PRODUCER PROFILES


Needlz
Drugs, Basketball, and Rap
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You might confuse him as being just a simple college kid. Wearing an unassuming T-Shirt, keeping an Ipod permanently tucked in his pocket, and harboring a guiltless obsession for vintage records, it’s easy to assume that upcoming producer Khari “Needlz” Cain is just your average guy. Yet, after once listen to his musical arsenal and taking a look at his A-List clientele, it is clear that his unique sound has the hardiness of a veteran. And he’s just getting started.

In a time period when calling Hip-Hop formulaic is becoming cliché, Needlz challenges the musical boundaries by carving out his own identity within the dense landscape. His long string of production credits resembles a musical collage of Hip-Hop and R&B, morphing his own textured sound so that it fits seamlessly with that of the artist he is working with. His sound is malleable enough to transcend genres, labels, and categories, and has posed as the musical platform for a slew of industry heavyweights ranging from 50 Cent to Jermaine Durpi, Trina to Talib Kweli, Ludacris to Freeway all while staying true to his own distinctive style. Now how’s that for versatility?

Needlz’ signature high energy production is evident on his latest offering, “Let Me In”, the debut single from the southern-drawling G-Unit member, Young Buck. The instant anthem alternates chest-caving bass and stuttering percussion to produce a galactic high sound. The track exemplifies his “clean but dirty” rhythmic style, a phrase that he uses to describe his hybrid style of club-savvy edginess and clean razor-sharp production.

Needlz also gained acclaim for the infectious single “Think Ya’ll Know” from Fabolous’ third album, More Street Dreams 2. The track has a mantra-like melodic line that floats effortlessly above the hypnotizing hook. With exploding chords and synchronized strings, the cut became an instant mix-tape favorite and blurred the boundaries of high commercialism and gritty street bangers. In fact, Needlz’ beats often straddle the very narrow line between widespread appeal and underground acclaim, a unique range that can be heard blaring from college dorms to Cadillac Escalades.

The Lansing, Michigan native developed a love for music at an early age from his father, a jazz buff that kept John Coltrane and Charles Mingus in constant rotation. Inspired to leave his own mark on the musical scene, Needlz began Djing and packed up to attend Florida A&M University where he became a permanent fixture at parties and local clubs. With a firm understanding on how to make crowds gravitate to the dance floor, Needlz fueled his passion to get behind the boards by moving to New York to pursue a graduate degree in music industry management at NYU. He utilized an internship at Bad Boy Entertainment as a testing ground for his production talent and caught the ear of former A&R executive, Folayan Knight. Impressed by his distinctive sound and the infectious personality of his tracks, Knight began to manage the young producer and helped usher his music into the industry spotlight.

Since the management collaboration, Needlz has provided blockbuster tracks to the likes of Redman, Drag-On, the G-Unit, and most recently, Rich-Boy (Interscope Records’ upcoming artist), as well as a host of other music industry heavyweights. With the establishment of his production company, Dry Rain Entertainment, and a growing musical palette of singles garnering strong radio support, Needlz is forging his way into an elite circle of beat crafters, and doing it all while ignoring the paint by number musical trend that is currently arresting the music industry. “So many artists feel that they have to have one street record, a club anthem, and a few radio tracks to make an album successful. I want to create music that inspires artists to push beyond the boundaries of current music. You can’t create history just by replicating the past,” he asserts while bobbing his head to his latest concoction. “You always have to keep pushing the needle forward.”


Baby Grand aka Grand 2Gz
On The Go
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A DJ first, Baby Grand adopted his a/k/a in homage to the turntable “Grandmasters” who had come before. Beat making became a logical extension of his love for DJing as he began to take a keen interest in sample-based production. The son of a jazz drummer and record enthusiast from Harlem, Grand began to connect the dots between some early hip-hop works and his dad’s LP collection. It was through DJing and his simultaneously emerging love for old records that Grand began to understand the hip-hop producers’ method early on, though he would not make the transition to full-fledged producer for several years.

Flash forward to June of 2004 -- Jadakiss releases “Kiss of Death” which debuts as the #1 record in the country. Baby Grand’s melodious “By Your Side” is track #13 and is Kiss’s self-professed favorite of the album -- a street classic. The following week, Lloyd Banks releases “The Hunger For More,” which also debuts at #1. Grand’s sinister blues, “Die One Day,” is again, coincidentally, track #13. Both productions are greeted with acclaim and mark this beatsmith’s official foray into the professional game.


Olu
Harlem On My Mind
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Before he was old enough to have a driver's license, Olu was fortunate enough to have worked with musical luminaries like Leonard Bernstein, Ray Charles,  Placido Domingo, and Roberta Flack. With music as the facilitator, he had already come into contact with such cultural icons as Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Bill Cosby, and Coretta Scott King.?During his adolescent and teenage years, Olu was a member of several musical organizations, most notably the Boys' Choir of Harlem, and the Metropolitan Opera Company. Also during these years, however, Olu was captivated by Hip Hop, and growing up in East Harlem, five blocks from the south Bronx in the 1980's made it all but impossible for him to sleep on what would become the biggest cultural and commercial phenomena since Rock & Roll. While growing up a b-boy, the Funk, Soul, and Rock from the '70's still echoed through project hallways, and refrigerator- sized speakers at the local block parties.?He also traveled extensively. Japan, Great Britain, The Netherlands, Scandinavia, The U.S.S.R., and West Africa, all before he was 21. Sensitivity to his surroundings allowed him to absorb social subtleties in various cultures, appreciating the differences, but more importantly the similarities of all the people, and music he came across.?In 1999, he released his debut album, "Soul Catcher" to worldwide critical acclaim. Since then, he's collaborated with musicians and producers as varied as his own sensibilities. From Stuart Matthewman, producer/ saxophonist for Sade, to Scott Storch. ?In cooperation with The Marksmen, Olu has done commercial music and video work for clients like Nike, BET, Coca- Cola, MTV, and Verizon.
His most recent album, the independently released “Beautiful Place”, continues to receive critical acclaim the world over. His own Soulful blend of his influences and himself, Vibe magazine said “Whether singing about love or drug addiction, Olu makes you feel like everything is gonna be alright”.?Olu’s album “Beautiful Place” is available at: ?http://www.olumusic.com/, and http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/olu


Lez Lemon
BET 106th and Park Theme
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Ask Lez why he's been driving for only three years and he'll tell you with one word, Music! "I'm constantly nodding, humming or playing hand drums my every waking moment. I was afraid if I started driving  I wouldn't be able to fully concentrate on the road because of my constant composing." This son of an R&B drummer began playing guitar, bass and drums at age 13. Bass guitar became his main instrument which led to recording and touring with artists such as Joe, Simply Red and currently The Family Stand. ? Even though Lez loves to perform live he caught the production bug in 1999. During that time he had a chance to refine his skills learning how to fuse Hip Hop, R&B, Rock, Rap and Alternative music. Lez later became part of the Marksmen network where he's been able to crank out remixes , numerous commercials and TV shows for clients like BET, Burger King, Sony and others..? Lez loves production because "your beats become an extension of your personality".


Samantha Powell
Dr. Phil
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Samantha left her small hometown of Pontypool in South Wales at the age of 16 to go to the British School of performing arts. After graduating she signed a record deal with RCA records. After four years of hard graft between London, New York and Los Angeles (working alongside the talents of David Gamson, Me'shell Ndegeocello, Case, Rob Bacon, Leon Ware, Wah Wah Watson, Mike Ciro, Delouie Avant) she honed her craft as a songwriter / producer and took a break from the artist role to write and produce for other artists.

Jaha Johnson of Def Jam Records gave Sammy her first break on the Terri Walker album 'Untitled' where she was given the budget and artistic license to produce tracks exactly as she envisioned. (It's All Good, 'What Will I Do') This set the precedent of things to come. Sammy Jay went on to produce, write and vocal produce for, and with, artists such as Mis-teeq (earning her a platinum disc in 2001), Mark Morrison, Jamelia, Kele Le Roc, Sticky, Ed Case, Rod Stewart, Raphael Saadiq, Gerry Brown, Satomi, Scratch from the Roots, Colin Emmanuel, Daniel Debourg, Natalie Williams among many others. Most recently Sammy Jay has written, produced and executive produced 8 out of 11 tracks on Terri Walker's 3rd album on Dekkor Records, 'I Am', quoted by Music Week as "One of the finest R&B albums of the year".

Volkano Music is the production company that Sammy has formed with producer/manager Sly Marsh and is home to the UK's next hottest star - Shawn Stacey. With in-house studios SAS Studios is a constant hive of activity where some of the UK's hottest music is being created in genres across the board from RnB and HipHop, to Rock and Emo to DanceHall to House and Electro. With all this under her belt Sammy went back to her roots as an artist and formed the Rock outfit ILLIYUN, where she is the lead singer and writer. Check them out on www.myspace.com/illiyun Current projects include ILLIYUN, Scratch from the Roots, Shawn Stacey, Satomi, vocal coaching for Ch4 reality show. USP - Sammy Jay (also known as Samantha Powell) is one of the very few female producers out there in a hugely male dominated playing field, but folks seem to like it!


Kwiz
Wifey
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Kevin Ryan aka Kwiz, is a music producer specializing in composing, songwriting, sound engineering, and programming. He has produced records as well as composed music for major and independent record labels and television.  He started playing drums at the age of 9 and studied drums and percussion for 11 years. Along the way he taught himself keyboards and bass. His first major label production was in 1989 following with his first major label production deal in 1994. He has been composing and producing music that range from hip-hop to alternative rock. Because he's well versed in different musical genres as well as an accomplished recording engineer, he's known for bringing the best performances out of artists and musicians, as well as providing state of the art recordings and mixes.
He’s produced/recorded/mixed/composed/remixed/programmed for Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Busta Rhymes T.I., Ciara, The Earth Gyrlz, Jeff Redd, Tashan, Raven Simone, The Good Fellas, The Family Stand, Sandra St.Victor, Mark Batson, Slick Rick, Delouie Avante jr, Tanya Fly, Neycha, Dr. AMA, Dead Broke, Neph E. Neph, I II V, and 7.O.D. He's also composed theme music for HBO, ESPN, and ABC, and has done various production work for Capitol, MCA, Universal, Columbia, Avatar/A&M, Sutra, Tu Da Beat (indie), Lucy Kool (indie) and Smoke/Universal record labels.  


Martín Perna
Divinorum
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MARTIN PERNA
Martín Perna is a composer/producer/multi-instrumentalist of Italian and Mexican background, living and working in Austin, Tejas and Brooklyn, New York. He is founder of the groups Antibalas and Ocote Soul Sounds, and was an original member of Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings from 1996-2001.

He is a contributing member to TV on the Radio and has performed and/or recorded with Burning Spear, Baaba Maal, Sinead O’Connor, Medeski, Martin and Wood, among many others.

His most recent projects include TV on the Radio’s “Return To Cookie Mountain,” (Interscope 2006) Antibalas “Security,” (ANTI 2007) Ocote Soul Sounds “El Niño y El Sol” (ESL 2006), and Ocote Soul Sounds “Electric Tides (Ocote Soul Media 2006).

Principal instruments: Alto flute, soprano flute, tenor and baritone saxophones, shekere. Also: guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion.


Negus I
These sounds
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After completing the Recording Course at The Institute of Audio Research in New York in 1983, David returned to Jamaica to start his musical career. As a staff engineer at Dynamic Sounds he acquired the experience of working with many great reggae legends of the time, Sly and Robbie, Willie Lindo, Geoffrey Chung and Steven Stanley to name a few. He recorded vocals for Black Uhuru's Anthem (Jamaicas first reggae Grammy Award) and many other musical legends like Delroy Wilson. After a couple months of being a staff engineer, David went in live sound reinforcement and travelled the world doing support for many Reggae acts and Tours. Around 1986, David eventually settled down into the New York Studio scene as a free lance engineer recording and mixing for alot of the new hiphop lables at the time, like DefJam,Tommy Boy and Uptown Records Over the next 20 years David amassed quite a discography and a collection of awards and a Grammy nomination. Working with the producers of such stellar acts like George Clinton, he eventually started producing acts himself (Patra - Dip and Fall Back). David moved to Jamaica in 2004 and built Cedarhilldigital, a ProTools based recording studio and started his own independent label Intelek Entertainment and is presently producing local Hip-Hop and R&B acts.


The Ratt Pakk
Good Money
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The Ratt Pakk was started in 2004 by its members HirOshima, Kasper, and Bastiany. The three chose a name that would stand out from the rest, as well as describe them collectively. The original Rat Pack was a group of talented and entertaining individuals, mainly Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, and Dean Martin. They took the music and entertainment industry by storm in the late 50's to the early 70's. This is what the New Ratt Pakk is determined to do. With their uniqueness as a group and as individuals, this group of 3 talented friends is sure to make an impact on the music world. They are Jerseys Finest, The Ratt Pakk.

The team has a slew of commercial and recording industry placements but now they turn their pursuits to independent production and promotion of their 1st artist "Aloha". Combining 60's & 70's soul sensibilities with today's percussion thump, Aloha looks to bring the Pakk some good money.


Artist: Juelz Santana Album: What the Games Been Missing Song: This is Me Rec. Company: Def Jam/Roc-A-Fella

Rockstar Video Games SONY - Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition

Artist: Teairra Mari Album: Teairra Mari Song: You Better Recognize Rec. Company: Def Jam/Roc-A-Fella International

Artist: Camron & The Diplomats Album: Diplomatic Immunity Song: The 1st Rec. Company: Def Jam/Roc-A-Fella

Artist: Lil Mo Album: Meet The Girl Next Door Song: 1st Time, So Lost without You, Get Over It, Its Your World Rec. Company: Elektra

Artist : Dwele Album: Subject Song: Hold On Rec. Company: Virgin

Artist: Nas feat. Bravehearts Album: Bravehearted Song: Situations Rec. Company: Sony/Ill Will

Artist: Syleena Johnson Album: The Voice Song: Faithful To You, Now That I Got You Rec. Company: Jive

Artist: 112 Album: Room 112 Song: Funny Feelings Rec. Company: Bad Boy

Artist: X-Ecutioners Album: Revouultions Song: Sucka Thank He Could Whoop Me? Rec. Company: Sony Urban

HIP HOP HONEYS DVD Album : "Tasty Flavors" Song: Rec. Company: GAME

VISIT THE RATT PAKK


Angola Red
ANGOLA RED BEAT
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Born in New York in 1970, Kimson Albert's artistic journey has taken many paths, encompassing the worlds of film, animation, and music. A 1992 graduate of NYU's Film School, Kimson quickly landed a spot at MTV Animation in 1993. Kimson's four year stint there produced some mighty prodigious work. He was an animator for the legendary "Beavis and Butthead" series and has since been directing and producing animation on various animated projects for the web and cable, most recently Cartoon Network's "The Venture Bros." to debut in summer 2004. Kimson's musical history parallels his 10 years in the animation industry. He cut his musical teeth in early 1994 honing his ear for hiphop on the sp1200. He considers it the ultimate hiphop instrument. "If rock has the guitar, hiphop has the sp1200." Soon, his passion for production attracted the ears of people around him.

Artists & Brands: MTV Downtown, Cartoon Network's Venture Brothers, "Breath Control" the History Of The Beat Box, Olu


C-L.O.
Good Look Def
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Been making beats since 1996. Long story short...Had a fly whip, hooked-up to the max (even won an award from MOMO that's in the showroom at the rim shop I was working at named Action Tire). Wanted to make beats pretty bad at the time though but had no dough for equip. Sold my car, went to Sam Ashe the next day and bought my MPC3000 and pretty much deaded my whole social life altogether. Worked very hard and slept very little. Really took alot of time out to read books my MP manual and listen to alot of great music to find out what cats were doing back in the day and what it was that was catching my ear and getting me so amped. I was basically in sponge-mode, absorbing any and everything that had to do with music. Thank God I have learned alot since then, and from alot of good people too. Was fortunate enough to get up with Mark Hines and the Marksmen Guerilla Production Network. Hardwork pays off. We're now seeing the fruits of our labor. Nowadays, I'm ready for anything that comes my way musically... Songs, TV, ads, videogames, ringtones, whatever!!...Let's get it poppin'.


Kasper Trax
Freedom
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In 1983, Scott “Kasper” Gaddy heard a sound blaring from a boom box at his PS. 84 elementary school in NYC that changed the course of his life forever. That sound was Grand Master Flash’s “White Lines” and since that day Hip-Hop culture has been a focal point of Kasper’s reality. After B-Boying in his younger years he moved to Englewood, NJ where he ironically ended up living across the street from the Robinson family who were the creators of Sugar Hill Records. He began to experiment with rapping, graffiti and choreography. He went on to perform with his four-man crew, New Sound Production at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. At the Apollo, he competed on Ralph Cooper’s amateur night, winning his high school talent show three years consecutively, and exciting audiences all over the Tri-State who emphatically cheered “Go White boy, Go White boy.”
After high school the group disbanded but Kasper was fascinated by music production so began his production career from the ground up. He began grinding away day and night on an eight track and sampler, then moved to an MPC-60II and Roland XP-50 and eventually graduated to rocking with a G4 Powerbook equipped with Reason and DP. He found his first success in 1999 with Donell Jones, performing the task of drum programming on the album “Where I Wanna Be.” In 2000 he worked closely with Def Jam artist, Lady Luck, who was creating her first album. The project never saw the light of day but the experience was invaluable to his growth. “By working with Luck I got to meet and vibe with some of the most influential people in the game. Eric Sermon and Lyor Cohen validated my skills, Rockwilder guided me towards humility and never to limit my creativity, DJ Enuff drilled me to understand that my material had to be flawless to receive recognition consistently, and Kevin Lyles taught me that this is a business, don’t take it personal.”
After Luck was released in 2001, Kasper teamed up with DJ Enuff and met moderate achievements with a number of independent singles and remixes. “We never had a hit, but hearing records on the radio that I produced inspired me to continue my quest for music success, I knew I had talent, it was only a matter of when and how.” In 2002 Enuff and Kasper went their separate ways and what started as a small break from the industry became a two-year moment of introspection and self-evaluation. “I was tired of the stress we all deal with in this game and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to contribute to the “genocide” music rap has become. I left the states and traveled across India and Europe. I meditated in the forests of Maharashtra and viewed London from the Eye. I mingled with people of all races and backgrounds, embraced a larger world of music and theory, and began to realize the big small world we live is meant to be enjoyed by all. I felt inspired and uplifted and knew I had to get home and see what life had in store for me.”
Upon his return in 2005 Kasper established a new production company, The Ratt Pakk, with two talented and sound producers Hiro and Mr. Bastiany. They landed music on Juelz Santana’s “What the Games Been Missing”, Rockstar’s “Midnight Club 3”, National TV adds for Ford and Nike and are currently in label negotiations for their first artist, Aloha. He continued to grow his relationship with Mark Hines and the Marksmen, a multi faceted team of technologically advanced and musically gifted producers under a mantle of free thinking collaborations. “The family I work with now has similar insights and looks to bring positive vibes with musical integrity to the game. I really believe music has an evolutionary influence, and I am honored to be a part of such enlightened movements. 2007 is God’s year. My mantra is stay humble and work hard, the rest will take care of itself.”


Mr. Khaliyl
Anything Instr.
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Founded by A. Khaliyl Dillon, a former member of the iconic hip hop trio "The Bush Babees" Monster Truck Audio has grown from a one man production entity to an international media enterprise. Boasting a stellar track record in the music industry since 1993, Monster Truck Audio has been instrumental in the development of the careers of many of today's top names in music. Focusing initially on production, songwriting and artist development, Monster Truck Audio's credit sheet reads like the yellow pages of the music world. Having written, produced, and recorded with a plethora of artists such as Res, Mos Def, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Amerie, Talib Kweli, Beanie Man, Tigah, Jagged Edge, Shawna of DTP (Infamous Syndicate), Jermaine Dupri, Killah Priest, Busta Rhymes, Stat Quo, Akon, Rahzel of the Roots, Bush Babees, Pharoahe Monche, and Chip Fu (and the list continues to grow), we've built our brand from the 'underground' up…literally. In this race to be the strongest and fastest Monster Truck Audio has officially taken the lead.