Terrace Martin, who’s been nominated for six Grammy awards and produced songs for everyone from Kendrick Lamar and Snoop Dogg to Stevie Wonder and Charlie Wilson, has just released new music with a surprising collaborator: The House of Suntory Japanese whisky.
For the launch of its limited-edition Toki Black, Suntory worked with Martin and Japanese jazz artist Ryota Nozaki, known as Jazztronik. The resulting composition was inspired by Toki, which means “time,” and by the Japanese philosophy of Ichigo Ichie—the idea that each moment is unique and unrepeatable.
Suntory recorded the creative process and released both a film and a bespoke vinyl: Side A features an improvisational session between the artists, while Side B presents Martin’s modern reinterpretation.
“I never worked with all Japanese musicians. The only thing we had to communicate with was music. But music, love, and this whisky had everybody just on one accord. It was a beautiful experience,” Martin said at a launch event in New York City, “and Toki Black was the fuel.”
BLACK ENTERPRISE caught up with Martin after the launch of Toki Black Japanese whisky to hear more about how he approaches the business side of creating music for brand deals:
What was it about this opportunity with Suntory that piqued your interest?
Besides the great whisky, everybody on the Suntory team felt like a family. Everybody had tons of great ideas. Their ultimate goal was to make sure both of our brands were aligned.
How do you evaluate the opportunities you’re presented to collaborate with brands?
I choose collaboration partners based on the brand’s integrity and what their mission is. If the brand’s mission lines up with mine, I’ll decide I want to go forward.
Did you enlist any help to assess the business side of these collaborations?
Yes, I’ve gotten advice from multiple people about their brand deals, like Herbie Hancock and Snoop Dogg. Most of the time they told me it went extremely well when pairing with the right brand.
This was your first time working with people you haven’t been making music with for the last 30 years. What does it mean to you, especially as a Black artist, to have been able to make a living with your crew from back in the day?
Reaching success with the same set of friends I’ve had since grade school is a blessing; I’m very grateful and thankful for that. It means the world to me, operating in such a crazy business I have a trusted family that I can also go to, and that’s more than gold.
At a time when it feels like there’s less communication and collaboration and more mistrust and division, can you share advice for working with people who aren’t like you?
My best advice is to expect the unexpected, remove all ego, and go into each situation with an open mind and open heart.
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