Get To Know: Internet Money
LA based collective, Internet Money, have worked with the majority of the biggest rappers today, with their debut album 'B4 The Storm'hosting an impressive list of collaborators including Future, Wiz Khalifa and Swae Lee. Founded by Taz Taylor who started in the industry selling beats online, Taz has gone on to create the Internet Money empire – having a record label (Internet Money Records) as well as creating hit records and developing the careers of some of the most successful rappers today including the late Juice WRLD.
The collective are based at Taz’s mansion in the Hollywood Hills, a creative melting pot full of producers creating their hit records, along with also creating production YouTube tutorials and seminars for those wanting to get into the industry. These guys really do it all! Taz says he’s been hugely inspired by Kanye West’s development from producer to artist to business owner, and you can definitely see a similar trajectory with Internet Money.
With so much creativity and passion clearly coming from this collective, it’s seems only inevitable that these guys are just going to continue to take the world by storm, one hit at a time.
1) For those who don’t know about you and your music, tell us a little bit about who you are and where you’re from…
My name is Taz Taylor. I was born and raised in Jacksonville, FL. I’m a producer and founder of Internet Money Records. We started up as popular type-beat producers, and now, we’ve made records with just about everyone in the rap industry and helped write the first hits for Juice WRLD, XXXTentacion, Lil Tecca, etc. Our single 'Lemonade' with Don Toliver, NAV and Gunna is currently No.9 on the Billboard Hot 100.
2) Describe your sound in three words
Hits, Hits, Hits. Any project we’re apart of at Internet Money we try to make it as timeless as we can and that just goes back to the mindset of creating a hit record and not just a song.
3) Who inspired you to start a career in music?
I’ve always loved music. It was one of the few things I had that I could just dive into. I was raised on rock music like KISS and Fleetwood Mac that my dad liked. By the time I was a little older and I saw Johnny Juliano was making a living off making beats, I felt like I could do the same so I gave it a shot. I had a hand in graphic design already, so I would make cover arts for my beats and post them on YouTube. People would buy my beats and that was the first glimpse I had that I could do this for a living.
4) Who are your biggest musical influences?
Kanye has had a really big impact on me. Watching the progression of Kanye going from just a producer to a successful artist was really cool to me. Watching him dive into fashion and have his brand become bigger than just “Kanye’s brand” inspired me to be more than just a part of a producer collective. That’s a part in why we wanted to be listed as the main artists for 'Lemonade'and not just the guys who produced the song.
5) Tell us about the writing and recording process for your new single
'Lemonade' came from a writing session with Jozzy and Johnny Yukon in 2017. It’s crazy 'cause it was an ordinary session. It was just a cool session that sat on a hard drive for a couple years until Don Toliver re-cut the hook we wrote. Once we heard it, it made sense and we reproduced the song with Nick Mira and Alec Wigdahl. It all happened naturally, but we really never would’ve guessed that song from 2017 would be our biggest hit.
6) What can we expect from your live shows?
I’m hyped for the shows. Obviously, timing is an issue, but we’ve been working on plans for shows to be as big the album we just dropped. Nothing we do is half effort so believe me when I say that we’re pulling out all the bells and whistles for our first show.
7) What has been your biggest career highlight so far?
Going No.1 in the UK with 'Lemonade' is top tier for me. Looking at the big picture, I’m a kid from Jacksonville, FL who wasn’t supposed to make it this far. To say I have a No.1 record in the UK is great but doing it with my friends is what I’m most proud of. It’s been a crazy ride, but it’s just the beginning.
8) Have you met anyone and been totally starstruck?
I haven’t! I’ve met some amazing people that influenced me to be where I am but there was never that moment where I was fully taken aback from the experience. At the end of the day, we are all just people.
9) What’s on your playlists that people wouldn’t expect?
'Lonely Shade of Blue' by Nick Leng. I wholeheartedly listen to all different genres of music so people are surprised when I tell them I listen to music other than hip hop. I look at it like all music genres are related on some level so why not dive into each one and find what you like in each lane?