About Me

Paul “Gooch” Cantor knows music! Ever since the Staten Island, New York native began producing tracks for local artists back in 2001, Cantor has worked the industry inside and out. Not only is Gooch a notable producer who has worked with artists like the Wu-Tang Clan and Mya, the industry renaissance man has also made his mark as a journalist and magazine editor for publications like XXL, King and Scratch. From musician to entrepreneur Paul Cantor has fully engulfed himself in every aspect of the music business, making himself one of the industry’s most prolific and influential figures.

“I Starting out doing independent records,” says Gooch, “I went from not knowing how to do anything to progressing and doing everything mostly by myself- just by learning on the job.” Although Cantor began producing as a teen his first foray into the actual music biz came in TK(year) when Reggae/Dancehall superstar Sean Paul performed in Staten Island. “When Sean Paul came to perform in Staten Island it was a pretty big deal,” explains Cantor. “The Island isn’t typically didn’t attract live performances from multi-platinum artists.” Sensing a golden business opportunity a then 19-year-old Gooch promoted the show and turned around $1000 in tickets in just three days. “It wasn’t a lot of money, but it was my first taste and it turned me on to at least one aspect the industry.” From there Gooch created and carried out a dual-leveled business plan which consisted of managing his own TMI Productions recording studio and running a popular open mic night (“Soul Sundays”). The mogul-in-the-making promoted his live weekly event to his studio clientele and then used the live show to boost the costumer base for his studio. “Nothing like that existed on Staten Island at the time, nobody tried to do it. It was uncharted territory,” says Cantor.

In the midst of his growing business, Cantor began to foster his artistic side by producing, recording, mixing, manufacturing and distributing his own CDs in 2002. “I always felt like I wanted to own whatever it was I was doing. I didn’t want to pay somebody to do anything. From the producing of the song, to the recording, to the mixing, mastering, manufacturing, packaging, and so on down the line. So I went and bought all the equipment to do it myself,” he explains. “I was doing everything a record label does without ever really being conscious of it.” After building his name as a producer and recording engineer, Gooch attracted the attention of members of Ghostface’s Theodore Unit, particularly Trife Da God. Trife, who was building a name for himself after appearing on Ghostface’s critically acclaimed Supreme Clientele LP, reached out to Gooch and together the two collaborated on a number of songs that would later end up on countless mixtapes and indie albums. With his reputation growing, Cantor was able to attract more of hip-hop’s finest to his Staten Island studio including Wu-Tang’s Raekwon, Inspectah Deck and U-God, as well as members from Busta Rhymes’ Flipmode Squad. But it was actually relationships he developed through former Violator Records artist JoJo Pellogrino, that bore the most fruit.

Pellegrino was in talks about signing with Irv Gotti’s Murda Inc., but after the embattled label came under federal indictment in 2003, the deal was stalled. Still Murda Inc. maintained an interest in Gooch’s beats, which they were presented with through Pellegrino’s management, and looked to bring him on board as an-house producer. Unfortunately, amidst The Inc.’s legal woes, a deal couldn’t be hammered out. Regardless, Cantor’s rep was cemented as one of hip-hop’s brightest up and comers. With a budding name and a reputation for making hot tracks, Gooch decided to focus on branding himself through a series of underground releases. Cantor’s talent would be recognized once again when he produced “One Night Stand,” for Staten Island’s Apocalipps. The street single made noise on the mix tape scene and was eventually validated when DJ Kay Slay began to play the song on “The Drama Hour” New York City’s most famous urban radio station Hot 97.

In the fall of 2004 Cantor parlayed his knowledge of hip-hop into a new hustle and began writing for Allhiphop.com. “With Allhiphop, I was able to take a variety of these relationships that I’d been developing through my travels as a producer, and fold them into something else,” recalls Gooch. Through his writing Cantor befriended Bonsu Thompson, the famed editor of XXL magazine. Via that relationship he was able to land an ongoing freelance gig with the popular rap magazine. Cantor went on to interview and write about notable hip-hop artists from Fat Joe to Snoop Dogg, all the while developing even more priceless relationships with the industry’s biggest stars. All the while, he kept busy creating and running new studio ventures, securing ringtone deals for his expanding Gooch Music production company, and crafting records for a wide variety of national and international acts. With his dual roles as a writer and as a beatmaker, he landed an editor’s position with SCRATCH Magazine in 2007. Through SCRATCH, Cantor developed relationships on the technological side of the industry, and even after the magazine folded, he was able to continue working with other companies to produce exclusive video content with various artists and related products.

Additionally, while continuing as a freelance writer, Gooch struck a partnership with MTV to brand and write their Suckerfree blog (suckerfreeblog.mtv.com) in the winter of 2007. Standing on the threshold of a new media breakthrough, Paul “Gooch” Cantor has since branded himself a premier industry blogger, writing for both MTV.com and XXLmag.com.

Through his journey Cantor has been able to build and maintain powerful relationships through out the music industry creating less than six degrees of separation between himself and any hip-hop notable. And in a business where who you know means everything, Paul Cantor is a true success story. “There aren’t too many people that you can mention in this business that I don’t have some type of connection to, in some way shape or form” says Cantor. “Everything is just an email, phone call, or face-to-face conversation away.” Spoken like a true hustler.

- Rob Markman