Kev Brown
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kev Brown | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Kevin Brown |
| Born | February 10, 1976 (age 31) |
| Origin | Landover, Maryland |
| Genre(s) | Alternative Hip Hop |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Label(s) | UP Above |
Kev Brown (b. Kevin Brown, February 10, 1976) is an American rapper and producer from Landover, Maryland, United States. He is a member of the Washington D.C. based hip hop collective, Low Budget.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Kev Brown's soulful style of production has earned him comparisons to revered producers such as Pete Rock, who incidentally helped Brown's career gain some momentum after introducing him to Grap Luva. The pair then went on to collaborate on "What Ruling Means", from Marley Marl's BBE Beat Generation installment Re-Entry (2001). His appearance alongside Grap Luva left an impression on the underground and he subsequently contributed a track to De La Soul's AOI: Bionix later that year.
Kev Brown continued to build his resume with contributions to DJ Jazzy Jeff's The Magnificent (2002). As a then-member of Jazzy Jeff's production-for-hire unit A Touch Of Jazz, Brown contributed no less than 7 tracks to the project yet it wasn't until his remix of Jay-Z's The Black Album, aptly titled The Brown Album was released in January, 2004 that he began to receive recognition.
As the first producer to do so (to date there are more than 100 submitted remixes of the project), Brown made use of Jay-Z's starpower and commercial appeal. Although his time in the spotlight was somewhat overshadowed by DJ Danger Mouse's The Grey Album (2004), a remix project of the same album noticeable for its use of The Beatles' White Album (1968) as a soundbed for Jay-Z acapellas, Kev Brown was nevertheless able to garner enough of a following to embark on a solo career.
After numerous productions and collaborations with artists throughout 2003 and 2004, Brown made his debut in 2005 with I Do What I Do through the independent Up Above imprint. The single, "Life's A Gamble", followed in early 2006. Among his current projects are a forthcoming EP titled Random Joints, and a full-length collaboration with rapper LMNO of The Visionaries called Selective Hearing: The Beat Tape, which is due for a February 2008 release.
[edit] Production technique
Brown's style as a producer is recognizable for its mellow undertones and strong jazz influence. Noted for his complex bass lines and authentic sounding percussion, he is often mentioned alongside like-minded producers Pete Rock and J Dilla, and has named the former as one of his main musical inspirations. Brown's own style is likable to, and may show some influence, in the work of fellow Low Budget producers Oddisee and DJ Roddy Rod.
As with most "classic" Hip-hop producers, Brown often employs the use of samples, mixed with his own instrumentation such as horns, bells, rhodes, and guitar plucks. His beats may range from the simpler 4-bar loops, to more intricate arrangements that include several layers, and in the case of his R&B tracks, bridge sections. As mentioned before, the most frequently noted aspect of Brown's musicality are his basslines, which he attributes to his study of producers such as Pete Rock and J Dilla. Like those producers, Brown shows a jazz-minded sensibility and uses his basslines to create space and nuances within a beat.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
[edit] Solo
| Album information |
|---|
I Do What I Do
|
| I Do What I Do Instrumentals |
Random Joints
|
[edit] Collaborations
| Album information |
|---|
Selective Hearing: The Beat Tape
|
[edit] Compilations / Mixtapes
| Album information |
|---|
The Brown Album
|
The Kev Brown Mixtape
|
| Exclusive Joints |
[edit] Singles
- 2003: "Nitefall"
- 2003: "Always"
- 2004: "Kev Brown Presents..."
- "Changes"
- "Look"
- "Albany"
- 2005: "Work In Progress"
- 2006: "Life's A Gamble"
- 2007: "The Versatility Joint"
[edit] Selected production credits
- 2001: "What Ruling Means" - Marley Marl, from the album Re-Entry
- 2001: "Special" - De La Soul, from the album AOI: Bionix
- 2002: "Branded", "Da Rebirth" - DJ Jazzy Jeff, from the EP The Magnificent EP
- 2002: "How I Do", "Know Ur Hood", "Rock Wit You", "Scram", "Shake It Off", "Travelz", "We Are" - DJ Jazzy Jeff, from the album The Magnificent
- 2003: "Catch 22" - Raheem De Vaughn, from the album The Love Experience
- 2003: "Wallflower" - Critically Acclaimed, from the compilation Hidden Hits Vol. 1
- 2003: "Young World" - Cy Young, from the compilation Hidden Hits Vol. 1
- 2003: "Who Programmed Us Anyway?" (Remix) - Grand Agent, from the album Fish Outta Water Remixes
- 2003: "Get Down", "Games" - Biz Markie, from the album Weekend Warrior
- 2004: "The Ultimate" (Remix) - Lone Catalysts
- 2004: "Walk The Walk" - Kenn Starr, from the Halftooth Records compilation You Don’t Know the Half
- 2004: "Another Private Conversation" - Critically Acclaimed
- 2004: "Doubting Destiny", "Exposed" - Wayna, from the album Moments Of Clarity: Book 1
- 2006: "Best Friend" - V, from the album The Revelation is Now Televised
- 2006: "Good Rap Music", "Reign" - Bahamadia, from the album Good Rap Music
- 2006: "1%" - The Visionaries, from the album We Are The Ones (We've Been Waiting For)
- 2006: "Relentless", "Never Too Late", "Another Day" - Kenn Starr, from the album Starr Status
- 2006: "Batida" - Kev Brown, from the Dopeness Galore compilation The Timeless Interpretations
- 2006: "That's My" - Wade Waters, from the album Dark Waters
- 2007: "Pen Just Cries Away" - Eric Roberson, from the album ...Left
- 2007: "Bophelo Hame" - Tumi, from the album Music from my Good Eye
- 2007: "The League (Remix)" - Wildchild, from the album Jack Of All Trades
- 2007: "Power (Cars Drive By)" - Cy Young, from the album Exactly
- 2007: "Simone (Louder)" - Hassaan Mackey, from the album Soul For Sale
- 2007: "War" - Hassaan Mackey, from the album Soul For Sale
