Brian " Mr. Floss" Smith
Floss aka The Texas Chainsaw was born and raised in (OakCliff) Dallas, Texas. Growing up in a musical family, Floss was bound to be affiliated with music as he got older. His Big cousin Todd AKA Roc T started a very popular group in Dallas which included the famous Ron C. At the time Floss was only 7 yrs old and told his cousin that he wanted to be on the next record but his cousin told him " he had to write good songs." With that being said Floss put all his time and effort into his music and at the age of 11 he was featured on Key Low G's album. During his teen years Floss purchased a BOSS Drum machine and started making beats on his own. There were few studios in that area of Dallas at the time so when he started high school he began to record himself.
As Floss sharpened his skills as a artist, producer and beat maker the word got out which led Floss to start recording other artist for reasonable prices which eventually bought him new clothes, jewelry, and a new car which got him the nickname Floss meaning his flashy attire and vehicles. Big time local rappers started to hear the name Floss from many people and was concerned who this guy was. Within months, Floss received calls from the now Dallas legend Big Tuck, Oakcliff Assassasin and Kottonmouth. After Floss finished high school and the music hadn't went according to his plans he wanted to travel the world so he enlisted in The United States Army. One of Floss's duty station was in Hawaii where he still kept his music dreams By buying a ASR 10 and a Triton. When FLOSS first got to Hawaii he set up a recording studio to get his music career going.
After performing lots of shows and producing mix tapes on the island his name quickly hit the scene. "I remember people coming up to me and saying, oh so your Floss." Floss had a lot of support from the military and the Hawaii community and even landed a Recordiding contract . Later, Floss had to put his music career to the side because of 2 deployments with his unit. After returning from his second deployment he re-enlisted for Ft. Bliss, El Paso Texas. Floss knew after his second deployment that he would have enough time to get his music career back in motion. Once he set foot in El Paso he once again set up a recording studio in his home. Within 5 months Floss was back in full effect with his music. Floss wanted to take his music to the next level and form a group. Floss recorded many artist within that 5 month period but wanted to be precise when choosing his members of his group. Later he would meet up with local rappers Space One, Blaze, Swagga and JBaby which formed the group Stash House. Six months later the group Stash House was making headlines all over El Paso.
This quickly labeled Floss as one of the best producers in El Paso. Also, working a weekend job at Griffins Music store allowed Floss to network with other artist throughout El Paso. With his name coming up so fast he began to meet with DJ's like Marc X of 102.1, DJ Pat C of 104.3, Rico of SHUT"EM DOWN ENT and other big names in El Paso that gave Floss support. In 2006, Ft. Bliss came down on orders to deploy to Iraq. With this being up coming deployment once again Floss had to reevaluate his music and set it aside because of the military. Still having Stash House at his side he deployed to Mosul, Iraq (Q-West).
Knowing that it would be hard to maintain a group from another country over a 14 month period. Floss did everything he could to keep Stash House alive but eventually the popular group faded away. Maintaining a full time work schedule working at the NCO Academy training Iraqi's he set up his recording studio once again to pursue his music. Going out on convoys and making music was really difficult trying to do both at the same time because missions could come down anytime of the day. Floss was focused on both the military and his music and did both his entire 14 month tour. Floss recorded over 60 artists in Iraq and was the MWR's DJ for Hip Hop nights.
The music that he produced in Iraq he would play on the Hip Hop nights to get a reaction from the crowd and just like always everybody wanted to know who music it was and who made the beats. Floss made so much noise in Iraq, The Stars and Stripes (The Military's Newspaper) came and did a article about him and put him on the front page of the paper and Floss talked about chasing music dreams from Iraq. This was a big accomplishment for Floss and gave him more motivation to keep doing music. The word got out about his big debut in The Stars and Stripes and the commander (Col. Stephen F. Twitty) of the 4/1 Brigade personally asked Floss if he could fly from Q- West to Mosul to do a song for the brigade. Floss took the challenge and flew to Mosul where he met up with his partner Blaze and put together a song that left every soldier in the 4/1 Brigade with their mouths open.
The crew received awards for the song and outstanding recognition within their units and was looked upon as idols for the military. Also while in Iraq, Floss spoke with the hit group "Trap Stars" and produced a beat for them which put the group on the map. Everybody knows the song as "Get It Big." Floss did this as a favor because he knew the guys from back home and didn't ask for nothing in return. Floss also did beats for Big Tuck while in Iraq for his album and mix tapes. Floss also produces some upcoming stars in Dallas, his cousins Verse and Two Scoop of HustleMan Ent.
After redeploying back to El Paso, Floss organized a grouped and a record Label known as So Throwed Ent. The group includes Blaze aka Blazzinhott, Stunna and JBaby. Since December the guys have done over 75 shows, one big show including the opening for TooShort at Grahams Central Station, Lil KeKe and Lil Flip. Right now the group is working on a mix tape/compilation that will be in stores soon. Floss has sharpened his music and producing skills and recently went out and bought a Miko which helped him to create everywhere and anywhere. Floss says Openlabs are like family to him and can't wait for them to give him new gear to try.
Artist Q&A:
1.) How did you first hear about Open Labs?
I heard about Open Labs, through an artist by the name of BLAZE. He had just bought one.
2.) What Production Station do you have?
I have a MiKo GEN 4 and just Purchased a DBeat.
3.) How has the gear changed your method of work?
It puts everything right in front of me, one board does it all.
4.) What is your production station's primary function, live or studio?
Both I used to DJ with the MiKo, Now that I have my DBeat, It makes it that much easier. But still a lot of people did not know that you could DJ with the MiKo. I still have people come in and say (What in the world is that?) Not knowing that it is about to not only composing their beat, but also record their session.
5.) What is your favorite software on the board?
Reaper. To me, better than Pro Tools.
6.) How do you use it?
I produce my Beats and I record, mix & master in an all in one easy to use professional DAW.
7.) Which kind of equipment have you owned in the past and how do they compare to your Open Labs equipment?
ASR-10, MPC, and a Korg Triton, They just don't compare, all other keyboards seem so outdated, even if they just came out, because you get what you get and that's it. I actually took my favorite sounds out of those devices and transferred them into my MiKo using the software MIMIK.
8.) Has the gear changed the way you write songs?
I have song writing software on my MiKo, so now I don't have to pull out the laptop, I can compose right in front of my MiKo.
9.) How different is the composition process compared to the standard computer or laptop system?
With a computer or a laptop, you have to worry about hooking so many things up to them, like sound cards, midi controllers, and etcetera. with the MIKO you can pull it right out of the box and just make professional music, no extra wires or keyboards, but the option is there if you need it.
10.) Do you think the quality of your production now would be possible with another keyboard?
Not at all, The MiKo just keeps the creative juices going. I never get off of it, because I find something new every day.
11.) Have you had any experience with our Tech Support and how does it rate with you?
Yes, only because I had questions about some of the software, I wanted to know it all. Got on the line with David Williams, next thing I know he was scrolling around on my MiKo. I was in Dallas, he was in Austin might I add. The tech support is great.
12.) What is next for you and your Production Station?
I'm working on The So Throwed Boyz Album. The Blaze Solo Album, The Smoov Solo Album, Jay-baby R&B album and I'll be working with Swishahouse on some upcoming projects. I just sent some music to Wocka Flocka Flame. And Video Ventures with SA from SA Productions.
Equipment used:
Purchased a MiKo GEN 4.
Purchased a DBeat.
Artist Link:
http://www.myspace.com/mrfloss5