Mauricio “Veto” Iragorri and Steve Baughman are two of the most in-demand and accomplished sound engineers in all of urban music, and with several Dre-associated projects under their belts throughout their lengthy careers they are more than qualified to assess Dr. Dre’s engineering prowess.
Speaking live from the confines of their state-of-the-art Next Level Mastering studio in Sherman Oaks, CA, the men responsible for the sonic texture of numerous insta-classic projects from the likes of 50 Cent, Eminem, Game, Busta Rhymes and the Good Doctor himself speak candidly about their process and what it’s like to have been behind the boards for some of the biggest artists in the music industry.
Baughman and Iragorri Explain Their Rise
As a trumpet –playing music aficionado growing up in Northern California, Steve Baughman (who sometimes goes by “Steve B”, a nickname afforded to him during a recording session with Snoop Dogg once upon a time) spent much of his formative years digging through the crates at Amoeba Music in San Francisco, sometimes non-stop for entire weekends at a time. And although he loved the thrill of live music performance, it was the behind-the-scenes aspect of music that interested him most.
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Upon graduating from a recording arts program close to home at Chico State, Steve moved to Los Angeles and landed a gig as an assistant engineer at Larrabee Studios, a now-legendary house of hits that, at that time, was also a house that many Death Row Records recording sessions called home. “I eventually ended up at Aftermath with Game and 50 Cent,” Steve says, “but it was at Death Row where I got my start.”
The late great Tupac Shakur was infamous for being heavily under the influence during his recording sessions, and it was amazing to Steve that Pac could deliver such outstanding vocal performances during these moments of heavy intoxication.
“I recorded plenty of vocals with Tupac. He was the most prolific writer I’ve ever seen. A guy that could write so many songs in one day” Steve reflects. “And what was incredible was how inebriated he could get and still be able to perform at the maximum level – and maybe he was just acting, who knows – but he would get in the booth and it would all just go away. He was phenomenal”.
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Mauricio “Veto” Iragorri, now known to many as being Dr. Dre’s right-hand man in the studio (it was Dre that gave him his “Veto” nickname), started off as a DJ – albeit one that always had a fascination with how music was made. It was through a chance encounter while spinning at a friend’s house party that eventually led to Mauricio commencing a 15-year relationship with the Aftermath CEO.
“My friend was assisting at Encore Studios at the time,” says Mauricio. “He got me in the door and I ended up being a runner for about four years. Most people don’t run for that long, but I really wanted to be there,” Mauricio continues. “I finally got a break with Tom Lord-Alge and assisted him for about five years. Eventually I got put in the back room, and that’s when I first met Dre.”
While simultaneously attending a recording arts program at Loyola Marymount University, Mauricio dedicated himself and ended up being brought on as an assistant engineer during the Chronic 2001 sessions. “Dre’s engineer left the session one day, and Dre asked to try me out,” Mauricio smiles. “I’ve been with him ever since.”
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Steve and Mauricio would rise through the ranks (which, Steve informs me, are: assisting-recording-engineering-mixing) and would eventually cross paths through mutual clients, forming a close friendship. It was through this friendship and mutual trust in one another’s ears – along with a little frustration – that eventually lead to the formation of Next Level Mastering in 2014.
“There was this war on loudness that was happening,” Steve reflects on the so called ‘loudness wars’ that received substantial attention from music publications in the mid to late 2000’s. “And everyone was trying to edge each other out on who could be louder. And that was ruining the art of mastering.”
Another aspect they wanted to improve, Mauricio tells me, was efficiency: “By consolidating and keeping everything in-house – where the both of us can mix and master a project – we’re able to meet our client’s needs more effectively and get a song out to radio as quickly as possible.”
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Since its opening, Next Level Mastering has worked with 50 Cent, Game, Dom Kennedy, in-demand songwriting collective The New Royales, the Southpaw soundtrack, and an upcoming project with A$AP Ferg, in addition to several Rock and Jazz albums.
What Exactly Is A Mix Engineer’s Responsibility
Though most music fans would have a difficult time describing the sometimes mysterious process of mixing and mastering, Steve describes the key elements that separate the differences between the two art forms. “My job as the mixer is to take a micro approach in ultimately balancing and blending all of the individual tracks – bass, kicks, snares, synths, guitars, et cetera – into a stereo spectrum. The vocals need to sit in the right place. Distortion, cloudiness and a muffled sound are the elements that I’m trying to eliminate.”
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Steve further elaborates on his responsibilities as the mix engineer: “The artist and producer gives us the rough mix. And then It’s my job to find out what it is that they loved about this mix, keep it, and enhance it to the next level. I’m basically painting a picture.”
And, as Mauricio can attest to, the differences between the rough mix and the final product can be pleasantly startling. “I’ve seen mixes go from nothing to, ‘oh my god – this is crazy!’”
Once the mix has been completed, however, Steve says that doesn’t necessarily mean the work is over. “After I send out my final mix of a track, I’ll then have the artist, the producer and the label all offering their opinions on it – not loud enough, not big enough, not impactful enough. This is one of the reasons why it can take anywhere from eight hours to three days to mix even one song.”
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Though the same complaints and feedback can affect the next step in the process, a song’s mastering can usually be wrapped up within an hour. This is due in large part to the fact that when mastering you are only dealing with two channels, instead of the individual tracks that must be accounted for during the mixing phase. As Steve mentions, “Mastering is a macro approach in which you are ensuring that everything is consistent. When the listener is going from song to song on an album you want to make sure that the overall shine and EQ is similar. Mastering adds that extra ‘oomph’ to the project.”
In rare instances, a project’s mastering can be conducted by two separate specialists. In the case of Jay-Z’s Kingdom Come album, these duties were split between Brian “Big Bass” Gardner from Bernie Grundman Mastering in Los Angeles and Tony Dawsey from Masterdisk in New York City. Mauricio, having handled the engineering for the Dre-helmed productions on that album, points out that the decision is formed largely out of convenience. “Dre, being based out of LA, can easily drive over to Bernie Grundman’s and listen to those masters. And Jay, being based out of New York, can do the same thing with Tony at Masterdisk.”
In addition to geographical accessibility, which is becoming less and less an issue with the advancement of technology and internet speeds, it’s also a matter of comfort. Much like the trust that Steve and Mauricio have established with each other over the years, trust is also ingrained in the mastering engineer/artist relationship: There’s a reason that Dr. Dre and Jay-Z are well into their careers and are still utilizing the mastering engineers.
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For an example of what a great mix and master sounds like, Dr. Dre and his Chronic 2001 album are praised once again. “Dre’s mixes are so punchy, and so clean,” Steve continues, “and that album is a great example of that. Amazing highs, luscious lows, and middles that aren’t so harsh that they’re killing you. Dre nailed that one.”
Mauricio and Steve also list G-Unit’s Beg For Mercy, Eminem’s Relapse, Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique, Snoop’s Doggystyle, Busta Rhymes’ Big Bang Theory, and Tupac’s All Eyez On Me as being highly regarded for their sonic qualities.
Both Talk Shady/Aftermath/G-Unit’s Early To Late 2000 Run
During the early to late 2000’s, the Shady/Aftermath/G-Unit family of artists embarked on one of the most dominant runs that the genre had ever seen. From magazine covers and sold-out arenas, to #1 albums and films that topped the box office, it was a golden era of incredible success for all parties involved. Sharing in this success were two of the main sound engineers during this period, Mauricio and Steve – and they got to witness the craziness from a front row seat.
“It was a blur,” Mauricio tells me excitedly. “We were so fortunate to be around while all these huge hits were being made. And they were coming so quickly that I’d be busy making sure the next project sounded right and I’d look up and go, ‘Whoa, was that just a hit? It felt like I was just working on that thing yesterday!’”
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Perhaps the seminal track from that era, 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” was an infectious, swaggering monster of a song that commenced a blistering run for the Queens MC turned businessman. However, it’s a moment that almost never happened. Not for 50 Cent at least – the track was initially intended for another successful act from that era: D12.
“’In Da Club’ was another blur,” Mauricio reflects. “50 was walking down the hallways at Encore Studios and heard the basic drum track playing,” says Mauricio of the Dr.Dre and Mike Elizondo production. “He pops his head in and starts humming a melody – ‘Go shawty, it’s your birthday’. Dre liked it, and told 50 to hop in the booth to see what he could do.” Though the members of D12 had also recorded to the track while at work on their D12 World album, it became clear that it was a much better fit for 50 Cent. Steve sums up how quickly the stars aligned: “I was supposed to be working with 50 in the front room. He had left [to ultimately record “In Da Club”]. He was back in an hour and a half.”
A decade later, and after a handful of successful collaborations in between, Mauricio and the Good Doctor recently linked up to share liner note space yet again.
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“Dre got inspired by being on the set of the movie,” says Mauricio about Straight Outta Compton and the accompanying Compton soundtrack/album that followed. “He got all these people together – new artists, up-and-coming producers – and he started liking stuff.” Mauricio adds that the album’s final track, the autobiographical “Talking To My Diary”, was essentially the only song leftover from the Detox sessions. “There’s a lot of potential hits that ended up in the vault,” Mauricio says wistfully. “And as a huge fan of Dre’s it’s a tad disheartening. But it was fun working on the Compton soundtrack. I did a lot of the recording [author’s note: he’s also credited with co-mixing two songs]. I’m proud to be on that album – it was a great experience.”
Both Talk The Different Phases Of “The Documentary 2”
Another project the men of Next Level Mastering took on was the complete mixing and mastering of the Game’s brand new double album, The Documentary 2.
“It went through a bunch of different phases,” Steve says of the tracklist that ended up spanning 37 songs. “Game kept telling me was gonna get me the tracks to mix but month after month I never got anything. It was only later that I found out why – he was making a double album.”
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With a robust guest list that includes features from Hip Hop heavyweights (Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Ice Cube, Nas) and beats from some of the biggest producers in the game (DJ Mustard, Will.i.am, Mike Will Made It), The Documentary 2 is perhaps the most star-studded event of the year. Nevertheless, the album’s overall flow was never compromised.
“There’s a ton of people on this album but you’ll find that it blends together nicely.” Steve says. “And what shines most are Game’s vocals – they’re always commanding. He never sounds small and always cuts through on the track.”
Speaking on the album’s cohesiveness, Game recently sat down with HipHopDX and echoed these sentiments: “Sonically, I don’t care if you like the music or not, sonically it flows straight through…I got the formula and I did it twice. Disc One: all the way through. Disc Two: same thing. You might not like every fucking song, but you’re gonna love the way that it flows through.”
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In that same interview, Game also explained his contrasting approach for each disc, stating that Disc One was for the fans while Disc Two was more for himself. Steve further describes the unique sonic qualities of the album’s two halves, as well as his goal when tackling a project of this magnitude.
“I’m the type of mixer that doesn’t impose my ‘sound’ on the mix. Rather, I listen to the music and let it dictate where the vibe should go,” Steve continues. “For the Game album, Disc one is more of a modern Hip Hop sound, and Disc two is super West Coast. Both need to bang but the approach is slightly different – the newer stuff may be more concerned with the sub bass, whereas the West Coast joints would be more concerned with the punchiness of the kick drums.”
Disc One of The Documentary 2 debuted at #1 on the iTunes albums chart.
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As to the sound of today’s current musical landscape, Steve and Mauricio point out that it’s a lot like the U.S. economy.
“There’s a disparity between the haves and the have nots,” says Steve, alluding to the industry’s elite engineers compared to the burgeoning ones working out of their bedrooms on laptops. “The top shelf guys are doing great, but a lot of the other stuff is wallowing in mediocrity.” Mauricio agrees: “A lot of songs now are going straight from the bedroom to the radio…low quality MP3’s and such. And unfortunately this is the sound a whole generation is getting used to.”
Given this notion, and despite shrinking CD aisles and a plummeting of album sales, Mauricio and Steve are optimistic about the future of their industry.
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“This is high-end, expensive gear,” says Mauricio, pointing to the racks and racks of mad scientist equipment that fills up nearly every inch of Next Level Mastering’s main control room. “The demand for that big studio sound remains high. And there’s a reason nearly every major album still goes through the big mastering houses – it’s a sound that people have fallen in love with, and that love likely isn’t going anywhere.”
Mauricio “Veto” Iragorri and Steve “Steve B” Baughman are the co-owners of Next Level Mastering in Sherman Oaks, CA. They can be reached at www.nextlevelmastering.com.
Ryan Redding is a freelance music journalist and has previously written about Drake and Lil Wayne for HipHopDX. Follow him on Twitter @RyanRedding11.
