DJ Duce sits down with 32 Entertainment's own Frank Castro @frankcastro1731 in this exclusive interview.
DJ Duce: For those that don't know you. Give me your back story, where are you from?
Frank Castro: I'm from Arkansas. Forrest City, Arkansas to be exact. Population a little over 15,000. Growing up in Forrest City was rough, you had to jump off the porch early regardless if you wanted to or not. It's an eat or get ate world and growing up there definitely prepared me for the world at an early age.
DJ Duce: What was growing up in Arkansas like and at what age did you start producing music?
Frank Castro: Growing up, I actually wanted to be a rapper. I was heavily influenced by Master P and Three 6 Mafia. So I would get my mom to buy the singles because they all came with instrumentals. That was the only way I could get a beat. In 1997 at age 7, I told my mom I wanted to do music for a living. She supported me from day one. So as I got older, I was tired of using instrumentals and was curious about how to make my own. This was the late 1990's heading into the 2000's, equipment was extremely high and having a home studio was practically unheard of. One year for Christmas, I got a drum pad with pre-programmed loops on it. It was a nice start but not quite what I was looking for. At 12, I was introduced to Fruity Loops (now known as FL Studio) by a friend named City Bang.
DJ Duce: What was the first instrumental you ever made and do you still have it?
Frank Castro: The first beat I made was actually nice. It's so old, it's on a floppy disk 😂. I have about 95% of the beats I made in my life. I have multiple backup hard-drives just in case an unexpected accident happens.
DJ Duce: What’s the hardest thing about being a producer?
Frank Castro: For me personally, it's definitely the over-saturated market and lack of respect for the producer. You have a ton of competition on all levels. You will have people stealing your sound and selling beats for a fraction of your price. That will take customers, potential placements, and money away from you! Labels/artists will try to low-ball you and take your royalties if you are not up on your business.
DJ Duce: What advice you have for upcoming producers?
Frank Castro: The most important thing is to know the business. The industry changes a lot so it's hard to know everything but educate yourself on the business end. It's 90% business, 10% talent. Don't never get discouraged, always have faith in yourself and your talent.
DJ Duce: How did your relationship develop with OJ Da Juiceman?
Frank Castro: I've been a fan of OJ since he came out with Everything On Me. I got his On Da Come Up CD and have been a fan ever since. I used to be on social media digging for contacts and ways to send beats to artists. I ended up getting 3 of his emails. I had the bright idea that I would send beats to all three. I had it in my mind that even if he didn't like the beats, he would know the name Frank Castro since I was sending beats to all his emails 😂. Roughly a year later, he put out his Return of Da Juiceman mixtape and I produced Track 10 First Round Draft Pick. I was overly excited and I tweeted the link. He immediately followed me back, told me he wanted to sign me, and that he had used my other beats. He sent me is number in a DM, we talked the next day for almost 3 hours. It's been history since then. Tom Brady & Bill Belichick 😂.
DJ Duce: What’s your favorite OJ record and why?
Frank Castro: That's like asking a parent who is their favorite child 😂. He got so many classics, its hard to pick just one. Alley Cuts and Hallways, Kush Got Me Faded, They Call Me, Life On Da Edge, Swag Like Me. That's like my top 5 favorite. Out of all of our collaborations, my favorite records I produced are J's At My Door and First Round Draft Pick. J's At My Door is an undeniable record. I feel like this record showed our chemistry on another level. First Round Draft Pick is another one of my personal favorites, because it was our first record released that started it all for us.
DJ Duce: I follow your Instagram quite a bit and see you are a fan of the strip clubs? Tell me what’s the best strip club you’ve been to?
Frank Castro: I never was a big fan of strip clubs until I moved to Chicago. A good buddy of mine name Will, had this club in Markham, Illinois called Red Diamond. The experience is next to none.
DJ Duce: What’s the best part of being at a strip club? I heard they got good wings 😂.
Frank Castro: Outside of music, my favorite two past-times are, eating and being around women 😂. So, anywhere I can do both at the same time, I'm in 😂. Strip clubs definitely got good food. I can have thighs and breasts on my plate while also looking at thighs and breasts 😂.
DJ Duce: What artist have you worked with?
Frank Castro: OJ Da Juiceman of course, Project Pat, Starlito, Lil Bibby, Benzino, Z-Ro, Shawnna, Drumma Boy, and countless others. I'm working with many majors now, stay tuned😏.
DJ Duce: Any new projects dropping to be on the lookout for?
Frank Castro: I'm working on two projects now. We have another OJ Da Juiceman & Frank Castro project on the way, most definitely expect my solo debut after that. I have my own imprint under the 32 Ent. umbrella, called 1731. We have a group project coming as well.
DJ Duce: It was nice chopping it up with you bro, shout-out all your social media for everyone to follow.
Frank Castro: Frank Castro Facebook
Frank Castro XBox Gametag FrankCastro32
(Article by DJ Duce archived from DJDuce.Com originally posted 07/23/2020)
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