Photo by Jared Ryder
Pro Era’s process of recording and making music is a group effort (read: “The Crew: Pro Era”). As Joey Bada$$ said in an episode of The Process with Peter Rosenberg, recording with his friends is a lot more fun and efficient. “When you are rocking with the crew, it’s more than one person contributing ideas. It’s really easy to get things done because if I got a verse and you got a verse and he got a hook, song’s done,” he explained.
Though they each have individual styles, whether it’s CJ Fly opting to write his verses instead of freestyling, Nyck Caution envisioning one of the Pros on his songs, or Kirk Knight curating a vibe for the day, they depend on each other to make a whole record, from song structure to final product.
Here, members of Pro Era break down how they collaborate, their personal styles, and the overall sound of the Brooklyn-based crew.
On Collaboration
CJ Fly: We’ll try to figure out all different types of methods to our approach to music. We have our original methods, but we’re trying to figure out other ones to work and be able to get a complete product from everybody. Usually, when it's a small amount of us, we can get something done. Like Kirk cooks up a beat, and Nyck and I come up with verses—a lot of songs get made like that. Nyck and I come up with verses—a lot of songs get made like that.
Nyck Caution: The way a lot of songs get made is I might get a beat, do a verse and a hook, and then I’m like, “Yo, I can hear you on this.” I don’t think it’s the best way, but it’s strong because if I’m playing you something I’ve recorded and I love, it’s already strong and you just need to add your energy to it and it becomes our track.
Chuck Strangers (via): A typical day in the studio, I’ll meet up with Joey or some other people in Pro Era and we’ll do some beats and they’ll start freestyling and then we’ll decide what the song is about, set the structure and then get started. It’s funny 'cause sometimes in Pro Era the thing is in the studio [it's] not about making songs, it’s about setting the connection that has to be made before making the songs in the future. It’s all about catching each other’s vibe.
On Personal Recording Styles
Joey Bada$$ (via): Studio is a place you could chill. You smoke, you drink, and you chill with girls. But for me to work, you gotta have two to three people in there. That’s why a lot of people really don’t understand sometimes. I really need my space when I record. If I’m in there, there’s a whole bunch of things going on, it just conflicts with my whole mental frame.
CJ (via): You can’t create with too many opinions around. Like, "I don’t think you should do this." I don’t want to hear that. I want to do what I want. Y’all gonna hear the song and like it.
Nyck: The way I’ve been recorded lately is how I recorded in my neighborhood. I always feel weird if someone else is in the room. It’s gotta be me and my homie, the engineer. That’s it. I’ll turn the lights off and put on the flickering lights and sh*t. It’s just a vibe; I take the studio very seriously. I’ll joke around at first, but when it’s time to work, I’m strict with what I want to do.
Kirk Knight: I take the vibe in the studio just as seriously as my brother Nyck here because Nyck is one of my favorite collaborators. I have lights in my studio, but mine are a little more modern, mine [are] just like the ones you have on the windows of department stores, but it’s dark. It’s the wall lights that follow the wall. That’s what I have along the floor in my studio. Everything looks like it’s lit from the bottom up. Everything is just dark, so I feel like I’m in space.
On Setting Trends
CJ: We just do what makes us happy and what our hearts tell us to do. I won’t ever make a song that doesn’t give me that feeling in my stomach. Like, “Whoa, that’s the one.” I can’t make music that’s not something I can feel or somebody else can actually vibe to. It’s deeper than that.
Kirk: As long as a person can feel where I’m coming from when they hear the record, my job is done. It doesn’t matter if you like it or not, as long as you know where I’m coming from. You comprehended the feeling that I wanted you to feel. At the end of the day, that’s it.
On the Pro Era Sound
CJ: I feel like we represent a different type of music. Our music is a little more conscious, and if it’s not conscious, there’s some type of substance. It doesn’t always have to be, like, rah-rah. I don’t even know what to call that type of rap. There are different levels of music; there are different levels of communicating things through music. There’s different ways to do it. Us as a unit, we have a common aesthetic. We all have our own styles within that. That’s what makes us be so cohesive together. We are stronger together.