Bronze Nazareth has earned fame as a hip-hop producer.
Bronze Nazareth is perhaps best known for being the producer behind the famous hip-hop group, The Wu-Tang Clan. Hailing from Cedar Rapids, Michigan, Bronze Nazareth made a name for himself building beats for his own use as well as for some of the biggest names in hip-hop. With a signiture sound and structure, Bronze Nazareth's production skills stand out thanks to a variety of beat-making techniques.
Emmcee Style
Born Justin Cross, Bronze Nazareth provides a unique viewpoint in the studio as both an experienced emmcee and rhyme writer. Because he has been in the booth and behind the controls, Bronze Nazareth understands the beat structure needed to serve as the base for word flow. He also has the advantage of being able to feel a connection between the beat and rhyme that some producer-only types lack.
Tools
Part of Bronze Nazareth's success comes from remembering that music begins with emotion. He materializes emotion into sound using studio gear such as an ASR-10 sampling keyboard as well as computer programs such as Reason and Audition.
Sampling
Bronze Nazareth is famous for his "chopping" technique. If he comes across a sample that stands out to him, he'll start with that, cutting the sound or loop he likes. He then applies drums to it. Bronze Nazareth considers the sample to be the meat of the beat. Each sound layer he adds over the sample just spices up and rounds out a track.
Beat Building
While many producers follow their unique formula for beat building, critics often give Bronze Nazareth a hard time, saying his beats all sound similar. But to others, that's a positive quality because a specific beat style becomes characteristic of a producer and easy to identify. When Bronze starts with a drumline, he'll go after a sample next and layer in bass, high hat, vocals, etc.
