Beyond the recording and technical work, the mark of a great engineer like Phillip “Prince” Lynah Jr. is adapting to an artists’ habits. Lynah has worked with greats like GloRilla, Usher, Boyz II Men, and Kirk Franklin, to name a few, and he knows what it takes to lock in.

“[K. Michelle] doesn’t like people in the studio. At first, I thought she was being a celebrity. But, she doesn’t want to be distracted by a person coming in and the side conversation turning into something that gets us off task,” Lynah tells REVOLT. “If she doesn't want you in her studio, you’re gonna hear about it. You’re gonna absolutely hear about it because we are here to work.”

In this installment of “Studio Sessions,” the Grammy-winning engineer explains what it was like working with Usher and GloRilla on back-to-back Thanksgivings, how Rock City helped his career, and what it was like working with legends Keke Palmer and Justin Bieber as teenagers. Get into the exclusive chat below.

Who was the first major artist you worked with in the studio that made you feel like you made it?

I worked with Keke Palmer on her very first album. I think that was a cool album. She still had a momager that was still really involved in the process. Keke had amazing vocals from the beginning.

What’s one of your most memorable sessions?

What sticks close to the heart are the ones that my parents would be proud of. I got to be in the studio with Boyz II Men, and in another session, I was with Kirk Franklin. If it's songwriting, Boyz II Men lay their melodies down and figure out what they want to do inside the studio. When they go in the booth, it's time to lay it down. That’s how people originally made music, as opposed to how a lot of the creation nowadays is in the booth off the top of the dome.

Didn’t you also record Justin Bieber for his song “Runaway Love”?

Yep, that was early Justin Bieber (laughs). That session happened because of Rock City. That was when Ray Daniels was still managing them. They wrote the record. That was the weirdest session because that was the first time I was in the studio with the celebrity, but not the writer or the producer. He didn't have a big entourage. It was him, his mom, and Scooter Braun at Icon Studios in Atlanta. He walked in, I loaded the track up, and he already knew the song. I had the demo just so he could reference it. He was killing it on vocals. I didn't have to give him anything. He was ad-libbing like crazy. We just picked which ones he liked.

We usually learn from our mistakes. What was one you made with an artist that helped you later in your career?

I was at an Usher session. Usher was in the booth, and we couldn’t get the mic to work. I never saw the studio before. They just told me to show up. It took me like 40-50 minutes to figure it out. So, I had to really study up on the mechanics of how rooms work, in general, to not have that happen again. It doesn't feel good when the whole room is waiting on you (laughs).

What is something important you’ve learned from your work with legends like Usher, Missy Elliott, and others?

A lot of times, people kill themselves on these demos trying to sound better than the artist they’re sending it to. What happens is you can almost intimidate the artist you’re sending it to because they're like, “Yo, this song's so dope. I don't think I can do what buddy did on the demo.” I learned that from Theron [Thomas].

What are some of the most impressive things you’ve seen done?

Timothy and Theron [Thomas] of Rock City did the entire Black Beatles Mixtape in one day. That was 12 songs. All we had were beats at the beginning of the day. It was like 11 in the morning. By 11 that night, we were listening to the entire mixtape.

You’ve also worked with some of the funniest artists, including Queen Naija and K. Michelle. What does that humor look like in the studio?

K. Michelle is exactly who you see. I've worked with her since ’09. She was one of the first big artists. She gets to work. She doesn’t like people in the studio. At first, I thought she was being a celebrity. But, she doesn’t want to be distracted by a person coming in and the side conversation turning into something that gets us off task. If she doesn't want you in her studio, you’re gonna hear about it. You’re gonna absolutely hear about it because we are here to work. Queen was very instrumental in the creation process. She always would say how she wanted the beat and melody to go. She was really instrumental in that. She definitely made you feel comfortable by laughing and joking. Then she gets down to work.

Have there been any personal sacrifices you made in order to record an artist?

Last year, I was getting prepared to go see my folks for Thanksgiving in South Carolina... to eat good, celebrate family and friends, and all that jazz. Then, I got a text that said, “GloRilla at 8 tomorrow.” I was like, “But tomorrow's Thanksgiving.” He was like, “Yeah, GloRilla at 8 tomorrow” (laughs). The funny thing is I had to do the same thing with Usher the Thanksgiving before that. He wanted to get in. For Glo, it was just me, her, Aaron, and a few others.

She doesn't really travel with a lot of people. When she’s there to work, it's only a few people in the room. I didn't have to deal with a whole crowd of people. We came there for a purpose. That's the other side of the sacrifice. You're still gonna be a part of something that's great. That was also after dinner (laughs).

What do you have planned for 2025?

More records. I got lucky enough to be nominated for and win a Grammy this year. I want more of that. I want to keep working. I want to keep grinding. I want to keep putting out good music.