Gwen Bunn is taking on the music industry her own way. As an award winning producer working on projects for artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Syd, Schoolboy Q, and most recently Leon Thomas, with his album ‘Mutt.’ She is becoming one of the most prolific names behind the scenes for modern R&B, Hip Hop, and House.  She also has her own discography, featuring her newest single “Extra Mile” as well as her last project “Phase”. I had the opportunity to sit down with her and unpack her career, creative process, and her future plans for new music.

Jennie: So, take me through the moment when you won the Grammy for producing on Mutt, and what did that accomplishment feel like?

Gwen Bunn: It was my first time at the Grammys. I’ve been nominated before, but I felt like this was a year where we had a chance at winning so I said “let me go see what’s going on, let me go attend these Grammys this time and see what happens” and it was a blessing. I was honored to be there. I wanted to be a part of the project. I honestly was not surprised. That album was such a good album. Leon is such an incredible artist, so I was super excited to just see him win and see him do what he was supposed to do. It was definitely a beautiful day.

Jennie: What was kind of that initial spark that inspired you to get into producing music?

Gwen Bunn: Well, my family, my mother, and father.  I’ve always had good music playing the radio or just in the house playing music in the car. I just remember listening to stuff early on and kind of just naturally gravitating towards it just as a listener early.  As a kid, I used to go into my dad’s room and steal all his CDs and stuff like that. So eventually, I started rapping first as a kid and thinking I was going to be a rapper and then eventually I started playing piano.

I started getting into music in different areas and then eventually it kind of all came together at once for me to be like, you know what, I think I want to produce. I remember listening to Kirk Franklin one day and I was like noticing all the different instruments in the music and just I was picking apart everything separately. I noticed I was like I might be able to. I think I understand the concept of this now like I might be able to do this myself one day. I got a computer and put a music program on there and just started trying things and it kind of gravitated from there. I was in the choir too and my choir director was telling my mom she has a gift and that “You need to pour into this”. So my parents have always been supportive too. I think that’s the main reason as well, having a support system to, to believe in your vision.

Jennie: You mentioned Kirk Franklin, were there any other early inspirations you had when you were making music and finding that passion and do they still influence you today?

Gwen Bunn: Yeah, a thousand percent. I love gospel music for sure. So I was listening to a lot of T.C. Winans, T.C. Winans, Fred Hammond. Mary Mary is a huge influence for sure. And then I was also listening to really whatever was on the radio.

So, I was listening to teeny bopper stuff at the time, like B2K and like Bow Wow and, you know, stuff like that.  But I would always do research on who was like a part of the music, too. So I was influenced by Jermaine Dupri and Warren Campbell, who produced all the Mary Mary stuff.

I was always into who made the music and the process of it. So I was reading the album credits. I was all over the place though. Anita Baker, a lot of old school stuff, older music for sure. Rick James, Michael Jackson, stuff like that.

Jennie: What has been your most creatively fulfilling project so far?

Gwen Bunn: It’ll probably be my project, Safe Travels. That one was very special to me because I was just kind of going with the flow. I produced a good portion of it, which means a lot to me too. And then I had other production on there from other people, but it felt like it was pretty cohesive, which I really like.I like when it feels like a project can flow all the way through and it doesn’t feel like it’s all over the place. I was able to record it at Atlantic Records out here in L.A and they just showed a lot of love.

That was just a time period where I was at the studio all the time and I had an opportunity to just record for free and have some pretty good quality. And it was just me, too, all by myself, really. I didn’t have a team. I haven’t had much of a team this whole career. So at that time, it was really just me. No manager, no nothing. It was just me just flowing in the spirit. So I think that was why that was a special time, too. That was the first time I was able to really hone in on the body of work and feel really, really good about it. I think that is one of my most exciting projects that I’ve done so far.

Jennie: When you’re in the studio with an artist, how do you balance your creative vision versus what the artist’s creative vision and what kind of compromise and relationship is that?

Gwen Bunn: Well, I think it’s always about what the artists want. So I could have an idea in my head, but I would lean more towards what they’re looking for and what their direction is. Then from there, that’s when you can implement whatever you want and kind of cross those ideas and bring both worlds together and bring your energy into it. But it’s always about what the artist wants first and then you can bring your energy towards it and figure out how you can compromise and make it all make sense.

Jennie: When you’re in the studio creating your own EP, like, when you were creating Safe Travels versus when you’re creating another project, what’s that creative difference like? Do you feel a lot more freedom or do you kind of feel freedom with both?

Gwen Bunn: For me, it’s definitely a lot more freedom. When you’re working with other people, it’s going to be limited to what their focus is. Sometimes people want a more focused R&B sound or something. I have that freedom to do whatever I want. I can make a folk album tomorrow, you know what I mean? I can go all over the place, so it’s definitely more freedom in working with myself versus somebody else. I can’t sit somewhere for too long. So I like to switch it up. That’s also why I like to write for other people, too, because sometimes you can get bored of just doing the same thing. I like to switch it up a lot and have dynamics. So this new vibe is definitely a pocket that I’m going to stay in for a quick second, and then we’re going to switch it up again. Like I’m one of those types of people. So it’ll be a whole lot more different vibes for me in the future for sure.

Jennie: And finally, how has being an independent artist allowed you to move, you know, differently creatively and just through the business of music, like on your own? How has it benefited you or made your path interesting?

Gwen Bunn: The flexibility of it. When you’re signed to a major, because I’ve been signed to a major in labor before, and that was an amazing experience, by the way. But there are hard deadlines, and you do have to make sure everything is in order on your end so you can uphold, you know what I mean, contractual obligations. So you want to make sure, you know, you’re on point. When you’re independent, you can move a little faster and more free. You can free flow a little bit and you can test the waters a little bit more.