GottiOnEm

You probably know of GottiOnEm without even knowing You do. You may have probably listened to a Gottionem produced track without knowing it. Gotti announces his brand of sound design with a subtle ident that often slips past most listeners.

The UK music industry seems to have always been blessed with prolific producers from Mark Ronson to James Blake, who have been recognised on a world scale however the last three years have a seen a rise in the wave of UK producers further closing the gap between the UK and the rest of the world with producers such as Disclosure, Naughty Boy and Darq E Freaker pushing everything from the experimental all the way through to pop to new global audiences.

Gotti is the next up. With Collabs from Michael Dapah, Big Tobz, Mostack, Belly Squad, 67, Giggs, Geko,Section Boyz, Abara cadabra, Haarlem Spartans as well as features from Busta  Rhymes,Shaquille O’Neal and Gyptian it is not hard to decipher how Gotti has carved his way into the masonry of this new sound emerging out of the UK’s Young Black Music industry.

Despite his most recent UK Platinum selling record GottiOnEm will be a new name to many music listeners, however Gotti is not an overnight sensation.

The first set of Gotti branded productions were forged in 2012 and sounded like a hybrid of grime and rap. This was the interesting transition period in Grime when the genre was in the music wilderness. Whilst the genre was being celebrated on an international scale at the B.E.T. awards, the underground was struggling and UK charts were shunning the real sound of the streets. The beginning of the renaissance marked by Meridian Dan’s “German Whip” was still yet to happen.

Growing up in a Congolese household exposed Gotti to Polyrhythmic arrangements and percussion styles. It was not till 2003 that Gotti explored his own music choices and a penchant for US rap by purchasing his first record.

Gotti’s picked up a copy of 50 Cent’s “Get Rich or Die Trying” from Woolworths after hearing it on the radio and getting caught up in the hard hitting beats, the rapping style and the mix of the vocal melodies and street slang.

At school, Information technology lessons introduced Gotti to Fruity Loops as part of a web and sound design module and from there it was clear to Gotti that his path lay in audio production. Gotti moved on to making music in his spare time and self teaching using youtube tutorials.

Music is a product of the environment Gotti finds himself in, often finding inspiration by living in the moment. When describing his creative process to me it seemed that his creative sparks come from reactions to current music trends. like whatever is currently playing on the radio or at the club as well as observation of sound design and environmental sound (noise) filtering in subconsciously during day to day life.

Gotti met his now manager at a studio session. His peers introduced him as a producer that had huge potential but at that moment that had lost his drive. Quite soon after this meeting an altercation lead to Gotti being injured. The wounds were not fatal but left a scar mentally and physically. While he was recovering, he made the decision to get his career in gear again after a heart to heart chat to his soon to be manager. Shortly after making music his vocation again MIicheal Dapah got in touch.

After the recent smash hit, “Mans not Hot”, Gotti is looking towards new horizons. Still intent on pushing the UK sound worldwide Gotti is positioning a new project that will spotlight up and coming talent alongside acts that have become staple exports from the current crop of national talent.

Gotti is an evangelist for change in the industry. A change that is already quietly happening in the  landscape of the DSPs. Gotti and his peers face an issue that most producers face when on the come up. This issue is thus; producers often go overlooked, underpaid and uncelebrated.

Aside and apart from the music Gotti enjoys football and is an avid supporter of Arsenal football club as well as a gamer that plays Fifa. He also enjoys watching films especially Anime and has completed the whole of the Dragonball’s saga.