Jaasu Mallory Produced Select Tracks From Don Toliver’s ‘Octane,’ Now He’s Aiming To Be The ‘Smartest Guy In The Room’ – AfroTech
Independence was always the goal for Grammy-nominated producer Jaasu Mallory.
Growing A Passion For Music
Jaasu, a name meaning builder and creator in Hebrew, would manifest in his day-to-day life as a producer and songwriter. The Harlem, New York, native attended Columbia Prep, a K-12 private school, and was involved in music programs. His mother supported his aspirations by purchasing him a $1,000 MacBook and a Pioneer controller, a decision he says was “one of the best investments she’s made.”
Ultimately, it was DJing that paved the way for his interest in becoming a producer. He began DJing at bar mitzvahs, making $500 a year by age 12 or 13, he recalled. His turning point, when he realized he could have a career in the music industry, came in high school. Not only were people enjoying the songs he produced, but a few records he produced for Famous Dex and Rich the Kid became popular and earned millions of YouTube plays.
The summer before starting college at the University of Southern California (USC), he already caught the attention of the CEO of Electric Feel Entertainment and Ventures, Austin Rosen. Rosen tried to sign the then 17-year-old Mallory to a deal that would provide him studio time to produce for a roster of clients in the Los Angeles area and also attach him to the same label owner who had signed successful record producers such as Louis Bell and Frank Dukes.
For Mallory, seeing someone want to engage in business with him as a producer signaled to him that he was meant to remain on this path. However, he declined the offer because he didn’t feel he had the leverage at the time to do a deal.
“I needed to take some time to build my catalog and my skills, and my method of how I’m gonna do this music industry and how I’m gonna make it work for me,” he explained.
He remained relentless in pursuing his dreams, doing whatever he could within his financial means to bring them to life. This meant paying $500 to $600 for studio time early on, which Mallory acknowledged created a high barrier to entry for artists or producers. This also led him to be more creative, whether that meant trading with someone for studio time by exchanging beats or leveraging connections to access other spaces.
Building Up His Catalogue
After graduating from USC with a bachelor’s in music industry in 2020, Mallory was able to purchase a home with friends, including producer 10Fifty (Nathaniel Yehuda Band) and Micah Getzug, who worked at Republic Records at the time. There, Mallory produced songs including Remble’s “Touchable” and Coi Leray’s “Overthinking,” featuring H.E.R.
Mallory was also cognizant of the importance of ownership and has remained independent throughout his 15-year career, intentionally building out his creative portfolio for future leverage. His catalog includes Don Toliver’s album, “Octane,” where he produced the following tracks: “Body,” “E85,” “Gemstone,” “All the Signs,” and “Pleasure Is Mine,” according to information shared with AFROTECH™.
Octane was also a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, according to Billboard.
Mallory also has production and writing credits for Coco Jones’ album “What I Didn’t Tell You and Why Not More?,” including songs “Crazy for Me,” “Is It Mine,” “Here We Go (Uh Oh),” and more. This project led to Grammy nominations for Mallory, according to Viper Mag. He has also produced for Lil Uzi, A$AP Ferg, 310babii, and many more.
As for his approach to navigating deals on different songs, he acknowledged that no two deals are the same, but says everything is negotiable. At the start of his career, he would accept small advances to prove his intention wasn’t solely transactional.
“The most important part is definitely understanding how you wanna treat business, having your boundaries, and then building people around that who could protect that interest,” he noted.
Mallory is also the founder of his own publishing company, Jaasu & Friends, established in 2019, and has quietly signed a few producers.
When asked what’s ahead, Mallory’s answer was simple: “The business of music.” He is in talks to sign a publishing deal.
“A lot of people look at the upfront cost and get discouraged. The reality is you’re doing this to build equity for yourself. These are like buying stocks over a long period of time … You’re doing it to build a catalog and eventually sell pieces of your catalog and make money at an exponential rate than what you are making right now. That’s the goal,” Mallory said.
“People thought I was insane for going this long unpublished … Now I’m the smartest guy in the room,” he commented minutes before.
