Meet Samuel Troxel

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Samuel Troxel a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Samuel, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

I get my work ethic from a few things… 1: knowing that I have a gift and I don’t want it to go to waste. That’s pretty self explanatory. 2: Figuring out the process that works best for me. It took me 13 years to finally figure out what programs worked best for the type of music I made and how my brain processes things. Which leads me to #3: Once I figured out what worked best for me, I learned how to streamline it. Saving presets was huge for me. It allowed me to get the work I want to get done much faster and more efficiently. That’s how I’m able to knock out 5-10 beats in one day. Working smarter, not harder.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I’m Samuel Troxel, better known as Trox. A music producer and beat maker from Portland, OR but living in Los Angeles. I’ve produced for artists such as 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Cordae and many independent hip-hop artists. Recently I charted overseas with Indian artists DIVINE & Karan Aujla with the song “100 Million.” I’ve made music for 24 years and counting, and I’ve never lost the love of doing so because making beats is my therapy and I’ve been able to touch a few lives with my music more than once. Currently, I’m working on a beat tape series I plan on releasing every month called Carte du Jour, which has 10 ideas in each installment. House Shoes, a legendary DJ and producer and someone I look up to, gave me the idea to stop hoarding ideas in a hard drive and to just start putting them out. 2025 is gonna be a big year for me.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I would say three qualities and traits that have helped me in my journey have been curiosity, consistency, and just having a good ear for things as far as what sounds good. For any upcoming producers, I highly recommend studying other genres to know what makes a good record and apply it to whatever you work on. Find out what works best for your creative process then consistently build on that. Once you get that down to a science, find a way to streamline the process that allows you to knock out a quantity of quality.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

When I feel overwhelmed, I might step away from the computer for a little bit and take a walk. You can’t really create without living a little bit of life. Also, learning to say no to things that aren’t worth doing will definitely help you become less overwhelmed with work. If you have a full plate of work that doesn’t make sense for you to do, it equals a lot of stress.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Photos by Riley Brown and Brandon Hayes

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Leadership Development
Empathy Unlocked: Understanding how to Develop Emotional Intelligence

“Empathy is the starting point for creating a community and taking action. It’s the impetus

Productivity
Where do you get your work ethic from?

We’ve all heard the phrase “work hard, play hard,” but where does our work ethic

Productivity
Boosting Productivity Through Self-Care

When you have a never-ending to-do list it can feel irresponsible to engage in self-care,