Conversations with Tony Dinero

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tony Dinero.

Tony, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Music is something that’s always been a part of my life. I always felt a strong connection to it, and it only got stronger as I got older. My older brother and his friends would break dance, and my mom would force him to take me with him when he left the house in hopes of keeping him out of trouble, so little by little I began to breakdance with them. Even though I was heavily into sports in my younger years, writing the lyrics of my favorite rap songs and creating my own was something that always had my attention. Like many around that time, everybody had the lyrics, but nobody had the beats. My uncle Kevin introduced me to my first ever drum machine and I was instantly hooked. It was some old pop drums used on Madonna records in the 80s, but it taught me the basics on knowing the tempos, beat count, and programming. As I began to hone my skills more, I eventually felt ready to play with the big boys and got a MPC2000XL. When I told my pops how much it cost, he said “hell no”. To show I was serious about it, I worked for my apartment complex every day after school picking up trash around the property. I managed to save around $800 and with the understanding that “this is your Christmas for the next two to three years”, my pops finally agreed to get it.
I sampled any and everything I could find that had sound. I started making beat tapes and giving them to the rappers around school and started making a name for myself. In my junior year of high school, my pops retired from the military and moved back to Chicago. Once I touched down there it was a whole different ball game. I began to meet up with individuals who were actually in the industry and making moves both on the independent and major level.
Once Kanye said, “what you know about doing five beats a day for three summers?” I knew I had to be on my grind perfecting my craft at every moment. The hard work began to pay off eventually and I signed to an independent production company by the name of Cold City. The opportunity afforded me my first placement ever with a record by Shawnna titled “Damn”, along with working many other artists in the city that were making waves in the industry like Bump J, Twista, Cap-1, just to name a few. The biggest moment of all was definitely being a part of one of my favorite artists of all time Ludacris’ Battle of the Sexes album with the song “I Do It All Night”. When I got the opportunity to move into the pop lane, I jumped at the opportunity and moved to Phoenix AZ. Things didn’t work out as planned, but it allowed me the opportunity to meet my brother MixedbyKB. We forged a brotherhood and created 4orty2Productions, a one stop shop for everything musically related. We provide full music production, writing, recording/mixing, videography, and marketing to help any artist, whether it’s for a single or a full project.
Locking in with artists face-to-face and matching energy is where we excel. We don’t just send out packs, we’d rather have the artists come lock in with us and bring out the greatness together!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The journey has been everything but smooth, but if it was anything else, could you even really call it a journey? I lift weights in the gym and it’s a known fact that if you don’t put the body under tension and stress, and you don’t feel the burn, then there will be severely limited or no growth at all. The same applies to the journey of  life, which in my case is through music. I’ve dealt with the pressures of just working to get somewhere; choosing my craft over going out to kick it with friends and family. Then, you finally get your skills up to par…you create a name for yourself, just to run into people that give fake love and have no genuine intentions for you other than to bring you down because they see a light inside of you…and it’s too bright for them.  I’ve gotten past that stage and found my own team, putting blood, sweat, and tears into situations just for outsiders to come in and wreck everything that was built and then walk away while you’re left to either pick up the pieces or start a whole other endeavor. 

I remember having a song with Young Jeezy when he was working on “The Inspiration” album that could have changed the trajectory of my music career very early on and for whatever reason, it didn’t make the album. So, it was back to the drawing board. I’ve had songs come out for artists and somebody who wasn’t a producer in any sense of the word and had nothing to do with the creation of the beat, have the audacity to change a sound because they felt it wasn’t right, while taking off my tags. When the record dropped, their name was nowhere on the production credit, but my team now has to stand behind a compromised piece of art that listeners will judge us on. So, yes, bumpy is an understatement, and I don’t see or want smooth sailing at this point. Give me all the smoke because I’ve gotten very comfortable being uncomfortable, and that’s why no matter what happens, I always bounce back. 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’ve been producing music for years, and the deeper into it I get, I realize that creating a sound that’s pleasing to your and others’ ears is just a small fraction of what this is really about. To all the producers everywhere, no matter the genre or the subject matter, we are real life therapists for the artist. Understand that we give the artist a canvas and when the connection is completely locked in, we will have them putting words and ideas that are ethereal and foreign to them in their music. There is nothing that can compare to starting an idea from a random feeling you may have had, or even a complete idea, and translating it sonically into something that an artist can pour their hearts out to and into, and then listeners immediately catch the vibes. Whether it’s one person, a million, or a whole globe, just remember that you’re having an effect on people…that’s when you’re using your gift for what it was intended.

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Let’s be clear: Covid sucked!!! It was a major time of uncertainty for everybody and so many people were unsure of what life would be like moving forward. Also, much love to all of those and the families of those who are no longer here because of Covid; may we, the survivors, continue to find peace with all those lost. That being said, it was probably one of the most exciting times of my life to be a creative to date. I leaned on and into the music so tough and just pushed myself daily. Even while working the most hours at an “essential job” that I’ve worked, I still put just as much time into my craft, if not more. Flights were ridiculously cheap, so moving around and networking as best as I could was a top priority. I was with @mixedbykb in Dallas so much that people thought I lived out there. I met a lot of amazing people and experienced some of the most genuine connections while pumping out some of the best quality projects at that time. Covid really made me go back to the basics of when I was in my granny’s basement, constantly working on my craft, and it reminded me why I loved creating so much.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Dinerofromtheland@gmail.com