Nick Andre is a San Francisco-based producer, who co-founded Bay Area-based indie label Slept on Records with his friend Myron & E’s Eric a.k.a. E da Boss and The Pendletons as an outlet to release music they were making with friends on their own terms. The label released a series of 12″and 7″ records featuring Gift of Gab, Lyrics Born, Bicaso and others. And although all of the label’s founders went on to sign with different labels for their own original work — E signed with Stones Throw Records and Andre did a record with MUSH — they managed to continue the label’s primary mission.

Over the years, Andre has been rather busy as an in-demand producer, collaborating with the aforementioned Gift of Gab and Bicaso, Lateef the Truth Speaker, Zion I, Lil B, Casual, Hanni El Khatib, Rob Sonic, Deuce Eclipse and others — and several instrumental projects. The San Francisco-based producer and label head co-wrote the score for the feature film Chasing Valentine and he has had his music appear on the Showtime’s The CHI, Netflix’s EASY and Freeform Networks’ Grownish. Additionally, Andre has composed music for national TV ad campaigns for Reebook, Nike, Adidas, Mini Cooper, ESPN’s X Games, Levi’s, HUF x Playboy, Thrasher Magazine and DC Snowboarding.

Andre’s latest single “Life Is Awesome” sees the San Francisco-based producer collaborating with longtime collaborators and Bay Area hip-hop legends Lil B, Causal and Zion I. Centered around a warm and soulful production featuring skittering boom bap beats, looping and wobbling Rhodes that’s roomy enough for each emcee to spit swaggering and self-assured bars full of dexterous wordplay and witty punchlines. Simply put, it’s a warm reminder of straightforward hip-hop featuring dope emcees spitting bars and pushing themselves in friendly rivalry over slick yet soulful production.

“I love Casual and the squad. Thanks Nick for putting this legendary track together,” Lil B. Nick Andre says, Really happy I was able to get these three Bay Area legends all on one track. Lil B set if off by sending me a dope verse and chorus And Zion I and Casual killed it as they always do.” “In terms of Bay Area Hip Hop . . . we are spanning decades and styles by clicking up with Lil B, Casual, and Nick Andre on the beats,” Zion I adds. “You wouldn’t expect to hear Lil B on a song with me…but that’s the beauty of this song.”