STEALMYBEATS Is OC’s Unsung A-List Hip-Hop Producer

 

Birthdays. Honoring the previous year of success with a celebration of becoming older and wiser. OC-native Justin Harris, better known as music producer StealMyBeats has a lot to celebrate as he is coming off his most successful year in music yet.

In 2017, through his unique production, StealMyBeats accomplished placement with a vast variety of the biggest names in music from all across the United States right now. Established superstars including Florida’s Denzel Curry (“ULT”), Underground Hip-Hop’s champion competitive battle rapper Daylyt, and through working closely with world-renowned Top Dawg Entertainment (Kendrick Lamar) producer Willie B, collaborations with West Coast superstars Ab-Soul, Greed, and Crooked I. Concluding a big year, StealMyBeats favors his work with Denzel Curry as his favorite based on the experience.

“My favorite track I produced is probably “Can’t Stay” with Denzel Curry. It was actually a collaboration between myself with his producer from the ULT camp Lord LuCN,” Harris says. “It wasn’t anything in particular that made it my favorite other than the vibes in the room while we created it. I just remember Zel and Lord LuCN went from [saying] ‘Who is this guy?’ to jumping around the room vibing out to the beat in a matter of 10 minutes. The track hasn’t been released yet, but should be out in the next month or two.”

Born and raised in Orange County, StealMyBeats is the moniker Justin Harris created to pay homage to the producer’s longtime unappreciated role in the music business. Justin remembers his early days of making music and how difficult it was to develop a signature sound as an unknown talent.

“When I started producing, I realized how underappreciated producers are in their craft. Most of the artists I came across believed they were the prize and should be given free beats. They always said they’re going to make the track I gave them go platinum and that I would get paid on the back end. I felt like they were stealing my beats. I got over it and decided to name myself STEALMYBEATS to never forget my worth and get paid upfront.”

Raised in Mission Viejo, Justin remembers the level of sibling rivalry he experienced growing up in a very musical family.  

“It’s a family tradition along with J being the first letter of our first names,” he says. “My dad, Jeff, is hands down the best guitar player I have ever heard in my life. My uncle Jara is the same with Bass guitar and Drums and my Uncle James with the Keys.”

Over the years he learned to play a variety of instruments and grew up around  studios, bars, and clubs since before his teenage years. His brother Josh, who is seven years older than him, started cooking up beats way before Harris did.

“He was always a big inspiration to me because He created whole songs, not just played one instrument in them,” Harris says.  Around age 22, he got a midi controller and started making my own beats on reason. His beats were heavily influenced by classical composers like Nobuo Uematsu who did the scoring to one of the greatest video games in existence; Final Fantasy 7.

“They were pretty wack, but I refused to conform to the sound of what other people wanted,” he says. “I would make these crazy melody heavy beats that had way too much going on most of the time. Throughout the years I figured out creative ways to blend a lot of emotional melodies and modernize my sound while still standing apart from what everybody else was doing.”

As StealMyBeats crafts a unique sound for recording artists that has received praise from music’s biggest stars and says his tracks will be used by the likes of J.Cole, Joey Badass and Ab-Soul.

Moving forward in 2018, as StealMyBeats, the producer has plans to not only add several more high-profile acts to his resume, but also adds a new title of “recording artist” as he will be stepping from behind the boards and into the booth with his own voice laid down over his production as well as his forthcoming debut album.

Until then, StealMyBeats invites all of Orange County to his star-studded birthday celebration being held tonight (February 9th) inside 2145 on 2145 Block of Placentia Avenue in Costa Mesa.

For more on StealMyBeats, follow the producer on social media under the handle @StealMyBeats.