Seattle Hip Hop Producer Mario Casalini talks Making Beats, Collaborating w/ Greats, & Life Challenges (Full Interview)

"My biggest challenge has never been in music" -Mario Casalini

Follow Mario Casalini on Instagram

Mistah Wilson: Yo, Mario Casalini! Thanks for coming thru for this exclusive interview with ThaWilsonBlock Magazine. For our audience reading this, could you hit us with a quick background on yourself?
Mario Casalini: Thank you, I appreciate you for real. I started making beats when I was about 10 years old and kept at it all through middle school. When I was in 8th grade I dropped my first CD and sold it at my school. I made enough money that way to buy a nice microphone and a small studio set up. I’ve been pushing music and working with recording artists for most of my life. I am a kid who grew up making beats and never stopped. Recently I’ve been working mostly with Strange Music. I produced an entire album for Joey Cool that will be released on Strange Music. Flying out to Kansas City to tour the Strange Music facility (Strange Land) and meeting Tech N9ne was hella inspiring for real. This whole experience has been amazing for me. None of this would have worked out for me without the support of the underground right here in Seattle. I am always open to working with good artists who are enthusiastic to work. Tap in with me on Instagram.

"My main goal is to give people creative jobs."

Mistah Wilson: Would you say that one needs to know how to play an instrument(s) in order to understand beatmaking? Why or why not?
Mario Casalini: The more you know, the more you will understand anything you work at. I think understanding music will help every producer. If I couldn’t play the keys, my beats would not be where they are. With that being said, I am super open minded to the way people make beats these days and I try to incorporate everything I’ve learned over the years. I learn a lot watching youngsters make beats as well as OG producers. I think it is all hella important to my growth.

Mistah Wilson: What album in Hip Hop would you say had tha most masterful production and why?
Mario Casalini: There is so much good rap music from different regions and time periods that portray different moments in a certain place. I would say E-40 - The Ballatition (Grit & Grind). That album has such a specific sound and works so well as a whole. It inspired me so much as a kid that I gotta shout that out!

Mistah Wilson: What are your thoughts on synthesizers vs live instruments when producing beats?Mario Casalini: I’ve done a lot of the combination of the two in my beats throughout my years. I think every instrument and type of song has a time and place where it should be played.

Mistah Wilson: Not asking you to give up tha secret sauce, but what DAWs do you use and why?
Mario Casalini: I use Reason, The Maschine, Ableton, and FL. I truly believe it doesn’t matter what you use. It’s all about how well you know how to use it. Reason is my main tool, I love the amount of control I have simply because I know how to use it.

Mistah Wilson: What have been some of tha biggest challenges you've faced on your journey as an artist?
Mario Casalini: My biggest challenge has never been in music, but the rest of my life. Music has always been a safe thing for me to do. It kept me out of trouble and stopped me from doing dumb shit mostly. Getting my head on straight in order to make the change in my life that was necessary for me to become a professional producer was the hardest part. Not just talking about getting my life right, but actually doing what I needed.

Mistah Wilson: What do you ultimately to accomplish in music production?
Mario Casalini: My main goal is to give people creative jobs. I love making music for a living and all I want to do is share that feeling at this point.

Mistah Wilson: Yo, Casalini! It's been a tremendous honor having you here with us for this exclusive interview with ThaWilsonBlock Magazine. We'll check back in soon. If you wanna drop any shout outs, now's a good time..

Mario Casalini: I want to shoutout everybody who wants to make beats and say that those beats aren’t gonna make themselves. I also want to give a big shoutout to Joey Cool, Tech N9ne, X-Raided, King Iso, Lex Bratcher, K.A.A.N, Matt Peters and the entire team at Strange Music. I love y’all!