Liz Robson laughed every day in hilarious studio sessions with ScHoolboy Q: “It was the most fun”

Liz Robson helped DaBaby record one of his biggest hits, “ROCKSTAR”; assisted GloRilla with one of the best songs on her Anyways, Life’s Great EP, “Blessed”; and spent 12 hours recording Lil Uzi Vert songs fans still haven’t heard. One of the best-kept secrets in the music industry stays dedicated and creates an environment where your favorite artists can be their authentic selves.

“I have to go back to the ScHoolboy Q sessions. It was the most fun. I probably laughed every day in those sessions,” Robson told REVOLT. “I think he posted one video where his homie shaved his eyebrows off or something.”

In this installment of “Studio Sessions,” the prolific engineer explained how she helped GloRilla early in her career, talked Yo Gotti balancing his business and rapper personas, and opened up about how Kali Uchis made her emotional. Read the exclusive chat below.

Who was the first artist that made you feel like you made it?

I still feel like I haven't made it. The first artist that made me feel really comfortable was ScHoolboy Q. I assisted on his sessions for two years and ended up going on tour with him for TDE’s “The Championship Tour.” He's a funny dude with good vibes. He’s always had big artists coming through. I did record Q while I was assisting James Hunt. He had to step out for a day, so I was recording Q. A couple of other artists ended up popping in the room, like SZA and Kendrick [Lamar]. They had a mic they were passing around, which was a very scary moment for me.

What scared you about that moment?

Being around such talented people as an assistant when I wasn’t quite good enough yet. The thought of making mistakes around people of that caliber was a little terrifying.

How did you get connected to Yo Gotti’s team?

He was looking for a new engineer, and I had been referred to him by a few people. I love working with him. He's such a good businessperson, too. He’ll make all his business calls and then switch into rapper mode (laughs). Gotti's been doing this for a while, so he knows exactly what he wants to hear. His voice sits on top of the music. He’ll tell you, “Hey, I need my voice up more,” or he just wants a specific sound on top of the music.

You also recorded GloRilla for her CMG debut EP, Anyways, Life’s Great. How did her process compare to Gotti’s?

Glo’s a little newer to the game, so she probably didn’t know what type of mics she wanted. When I worked with her, she was brand new, so I don't think she had the chance to work on the type of mics we were using. She didn't have any requests for anything regarding her sound. So, I was just trying different things to get the best vocal quality out of it.

What have been your favorite sessions?

I have to go back to the ScHoolboy Q sessions. It was the most fun. I probably laughed every day in those sessions. This was back when Snapchat was popping, so he posted a lot of the funny stuff from the studio on Snapchat. I think he posted one video where his homie shaved his eyebrows off or something (laughs).

One of the most prolific artists you’ve worked with was Lil Uzi Vert, who is known for recording a lot in a short period of time.

I only recorded [them] for one day back in 2017. I was actually at the studio for 17 hours. They showed up five hours late and then proceeded to go another 12. So, I was there for a total of 17 hours. Wheezy was the producer in the room, and Uzi just hopped in the booth and didn't leave the booth. We recorded seven or eight songs that night. Then [they] tweeted about it the next day, and Billboard reposted it. That was cool. Of course, the songs didn't drop.

Artists are creatures of habit, and they love their templates...

I have a rough one I go off of. I’ll have a different one for a singer and a rapper, then adjust it to their voice. If I'm working with somebody again, like DaBaby, I have a template. I started with my typical rap template for him, but then I listened to his voice. When I had my first session with him, I was listening to his voice on the way to the studio. I've already heard it before, but it helps me get it into my head. Once I get to the studio, I'll set up the template and then add what I want to add to it. For him, I added a certain EQ plug-in because I wanted to add a little bit on the low mids he had in his voice, which I really liked. The first song I recorded with him was “ROCKSTAR.” That one got Grammy-nominated.

How did you end up collaborating with Playboy Carti on “Place”?

That was a last-minute call. I work a lot with Pi’erre Bourne. He has his own label, and I’ve recorded a lot of his artists on his label. One night, he called me at the last minute to come in and record Carti on that song. I'm not really sure what headspace he gets in to get the type of feel he gives to his records. I wish I could know that process. I did have to set the lights a little bit low. It was a little bit dark when we came in. We had the mic set up in the room because he likes the feel better in there. I think we initially had the mic set up in the booth, and then he asked to bring it into the room. So, we brought it into the room. He recorded that song in the room, standing up. So, maybe that's where that energy came from.

You also worked with Kali Uchis and Isaiah Rashad, who are known to be emotionally charged. Have you ever been in a really emotional session?

I definitely have with Kali. There’s something about how she sings that makes me emotional. One of the songs, "quiero sentirme bien,” shook me to my soul when we recorded it. She didn’t tell me if she was emotional [while] recording that song, but I would assume so because you have to be in that headspace to get that out.

To be able to commit so much time to recording, you probably have to sacrifice a lot. Have you missed out on any important personal life moments?

I have made major sacrifices in my life for this career. I think any and every engineer gives up all kinds of stuff, including time with friends and family. I lost so many friends doing this because they didn't understand the hours. They don't understand what I'm talking about. It is a big sacrifice. We end up having our little world.

What do you have coming for the rest of 2024?

I got my own studio space setup. I'm getting into production. I’m trying to get more mixing and production in. DaBaby released the “GRAMMY PARTY” song I recorded with him. I'm just hoping more stuff like that will come out. That would be cool.

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