Looking at Ted Kamal’s Clinton Hill apartment from the outside, it looks just like any other Brooklyn brownstone.

Covered in rustic sandstone and standing tall, nothing on the outside sets it apart from any of the other houses in the neighborhood.

When you step inside though, you are transported to a melting pot full of musical geniuses who are part of a new generation of artists pushing the boundaries of hip-hop.

Kamal, who is based in New York, is a 20-year-old producer signed to Never Normal Records, who takes his inspiration from U.K. garage and drum-and-bass beats.

Functioning from a makeshift studio in his apartment, there’s just a table with a desktop mac and everyone’s recording equipment strewn about, and a tattered couch in the back for people to fall asleep on.

The first thing that you notice about the studio is how crowded with people it is. Each person there is an artist contributing in their own way.

A very communal setting, Kamal, and his friends’ studio is very reminiscent of The Dungeon Family, the legendary Atlanta basement studio responsible for helping to forge the careers of famed artists such as Outkast, Goodie Mob, and Ceelo Green.

As Kamal and his friends all come together to create music that pushes the conventional sound, he describes it as a “collaborative effort.”

“We all make different types of music but we all respect each other’s craft and share a love for music.”

Born in a small suburb outside of Philadelphia, Kamal moved to Harlem when he was two and easily identifies as a “native New Yorker.”

“I moved to Jersey around the age of 15 and moved back to New York at 17, but I always say I am from New York originally.”

Kamal’s beats, which he describes and “bouncy” and are posted on his SoundCloud, are covers of rap songs over beats he created.

These beats are percussion heavy (hence the name drum and bass), fast-paced, and borderline psychedelic, evoking dancing on sober-less nights.

They are filled with an assortment of sounds and instruments, many of which are hard to pinpoint to a specific instrument. This causes you to hear something new each time you listen to one of his songs.

Growing up taking music lessons, Kamal’s has had an interest in music for almost all of his life.

“I started getting into music around the age of three, just from hearing all the songs on the radio and taking music classes, but I didn’t start to want to be my own producer until 11 or so.”

Kamal takes his inspiration from many different artists, but you can see an affection for artists like Lil Uzi Very, Young Thug, and Lil Wayne, all of whom are credited with pushing the sound of hip-hop against what was considered the norm.

Talking about his remix of Young Thug’s song “Halftime”, “HAVETIME?“, Kamal says that he “was inspired by Young Thug having so many different flows.”

“I wanted to hear that flow on a bouncy-ass backdrop, and eventually that backdrop began to form without me realizing it.”

Amani Fela, Kamal’s roommate and frequent collaborator (who is also the son of famous Brooklyn rapper Talib Kweli), describes Kamal’s ability to make music as a “sixth sense.”

“He hears things that we don’t and watching him combine so many different samples to create something is a surreal experience.”

Kamal’s fame is also steadily rising, being covered in an article by Fader magazine and taking part in workshops hosted at MoMA.

When’s he’s not in his apartment creating beats, Kamal works for Building Beats, an organization based in Brooklyn that focuses on teaching children on how to produce their own beats.

His boss Eddie Lu, described him as a “fun guy” to work with who is “amazing with the children and has a deep passion for music.”

Kamal also recently earned the job as the music director of a summer camp through Music Ascension, a program that helps connect musicians with schools and summer camps.

Based in upstate New York, Kamal will be there for two months this summer helping to guide and inspire young musicians.

Looking forward to this experience, he is excited to work with the children and is even more happy that the camp will be paying for all of his expenses.

“I’ll be making a salary for those two months without having to pay for anything, which is pretty dope. I can put that money back into my music so that I can continue making cool things.”