaBaby balance fatherhood with his recording schedule?
Oh, that's nothing, bro. He's a father first. Anytime we’re in the studio, bro, any one of them kids can call him, and it doesn’t matter if they talk to him for an hour, hour and a half, or however long, he’s going to sit right there, and talk to them. Then, as soon as he gets back, he’s right back to work. I've sat at this man’s house all night, morning time comes, his kids are ready to get up, and he’s cooking them breakfast. I'm still in the studio with the headphones on. I'm making it sound good; he’s cooking breakfast. I’ve seen him holding his babies while they sleep, cradling them while recording at the same time.
What do you have coming for the rest of 2024?
I'm gonna let him tell it (laughs). We’re sitting on a lot of vibes right now. It's just a matter of when it comes out.
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