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GRAMMYs

Mike & Keys

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Behind The Board: Mike & Keys behind-board-mike-keys-their-special-relationship-nipsey-hussle-working-gladys-knight

Behind The Board: Mike & Keys On Their Special Relationship With Nipsey Hussle, Working With Gladys Knight & More

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The duo talk finding inspiration at a Jay-Z concert, gleaning wisdom from legends like Gladys Knight & more: "That's always the goal, to make a song that's forever."
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Aug 26, 2019 - 12:30 pm

GRAMMY-nominated producers Mike & Keys might be on top of the game, but they haven't forgotten where they came from. Boasting credits with everyone from Nipsey Hussle to BJ The Chicago Kid, Snoop Dogg to Faith Evans, the duo, formerly known as The Futureistiks have built a name for themselves in hip-hop and beyond.

Behind The Board: Mike & Keys

Since the beginning, the duo felt they had something to say with their music, and that they belonged at the table with the great producers and artists of their time. 

"We were confident," said Keys. "We could do this, we could make music for a Jay-Z, to that caliber. I think it was his Blueprint 3 concert, we went there. Seeing a live band play the beats, it just sounded dope live, so that really inpired us to keep forth and making music."

From early in their career, Mike & Keys worked with Nipsey extensively, becoming close to the late GRAMMY-nominated rapper both in the studio and in life.

"We were more than just music producers to him," said Mike. "We were friends, we did everything together."

"With Nipsey, it was pretty much all the mixtapes that we were a part of" added Keys. "He was like, 'You guys are my sound.'"

WATCH: Nipsey Hussle #NoCover

The duo's sound is sought out because it comes through as authentic and timeless.

"People feel what really came out your heart," said Mike. "That's why some of the best songs is what came out of  someone's heart, what they was really feeling at that time... that's always the goal, to make a song that's forever."

"We just want to give quality to the people, because they deserve it," Keys added. "That's what music is about, is to make people feel good."

Watch their full Behind The Board in the video above to hear what Mike & Keys learned from working on Gladys Knight's last album, plus their plans to release music of their own very soon.

Behind The Board: Boi-1da On His Beginnings And Working With Drake

GRAMMYs

Jahaan Sweet

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Behind The Board: Jahaan Sweet behind-board-jahaan-sweet-working-boi-1da-drake-what-makes-great-record

Behind The Board: Jahaan Sweet On Working With Boi-1da, Drake & What Makes A Great Record

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Hear how this producer went from playing in jazz band and at church to producing some of the biggest artists in music, such as Drake, Eminem, The Carters and more...
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Mar 30, 2020 - 2:17 pm

Producer Jahaan Sweet has crafted records with the likes of Kehlani, Drake, Eminem, The Carters, Ty Dolla $ign, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, and more. We tracked him down in Los Angeles to hear more about his journey in the latest episode of Behind The Board. Take a look:

Behind The Board: Jahaan Sweet

Playing blues in his middle school jazz band led to paid church gigs on sundays. Once a friend showed him GarageBand, and his parents got him a laptop, Sweet's fire had been ignighted. Sweet's first serious step toward his successful studio career was to attend GRAMMY Camp in 2010, where he learned more about how to make a career making music. As a burgeoning musical force, he began to develop his own style of collaborating with artists in the studio.

"In my eyes, my thing is more so to help make whatever vision [the artists] have come to life. I'm not too forceful," Sweet said. "I just go into everything with an open mind and ready to do whatever is going to sound the best and make the artist the most comfortable."

Early in his career, he linked up with mentor Boi-1da, where he was able to pick up how to be the most efficient in the studio, not getting stuck on any one idea too long. Their partnership worked and yeilded big time production credits, including work with Sweet's favorite rapper, Drake. Along the way, he developed a special ear for what makes a record connect with listeners.

Read More: GRAMMY Camp Alumnus Jahaan Sweet On Working With Drake, Eminem & His Mentor Boi-1da

"For me, it's whatever makes me feel the most is something I think is a great record, or if it takes me back," Said Sweet. "If people from different cultures, from different places on the earth, can feel the same emotion, that's what makes a great song."

Watch the video above to find out more about Jahaan's journey in the latest installment of Behind The Board.

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WATCH Behind The Board: Boi-1da On Beat Making, His Beginnings & Working With Drake

btb_hitboy_youtube.jpg
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Behind The Board: Hit-Boy behind-board-hit-boy-working-beyonce-how-he-was-born-music

Behind The Board: Hit-Boy On Working With Beyoncé & How He Was Born Into Music

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The prolific producer is nominated at the 61st GRAMMY Awards for his work on Travis Scott's ubiquitous 2018 hit, "SICKO MODE"
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Feb 8, 2019 - 8:00 pm

Making music is in GRAMMY-winning producer Hit-Boy's blood. He's been around music since he can remember; his uncle was a part of the California R&B group Troop. 

"I saw studio sessions and I saw video shoots, just the whole lifestyle and I was intrigued by it, so I just kinda was born into it in a way," he says in the studio.

Behind The Board: Hit-Boy 

Hit-Boy has worked with heavy hitters like Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, and Jay-Z, whose song "N****s In Paris" won him a GRAMMY at the 55th GRAMMY Awards. He is the latest producer featured in the Recording Academy's Behind The Board series and shares how he knew music was going to be his line of work. 

"I knew making music was gonna be a part of my life way before I even started making music," he says. "I just knew I wanted to be a part of it from [when I was] a super little kid, so when I turned 13 and I started just really getting to the point where I wanted to make it myself and I had the access to do it at that time, I locked in and just never looked back."

In the video, the prolific producer opens up about how unexpected the industry can be and not always knowing when a beat will get picked up by an artist. He also shared a bit of advice for anyone looking to produce: "Don't give up on your ideas, and just know if it emotionally connects with you, save it."

This year, Hit-Boy, who has also worked with the likes of Ariana Grande and Bebe Rexha, is nominated at the 61st GRAMMY Awards for his work in Travis Scott's ubiquitous single featuring Drake, "SICKO MODE."

Watch Hit-Boy talk about his road to success, his musical influences, and how he creates beats, and watch the 61st GRAMMY Awards on Sunday, Feb. 10 on CBS.

2019 GRAMMYs Viewer's Guide: Where To Watch Music’s Biggest Night

GRAMMYs

Manny Marroquin

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Behind The Board: Manny Marroquin behind-board-manny-marroquin-mixing-balancing-confidence-humility-college-dropout-more

Behind The Board: Manny Marroquin On Mixing, Balancing Confidence With Humility, 'The College Dropout' & More

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The GRAMMY-winning mix engineer shares the moment he discovered his passion for mixing music and reveals what he feels it takes to be a world-class mixer
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
May 11, 2020 - 1:17 pm

Manny Marroquin's credit list reads like a Who's Who of 21st Century popular music, including everyone from Kanye West to Alicia Keys, Taylor Swift to Lizzo, BTS to Beyoncé and so many more. The eigth-time GRAMMY winner has 28 GRAMMY nominations to his name on his way to becoming one of the most sought-after collaborators in music. 

Behind The Board: Manny Marroquin

In the latest episode of Behind The Board, Marroquin goes all the way back to his childhood, growing up in Guatemala. He recounted how the country's civil war during the late '70s and early '80s led to his mom moving the family way, but not before music made its first imprint on young Manny. 

"I remember being really young in Guatemala, music is a huge part of some of these really poor countries," he said. "I remember really, really falling in love with insruments and playing [music]."

When Marroquin got to high school, he enrolled in an electronic music class taught by current Executive Education Director for the GRAMMY Museum, David Sears, who explained to him what the process and craft of mixing involved. 

"The moment I realized that you can manipulate everything with just frequencies and levels without even changing a single note just blew my mind," he said. "I'll never forget that at that point I knew that's what I wanted to do for the rest of my life."

Marroquin decided to forego college to begin his life's work in the studio. That's when his wildly successful carrer truly began. "Then one day, the classic story, the guy doesn't show up, and I'm in there," he said. "The next thing you know, you have a career [laughs]."

"You've gotta think you're the best mixer in the world. But you also have to be humble enough to know that you don't know it all," Marroquin said. "They're conflicting personalities, right? Know how to utilize those personalities when you need them."

This concept of balance, perhaps the mix engineer's most necessary concepts to master, shines through in his mixes and keeps his name at the top of many mixing wish lists for big-time projects of all styles.

"I think artists and producers see my passion for [mixing]," he said. "That I still want to makes sure they have the best sounding, feeling record that they imagine." 

In the episode above, Marroquin also reveals the most important thing to him in making records, what it's like to work side-by-side with great artsts and be a part of so many musical movements and moments and more.

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Behind The Board: Catch Up With Afrobeats Hitmaker Kel P In Nigera To Talk Music Production

 

GRAMMYs

Louis York

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Behind The Board: Louis York behind-board-chuck-harmony-claude-kelly-their-anti-side-project-louis-york

Behind The Board: Chuck Harmony & Claude Kelly On Their Anti-Side Project Louis York

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"We're trying to shatter what you know about us already,” Kelly said of their band and songwriting/production duo's growing catalog of work
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Feb 3, 2020 - 2:34 pm

Having teamed up to write and produce songs with pop heavyweights such as Bruno Mars, Mary J. Blige, Brittney Spears, and Rihanna, to name just a few, the songwriting/production duo of Chuck Harmony and Claude Kelly could easilty consider their band, Louis York, a side project. Instead, Harmony and Kelly are clearly full steam ahead with the band.

Behind The Board: Louis York

"I think it's also easy to think of two successful musicians who started a band to kind of see it as a side project, and it's completely the opposite," says Kelly. "We're trying to shatter what you know about us already with better things. So the records that we've done that people know us for, we're very proud of... but Louis York and Weirdo Workshop and everything that's coming out of this is all of that on steroids, because we learned from the best."

Drawing upon not one but two careers' worth of hits, the duo enters their second decade of working together with a brigh outlook at what's to come in music, and how they fit in..

"A few months ago, I was on a treadmill, and I realized that 2020 was a few months away," said Harmony. "I got excited, because... every decade the sound of music changes, so it made me excited that I could be a part of what's coming... And it's with that mindset that I create for Lous York."

https://twitter.com/LouisYorkMusic/status/1184997235253223424

WARNING:
For most intense eargasms, please consume this album from beginning to end. Avoid jumping around or skip songs on first listen. We want you to get the complete journey from opening to closing...like a great story.
Extreme feelings may occur. 🎶#AmericanGriots pic.twitter.com/8YiAfDdJdy

— Louis York (@LouisYorkMusic) October 18, 2019

The band's hightly anticipated debut album, American Griots, arrived last October to even higher crital acclaim. The goods they delivered are a testament to the deep well of experience and total creative freedom Harmony and Kelly weild when working together.

"Louis York is definitely about me expressing myself, totally," said Harmony. 

Watch the latest edition of Behind The Board in the video above, where Harmony and Kelly, both GRAMMY nominees, take us deep into their Weirdo Workshop to talk about their musical beginnings, collaborating with other artists and more...

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Behind The Board: DJ Khaled Reflects On His Early Days, Working With Music's Biggest Artists & More

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Some of the content on this site expresses viewpoints and opinions that are not those of the Recording Academy. Responsibility for the accuracy of information provided in stories not written by or specifically prepared for the Academy lies with the story's original source or writer. Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by the Recording Academy.