Although he is a music prodigy, Human Prod., also known as Torrey Van Nostrand, wants it known that Human Prod. just stands for Human Productions. Van Nostrand says, “I wanted to be an activist with my music, so I named myself Human because we’re all human and that’s what matters.” Van Nostrand started his music career as a hobby in the 10th grade, not knowing how fast the number of listeners would grow in just two years. On soundcloud his cumulative total is close  to 1,000,000 listeners, with an average of 8,000 per song. Additionally, he has racked up over 200,000 Youtube views, and has a following over over 2,000 people on Instagram. With all the success he has had in such a short time, Van Nostrand claims he just “makes music for fun,” and his carefree attitude is just one of the reasons why he is so successful.  

S: How did you get involved in making music?

“I started listening to Tyler the Creator in 10th grade, and I thought it would be lit, and that I wanted to do it. So I started making music off my Ipad, like drumming at first.”

S: Did you always want to be a musician?

“I played guitar a lot when I was little, and I wanted to be like a rockstar, but then I grew up, grew dreads, and I wanted to be a rapper. Now I just want to be an artist. I make music for fun.”

S: What’s your writing process like?

“I lock myself in my attic, which we just renovated out for a studio, but I sit there and lock myself in for four hours a day, and just make something. If something comes out, it will come out. If something’s not coming out, I’m sitting there for another three hours.”

S: What inspires you to write music?

“I like having fun, and all of my songs I don’t take serious. I just joke around and have fun. What inspires me? I don’t know. Party stuff. Day to day life things. I go through things, I want to do things I want to be able to do. Stuff like that.”

S: Unlike a lot of rappers, you do not swear in your songs. Why?

“I don’t swear in any of my songs, because you don’t need to cuss in a song. You aren’t a good artist if you need to cuss in your songs, you can make a song without cursing. It’s not that hard.”

S: What artists do you take inspiration from?

“Drake. Tyler the Creator. Kendrick Lamar. Some of my favorite artists that I think my music closely sounds like is Chief Keef. I sound like Chief Keef at times.”
S: What was a milestone moment for you?

“Two biggest milestones was one, hitting that first 100,000 views is awesome. I’m at like 600,000 views on “No Sus” now, and that’s crazy. I had like 99 followers and here I am a year later, you know, thousands more. It’s awesome. Then when one of my favorite artists, he’s like really unknown, his name is No Emotion GoldMask and he said he really likes my music, and I was really happy about that.”

S: Have you experienced any roadblocks in your journey?

“I couldn’t write for like 5 months at one point. I was just sitting there, and I got better at making beats, editing vocals, and so I started to branch off, and record with other people. Now I can just keep writing all day, it’s easy now. I’m happy that that’s happening. One of my biggest roadblocks actually was my Uncle dying a year and a half ago. It was hard, but you get past things like that.”

S: What are your plans for the future?

“I’m going off to college. I’m not about to be like, ‘I’m gonna make it, I’m gonna do it’… Nah, I’m about to get my pre-engineering degree, and go into electrical engineering. If I don’t make it by then, I’m gonna work at Ford or something for a couple of years, and stack up some money, and just open a studio.”

S: What is your favorite part of making music?

“Ad libs. Oh my gosh ad libs are so fun. Screaming in the background…my mom hates it, because I’ll be in my room, and get done recording, and then out of nowhere I’m screaming and my mom’s like, ‘What are you doing? It’s 12:00 at night!’ Because I always record at night. That’s the best part, the ad libs. Then hearing people’s reactions when the bass drops to something, and people make the ugliest face because it’s nasty. That’s always cool too.”

S: What are some goals you have?

“Get my family out the hood. You know, get my family in a better situation. Get the black community into a better situation. I want to own things. Black community doesn’t own things. I want to own the stores, I want to own the gas stations. Stuff like that. It would be great if I could achieve something like that. Goals as far as making music, I just want a song to go gold, platinum, something! Just get on the radio one time. I’d be happy. If you make it on the radio, one, two times, you got a good 600k in your pocket.”

S: What’s your dream collaboration?

“Me and Drake. That would be so crazy. Or a song with Tyler the Creator if I could get weird enough. I’m a really big Tyler the Creator fan…you can see it in how I dress. I love Tyler the Creator, but I would want to do a song with Drake more.”

S: Do you have any advice for aspiring artists?

“Keep working, and when people say you suck, keep going. People will say, ‘Your not gonna do anything, you won’t get past 1,000 views’,…but look at me now. Keep going, and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Help is good.”

For someone who has accomplished so much, it is a wonder how Van Nostrand has stayed so humble. It is just one of the many reasons why he will prosper in any field that he chooses to go into in the future. Van Nostrand’s most popular song, “No Sus” has over 600,000 views, and we can all look forward to new music soon. His new mixtape, 206Teen, will have 14 new tracks, and  is dropping within the next two weeks. Van Nostrand is just another example of the talent that West Bloomfield has to offer. We, here at Spectrum wish Van Nostrand luck in any medium that he pursues, and we know he will be a success.

To Keep Up With Torrey:

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/humanprod

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFO4DusOJMtTzMyABLJbHjQ/feed

Spotify: https://play.spotify.com/artist/2tvY5MtXcISsyBSgkC2Pg1

Instagram: http://instagram.com/humanprod