Stephen ‘Bud’da’ Anderson Talks Multi-Platinum Music and Feeling Euphoria
Multi-platinum music producer, composer and EMMY-winner Stephen ‘Bud’da’ Anderson has been churning out music credits in television, film and hip-hop for over 3-decades. We caught up with the mega producer to talk pop music and his involvement in the new smash hit, ‘Euphoria’ from rising pop star Alexander James Rodriguez.
Hey Bud’da, thank you for taking the time to chat with us. We have known you as a famed producer of hip-hop having produced the majority of Westside Connection’s double-platinum selling masterpiece Bow Down in the 90’s. Tell us about your evolution into pop music?
I’ve always been a fan of pop music. Some of the songs that I’ve done in hip-hop, and R&B have went on to go pop but there’s a distinct sound of a specific pop record. It’s even mixed different, I’ve been studying my whole career to bring me to this very moment! Pop has a undeniable chemistry.
I think what makes a great pop song is purposeful melodic simplicity, lyrics to capture a feeling that most can identify with and a undeniable beat making it appeal to a larger demographic of people!
Your latest collaboration is ‘Euphoria’ which you wrote with Alexander James Rodriguez. How did that come about?
A friend that I’ve known for some time now introduced me to a mutual friend of his that just so happened to be working with a great friend of mine, the producer and mixer Gemini. I know it’s a tongue twister lol but the moment I talked to Liz Rodriguez, who is Alexander’s mom, I knew that it wasn’t a mistake that we were on the phone.
They sent me some amazing music which had some scratch vocals on it, I asked them to send me an instrumental because immediately I started hearing melodies and lyrics! I’m so excited to be a writer on such a great feeling record! Hence the title ‘Euphoria’. It feels so good 😊
Tell us about the approach for the song?
The song ‘Euphoria’ is a mix of melodic melodies and lyrics that everyone can identify with and a driving beat that makes your head bob. My approach for writing on this song was simple, start off explaining the overwhelming feeling, leave space for the listener to digest each line and bring energy that pulls you in as a listener. I wanted people to understand what it feels like to be in a state of euphoria. I believe between us we accomplished that!
The song certainly pulls you in! Did you expect ‘Euphoria’ to take off in the way it has for both you and Alexander?
It always feels good because I’m involved with it, but knowing if something is going to be a hit or not is not predictable in my book! The song is climbing so fast, and it couldn’t happen to a better person congrats to the whole team and definitely congrats to Alexander!
What is next for you in the pop world?
Well Alexander and I will definitely be working on more music, and I also have an electronic dance pop music project that is nearly complete! You can expect it sometime Fall 2023.
Listen to ‘Euphoria’ here
Follow Bud’da and his journey on Instagram
