Photo Credit: Edgar Machuca

Atlantic Records APG A&R Edgar Machuca also known as Edd Grand not only has achieved this success at the tender age of 24 but he’s had a hand in elevating the latin rap wave in music.

The Bronx native has a very inspiring story of how he went from playing baseball at a community college to co-writing for the biggest artists in music.

Stemming from a single parent household, Machuca’s mom took the initiative to make sure he stayed out of the streets. She would put him in extra curricular activities but he always had an interest in music. He thought his dreams of every accomplishing anything in music weren’t realistic based on the environment he was living in. He chose to focus on baseball and landed a sports scholarship at a community college in Maryland. He later transferred to USC and living in LA opened his eyes to pursing his passion in the music industry. He made his first year in LA count and in just a short amount time he connected with some of the biggest names in the music business from Jamil Davis, Kenny Hamilton, and Mike Caren. It was Jamil Davis who helped him get his first start in the music industry.

Machuca would sneak into major music events to make connections and within months he was interning at Atlantic Records and assisting tour managers with Justin Bieber and Drake. Through he was an intern at Atlantic, he was quickly promoted to an A&R and immediately became the dot connector when it came to latin rap hits. He’s responsible for connecting the latin sounds on Cardi B‘s “I Like It,” as he brought in J. Balvin and Bad Bunny in addition to being a co-writer. He also connected J. Balvin, Camila Cabello and Pitbull for “Hey Ma” and G-Eazy and Cardi for “No Limit.”

“I’m just grateful to have been able to work with such great artists, most who i have real close friendships with, and executives as well. I just want to continue doing my part in shifting the culture positively.”- Edd Grand

Photo Credit: Edgar Machuca and Bad Bunny

Photo Credit: Edgar Machuca & G Eazy

His hits don’t stop there. He also played a major part in the following multi-platinum hit songs:

• Cardi B- “Press”
• G-Eazy feat. Yo Gotti and YBN Nahmir- “1942”
• G-Eazy feat, Halsey – “Him & I”
• G-Eazy feat. Charlie Puth – “Sober”
• Halsey- “Without Me”
• Kevin Gates- “Me Too”
• Wale- “PTY”

Stay connected with Edgar for future collaborations and releases here.

The post RESPECT. Feature: Atlantic Records APG A&R Edd Grand Talks Working with Cardi B, J. Balvin, G-Eazy and More appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.