Justus West has made a massive splash in both the guitar world and the music industry at large – and while he might not be a household name (just yet), he’s worked with heavy hitters such as Mac Miller, John Legend, ThunderCat, Ariana Grande, Alicia Keys, and Snoop Dogg.
Not only that, he also happens to be one of John Mayer’s favorite contemporary guitarists.
As the guitarist shares with SANGO, he was once performing at LA’s Hotel Café with Mac Miller, when he glanced at the crowd and saw none other than John Mayer standing at the end of one of the rows, appreciating his guitar work.
After the show, Mayer approached West and raved about his performance, referencing specific guitar parts he particularly enjoyed. He also revealed that West is one of his favorite guitarists – a statement the rising guitar star shared on social media, to which Mayer replied, “True story.”
Recently, West continued adding to his bulging list of accolades with a contribution to Beyoncé's country-inspired album Cowboy Carter, playing on the single 16 Carriages.
“As soon as I heard the demo version of the song, I knew it would be crucial to add rock elements on the chorus to really emphasize the scale of the song,” he told Guitar World.
“Also, with all the songs on this album paying homage to Black American music, the blend of genres was also a worthy and needed addition. Honestly, the brief in my mind was to make this song as epic as possible.”
West also described the moment he received the highly coveted call, which came via the song's producer.
“I had actually worked with Dave Hamelin, the producer of this song, previously on an artist named 070Shake. He felt I could be an instrumental piece in helping him put this Beyonce song together as well.
“The recording session was a lot of fun. I was in the studio with Ink [producer, songwriter, and guitarist Atia Boggs] and Dave until the sun started rising working on this jam!” he concludes.
