Local Music Producer Nick Costa on his Newest Release 'Today'

Tyler Salk

In a day and age, where the world is more connected than ever, global communication can happen in an instant. When this happens in the entertainment world, it makes it rarer and rarer by the day for smaller, local musicians to find success. Some of them are still able to

I caught up with local music producer Nick Costa to discuss his newest release.

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​Tyler Salk: Hey Nick, how are you today?
Nick Costa: Better than yesterday, because every day is about evolving and bettering yourself from the day before.


TS: This isn’t the first new music you’ve released. For those who are unfamiliar with you, why don’t you tell us about some of the music you’ve put out in the past.
NC: I’ve released and produced a solid body of work, but have really more so worked on a huge quantity of records in the past 6 years.  The reason it doesn’t appear so is because so much of it had either come under a different name- I used to go by the producer name “EyE-Q”- or it came during my time working as a ghost producer for major artists and producers. I really am just now circling around to having my actual name attached to the records I’m working on. Since around this time last year I decided to just go by my birth name Nick Costa.

This is the first super single I have ever been a part of, but earlier this year in April I released my first studio instrumental album “What Happened.” under my birth name.  In 2015 I released my debut instrumental album “The Hardcore Superstar: Landing Sequence”, and in 2016 I released my first instrumental mixtape “West Eleven”.

Up until the release of “What Happened.” from the time of the release of “West Eleven” I was just locked away in the studio working on music and not really releasing anything, which was a good thing because I had so much to learn at the time about how to market and brand my music. I didn’t even realize it during the initial phase of my career.  It is just now that I am starting to feel confident that my business skills line up with my music skills. That’s why you’ll be seeing a lot more of me from here on out on the music side and on the business side.


TS: Tell me about this new music. What inspired you to put out “Today”?
NC: Back in February I was with one of my best friends, and my right hand man in production, Feral G, at his label Time Machine’s studio in Pawtucket.  Feral and I have always worked as the perfect production duo, because he can lay down a killer melody in 1-2 minutes flat. I can do drums for the beat in maybe 5-6 minutes, he can add a counter melody, while I automate and track it out into an entire beat in another 5 minutes.

By that math it takes us about 15 minutes to complete one beat which means about 4 per hour.  If we work with our heads down for 3-4 hours we can produce and entire mixtape AND an ep for an artist in that amount of time. When I showed up to the studio, Feral told me Kold Kash was going to come through the studio and wanted to make some records.

Kash is a pretty prominent figure in the Rhode Island hip-hop scene, and a massive talent, so we knew we had to come with something really strong production wise.  When Kash got to the studio we chopped it up for a little bit and then Zoegod Dex showed up by invitation of a friend of Kash. When we finally got down to doing a record that night Feral started the melody you hear in ‘Today,’ finished it in a few seconds flat on the first try, I made the beat, and within 10 minutes Kash and Dex were in the both freestyling back and forth.  They knew that they had something special. The next day they took the beat to Slick Mix studios in Providence, recorded a whole different version freestyled, and got it mixed and mastered right there. In less than 24 hours the song was completed.

An email chain was started with the completed version of the song and somehow it got in the hands of somebody who leaked the record on Youtube. Thirty minutes later, the song hit 20,000 plays. The song was taken down due to copyright thankfully, but the surprise had been spoiled.

We were blessed to have Amado from 89.9 The Juice FM Providence bring us in for an interview and to debut the record on his show “The Cut”, which really helped us streamline the song to the masses in Rhode Island.


TS: You’ve released plenty of music in the past. The release of this single was really hyped up. What makes it so unique?
NC: It’s organic and authentic.  This song was just a song that came to the four of us.  From the beat to the lyrics. We didn’t start the beat saying “we have to make this type of beat.”  Kash and Dex didn’t sit down and write a song and say “we need to make this type of song.”

We simply started a beat off of a vibe, and they freestyled a song from what is authentically occurring in their lives.  It’s not as if some label or management was involved in the process of making the song or controlling the promotional process.  None of this was even planned. It just happened.

When you make a song like that, it just holds a special place in the whole team’s heart, especially if it comes out as legendary a record as this one is on its way to becoming.  Most importantly though, the fans made this record unique. The fans really got behind us, and that’s who made this record even more special. We are, four different artists, with four VERY DIFFERENT fan bases coming together and getting behind ONE song.  It’s really the beauty of creating music with other artists and bridging fanbases. Whatever we could have done individually with the song, was multiplied by four because we had all our audiences supporting us.

You could hype up a record yourself, and if the fans don’t get behind it then it will just fall on deaf ears and never go anywhere.  We’re in an era where even though there is more connectivity than ever through social media and networking events, people are more separated.  Creatives are afraid to work with other creatives because they’re afraid it won’t “fit their brand,” or they’re afraid it might cause them to be perceived some type of way.  Screw that. We need to be in an era where we can freely create with one another and support one another's passions without worrying about any of that. Hopefully this record can show people that in our local music community.


TS: Nick, thank you for taking the time to speak with me today.
NC: Thank you for your support! Shout out to 990WBOB for the support . Go stream “Today” out now on every commercial streaming platform.

Be sure to check out Nick’s music here.

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