Young Guru: “Never Lose The Hunger For Searching For Information.”

Last week, Grammy U kicked off their “The Era of the Engineer” tour featuring three time Grammy-nominated audio engineer Young Guru.

Drexel University students and Grammy U participants gathered in the URBN Annex on Drexel’s campus to learn the role engineers play in today’s music industry, how production involves more than utilizing the mixing board, the downfall of the recording industry and why keeping up with advancing technology is important.

Young Guru, who previewed Kendrick Lamar and Jay-Z’s “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe” remix at this year’s SXSW, elaborated on the need for a professional education in music and audio engineering, and what it takes to standout in the burgeoning music production field.

He opened the lecture by explaining who he was before he became Jay-Z’s go-to producer, working with noted acts like Beyoncé, Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Cam’ron and more.  He stood before the audience and told them about his grassroots in Wilmington, DE. During night outs in his city, kids would vibe to music and play basketball. He was more interested in getting in the DJ booth.

“We didn’t have these huge sound systems, so we made them,” he said. “All of this was the initial stage of me becoming an engineer and figuring out how systems work, how music works. All this was from the hip-hop culture. This was the thing that was the driving force.”

A common theme throughout Guru’s 90 minute talk was the importance of communication. Without communication, he wouldn’t have been successful with networking his freelance DJ gigs while attending the prestigious Howard University, where he met music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.

He also stressed the importance of being social and not just a person who is the master of the mixing board. Guru, who has produced for Memphis Bleek, DMX, Freeway and Da Band, broke down the psychology of being a producer when working with different personalities, some who are easier to deal with than others.

“What most students who go for engineering do is they go in and learn about a bunch of equipment,” he said. “They know that equipment backwards and forwards but they have no social skills whatsoever. None. That will get you kicked out of the studio faster than anything.”

Guru expressed his hunger to be successful in his craft as he traveled from D.C. to New York to find work. Even if he wasn’t needed in the studio that day, he’d go to other studios to see if anyone needed work done, just to get the experience. He also balanced regular jobs in between pursuing his dream.

Cleverly, Guru put a spin on the phrase “Don’t quit your day job,” instructing students to work while trying to break into the industry. It’s hard to work or do anything without money, he told them.

He closed the lecture with words for his peers to remember about the evolving industry: “Never lose the hunger for searching for information and trying to be better at what you do.”

Students weren’t the only ones in attendance. Sprinkled throughout the crowed included heavy hitters Vidal, Ivan Barias, Chill Moody, Dilemma, Freeway and Chiddy of Chiddy Bang.

“The Era of the Engineer” tour is set to hit 12 more cities from Seattle to Memphis.