Master ’95 Love of Music, Fueled at the Prep, Leads to a Career in Production; Current Project, “Can You Dig It?” is a Homage to the Roots of Hip-Hop

September 1991 marked the beginning of Bryan Master ’95’s freshman year at the Prep and it was an historic time for music releases. Some of Master’s favorite bands — including Guns N’ Roses, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and Nirvana — introduced new albums that month. “It was at the Prep that my true love of music began,” Master recalls. “I was 13 or 14. I was very impressionable and music really spoke to me. I already had my technical foundation as a musician, but the Prep really nurtured the evolution of my relationship with music as I matured.”

As many Prep students past and present can relate to, Master enjoyed a 25-minute car ride to the Prep from South Jersey. In true Prep fashion, Master found great value in the seemingly cumbersome commute. “Upperclassmen would drive me into school. They were cooler, older kids who had their finger on the pulse with new music,” he says. “I would listen to what they were playing and that hooked me to some of my favorite artists.” From these car ride discoveries to being introduced to the Pixies in Mrs. Julie Rogers’s art class to playing in three bands his senior year, Master’s Prep experience solidified his musical foundation and inspired him to pursue a career in the industry.

After graduating from Fordham University, Master spent the next decade as a performing artist. This was an unstable and transitional period in music that, for an unsigned solo artist, he describes as “the worst decade of the music industry, which included the proliferation of digital media, the decomposition of the traditional record label model, and the early rise of social media.” After enduring the challenge of launching his own musical brand in a crowded and unstable marketplace, Master discovered a way to utilize his skills and talents in a different way, while not abandoning his love of music. From performing onstage, Master pivoted to the studio where he began creating, producing, and composing music. “There are no rules any more; it’s very liberating,” Master cheerfully explains. “I don’t have to conform to the notion of ‘He sounds like Elliott Smith mixed with REM and Nirvana.’ One day I’m writing an orchestral piece for a project, the next I’m writing a baroque chamber pop for another project.”

Master is a composer and audio producer with his own company, SOUND+FISSION, a custom music/audio production and creative services house. In 2019, Master began partnering with Amazon’s Audible platform to produce fully-scripted, immersive audio dramas and comedies. “These are movies for your ears,” he says. “They are relatively low cost, but high quality, with everything from A-list casts, full scripts, full sound design, and musical scores.” 

One project has turned into thirteen, with the latest audio docu-drama Can You Dig It? coming in August. Master served as Creator, Writer, Editor, Composer, and Executive Producer alongside Narrator Chuck D of Public Enemy and was accompanied by his Prep classmate Chuck Fay ’95, who did the sound design for the show.

The COVID-19 pandemic thwarted production in most entertainment fields, but audio production was relatively unaffected. It was during this time that Master and the partners in his sister company, PB&J Productions, seized the opportunity to explore hidden figure stories from New York City’s rich history, including that of the South Bronx 1971 gang peace treaty. Can You Dig It? offers listeners an immersive experience delineating how if it had not been for a gang member’s murder, the peace treaty that followed, and the subsequent seeds of hip-hop sown in the South Bronx, hip-hop would not have happened. The project’s goal is to highlight the unsung heroes and untold stories. “From a production standpoint, we’re aware that we’re telling a story that really isn’t ours to tell,” Master says. “We’re primarily three white guys who are telling a story that is primarily Black and brown, and the hip-hop story that is largely characterized as just ‘Black’ and ‘rap.’ This is not necessarily the full story. We’re really elevating the largely untold Latine, in particular Puerto Rican, side of this story.” The story focuses on the Bronx community and its resilience in a relatively dark time for New York City. It also underscores the influential adult mentors who influenced the kids in this story to break the cycle of violence and choose peace. 

In addition to partnering with Chuck Fay on Can You Dig It?, Master has worked with classmates Rob McElhenney ’95, Don McCloskey ’95, and Brian Connell ’95 on various projects. “These guys were originally friends; now we’re professional colleagues,” Master says. “I’m better because I work with all these guys who I met at 17th & Girard. The Prep network is a tool I use everyday and is a gift that I am very grateful for.”

 

Can You Dig It? will be available on Audible and Amazon Music on August 10 in celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. You can listen to the trailer here, pre-order the series here, and follow the project on Instagram.

Master currently resides in Cherry Hill, NJ with his wife and two children.