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About

About

Alexandria Dopson singing, Diamond Chain, Larrance Dopson playing the keyboard

Mission

Societies and industries exist because groups of people cooperating can achieve vastly more than what a person can do on their own. The people who’ve advanced humanity throughout time fearlessly led by example, pushing to do their best so hard that they pushed beyond expectation and caused some type of change in the world.

Realizing your full potential comes from education and practice. There is an absolute best version of everything and everyone. Fear and jealousy, which is the fear of not feeling/being as valuable as someone else, are enemies of success and imagination. Creativity is the idea we aim to teach and quality/luxury is the theme (or language) we use to communicate that message.

Excellence comes from a sense of urgency, not a rush! So we need to constantly self-examine and pace ourselves to accomplish our goals. Our mission is to create a culture of high achievement and excellence through our example and message.

Music Education Institution

1500 Sound Academy is a trailblazing music education institution that strives to produce passionate sound creators through mentorship, fostering a positive mindset, and professional development.

Our state-of-the-art music school in Los Angeles offers comprehensive courses as part of our Music & Industry Fundamentals, DJ Fundamentals, and Vocal Performance & Production Fundamentals programs to aspiring professionals, no matter their skill level.

BECOME A 1500 STUDENT NOW!
sommeone playing the piano

Leadership

James Fauntleroy, Twila True and Larrance Dopson sitting down

Movers and Shakers

1500 Sound Academy’s founders consist of the legendary musical ensemble, 1500 or Nothin’ - James Fauntleroy and Larrance “Rance” Dopson. Both are Grammy award-winning industry leaders who have worked with many high-profile artists, including Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Nipsey Hussle, and Justin Timberlake. Twila True is a renowned entrepreneur, executive, and philanthropist.

Learn more about their backgrounds and what they bring to the academy.

James Fauntleroy

James Fauntleroy

James Fauntleroy II is an American singer, songwriter and record producer from Inglewood, California. He is best known for featuring on tracks by high-profile artists such as Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, J. Cole, Vince Staples and Big Sean as well as writing songs for artists including Bruno Mars, Beyoncé, Rihanna and Justin Timberlake. In 2014 and 2018, Fauntleroy won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song.

Larrannce "Rance" Dopson

Larrance Dopson

Larrance Dopson is a Grammy Award Winning producer / instrumentalist known for singer Ella Mai’s song “Boo’d Up” that charted at number one, further winning ‘Best R&B’ song. Dopson also won Grammys for “These Walls” and “To Pimp A Butterfly” by Kendrick Lamar. He was nominated for Justin Timberlake and Chris Stapleton’s, “Say Something” and Nipsey Hussle’s “Victory Lap”. He’s been musical director for Usher, Khalid, Jay-Z, Diddy, Snoop Dogg, Migos, Rick Ross, and others. He has written and composed on several records including Mi Declaración which resulted in Maluma’s first Latin Grammy for ‘Best Pop Contemporary Pop Vocal Album’.

Twila True

Twila True

Twila True is an entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist. Twila has become a business powerhouse, owning and operating, investing and incubating, multi-million dollar companies in beauty, entertainment, fashion, fine jewelry and real estate. Currently the co-founder and CEO of True Family Enterprises, a privately owned family office she began with her husband, Alan True, to manage their portfolio of companies, invest and incubate new ventures. In addition to her businesses and investments, Twila’s charitable ventures include the creation of an orphanage assistance foundation in China, and a Native American personal development foundation in the U.S.

Administration

Doug Fenskey, Director of Education

Doug Fenske

Campus Director

Doug Fenske upholds a Grammy-nominated, six-time platinum, 20-year career in music engineering and production. He has worked on a string of commercially and critically successful albums, including Frank Ocean’s channel ORANGE, Chris Brown’s Exclusive [The FOREVER Edition], Jamie Foxx’s Intuition, and Jordin Sparks’ Jordin Sparks. Doug has also spent time in the studio with Bruno Mars, Andre 3000, Ne-Yo, Ryan Tedder and LL Cool J.

Fenske earned his B.A. in Speech Communication from Eastern Illinois University, then graduated from The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences. He has passionately held various roles in music production education since 2012 and currently serves as the Campus Director at 1500 Sound Academy.

Jamie Blake, Instructor

Jamie Blake

Deputy Director of Education, Instructor

Jamie Blake is a producer, songwriter,
performer, and music educator. As a musician, he specializes in playing drums and using the Ableton Push as a chromatic instrument. He has shared the stage as a DJ and live performer with artists such as JMSN, Smino, Joe Kay, ESTA, Sango, Snoh Aalegra, Dave B, Flamingosis and more.
Jamie is an Ableton Certified Trainer, has a B.A. in Audio Engineering from The Evergreen State College and earned a master’s in music from Berklee College of Music.

Ray Medina, Teaching Assistant

Ray Medina

Director of Relations

Raymond Medina is a music producer, songwriter, tracking engineer, and mixing engineer from Orange County, CA. He is a graduate of the Los Angeles Recording School and is an alumnus of the 1500 Sound Academy. He is proficient with both Ableton and Pro Tools and has worked in multiple studios in the Los Angeles area. He is currently working and assisting behind the scenes with a few of the top charting songwriters and music producers in the music industry today.

Kita Clarke, Instructor

DJ Kita

Instructor

Kita is a Los Angeles based DJ most reputable for her energetic sets and dynamic taste and technique in open format style DJing, earning her a notable repertoire of career highlights and growing popular demand in the world of music. She is known for her collaboration in throwing an eclectic party called Hood Rave which is a popular underground party that centers around black and queer people. She has toured both nationally and internationally. She has also DJ’d for brands and establishments such as Nike, T-Mobile, Vans, Warner Bro’s Music, Undefeated, HUF, The California African American Museum, The Gagosian, and Camp Flognaw.

DJ Infa-Red

Instructor

Musically influenced by the innovative sounds of Michael Jackson, Prince and James Brown, at the early age of 5 Infa-Red fell in love with many genres of music, particularly Hip Hop. Originally from
Brockton, Massachusetts, Infa-Red learned to Dj at the age of 14 in Brooklyn, New York, where he spent his summers with family.
Infa-Red moved to Los Angeles to become the Director of Hip Hop programming for Dash Radio and the first official DJ of MLS – LAFC (Los Angeles Football Club) in 2022. In 2023, DJ Infared was selected by the LA Rams to be an official DJ of the team and began DJ’ing for Eminem’s Radio Station Shade 45 on Sirius XM.
Infa-Red has played in several major markets including New York City, Boston, Miami, New Jersey and Los Angeles.
He was an honorary guest at the 2009 BET Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta. He has played at shows for Zed, NAS, Nicky Ramero, Fabolous, 50 Cent, Dirty South, Ne-Yo, Jadakiss, Styles P, The Lox, Fat Joe, Allen Iverson, Pitbull,Trina, Madcon, Ace Hood, DJ Khaled, Ray J, T.I., Green Lantern, Biz Markie, DJ Enuff, DJ Camilo, Dirty South, De La Ghetto, Speedy, Joel y Randy, Jazmine Sullivan, Kevin Cossom, Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, Yung Berg, YC, 2 Pistols, Baby Bash, NBA, NFL, Celebrity Weddings and many more. Continually fine-tuning his craft, Infa-Red is taking the necessary steps to expand to International markets while he continues to grow in the radio and music production

Alexandria Dopson

Alexandria Dopson

Instructor

Alexandria (Alex) Dopson, the sister of Larrance Dopson, takes pride in being an original member of 1500 or Nothin'. She has had the privilege of lending her vocals to the Grammy-nominated album "Victory Lap" by the late, great Nipsey Hussle, featuring prominently on tracks such as "Dedication" and "Real Big". Additionally, she has provided background vocals for acclaimed artists such as Beyoncé, Lauren Hill, Snoop Dogg, Bobby Valentino and more.

Alex's talents extend beyond being a captivating songstress and professional vocalist. She is also a gifted songwriter, artist developer and vocal coach. Her extensive work includes collaborations with renowned artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Saweetie, Dave East, Gunna, Ari Lennox, Ashanti, Alicia Keys, The Isley Brothers, and numerous others. She shares her expertise by teaching the Songwriting course at 1500 Sound Academy.

Chuck Sutton

Instructor

Chuck Sutton is a multi-talented artist, producer, performer, and educator from Montclair, New Jersey. With over a decade of expertise in Ableton Live, his unique sonic style, instructional content, and DIY devices have made a significant impact in the online production community. Since 2017, he's created videos for Ableton, iZotope, Antares, and Serato, encouraging both new and veteraned producers to reimagine the tools at their disposal. In 2019, he independently released his debut album, "i know what I'm doing*," organically amassing over 6 million streams. In 2021, his single "All or Nothin" premiered on season 5 of Issa Rae’s award-winning HBO series "Insecure," establishing his presence in both the music and television industries.

Channing B. Smith

Instructor

Channing B. Smith, Esq. is a transactional attorney with more than 10 years of experience in the entertainment industry. Her resume boasts of previous experience at RCA Records, Universal Music
Group, BMG Rights Management, Red Bull Media House, and Fifth Season. As an attorney, Channing has structured, negotiated and drafted a wide range of deals across the entertainment industry,
including artist recording, profit share, producer, sponsorship, vendor, merchandising and release
agreements within the music industry, and option-purchase, writer, executive producer, director, and actor deals within the television industry.
Channing earned a B.A. in Mass Communications from Dillard University, a Master of Communication Management from the University of Southern California, and a J.D. from Southwestern Law School. She is licensed to practice law in California
and New York.
Channing is also a member of several professional organizations, including Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association, Langston Bar Association, Beverly Hills Bar Association, The Recording Academy, and Fortune & Forks. She also serves on the board of the R.E.A.C.H. Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides programming for young children, low income families, minorities and disadvantaged individuals.
In her free time, Channing has been a guest speaker on several industry panels and has curated and led a music law workshop at 1500 Sound Academy. Additionally, Channing mentors current students interested in careers in the entertainment industry and/or the legal profession through her alumni organizations.

Alan Dash

Instructor

A motivating, solutions-driven Business Executive with a knack for achieving success in ambitious and competitive environments. An experienced educator and mentor focused on creating opportunities for young artists both in the classroom and professional studio environments. A tireless problem-solver with unmatched follow through and dedication to achieving collaborative, win-win solutions.

GUEST LECTURERS

Industry Insight and Experience

More than big names - these talented teachers and leaders have years of industry experience to share with the students at 1500 Sound Academy. They offer a wealth of knowledge on a myriad of vital topics, from writing, producing, and mixing to recording and negotiating contracts. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to learn from highly celebrated guest lecturers - we are honored to have hosted some of the industry’s most famous artists and insiders.

  • Kuk Harrell, man in white blazer

    Kuk Harrell

  • two men with red shirts

    Mike & Keys

  • man with a hat using DJ equipment

    DJ Qwess

  • smiling man with black shirt

    TrapMoney Benny

  • man with black hat

    Colin Wolfe

  • smiling man with black shirt

    Terrace Martin

  • man with black shirt and black hat

    Tuff Morgan

  • woman sitting down with white blazer

    Vyann Vaughn

  • smiling woman with blue sweater

    Carla Carter

  • smiling man

    Jean Marie Horvat

  • smiling man

    “Pops” of 1500

  • smiling man with black shirt

    Tec Beatz

  • man with beard

    DJ Battlecat

  • man with white long sleeve and scarf

    Harmony Samuels

  • smiling man with white shirt and blue sweater over shoulder

    Kosine