Here at TGJ we’re eager to celebrate the creatives behind the content.

So, after catching up with the mastermind behind R&B Divas, last week saw us make our way to Malibu to meet Mick Schultz, the hit-maker behind Jeremih’s unceasing success with Urban music on the Billboard Hot 100.

What we discovered when we caught up with this chart-slaying cut creator?

Find out below…

Though success has evaded him on an LP front Jeremih’s enviable run on a singles tip has seen him sweep up a Platinum jam in his debut single ‘Birthday Sex’, a double Platinum cut in ‘Down on Me’ and a sales magnet in last year’s ‘Don’t Tell ‘Em’, now close to sales of 3 million units in the US alone.

However, long before he found a friend in the Hot 100, Jeremih (born Jeremih Felton) was a student at Columbia University, the establishment also attended by the man who would go on to become the Quincy to his Michael.

“I met Jeremih at Columbia,” the 26-year-old explains from his West Coast studio. “We started working on music and created ten songs after I signed him to my production company. We got him a manager out in Chicago and worked hard on radio promo to break ‘Birthday Sex’ independently.”

What happened next was a long list of shows delivered by the singer to promote ‘Down’, set up in a world without social media as it is today.

“The song began to build in Miami and that’s when the label called. The songs we did independently became the album and for me it was special because it’s my ambition to develop artists since I was 12. We ended up going with Def Jam.”

Mick has since gone on to produce each and every one of the singer’s hits, fulfilling a life long dream of helping others achieve reach their own.

“Most kids wanna be rock stars but I’ve always loved the creative process. When we create music it’s just he and I and it’s easy because he’s a soulful guy and only does what he feels.”

Things haven’t always gone to plan in Camp Jeremih. For, the performer’s current success stands as a far cry from his experiences in 2011. Mick describes this as a “career shift.”

He had this to say when we quizzed him on the matter.

“J had a huge shift in his career around 2011 and he decided to find himself as an artist so we took time off from each other. We reunited in 2013/2014 and we worked on ‘Don’t Tell ‘Em during that time. He found out who he was during that time. He decided to enjoy the journey and his experiences that came with it.”

Today, Mick divides his time between building bops for the singer and doing the same for his artist Keith James. The performer co-wrote Jeremih’s ‘Sex’ and is now gearing up to step into the spotlight with his own material.

So, how does Mr. Schultz hope to remembered when all’s said and done?

“I wanna be known as someone who pushes boundaries and making timeless music that affects people. I wanna be the guy to push you further than anybody else thought you could go.”

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