BMI EXCLUSIVE: In the Studio with Carter Lang
Recently, BMI’s Jessa Gelt sat down with GRAMMY-award nominated writer/producer Carter Lang, to discuss his creative process and incredible recent success with global sensation, SZA. At the time of this recording, Carter boasted 6 impressive career GRAMMY nominations. However, as of the posting of this article, Carter has now earned 3 more extraordinary nominations with SZA, including Record of The Year, Album of The Year, and Song of the Year for the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards.
Upon first meeting songwriter, producer, and musician Carter Lang, one is immediately drawn to his relaxed and comfortable demeanor. Dig deeper and his tireless appetite for making music, performing live, and tapping into creative spontaneity are front and center, all geared to communicate a sense of peace and self-assurance to the listener. Since breaking onto the music scene in his hometown of Chicago, the nine-time GRAMMY-nominee has amassed multiple hits that have established him as a formidable player and highly sought-after collaborator. A six-time BMI Award-winner, with 22 Billboard-charting songs, including five #1’s, Lang has worked with a wide array of artists including Sway Lee, Post Malone, Doja Cat, Omar Apollo, Lil Nas X, Chance the Rapper, Camilla Cabello, DJ Khaled, Mac Miller, Alicia Keys, 24kGoldn and many more.
Lang’s most recent collaboration has been with SZA, who he met through mutual friends. Recognizing a familiar creative spark, Lang first joined SZA’s touring band, and their close working relationship quickly found Lang co-producing her 2017 debut album, Cntrl. The massive critical and commercial success of Cntrl (counted by Rolling Stone as one of the best debuts of all time) led to Lang co-writing and producing SZA’s multi-platinum 2022 follow-up, SOS. Building and expanding upon the work of the album’s various collaborators, Carter’s signature production style helped contribute to SOS’s #1 debut on the Billboard 200 (charting a total of 10 weeks at #1), including breaking the record for the longest running #1 album on the Top R&B Albums chart (51 weeks at the time of this feature). Carter’s impact can also be felt on the album’s multiple Top 10-charting songs, including “Good Days,” “I Hate U,” “Blind,” “Love Language,” “Nobody Gets Me,” “Seek & Destroy” and the smash hit single, “Kill Bill” which went #1 on five separate Billboard charts including holding the #1 spot for 21 total weeks on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart).
BMI caught up with Carter Lang for an exclusive visit to his home studio to talk about his dynamic career, creative process and more.
Community
Connect with BMI & Professional Songwriters