Sounwave

Last updated

Sounwave
Birth nameMark Anthony Spears
Born (1986-02-28) February 28, 1986 (age 38)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Origin Compton, California, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Record producer
  • songwriter
Children1
Years active1999–present
Labels
Member of

Mark Anthony Spears (born February 28, 1986), known professionally as Sounwave, is an American record producer and songwriter. He is a frequent collaborator of rapper Kendrick Lamar, having worked on all of his projects since his 2009 self-titled extended play. Sounwave has also worked with artists such as Taylor Swift, Chloe x Halle, Baby Keem, Mac Miller, and Bleachers. He has won three Grammy Awards, including two for Best Rap Album.

Contents

Early life

Sounwave was born Mark Anthony Spears on February 28, 1986, in Los Angeles, California. [1] [2] His parents are elementary school sweethearts from Selma, Alabama, and relocated to Los Angeles in the 1970s so his father could pursue a dancing career for Soul Train . [3] Spears has two older brothers and was raised in Compton. [3] He was first inspired to pursue music after hearing the instrumentals on "Up Jumps da Boogie" by Timbaland. As a child, Spears used a Korg drum machine and a karaoke machine to create music. [4] From there, he purchased a 4-track machine and began using the PlayStation video game MTV Music Generator (1999) to produce songs. [4]

Career

1999–2009: Career beginnings

Spears was discovered by Terrance "Punch" Henderson, co-president of Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), when he was 13 years old. [3] After meeting with rapper Bishop Lamont, he produced a song for him using MTV Music Generator, which later received radio placement. [4] He graduated from Compton High School in 2005 and was gifted an Akai MPC by his cousin; it soon became one of his primary production tools. [4] Spears first met rapper Kendrick Lamar in a recording studio in Gardena, California. Lamar was silent until Spears played a spin of Aalon's 1977 song "Rock and Roll Gangster", which made him rush to the recording booth and rap for two minutes straight. [3]

One year later, Spears met TDE's founder and chief executive officer Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, who was originally unimpressed with him. He persisted and honed his craft, which later blew him away. [5] Spears later reconnected with Lamar and became a member of TDE's in-house production team Digi+Phonics, alongside Tae Beast, Dave Free and Willie B. [5] His earliest work for the label includes production credits on Lamar's 2009 self titled extended play and Flo Rida's second album R.O.O.T.S. [6] [4]

2010–2014: Recognition

Spears was one of the primary producers of Lamar's final mixtape Overly Dedicated (2010) and his debut studio album Section.80 (2011). For his work on the latter album, he was highlighted by Complex on their 15 New Producers to Watch list. [7] He produced three songs on Lamar's second album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (2012): "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe", "M.A.A.D. City", and "Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst". As a member of Digi+Phonics, he was highlighted by Complex for a second time and earned his first Grammy Award nomination for Album of the Year for his work on Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. [8] [6] Spears also made contributions to Schoolboy Q's second album Habits & Contradictions (2012), [9] [1] his third album Oxymoron , and Isaiah Rashad's debut album Cilvia Demo (both 2014). [10] [11]

2015–present: Breakthrough and other projects

Spears produced a majority of Lamar's third album To Pimp a Butterfly (2015), which several publications have named as one of the best albums of the 2010s decade. [12] [13] At the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, he won Best Rap Song for co-writing the album's fourth single "Alright" and received a second nomination for Album of the Year. [14] For Lamar's fourth album Damn (2017), Spears won Best Rap Album and picked up a third Album of the Year nomination at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. [15] In 2018, he co-wrote, produced, and handled A&R for the film soundtrack Black Panther: The Album , [16] and contributed to singer-songwriter Kali Uchis' debut album Isolation . [17] Black Panther: The Album received five nominations at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, including for Album of the Year, marking the first time a soundtrack album was nominated for the honor since O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000). [18] Its lead single, "All the Stars", earned nominations for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and Critics' Choice Movie Awards. [19] [20] [21]

In 2019, Spears contributed to singer-songwriters Beyoncé's soundtrack album The Lion King: The Gift , Taylor Swift's seventh album Lover , and Mary J. Blige's single "Know". [22] [23] [24] The same year, he formed the synth-pop supergroup Red Hearse with musician and producer Jack Antonoff and singer-songwriter Sam Dew. [25] Their self-titled debut album was released through RCA Records. [26] For his work as the primary producer of Lamar's fifth album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (2022), Spears won Best Rap Album for the second time at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, and earned a fourth nomination for Album of the Year. [27]

Personal life

Spears resides in West Hills, Los Angeles with his partner, poet and songwriter Reyna Biddy, and their son, Umi. [28] [29]

Songwriting and production discography

Songs

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2024

Albums

Awards and nominations

AwardYear [lower-alpha 1] Recipient(s)CategoryResultRef.
Academy Awards 2019 "All the Stars" Best Original Song Nominated [30]
Grammy Awards 2014 Good Kid, M.A.A.D City Album of the Year Nominated [31]
2016 "Alright" Best Rap Song Won [32]
Song of the Year Nominated
To Pimp a Butterfly Album of the YearNominated
2018 Damn Best Rap Album Won [33]
Album of the YearNominated
2019 "All the Stars" Record of the Year Nominated [34]
Song of the YearNominated
Best Song Written for Visual Media Nominated
Black Panther: The Album Album of the YearNominated
"King's Dead"Best Rap SongNominated
2023 Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers Best Rap AlbumWon [35]
Album of the YearNominated
Golden Globe Awards 2019 "All the Stars" Best Original Song Nominated [36]
Guild of Music Supervisors Awards 2019 Best Song Written and/or Recording Created for a Film Nominated [37]
Hollywood Music in Media Awards 2018 Best Original Song in a Sci-Fi, Fantasy or Horror Film Won [38]

Notes

  1. ↑ Indicates the year of ceremony. Each year is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grammy Award for Album of the Year</span> American music industry award

The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is an award presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales, chart position, or critical reception." Commonly known as "The Big Award", Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammy Awards, and is one of the four general field categories alongside Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year that have been presented annually since the 1st Annual Grammy Awards in 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kendrick Lamar</span> American rapper and songwriter (born 1987)

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth is an American rapper and songwriter. Regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, and one of the greatest rappers of all time, he is known for his technical artistry and complex songwriting. He was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first musician outside of the classical and jazz genres to be honored.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Top Dawg Entertainment</span> American record label

Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) is an American independent record label. Specializing in hip hop and R&B artists, TDE is based in Carson, California. The label was founded in 2004 by record producer Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, who is the chief executive officer. His son, Anthony "Moosa" Tiffith Jr., and Terrence "Punch" Henderson are the presidents of the label.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Antonoff</span> American musician (born 1984)

Jack Michael Antonoff is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Antonoff is the lead vocalist of rock band Bleachers. He was previously the guitarist and drummer for the pop rock band Fun and the lead vocalist for the indie rock band Steel Train. Aside from his work with the three groups, Antonoff has been prolific in songwriting and production for various music industry acts, including Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Sara Bareilles, the 1975, Lorde, St. Vincent, Florence and the Machine, Lana Del Rey, Sabrina Carpenter, Gracie Abrams, Fifth Harmony, Kevin Abstract, Carly Rae Jepsen, the Chicks, Tegan and Sara, and Clairo. Antonoff is credited with impacting the sound of popular music throughout the 2010s and 2020s.

Digi+Phonics is an African American hip hop production team, composed of California-based record producers Tae Beast, Sounwave, Dave Free and Willie B. They currently serve as the main in-house producers for Carson-based record label, Top Dawg Entertainment. Digi+Phonics work significantly on projects from all the members of hip hop supergroup Black Hippy, who are also signed to Top Dawg and is composed of rappers Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q, and Ab-Soul. Their best known productions include "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" by Kendrick Lamar, "There He Go" by Schoolboy Q, and "Terrorist Threats" by Ab-Soul. They frequently co-produce songs together and put the finishing touches on the projects released by Top Dawg Entertainment.

David Isaac Friley, known professionally as Dave Free, is an American filmmaker and record producer. Born and raised in Inglewood, California, he is best known for his creative partnership with rapper Kendrick Lamar. During his tenure as co-president of Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), Free directed music videos and short films with Lamar under the name the Little Homies. Following his departure from TDE in 2019, he co-founded the creative company PGLang. Among Free's accolades are one Grammy Award and three MTV Video Music Awards.

William Thomas Trenell Brown, known professionally as Willie B or by the stage name the Ichiban Don, is an American hip hop record producer and recording artist from Los Angeles, California. He is an original member of West Coast hip hop production team Digi+Phonics of Top Dawg Entertainment. He is also a member of the hip hop collective A Room Full of Mirrors, alongside fellow rappers Punch and Daylyt, among others.

<i>To Pimp a Butterfly</i> 2015 studio album by Kendrick Lamar

To Pimp a Butterfly is the third studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on March 15, 2015, by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album was recorded in studios throughout the United States, with production from Sounwave, Terrace Martin, Taz "Tisa" Arnold, Thundercat, Rahki, LoveDragon, Flying Lotus, Pharrell Williams, Boi-1da, Knxwledge, and several other high-profile hip hop producers, as well as executive production from Dr. Dre and Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith. Guest appearances include Thundercat, George Clinton, Bilal, Anna Wise, Snoop Dogg, James Fauntleroy, Ronald Isley, and Rapsody.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Dew</span> American singer-songwriter

Samuel Joseph Dew is an American singer and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. As a recording artist, he is best known for his 2022 song "Savior" and his guest appearance on Wale's 2013 single "LoveHate Thing", both of which entered the Billboard Hot 100. His songwriting work has been credited on albums for Taylor Swift, Marsha Ambrosius, Rihanna, Mary J. Blige, Miguel, Zayn Malik and Jessie Ware, among others.

"Alright" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar featured on the artist's third studio album, To Pimp a Butterfly (2015). The song expresses ideas of hope amid personal struggles and features uncredited vocals in its chorus from co-producer Pharrell Williams. "Alright" was released to radio stations as the album's fourth single on June 30, 2015. Many music publications considered it among the best songs and videos of the year. "Alright" received four nominations at the 58th Grammy Awards: Song of the Year, Best Music Video, Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song, winning the latter two. It was also nominated for a MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year.

Dacoury Dahi Natche, known professionally as DJ Dahi or simply Dahi, is an American record producer, songwriter, disc jockey and singer from Inglewood, California. Working primarily in hip hop and R&B music, he has been credited on commercially successful singles including "Money Trees" by Kendrick Lamar, "Worst Behavior" by Drake, and "I Don't Fuck with You" by Big Sean—the latter rose to number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. He made his vocal debut on Lamar's 2018 single "Loyalty", which he also produced.

Derrick Hutchins, Jr., better known as his stage name Skhye Hutch, is an American hip hop record producer from Los Angeles, California. The two-time Grammy nominee attended Pacific Palisades High School and graduated from the Musicians Institution in 2004.

<i>Blank Face LP</i> 2016 studio album by Schoolboy Q

Blank Face LP is the fourth studio album by American rapper Schoolboy Q. It was released on July 8, 2016, through Top Dawg Entertainment and distributed by Interscope Records. The album serves as his second release under a major record label to music retailers, following 2014's Oxymoron. The album features guest appearances from several prominent artists, such as Kanye West, Jadakiss, E-40, Tha Dogg Pound, Miguel and Anderson .Paak, among others.

"XXX" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, from his fourth studio album Damn, released on April 14, 2017. The eleventh track on the album, the song was written by Lamar, Mike Will Made It, DJ Dahi, Mark Spears a.k.a. Sounwave, Anthony Tiffith, Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr., and produced by Mike Will Made It, DJ Dahi, and Sounwave, with additional production by Top Dawg and Bēkon. The song features samples of the songs "America" by Bēkon and "American Soul" by Irish rock band U2. Although not released as a single, the song charted in multiple countries in 2017. These countries include Ireland, New Zealand, United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom, and Sweden. Though it only appeared for 1 week for the New Zealand, Sweden, and United Kingdom charts, it stayed for 3 weeks on Ireland and United States charts, and remained on the Canada music charts for 4 weeks. The highest the song ever reached on any country's primary music chart was at number 22 in Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ricci Riera</span> Musical artist

Ricci Riera, is an American record producer, DJ and songwriter from Los Angeles, California. He is best known for his production with notable hip hop artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Travis Scott, Schoolboy Q, Overdoz, and ASAP Rocky, among others. Aside from his solo production, Riera was previously a member of the Grammy nominated Los Angeles production duo THC. Riera scored his first Grammy nomination as a producer for the Drake track "U with Me?", produced with 40, Kanye West, DJ Dahi, Axlfolie, Vinylz and Oz, from the second best selling album of 2016, Views. Riera most recently contributed twice on Kendrick Lamar's much anticipated third studio album Damn, producing on the tracks "Element", produced with Sounwave, James Blake, Tae Beast and Bekon, and "God" produced with DJ Dahi, Bekon, Cardo, Top Dawg, Yung Exclusive, Mike Hector and Teddy Walton.

"Loyalty" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar featuring Barbadian singer Rihanna from the former's fourth studio album Damn, released on April 14, 2017. The song was later sent to urban and rhythmic radio June 20, 2017, as the second single from the album. The sixth track on the album, the song was written by the artists alongside producers DJ Dahi, Sounwave, Terrace Martin, and Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Performance.

<i>Black Panther</i> (soundtrack) Soundtrack album by Kendrick Lamar and score by Ludwig Göransson

The soundtrack for the 2018 American superhero film Black Panther, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name and produced by Marvel Studios, consists of an original score composed by Ludwig Göransson and original songs performed or curated by Kendrick Lamar. Göransson worked on all of director Ryan Coogler's previous films, while Lamar and Coogler had previously discussed collaborating and the musician agreed to perform several songs for the film after seeing an early version of it.

Hykeem Jamaal Carter Jr., known professionally as Baby Keem, is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Las Vegas, he gained recognition in the late 2010s with his contributions to Black Panther: The Album, Redemption, Crash Talk, and The Lion King: The Gift. He rose to prominence in 2019 through his sleeper hit single "Orange Soda".

American rapper and record producer Baby Keem has released one studio album, two mixtapes, four extended plays (EP), and ten singles. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), he has sold one million certified albums and five million certified singles in the United States.

References

  1. 1 2 "iStandard Producers Weigh In On XXL's 2013 Freshman Producers List". XXL. May 1, 2013. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Sounwave". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Weiss, Jeff (May 29, 2018). "Sounwave, Kendrick and 'Black Panther' Producer, Makes America's Sound". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Noz, Andrew (December 4, 2012). "Beat Construction: Sounwave". The FADER. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Let The Beat Build – Digi-Phonics On Kendrick Lamar & Dr. Dre". Vice. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  6. 1 2 Sutherland, Sam (March 20, 2013). "HEAT RISING: Sounwave made his first beats using a video game, and now he's Top Dawg Entertainment family". AUX. Archived from the original on November 11, 2013. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  7. ↑ Klinkenberg, Brendan (July 29, 2011). "Sounwave — 15 New Producers To Watch Out For". Complex. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Digi + Phonics — 25 New Producers To Watch Out For". Complex. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  9. ↑ Breihan, Tom (January 17, 2012). "Album Of The Week: Schoolboy Q Habits & Contradictions". Stereogum. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  10. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (February 27, 2014). "Schoolboy Q: Oxymoron review – not quite competition for Kendrick Lamar". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  11. ↑ Pearce, Sheldon (February 4, 2014). "Isaiah Rashad Delivers Classic Southern Stylings On 'Cilvia Demo'". XXL. Archived from the original on February 9, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  12. ↑ Monroe, Jazz (December 22, 2020). "The 50 best albums of the last decade". The Independent. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  13. ↑ Cridlin, Jay (December 26, 2019). "The 10 best albums of the 2010s: Kanye, Kendrick, Beyonce and more". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  14. ↑ Rys, Dan (February 16, 2016). "Kendrick Lamar Makes a Big Statement, Taylor Swift Wins Album of the Year at the 2016 Grammys". Billboard. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  15. ↑ Rys, Dan (January 29, 2018). "Kendrick Lamar Wins Best Rap Album at the 2018 Grammys, Says 'JAY-Z For President' On Stage". Billboard. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  16. ↑ Wood, Mikael (January 31, 2019). "Kendrick Lamar's secret weapon? His right-hand man, 'Black Panther' soundtrack producer Sounwave". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  17. ↑ Hughes, Kayleigh (April 11, 2018). "Album Review: Kali Uchis Joins the Neo-Soul Pantheon with Isolation". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  18. ↑ Real, Evan (December 7, 2018). "Grammys: 'Black Panther' Scores First Album of the Year Soundtrack Nod Since 2000". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Oscar Nominations 2019: The Complete List". Variety. January 22, 2019. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Golden Globes 2019 nominations: the full list". The Guardian. December 6, 2018. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  21. ↑ Nordyke, Kimberly (December 10, 2018). "Critics' Choice Awards: 'The Favourite' Leads With 14 Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  22. ↑ Amorosi, A. D. (July 19, 2019). "Album Review: Beyoncé's 'The Lion King: The Gift'". Variety. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  23. ↑ Fitzmaurice, Larry (August 23, 2019). "'Lover' is pure Taylor Swift, at her most content and confident". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  24. ↑ Shaffer, Claire (August 8, 2019). "Mary J. Blige Pays Tribute to Women's Sacrifices in New Single 'Know'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  25. ↑ Ramli, Sofiana (June 27, 2019). "Red Hearse, Jack Antonoff's new band with Sam Dew and Sounwave, debut with two songs". NME. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  26. ↑ Nardino, Meredith (August 29, 2019). "Review: Red Hearse Debut Their Genre-Defying Self-Titled Record". Atwood Magazine. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  27. ↑ Draughorne, Kenan (February 6, 2023). "Kendrick Lamar wins best rap album at 2023 Grammys". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  28. ↑ Alexis, Diamond (February 1, 2017). "Meet Reyna Biddy, the Poet Who Kicks Off Kehlani's 'SweetSexySavage'". BET. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  29. ↑ "House Music | Mark "Sounwave" Spears". LA Home. March 1, 2020. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  30. ↑ Whitten, Sarah (February 25, 2019). "Oscars 2019: The complete list of winners for the 91st Academy Awards". CNBC. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  31. ↑ "Grammy Awards 2014: The Complete Winners List". Rolling Stone. January 27, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  32. ↑ "Grammy Awards: Complete Winners List". Variety. February 15, 2016. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  33. ↑ Nevins, Jake (January 29, 2018). "Grammy awards 2018: full list of winners". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  34. ↑ Atkinson, Katie (February 10, 2019). "Grammys 2019 Winners: The Complete List". Billboard. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  35. ↑ Zhan, Jennifer (February 5, 2023). "The 2023 Grammy Award Winners". Vulture. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  36. ↑ "The complete list of winners and nominees for the 2019 Golden Globes". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  37. ↑ "2019 Guild of Music Supervisors Awards: Complete Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. February 13, 2019. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  38. ↑ Xu, Linda (October 17, 2018). "'A Star Is Born,' 'Black Panther' Lead Hollywood Music in Media Awards Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
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.