ENGINE EARS

Hip-hop is the soundtrack of the 21st century, and rap artists are modern-day moguls who court global audiences on the back of their specific truths. But behind them stands a league of creative artists and engineers that are crucial to building their legacy. This is the story of one such man – Bainz, chief engineer to Young Thug and Young Stoner Life Records – and how he’s made it to the top of the global hip-hop game

- NIDHI GUPTA

How does a boy from Delhi end up being chief engineer for the biggest hip-hop stars on the planet? It’s a question Angad Bains aka Bainz gets often. “This one time, we were at Gunna’s birthday party,” says Bainz over a Zoom call from LA, “and NAV asked me to tell him my story, from start to finish. And we had this long discussion about our journeys, how they’re so similar.”

As creatives of South Asian-origin in LA’s burgeoning hip-hop scene – NAV is the Indian-Canadian rapper part of The Weeknd’s crew at XO Records, while Bainz is chief engineer for Atlanta rapper Young Thug and his label Young Stoner Life Records, and has worked with everyone from Future to Travis Scott – they’ve both had a uniquely upward trajectory in their careers. More importantly, they’re part of the culture, something Bainz is at pains to state has been a key factor in his success.

Bainz’s answer to how he got here is brief. “I was born in Delhi, I went to school in Sanawar, and I was never good at anything,” he says, somewhat sleepily. “Then I went to Australia for university, started DJing at some small house parties, and realised I had a knack for audio. I wanted to get into it deeper, so I went to Full Sail University, where I graduated valedictorian. That’s not normal for people like me,” he smiles, “and I realised that the Indian education system is just not built for someone like me.”