Behind The Beat: Isaiah Simmons Breaks Down “Went West” by BabyChiefDoit

September 15, 2025

Behind The Beat: Isaiah Simmons Breaks Down “Went West” by BabyChiefDoit

📍 Tracked at Patchwerk Studios
🎙 Engineer: Isaiah Simmons
🔥 Platform: On The Radar Performance
💿 Song: “Went West” by BabyChiefDoit (prod. BabyChiefDoit & Questionizer)

Babychiefdoit & Isaiah Simmons in Studio 995

The Session That Set It Off

BabyChiefDoit pulled up to Patchwerk with one mission: to leave with a statement record.

“As soon as the beat dropped, I knew this wasn’t gonna be a ‘just press record’ type of session. The energy was cinematic. Chief was locked in.” — Isaiah Simmons, Staff Engineer

Tracked in Studio 995, the session for “Went West” was about precision and performance. BabyChiefDoit came in with the full vision: he had already produced the beat alongside Questionizer and wanted the final product to hit with drama and clarity.

Isaiah was on deck to bring that energy from the booth to the board.

Isaiah’s Tracking Notes

Vocal Mic Setup

Babychiefdoit In Studio 995 Booth

“We used the Sony C800G. Chief has a gritty voice but still needed clarity. The C800 brought the right presence — cut through without sounding harsh.”

Mic: Sony C800G
Preamp: Neve 1073
Interface: Avid HDX system
Monitored with NS10s + Augspurger Mains

Mic Placement & Vocal Dynamics

“He has moments where he gets quiet then jumps into full power. I gave him room in the gain stage. Mic placement was slightly off-axis to reduce harsh plosives.”

Placed 8–10 inches from the mic
Pop filter angled slightly
Gain held back -4db from standard to allow for volume jumps

Headphone Mix

“He wanted to feel the drop in his headphones. I dialed in more low end than usual — just enough to give him that impact, especially when the horns came in.”

Vocals panned center
Beat: slight duck on mids to make room
High-pass filter on beat aux for clarity in the headphones

Tracking Layers

“He doubled the hook, ad-libs were done in one take. There’s a moment where he punches ‘I’m Kanye with the buttons’ — we layered that for emphasis.”

Doubled hook vocals
Whisper layer for “Went West” drop
Left raw ad-libs in background for edge

Isaiah’s Mixing Prep

“I didn’t do any major processing — just gave the next engineer a clean, dynamic take. My job was to not f*** it up.”

Clean print: No EQ or compression
Labeled takes: Verse1_Main, Verse1_DBL, Hook_Lead, Hook_ADL, FX
All takes aligned for instant drop-in mixability

Let’s Talk About That Beat

“Went West” lives in two worlds:

Intro — soft piano melody, cinematic tension
Drop — trap drums, sub-heavy 808s, horns like a score from a war movie

“I think what makes this beat special is the contrast. It creeps in, then smacks you. You don’t expect it to go that hard.” — Isaiah

Instrument	Description
🎹 Piano	Gentle, emotional. Sets a reflective tone.
🎺 Horns	Come in subtly, then layer up like a movie scene.
🥁 Drums	Tight trap kits, rolling hi-hats, snappy snares.
🔊 808 Bass	Deep and wide. Punches without distorting.
🛑 Silence	Used strategically — the pause before the drop makes it hit.

Isaiah’s Advice for Artists & Engineers

“Don’t chase volume — chase dynamics. If everything’s loud, nothing hits. Give your beat space to breathe and let the performance live.”

Engineer Tip: Always leave -6db headroom for your mix engineer. The louder your raw vocals are, the fewer options your mix engineer has later.

Artist Tip: Come into the session with a feel for when to double, when to whisper, and when to punch in. It’s not just about bars — it’s about how the bars move with the beat.

Final Thoughts

“Went West” wasn’t built to be background music. It’s a statement piece — a song that evolves like a film, with Isaiah’s engineering elevating it from raw idea to finished product.

At Patchwerk, we don’t just record — we help bring visions like this to life. Shout out to BabyChiefDoit for coming through ready, and salute to Isaiah Simmons for making sure nothing got lost in translation.