Apollo Brown is different than most producers. He grew up on the Seals and Crofts—not the Isley Brothers—version of “Summer Breeze.” Born into a bi-racial family in Grand Rapids, Michigan, his early influences skewed more toward the music of Journey and the Carpenters than the urban genres his peers often cite as inspiration. This is not to say that once hip-hop came into play, Apollo wasn’t all in. Just as easily as he can praise the virtues of yacht rock, the 29-year-old beatsmith can name personal heroes—Gang Starr, Wu-Tang, Mobb Deep, M.O.P., Nas, and Black Moon—from the early 90s period in which, for him, beats and rhymes became life.