In the Studio With Royalty Statements, Broward's Rising Producer Duo

If you’re looking for a recording studio in South Florida, you’ll never find one. Generally, there’s no flashy sign, red carpet, or indication a place that can take SoundCloud rap to the Billboard charts is even there. Producer group Royalty Statements' place fits the bill. It's tucked neatly in a Plantation warehouse, which allows not only client confidentiality but also for creatives juices to flow undisturbed.

“Yeah, you can park right here,” Dru yells from his car window. His long, shiny black hair hangs out of the window as he spins his truck around to park toward the back. The studio sits inside a pastel-pink building off Sunrise Boulevard. With a warm smile, Dumi opens the door, shedding light on a cozy workplace. Through the doors, a reception desk in the corner sits equipped to take bookings and follow up on emails. There's also a whiteboard in the next room and a sofa.

Royalty Statements is composed of fraternity brothers Janlou “Dumi” Borges and Andy “Dru” Goicochea. They not only produce music but also shoot and edit video, direct photo shoots, and offer podcast services. Their music is inspired by everything from disco to Wu-Tang. But they dub their style "urban pop."

“We’ve had this studio for about two years,” Dru says. “Let me show you around.” Adjacent to the sofa-and-chair setup is a small room that holds a mike and a chair. “Here’s where we set up for podcasts.” In the open area with the sofa sits a TV monitor, keyboard, and speaker. On the other side lies the control room. The studio is small, but it gets records made. Their production credits include work with South Florida artists JayBurna, Prez P, Khaotic, and others.

“The goal is to always make hit records,” Dru says. “As an artist, you’re always growing. If you’re always dropping new music, something is bound to be a hit.” Though the two are always working on new music for their clients, they assure they are quietly loading the clip to let loose their own content throughout 2019. “We’re putting out new records very soon,” Dru says to Dumi. “Yeah, very soon,” Dumi smiles back.

One of the reasons their new music has taken so long to debut is they're rolling out video and photo content as well. “People think that producers just make beats,” Dru says, "but we are making music and music-related content; we compose records, we are involved from top to bottom. There are people that just make beats. That’s not us." Royalty Statements contributes to the video, audio, songwriting, producing, and beatmaking of an artist’s project. “It’s full-service here,” Dumi chimes in. “What we are trying to build is a brand that promotes self-sufficiency for creatives. Us being a duo allows checks and balances.”

Dumi has spent more than ten years DJ'ing, which brings an understanding of what listeners want and what constitutes a hit record. Dru is an instrumentalist. “I used to play the viola," he says. "I mean, I probably still can.” But for now, he mainly plays the drums, which adds live patterns to music, giving it a more authentic feel than a downloaded beat pack. He also recently became a vocalist. “Waiting for the feature was slowing down the project,” Dru says. “I became my own vocalist. I’ve been songwriting for years, and sometimes you just have to get it done yourself.”

The duo continues to gear up for next year. In a world of fake followers and fans consisting of only your dog, mom, and girlfriend, building a group of true admirers is key. “If we can get 1,000 people to spend $25 four times a year, we’ll be where we want to be as a group.” For now, as Royalty Statements’ fan base grows, so does the duo's catalogue. And they hope to make you a fan as well.