K-Salaam

Last updated

K-Salaam (born Kayvon Sarfehjooy on 1977 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian-born American producer, turntablist, and educator. At age three, his family moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota where he was raised for most of his childhood. He then moved to New York City to pursue a career in music. He currently resides in Vancouver, BC. He is of Iranian heritage.

Contents

Career

After releasing two critically acclaimed mixtapes The Hands of Time [1] and Real DJs Do Real Things [2] he joined with Beatnick (born Nick Phillips in 1986) to form Beatnick & K-Salaam Productions. Their first album, The World Is Ours, was released on August 25, 2006 [3] through their own label. The album was then re-released by VP Records / Universal as Whose World is This in 2008. Featured on this release were a number of prolific underground hip hop artists, such as: Mos Def, Dead Prez, Papoose, Saigon and Talib Kweli, and reggae artists such as Capleton, Sizzla, Luciano and Anthony B. [4] [5] The music fuses reggae and hip hop, and incorporates socially conscious themes.

Beatnick & K-Salaam Productions went on to produce more albums as well as songs for internationally acclaimed artists such as: Keane, [6] Trey Songz, K’naan, Talib Kweli, Lil Wayne, Bun B, [7] Lowkey, Sizzla, Nas, Freddie Gibbs, Buju Banton, Junior Reid, Hollywood Undead, Collie Buddz, Tech N9ne, Femi Kuti and many more. The duo traveled to Brazil and produced Emicida’s entire album, Doozicabraba e a Revolução Silenciosa, released in 2011, resulting in Emicida receiving Brazil's MTV's 2011 Artist of the Year Award. [8]

The team also produced more songs with Emicida, as well as all of the songs on: Murs & Fashawn's album This Generation (2012), [9] Rael's Ainda Bem Que Eu Segui as Batidas do Meu Coração , and Smif-n-Wessun’s Born and Raised (2013). Moreover, from 2011 - 2013, the duo did sound design for Lauryn Hill. [10] - Creating custom made synth sounds & samples for the keyboard player & Drummer for her live shows.

In 2016, Beatnick & K-Salaam Productions went on to score music for NBC's coverage of the Olympic Games. [11] Their music has been featured in multiple video games, TV shows, & commercials.

K-Salaam's production skills and expertise are sought after by music professionals throughout the world, in which he has taught at various Vice TV music production seminars in Brazil, & New York's Scratch Academy, as well as Berklee College of Music in Boston. He also taught at the Inst. of Audio Research for 4 years, before the school shut down, and he teaches his own customized course “The Virtual Producer” every Summer at NYU's

Clive Davis School of Recorded Music in New York City. [12] K-Salaam also teaches and co-runs a Music Production & Audio Engineer Program (MTD) at Douglas College in Vancouver, BC.

Related Research Articles

Tony Cottrell, better known as Hi-Tek, is an American rapper and record producer from Cincinnati, Ohio. He is best known for his work with Talib Kweli. His father is singer Willie Cottrell of the Willie Cottrell Band, whom Hi-Tek featured on his second album, Hi-Teknology 2.

Reflection Eternal is an American hip hop duo composed of emcee Talib Kweli and producer Hi-Tek. They released their first album, Train of Thought, in 2000. They have since released a mixtape, The RE: Union, in late December 2009, and their second album Revolutions Per Minute was released May 18, 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murs (rapper)</span> American rapper from California

Nicholas Neil Carter, better known by his stage name Murs, is an American rapper. His name is an acronym for which he himself has created multiple meanings, such as "Making the Universe Recognize and Submit" or "Making Underground Raw Shit."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oh No (musician)</span> American rapper and record producer from California

Michael Woodrow Jackson, known professionally as Oh No, is an American rapper and record producer who has released several albums on Stones Throw Records. He is half of the hip hop duo Gangrene along with The Alchemist. He is also half of the hip-hop duo The Professionals with his brother Madlib.

<i>Eardrum</i> (album) 2007 studio album by Talib Kweli

Eardrum is the third studio album by American hip hop artist Talib Kweli. The album was released on August 21, 2007, by Blacksmith Records and Warner Bros. Records. The album features guest appearances from Res, Jean Grae, UGK, Raheem DeVaughn, Roy Ayers, Kanye West, Norah Jones, Coi Mattison, Lyfe Jennings, will.i.am, Sa-Ra, KRS-One, Musiq Soulchild, Strong Arm Steady, Sizzla, Justin Timberlake and Marsha Ambrosius.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duck Down Music</span> American record label

Duck Down Music Inc is a New York City based record label, talent management, music-marketing, and consulting company founded by Drew "Dru-Ha" Friedman and Kenyatta "Buckshot" Blake in 1995. In Duck Down's 20-year existence, the Company has released over 40 albums and sold more than 3 million collective copies worldwide. Home of established hip hop artists such as Boot Camp Clik, Pharoahe Monch, Black Rob, 9th Wonder, KRS-One, B-Real of Cypress Hill, The Away Team, Statik Selektah, Random Axe, Promise, David Dallas, Marco Polo, Ruste Juxx, Torae, Blue Scholars, Special Teamz and Kidz in the Hall.

Todd Angkasuwan is a Thai-American music video and documentary film director.

Joel Astman, known professionally as J.Period, is a Brooklyn-based Mixtape DJ, remixer and hip-hop producer. He is best known for producing official mixtape collaborations with Q-Tip, John Legend, Nas, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, Lauryn Hill, the Roots, the Isley Brothers and Mary J. Blige, and an "audio-biography" style that incorporates personal interviews with these artists into his “Best of” compilations. His original production and remixes have also recently appeared in film trailers for Universal Pictures' American Gangster (2007) and Fox Searchlight's Street Kings (2008). In November 2008, J.Period became the first DJ/producer commissioned by Activision to score and produce an entire video game soundtrack, Tony Hawk's Motion for Nintendo DS.

U-N-I are a hip hop duo from Inglewood, Los Angeles, consisting of Y-O and Thurzday.

Santiago Leyva, known by his stage name Fashawn, is an American hip hop recording artist from Fresno, California. He first gained major attention after releasing his debut album Boy Meets World in 2009, which was produced entirely by Exile. The album received critical acclaim and landed him on the cover of XXL Magazine's Top 10 Freshmen issue in 2010. Since then, Fashawn has collaborated with other artists and producers such as Nas, J. Cole, Wiz Khalifa, Evidence, Murs, Aloe Blacc, Blu, Big Mike, Brother Ali, The Alchemist, and 9th Wonder. In 2014, Fashawn performed the entrance theme to WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley's rematch against Manny Pacquiao.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D Prosper</span> Musical artist

D. (Derick) Prosper began his career as a poet on the NPS National Poetry Slam circuit. He won several regional competitions and featured on the 1994 Providence Poetry Slam Team. D. Prosper was the youngest poet featured on the tour. He ranked fourth in the nation at the NPS finals in Asheville, North Carolina. Prosper was also featured in respected publication Fast Folk Music Magazine. He eventually earned a coveted spot on the 1994 Lollapalooza Tour D. Prosper's love of spoken word poetry ignited his passion for hip-hop music.

<i>The Wonder Years</i> (9th Wonder album) 2011 studio album by 9th Wonder

The Wonder Years is the fourth studio album by American record producer 9th Wonder. It was released on September 27, 2011 through his own label It's a Wonderful World Music Group. Recording sessions took place at Khrysis' Crib, at the Peanut Gallery in Raleigh, North Carolina, at Brightlady Studios, and at Record Plant in Los Angeles. Production was handled entirely by 9th Wonder himself, who also served as executive producer. It features guest appearances from Terrace Martin, Median, Phonte, Actual Proof, Big Remo, Bird & The Midnight Falcons, Blu, Erykah Badu, Fashawn, GQ, Halo, Heather Victoria, Holly Weerd, Kendrick Lamar, Khrysis, King Mez, Mac Miller, Marsha Ambrosius, Masta Killa, MeLa Machinko, Murs, Problem, Raekwon, Rapsody, Skyzoo, Talib Kweli, Tanya Morgan, Thee Tom Hardy and Warren G. The album peaked at number 76 on the Billboard 200 in the United States.

<i>I Love Life, Thank You</i> 2011 mixtape by Mac Miller

I Love Life, Thank You is the sixth mixtape by American recording artist Mac Miller. In 2011, Miller started the "Road 2 a Million Fans" series, during which he released a new song for every 100,000 Twitter followers he accumulated. On October 14, 2011, he released I Love Life, Thank You upon reaching one million followers. Seven of the thirteen tracks on the mixtape had previously been released throughout the course of the series. On July 22, 2022, the mixtape was re-released to all streaming services.

<i>Prisoner of Conscious</i> 2013 studio album by Talib Kweli

Prisoner of Conscious is the fifth solo studio album by American rapper Talib Kweli. The album was released on May 7, 2013. The album features guest appearances from Nelly, Miguel, Currensy, Kendrick Lamar, Marsha Ambrosius, Busta Rhymes and Ryan Leslie along with production by RZA, Boi-1da, Harry Fraud, S1, Terrace Martin, Oh No, and J. Cole among others.

<i>Gravitas</i> (Talib Kweli album) 2013 studio album by Talib Kweli

Gravitas is the sixth solo studio album by American rapper Talib Kweli. The album was released on December 15, 2013, by Javotti Media. The album was released exclusively through Talib Kweli's website. The album features guest appearances from Gary Clark Jr., Abby Dobson, Big K.R.I.T., Raekwon, The Underachievers, Black Thought, Rah Digga and Mike Posner among others. With production coming from Oh No, Khrysis, Statik Selektah, Rich Kidd and J Dilla among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyle Rapps</span> American rapper

Kyle Sutton, better known by his stage name Kyle Rapps, is an American hip hop artist from New York City.

<i>This Generation</i> (Murs and Fashawn album) 2012 studio album by Murs and Fashawn

This Generation is a collaboration album by American hip hop recording artists Murs and Fashawn, released on September 25, 2012 under Duck Down Music Inc. Production for the album was handled by the duo Beatnick & K-Salaam. Music videos were filmed for the singles "Slash Gordan", "This Generation", and "64 Impala".

Hostile Gospel is a two Part edition song by American hip hop artist Talib Kweli. The song was released as the second video from his studio album, Eardrum (2007). Part 1 was produced by American hip hop producer Just Blaze. Hostile Gospel Part 2 was produced by American hip hop producer DJ Khalil and featured reggae artist Sizzla.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talib Kweli</span> American rapper from New York

Talib Kweli Greene is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with solo success including collaborations with producers and rappers Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Pharrell Williams. His most recent album, Gotham, was released in 2020. In 2011, Kweli founded his own record label, Javotti Media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brady Watt (producer)</span> American producer and musician

Brady Watt is an American producer, bass player, and bandleader. In his career he has performed with a number of high-profile artists and ensembles and has taken part in thousands of recording sessions. He is currently based in Harlem, New York City.

References

Footnotes

  1. ↑ "REVIEW: K-Salaam – The Hands of Time". altrap.com. 2005-11-08.
  2. ↑ "DJ K-Salaam: "Real DJ's Do Real Things"". urbansmarts.com.
  3. ↑ Zisook, Brian "Z". "K-Salaam's The World Is Ours Drops July 11th". DJBooth. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
  4. ↑ "Whose World Is This?". allmusic.com.
  5. ↑ "K-Salaam & Beatnick: Whose World Is This?". citypages.com. 2008-07-30. Archived from the original on 2014-04-16. Retrieved 2014-04-15.
  6. ↑ "Beatnick & K-Salaam -> Keane Album debuts at #3 in U.S., #1 in U.K. on iTunes". hangout.altsounds.com. 2010-05-13. Archived from the original on 2014-04-16. Retrieved 2014-04-15.
  7. ↑ "Premiere: Beatnick & K-Salaam, Bun B, and Adi Armour "Keep It 100" in New Video". Complex. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
  8. ↑ "Emicida, The "Jay Z of Brazil" Debuts A New Music Video". thecreatorsproject.vice.com. 2011-11-17.
  9. ↑ "Murs & Fashawn, This Generation". xxlmag.com. 2012-09-27.
  10. ↑ "Producer, K-Salaam Talks Working W/ Lauryn Hill ; Producing For Olympics ; Project With Junior Reed". Thisis50. 2018-01-17. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
  11. ↑ Edwards, Kamylle (2017-09-11). "From childhood inspirations to scoring the Olympics, K-Salaam and Beatnick revisit past to prep for new EP". REVOLT. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
  12. ↑ "Building The Beat: from the Creation to the Hustle w. K-Salaam". tisch.nyu.edu. 2014-03-07. Archived from the original on 2014-04-16. Retrieved 2014-04-15.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.