Melio Sounds ‘ecstatic’ working on Nicki Minaj’s album

Following the December 8 release of international rapper Nicki Minaj's album, Pink Friday 2, producer Melio Sounds has been praised for his artistic work on the 14th track Forward From Trini which also features dancehall artistes Skeng and Skillibeng.

The album now sits atop the Billboard 200 charts this week. Though working remotely by providing the instrumentals and beats to propel the track, Melio Sounds is excited to be among the team that assisted in compiling the album.

"This is an achievement that no Jamaican has ever done at my age of 29 years. There are no producers here who can say, 'I have worked with the rap queen on her studio album which debuted number one on the Billboard 200 charts, number two on the Canadian Billboard albums chart and also number one on the R&B and Hip Hop Billboard charts'," he told THE STAR.

Melio Sounds had previously worked on the Skeng Likkle Mix remix featuring Nicki Minaj.

"She [Nicki Minaj] heard the record and loved it and asked to do a remix which she featured on her greatest hits compilation, Queen Radio Volume 1, which peaked at number 10 on Billboard 200," he said.

He continued, "So I started posting beats online because I know she was following me on Instagram after the success of working on Queen Radio Volume 1. The other producer on the track, Sebastian from Germany, sent me a MP3 in which I did some additional production, where I sampled one of Dave Kelly's works and posted it online on Instagram." He said that the rapper commented with a lot of fire emojis about an hour later, and requested that he "send this piece of work" to her. Later that day, she sent him a message saying she wanted the beat to be on her fifth studio album.

The Caribbean Maritime University (CMU) student and Jamaica College alum said his dream was to become a pilot but his mom could not afford those fees.

"So my second option was to [attend CMU], where I did one year there, and after that I started a nine to five while trying to perfect my craft in production, and that's when I got my first hit as a dancehall beatmaker on a Vybz Kartel song [ Then You and Me in 2014]," said the producer. He has also produced beats for other popular hits such as Owna Lane by Teejay and Call Me If by Dexta Daps.

Melio Sounds, given name Emelio Lynch, said his sound which is a mixture of pop, fused with island sound and dancehall, sets him apart and solidifies the sounds of this era. However, he admires the recent trend popularised by music producer Rvssian, where he recreates and modernises classic beats to promote diversity within the industry while "allowing some of these new artistes to express and articulate themselves properly".

Confident that he knows what sounds good, Melio Sounds plans to score more big deals.