In 2014, Bronx native Joe Maldonado threw away his union card to focus on his music career.
His coworkers at his construction job said he was crazy. After all, Maldonado made good money in the more than a decade he spent building skyscrapers in Manhattan, but he had a vision to create a recording studio accessible to local artists in the Bronx.
Maldonado brought his vision to life with Contrackz Recording Studio, a creative sanctuary in the East Bronx for established and independent artists alike. Since then, Maldonado has helped propel Bronx-based artists into successful careers as a producer and sound engineer, even working on the Grammy-winning Reggae album “Colors of Royal” by Julian Marley.
But Maldonado is no overnight success story, his accomplishments were hard-won over decades of work and sacrifice.
“I saved every single penny,” Maldonado said. “I walked to the train station for two miles and back seven days a week, every single day.”
Maldonado was always a fan of music – he had an ear for it. Around 2000, he started dabbling in production, helping friends produce music at studios in Manhattan. Eventually, studio space became so expensive that Maldonado decided to buy a microphone and start recording with his friends at home.
It wasn’t long until the music they were making got some attention and through word of mouth, more and more people started connecting with Maldonado and asking him to record their music.
“Before you know it, there were a little bit too many people that wanted to come to my house,” said Maldonado. “So, I figured I’d need to get a different space.”
But building a recording studio requires a significant investment. In addition to the cost of the space, Maldonado needed to purchase more equipment and hire someone for the construction. He spent over a year saving every dollar he could.
“Trust me, it was many, many, many weeks and months that I was just eating soup,” Maldonado said.
Even after saving enough to start the studio, Maldonado faced another challenge—he had no prior experience owning or working in a recording studio. There were no blueprints on how to achieve his dream. Success or failure, Maldonado had to figure it out on his own.
“Things were rough because I didn’t have enough clients to pay my bills,” Maldonado said. “So, it was a hectic first few years to get up and running and rolling and stuff.”
Maldonado had finally started his business but making it sustainable still required sacrifice. At one point, Maldonado started sleeping in the studio so he could save on rent. Like before, word of Maldonado’s talent spread, and eventually Contrackz Recording Studio started to thrive.
Longtime collaborator and friend Alexx Antaeus, owner of Harlem-based record label Monom, said that Maldonado’s input has been invaluable.
“I wouldn’t release any music unless it went through Joe’s ears first,” Antaeus said. “That’s how much I trust his ears.”
Antaeus described Maldonado as a kind of conduit for creative vision, helping others bring that vision to life.
“The way Joe approaches things, it’s not about money,” Antaeus said. “It’s about allowing artists to discover what they want to achieve and helping them get there.”
Maldonado has worked on albums for famous artists like Julian Marley and hosted Bronx legend Fat Joe at Contrackz, but he is quick to talk about the up-and-coming artists out of the Bronx and the ones who are starting to see success.
“The new one that got signed and is doing her thing is Connie Diiamond,” Maldonado said. “She used to work out of my studio also coming up before she got signed.”
Diiamond, who signed with Def Jam Records, has over 100,000 monthly Spotify listeners. Her top song, “Ghetto and Ratchet – Remy Ma Remix” has almost 3 million streams.
Rapper Ron Suno from Co-op city has recorded out of Contrackz Recording Studio. Maldonado says that he recorded and mixed his hit song “Pinnocchio” prior to the rapper signing with a record label.
For Maldonado, the creative process has a synergistic effect, and he tries to make Contrackz Recording Studio a place where artists and creatives can come together to make each other better, bounce ideas off each other, and come up with something unexpected.
“It’s a creative family,” said Maldonado. “That’s what I prefer my studio to be.”
