Coming up in cypher circles and freestyle battle arenas, Tia Nomore forced her entry into hip-hop’s boys club. The 22-year-old’s claim as Oakland rap’s little sister started as a teenager when she would jump into her older brother’s rap circles and ditch class to record G-funk-inspired hyphy music. Tia’s fiery wits, lyrical dismantling and command for respect earned her studio time with HBK Gang’s Show Banga, Iamsu! and Too $hort producer Exclusive, and that combo of qualities has been the bedrock throughout her continuous transformation into a fully-realized artist. - Taken from Rocket Radio Premiere of “Tokidoki Lenses”

As a producer and engineer Brown has worked with the likes of Toro y Moi, K.Flay, Mykki Blanco, The Morning Benders, SISTERS, Darondo, and more. Often catching artists on their way up and helping to propel them forward. Recently he's started releasing original material and collaborations under the moniker Studio_Dad.

Based out of Different Fur, a studio owned by Brown (and one of San Francisco’s most historical and famed recording spaces), Text Me was formed as a writing and production team with a dozen or so talented musicians, producers, and songwriters lending to an eclectic mix of style.

Drew Arnett didn’t start producing professionally until a year before making the “I’m On” beat for Kamaiyah in 2015. “I just wanted to be a touring bass player,” he says.

Now a full-time producer and musician, Arnett spends most of his time at Different Fur as an in-house producer for the studio-affiliated label, Text Me Records. He has his gripes with the lack of an industry infrastructure in the Bay Area but sees his affiliation with Text Me as a tipping point.

“I work closely with artists at Text Me and I’m gonna be able to put the spotlight on a lot of artists in the Bay. Kinda like A&R-ing, but I’m producing too. The artist can be nobody and the producer can have such a big name and the song can go platinum. That’s what I want to do.”

Taken from the KQED article "Behind The Beats: Drew Banga" by Adrian Spinelli

Read more here: https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/2017/10/17/behind-the-beats-drew-banga

Tiffany Wilson is a Bay Area native with over 5 years of experience launching and growing an indie record label and publishing company in San Francisco. Known collectively as Text Me Records, the group and its members have solidified a reputation as community leaders through release collaborations, live shows, songwriting camps, and other initiatives that promote teamwork and partnership in an increasingly competitive industry. Says Tiffany, “I’m proud to be part of a company that prioritizes artists and songwriters first and promotes unity, where everyone supports each other and can literally be seen cheering each other on from the sidelines. It’s a unique place where everyone recognizes that one talent doesn’t outshine the other - whether they’re brand new to the industry or well into their career.” 

It was in recognizing how often talented artists feel alone and struggle to find resources and guidance that Tiffany became passionate about dedicating herself as a support system. In 2019 she was one of two speakers at The Recording Academy’s Music Publishing Summit in San Francisco, as well as a mentor to a fellow womxn in the industry through their mentorship program in 2022. She’s also gone on to provide contract work in music publishing education to the artists of the LA-based HiFi Labs. At Text Me Records, she’s been a key person in the music education of artists as well as the advancement of their careers. She’s been instrumental in developing campaign strategy, securing press coverage, confirming over 50 sync licenses, and fostering relationships with partners like Twitch, Youtube, Tracklib and more.

Born on an Island off the east coast of Canada, Tim Vickers AKA Grandbankss moved to the states at a fairly young age and began studying music and double bass. After spending 10 years producing/music directing bands in the San Francisco Bay Area Pat Brown took him under the wing of different fur and gave him a place and resources to write and produce at a professional level. A long time electronic music fan, Tim's influences run from Bjork, Arca and Mount Eerie, to Clams Casino, the RZA, and Shabazz palaces.

Bay area native Bobby Renz has been actively playing live music, producing and songwriting in and around San Francisco for over 10 years. After spending many years doing self production in home studios, he’s found a home at Different Fur Studios doing production and songwriting for Text Me Records. Working on a wide range of music from pop, experimental, R&B, hip hop, indie; his influences range from Charles Mingus, Fela Kuti, Alton Ellis, Brian Eno, Sly Stone, to Bon Iver, Travis Scott, Major Lazer, Rihanna.

Raised in the East Bay, Sean Paulson has spent the bulk of his six-year recording career at Different Fur. Trained at nearby Ex’pression College, Paulson found himself inspired by the tones and textures found on albums like My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless or The Microphones’ The Glow Pt. 2, Paulson became laser-focused on providing musicians with the perfect sounds, so that they could keep their attention on songwriting and performance.

Jordan Blackmon is a Columbia, SC-raised/Los Angeles, CA-based musician, producer and songwriter. After nearly a decade as the live guitarist for Toro y Moi, he decided to hit the brakes on touring and shift his focus towards the studio.

His influences are eclectic, ranging everything from International Funk to Northern Soul to Harsh Noise to American Primitive - this helps him bring a unique perspective into all of his sessions.

Born and raised in the Bay, Matt Pereira has been producing anything from electronic music to sound design for film, for almost a decade. Experienced in all forms of synthesis, you can often find him creating textured and animated sounds in his free time. After several years of producing and schooling, he has joined the Text Me Records crew as a Producer/Song Writer, taking influence from artists such as Deadmau5, Skrillex, & Feed Me. Also known by his producer moniker Kōmak, he has released several energetic electronic singles such as XYZ & Sanctuary through Text Me Records.

A writer, producer and recording artist with a knack for reinvention, you never quite know where Will Butler will pop up. Currently churning out infectious, gritty pop hooks under the name Social Work, Butler also collaborates with many artists on the Text Me Records label. Legally blind since his teens, Butler crafts his productions with a clever mix of adaptive techniques, to the point where some people forget he can hardly see. Follow Social Work on SoundCloud and read Butler's writings in VICE, The New York Times and more.

Windmills is Los Angeles based Singer, Songwriter, and Producer Wayne Mills.

“Classic Tascam Portastudio Bedroom Folk” – themodernfolk.net

Established in 2007, Windmills has released multiple Eps such as ‘The Fire’ and ‘We Move Air’ both released to cassette, in addition to his April 2016 release of ‘UNVRSL’, and upcoming 2017 LP ‘Call Me Crazy’.

"I think one of the reason why I love lo-fi music is its spirit. Without the presence of over editing and compression, the soul of the song still remains intact. I stumbled upon Windmills the other night and felt an immediate closeness to the songs." – No Experience Necessary Blog

Mills also plays Electric Guitar for the San Francisco based Indie Rock group Owl Paws.

Went to Los Angeles Music Academy with a focus in composition and guitar playing at first, and then transitioned into bass and drums. Won auditing rights and scholarships to CalArts and Musicians Institute where necessary information was also gathered. Grew up in a persian household which manifested a serious a love for world music and, somehow, soul/funk and R&B. Eventually becoming a self taught digital producer and keyboard player as well, with the hopes of finding a path to consummate expression and honesty through the art of music.

I have done session playing with multiple instruments and myriad genres as well as composition and arrangement. Works with Cocorosie mostly and a house musician and producer with Different Fur Studios in San Francisco since 2014. Worked as a musician and musical advisor with Oddfuture, Cass Mccombs, Cat Power, Brian Lebarton, Patrick Brown, adventuresOf, Past Life Billionaires, Daniel Lynas, and others. Based in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Text Me Records, forever and a day.

The soulful sound of William Robert is designed to lift listeners out of the gray. A former NFL football player for the Detroit Lions and the UT Longhorns - turned pop R&B lyricist and vocalist - Robert will release a string of singles starting with Texas on April 28th 2017. He credits the raw emotion and vulnerability expressed in his music to influences like the Notorious B.IG., Sarah McLachlan, and Coldplay. These tracks embody what it means to start a new family while

pursuing the most difficult thing one can do: expressing yourself honestly through art.

The singles to be released include a feature by go-to Bay Area backing band The Park as well as vocalist Nona Brown, who has worked alongside artists such as The Fray and Lenny Williams, and Claire George of HEARTWATCH. Texas will be one of the first releases under new label Text Me Records.

BALANCED BREAKFAST

SF WEEKLY

THE BAY BRIDGED

Douglas still relishes that time indoors, tucked away in the studio — except he’s not always by himself anymore. Just as producers and vocalists need each other, fellow producers can drive one another’s creativity. Douglas is part of a loosely formed Bay Area collective of hip-hop producers, many of whom we’ll be profiling this week as part of this series. “In producer culture, we stay in a room and work,” he says. “It’s about bringing people together and creating these collages.”

“People lose sight of the fact that you can make a huge impact while remaining mysterious,” he says. “That’s kinda why I got into producing.”

(READ MORE HERE)