Producer, Sulton Rahim
Sulton Rahim is best known for his particular yet entertaining sense of humor, his strong determination, and the loyalty he holds for his friends. He cannot be ignored in a crowd- not just because his height at over 6 feet tall- but for his upbeat energy that draws everyone in. However, not as widely known is that while he balances school work and a number of leadership positions on campus, such as being the assistant area leader for his fraternity Alpha Pi Alpha, and an RA in Bowden Magbee hall, he is also freelance producer.
While many Oglethorpe students may know Rahim for flawlessly preforming the Alpha’s step dance, not as many know he is also working in his dorm and in studios on the next hit they may be hearing on the radio. Rahim says he classifies his production under the genre of trap music made popular by southern hip-hop artist such as Atlanta’s own Migos, 2 Chainz and Gucci Mane. Rahim gravitated to make this genre of music because “it’s what I listen to, and plus you can dance to it.”
During the summer of 2018, Rahim took a four-day trip to Hollywood to produce at the famous Def Jam recording studios to help in the production process of new songs for rapper, and Rahim’s personal friend, Nassan. This trip was a success for Rahim as he and Nassan’s team got a couple of songs finished, but it also showed how far Rahim has come in his producing career.
His journey in the competitive work of production started in high school when who were rapping and making music were saying “We don’t have any beats. We’re getting beats off YouTube.” Due to demand of beats in his friend group another of Rahim’s friends began to make beats and quickly gained recognition for it within their social circle. Rahim recalls that his friends started saying “Oh yo this is nice” about the new original beats made available to them. That is when Rahim remembers thinking to himself as “I can be nice too.”
Later Rahim began making his own beats, “I just went to YouTube and looked up FLStudios.” The system FLStudios is a daw software that can be easily downloaded onto personal computers in which users can add notes and drum sounds to make music. He taught himself how to work the program and make music that people loved. Just like his friend before, Rahim quickly gained recognition between his friends for making good beats. “It just felt good to make music that people appreciated. So that’s what I did,” said Rahim.
However, there was room for growth and expansion outside of his high school social group. During the beginning of his sophomore year of college Rahim got his first big break. The rapped known as King Laylow bought one of his beats. Rahim at that point had grown a sizable YouTube following uploading his original beats that could be sold to interested rappers. “Usually people buy a lease or an exclusive,” said Rahim. When a lease is bought Rahim still maintains ownership of the song and can sell it again. However, when an exclusive is bought Rahim no longer owns the rights to the song.
As his online popularity grew the doors of opportunity began to open one by one for Rahim. The demand for his beats is growing by the day, and some of the songs he has produced are gaining popularity such as Way More by Durkiooo, and Seashell by duet S3nsi Molly and Lil Brook.
As Rahim approaches graduation from Oglethorpe this upcoming May with a degree in Economy he plans to continue pursuing his producing career. Rahim’s goals are- quintessential to his interest in economy and humorous personality- to “make a lot of money. Have fun. That’s it.”
