INSIDE The Creative Mind Of Producer 20 From Charlotte

Antwain Fox, aka Producer 20 aka IGot20OnMyBeat, is a North Carolina based producer best known for his work alongside DaBaby and Stunna 4 Vegas. Raised only minutes outside of Charlotte he got his feet wet in the music industry as a photographer and videographer. With a minimalist style and a willingness to mash genres, he’s largely considered as one of the leaders of the North Carolina sound that has been a mainstay on the radio & playlists over the past five years.

What type of music did you grow up listening to?

I remember listening to Outkast, Goody Mob, Bubba Sparks, Fugees, Wu-Tang, um, Lauryn Hill. I mean, I know that’s the same thing, but, you know, Lauryn Hill’s separate now, you know what I’m saying? Um, also, uh, Jamiroquai, um, Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson’s top five. Top, top two. Matter of fact, he’s number one. Yeah.

Tell us about the time that you spent as a photographer.

I spent 10 years as a photographer, on and off. I haven’t touched a camera in like two years, though, due to me, like, trying to figure out how to shift from camera work to music, ’cause it worked hand in hand. So pretty much basically 10 years.

Where have you been able to travel to in your career?

I’ve been able to travel to LA, Miami, New York, Canada. I think I went to Utah, but I think that was on accident when I was trying to go to Canada. I got on the wrong airplane, and it was like, you gotta get off here…ha ha. Atlanta. Quite a few places.

What is it like raising kids in a world with social media?

Raising kids while the social media era’s going on is very difficult, ’cause you can’t really stop anything that is going on. So basically you gotta stay on your kids’ mental. You gotta make sure their mentality is straight, and they’re mentally strong to understand the world around them. So they can pretty much know the difference between what’s real, what’s fake, what looks good but don’t mean it’s good. So, you pretty much gotta stay on the kids’ mentality. Make sure they understand everything that’s in their surroundings.

How did you first learn how to use Fruity Loops?

I learned how to use Fruity Loops back in 2003. My homeboy Joseph appeared, showed me how to work Fruity Loops, and I just took a liking to it, and I just stuck with it all the way through. Girl, what you know about Fruity Loops?

Do you ever go back and listen to your early beats?

Yeah, I do. They’re trash. They’re super trash. I went back and listened to my beats, I think like a few months ago, and I was like, “Yeah, let me listen to some old beats, see what I can bring back.” Yeah, it was trash. I couldn’t even do it. Nah, I couldn’t do it. It was that bad.

How has your sound evolved since you got started?

As far as from me beginning to make beats till now, it improved by me having a little bit more attention to the music. I understand music theory a little bit more, a lot more. I’m not just making music just to be making noise; I’m actually making it to make sense and see if other artists can actually paint a picture on the records.

Do you think music in NC is better or just more popular?

I’m gonna just say better for the simple fact now a lot more people in North Carolina are motivated. They’re doing music a lot more; they’re taking the business serious. A lot of people are not just looking at it for just throwing music together; they’re actually trying to take it serious and become somebody.

People know your success. Tell us about the struggle.

The struggle’s pretty real when it comes to being a producer in the music world because you gotta look at it for the simple fact that it’s a million people and it’s damn near like a thousand artists every 30 seconds becoming a musician. So you gotta pretty much find your way through that. And it’s very difficult while also trying to make music, make money, become somebody, and also progress as a musician. So it is very difficult.

What mentors do you have now that you didn’t early on?

Now I have gone from normal people with nine-to-five jobs to businessmen, millionaires, bankers, high-profile artists. Now I have a lot more wiggle room to expand my knowledge on what I’ve been looking for. You can’t beat having a wide-open door with so many resources and so much knowledge and intelligent people around you.

Do you believe connections are more valuable than money?

Oh, connections are way more valuable than money. You can have a lot of money and be not connected to anything. You can have nothing and be very well connected to a high-value person who can change your life, not only just change it financially, but change your mental and your financial.

How has your relationship with Tara Nichole impacted your life?

Tara aka Truth has had a major impact on my life. She gave me reflection. I can see myself in a different light. She gave me a beautiful daughter, which just taught me how to be a little bit more mindful for the world around me. I’m a little bit softer, a lot more caring. I watch my words a lot. Sometimes I don’t, you know what I’m saying? But a lot of times I watch my words. I’ve been studying how females move when they’re respected, vice versa, when they’re not respected. She taught me that having a real good woman can be of value to you while she’s out working, while she’s at home with you, and helping you become a better person.

She makes me look good. I ain’t even gonna lie to you. Sometimes I feel like $30, and then she throws a little extra hundred in there, and I be like, “All right, bet. Let’s go to Denny’s or something.” I mean Ruth Chris. Ruth Chris. No, Chima’s. We can go to Chima’s. Yeah, we’ll go to Chima’s. I like Chima’s because they be cooking the meat up and putting it on your plate. Yeah.

You know, it’s a little difficult because we’re the same person, and we clash heads, but we both know it’s for the betterment or the greater good. For the simple fact, she copies me a lot, you know what I’m saying? Because I’m 20, and I create 20 vision, and then I got 20 on my beat, and then she said she true, and then she got True Development, and then True this, and then, you know what I’m saying? So I was like, okay, I’m going to let her copy me because we both win.

What do you plan on getting done by the end of 2030?

Pretty much grow my new company, Visionary Enterprise, where it’s comprised of everything all in one, media industry, music industry, model industry, artist industry. We’re pretty much making a way for artists to have a hub where everybody can come together, make stuff happen for each other and move as a unit. Then when it comes to the outside world, like outside of North Carolina, we’ll be a force to be reckoned with and respected.

How does it feel to have people asking you for advice?

When people ask me for advice, it does feel weird because I am the person that came from humble beginnings. I came from a situation where I didn’t know anything, trying to figure life out. So when they asked me, it does feel weird, but now I feel grateful to be a person that could actually be somebody they could ask a question to because I’m gonna give them the best advice I possibly can, especially since I’ve walked the life that they’re trying to go to.