Answer me this! Should a baker make music? I know you’re initial response might be a big fat no, and in most instances you would probably be right, but right now, in this instance….you’re incorrect. A baker should absolutely make music, which is exactly what this chef did. Now you’re thinking, who is this chef? Well, chef, is the chef lol. Ok, let me clarify. Born on June 8th 1998 (Leo) Teriq Mills aka Chef/Chef da producer is a music producer hailing from La Horquetta. Unable to remember exactly who gave him the name, he recalls how it was birthed since secondary school as he studied food and nutrition. I personally love the name as it applies to his current occupation, because this man be cooking up the beats!!! This man clearly works around a lot of heat because his work is fiireeee!!!!! Lol
Teriq grew up in Tunapuna until the age of 13 then moved to Arima where he met his neighbour “nez” who also was a producer. At the time Chef was new to music production and Nez basically took him under his wing for about 3-4 years. (Let’s just take a moment to say, thank you, respect and blessings flow to Nez for impacting and supporting this young man’s dreams! The world needs more people like you!) Chef stated that during that time frame he was taught all the basics of producing, recording and mixing. He would occasionally carry some of his beats to school for some of his friends to freestyle to during lunch time. (He admitted though that at the times, his beats were lukewarm at best, not pure fire like now) Wanting to pay homage, in his own words “As for people that helped shape the way I approach music production,that goes to ELI and NEZ.” Big respect to you guys!!!!
As a child chef wanted to be a DJ, but the moment of truth for him came when he produced his first song in 2017 and people outside of his circle began reaching out to him to work. Up until that point he only had 1 artist that he worked with and ever since then things been only going up. (Upness is the name of the game)
Get your eating utensils ready, let’s take a bite into the mind of the chef!
What is the most challenging part of your job?
The most challenging part of my job is being consistent whilst not sounding the same.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
Seeing the way people react and connect with the tracks.
Who or What is your biggest inspiration and why?
Biggest Inspirations would be producers Metro Boomin and Southside. Seeing where they came from and the struggles they faced on the way up, were similar to mines at the time and I connected with their stories and their work ethic.
What is the best advice you have for someone considering your line of work?
Keep working at it, stay focus because you could only be one song away from changing your life. Networking with different artists and producers outside of your main genre is also very important because you could get a lot of inspiration from them and maybe even opportunities you wouldn’t have if you didn’t .
What will success look like to you?
Success for me is when time and money are no longer issues for me and my team. Being able to put them into positions to win on their own and create a better life for themselves and their families is what success looks like to me. Basically, once my team is winning, I’m happy.
What is your creative process?
I’ll start cooking up an idea for about 15mins to an hour, take a 30mins break and attack the same idea or start something new if I didn’t like what I made before. The time it takes to make a complete beat would vary anywhere from 15-20mins, an hour, or maybe even a couple of days.
What is your favourite dancehall song?
Favorite song atm is kalonji triple but this changes every couple weeks lol (It’s been a couple weeks since then, we have to check back with the chef to see what’s his new favourite lol)
What is your favorite food?
Fried squid (Ah! a man of taste! so I’ve never had this, but i’m so intrigued to try it, maybe we can get the chef to hook us up with this dish! It sounds delish!)
What are your hobbies?
Fishing (ok, yall already know I have to harass this man to come on a fishing trip right?! lol)
I know i just got your tastebuds excited for this creative, but don’t worry, you can know more, check out the chef on his social media platforms.
Blessings! Big Up!