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Boyz II Men in 1994

Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

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Boyz II Men's 'II' Celebrates 25 Years boyz-ii-men-celebrate-25-years-their-masterstroke-second-album-ii

Boyz II Men Celebrate 25 Years Of Their Masterstroke Second Album, 'II'

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To commemorate 25 years of 'II,' The Recording Academy spoke with Boyz II Men's Wanya Morris and Nathan Morris about what all went into making their second album such an immediate and long-lasting success       
Will Hodge
GRAMMYs
Aug 30, 2019 - 8:48 am

As soon as an artist experiences success with their debut album, the shadow of the dreaded "sophomore slump" starts swirling on the horizon. In the 1990s, however, there were quite a few second album smashes that showed just how defiantly that curse can crumble under rarified musical talent, mastercraft songwriting and record-breaking runs at the top of the charts. Throughout the pre-millennium decade, Nirvana and A Tribe Called Quest delivered undeniable game changers with Nevermind and Low End Theory, TLC and Oasis more than doubled the achievements of their multi-platinum debuts with CrazySexyCool and (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, and Boyz II Men achieved inescapable pop culture ubiquity with their 12x platinum-selling, multiple record-breaking, triple GRAMMY Award-winning album, II, which celebrates its 25th anniversary milestone this month. 

Spearheaded by the strength of a pair of Billboard number one singles ("I'll Make Love To You" and "On Bended Knee") and a Billboard number two chaser ("Water Runs Dry"), II debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart, maintained a solid five-week run at the top spot and ended up staying on the charts for just shy of two full years. A couple months before the release of II, the Philly foursome offered up the Babyface-penned "I'll Make Love to You" as the album's lead single and the steamy ballad had radio and MTV on absolute lockdown during the late summer of 1994. "I'll Make Love to You" ended up eventually tying the record for the most weeks at number one by matching Whitney Houston's 14-week stretch of "I Will Always Love You" from The Bodyguard. 

The group’s unparalleled vocal harmonies and the impossible-not-to-sing-along-with chorus of "I'll Make Love To You" might’ve been enough to surpass Houston's record if only they hadn’t been knocked out of the top spot by… the album's second single, "On Bended Knee." By December, the summer sizzler handed the crown over to the winter weeper as Boyz II Men became only the third musical act of all-time to replace themselves at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 (only Elvis Presley and The Beatles had achieved it before them). To look back on these astounding achievements and to commemorate 25 years of II, The Recording Academy spoke with Boyz II Men's Wanya Morris and Nathan Morris about what all went into making their second album such an immediate and long-lasting success.               

Wanya Morris: After the success of our first album, it felt like a lot of people were starting to realize that Boyz II Men was a force to be reckoned with. Our voices and our harmonies were evolving and becoming more mature. That allowed us to try new things and people were really receptive to our creativity. It seemed like we couldn’t go anywhere without being recognized. I remember walking down the street near Yodoyabashi Station in Osaka and people would run up to us and yell out our names. It felt so huge because in our minds, we were just four dudes from Philly.        

Nathan Morris: For me, it was all a whirlwind because singing wasn’t really my first choice for a career. I grew up wanting to play professional football, but my mom pushed me into going to a performing arts school. That’s actually the whole reason why there’s even a Boyz II Men at all. I got bored at school, so I just started a singing group in my spare time. Everything that was happening for us as Boyz II Men wasn’t really anything that I had ever dreamed of or expected. So, I was just taking everything in as it came, enjoying it, and trying to soak it all up.

Following the massive success of their debut album, Cooleyhighharmony, and its pair of Top 5 singles ("Motownphilly" and their cover of G. C. Cameron's "It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday"), Boyz II Men's doo-wop-meets-New Jack Swing-meets-hip-hop musical hybrid and their relentless work ethic were all on full display during a frenzied pop culture blitz that included opening for M.C. Hammer's 2 Legit 2 Quit tour, filming an episode of MTV Unplugged with Joe Public and Shanice, earning a Top 5 standalone single with their cover of "In the Still of the Night (I Remember)," appearing in the holiday episode "Twas the Night Before Christening" on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and recording the double-platinum holiday album Christmas Interpretations (featuring the seasonal radio hit "Let It Snow" with Brian McKnight). During this crucial between-albums timeframe, they also scored their first number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with "End Of The Road" from the Boomerang soundtrack. At the time, "End of the Road" broke the record for longevity at the top of the charts with its impressive 13-week run. It would be the first of three times that Boyz II Men were a part of achieving this notable accolade.

Nathan Morris: Going into the second album, our confidence level was pretty high. Motown didn't really know what to do with us when they signed us, so we got to write almost the whole first album by ourselves. Since that album went nine times platinum, that gave us a lot of confidence as writers and producers going into the second album.

Wanya Morris: Honestly, it was a pretty hectic time. Things had gotten so big with the first album and then "End Of The Road" came out and blew up. We were really feeling the pressure, but the process had to start somewhere. So, we just did what we always do, which is get in the studio and start writing songs and recording demos. 

Nathan Morris: Dallas Austin had produced most of our first album, but he wasn’t available for the second album. So, he recommended we try working with Tim & Bob, who were kind of his B-team. We got in the studio with them and started working on a bunch of the songs that we felt good about. We clicked really well, so Tim & Bob ended up producing most of the songs on the second album.

Wanya Morris: I first met Tim & Bob when I worked on a song called "One More Try" for Another Bad Creation's second album. I traveled to Atlanta to work with them and we ended up hanging out and kicking it almost that whole summer, just writing songs and recording demos. I brought those songs back to the guys and our A&R team and it was decided that we should all fly out to Atlanta to work with them. That’s where the bulk of the songs on the second album came from.                 

Alongside working with Tim & Bob for most of the recording of what would become II, Boyz II Men's chart-topping success also earned them the opportunity to craft a couple of songs with some of the most celebrated producers in the business—Midas-touch hitmaker Babyface ("I'll Make Love To You" and "Water Runs Dry") and the legendary dream team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis ("On Bended Knee" and "All Around The World").     

Nathan Morris: Getting to work with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis? Man, we were just such big fans of theirs ever since we were kids. We were praying we could get them on the album, so we were really excited to get to work with them.

Wanya Morris: Jam and Lewis are artist-producers, so their first move was trying to gauge our musical capabilities. For "On Bended Knee," we were with them a whole day, but we hadn’t heard anything because they wouldn’t let us inside of the studio while they were recording the instrumental tracks! After they finished the music, we knocked the vocals out so quick that they decided to try for a second song with us. That’s how we ended up writing "All Around The World" with them. They could feel our synergy and trusted us enough to just let us do what we do. 

Nathan Morris: After "End Of The Road," we were really excited to work with Babyface again. It just made so much sense to do a couple more songs with him for the second album. We really loved "I'll Make Love to You" for the album, but we also wanted to try different things for our singles. In the grand scheme of artistry, that’s your thinking. But in the grand scheme of record sales, when you go multi-platinum with something, you’re expected to make another one. So, we had a bit of a dilemma when it came time to pick the lead single for II.

Wanya Morris: We actually fought really hard against having "I'll Make Love to You" be the lead single. We had just come off of "End Of The Road" and we didn’t want to come back with a song that had the same sound. Our label was adamant about it though. They did all this market research and we were just researching our hearts, so we were told to deal with it. Clearly, they were right on that one!

After the release of II, Boyz II Men became certified global superstars. The album achieved multi-platinum sales in Canada and Australia, and it hit the top of the album charts in France and New Zealand. In fact, international demand was so high for the blockbuster album that the gifted vocalists upped their game by rerecording the album’s three big hits and their acapella cover of The Beatles' "Yesterday" in Spanish for a special version of the album called II: Yo Te Voy a Amar. As had become their signature move, the guys had no problem rising to the challenge and possibly even outdoing themselves in the process.    

Nathan Morris: Recording those tracks in Spanish wasn’t really that difficult since we had already learned a bit of it in school. We had a producer, K. C. Porter, that translated everything for us and helped us with proper annunciation. One thing that we did notice is that singing in Spanish is a lot easier than singing in English. The English language is a bit choppy and Spanish is smoother and more legato in nature. I think some of our songs sound even better in Spanish than they do in English.  

Wanya Morris: When it came time to do the second album songs in Spanish, it wasn’t really that hard because the songs already existed. We just had to emulate the vocal intensity of the rewritten lyrics. We only performed live in Spanish one time and it wasn’t even one of those songs. We actually did "End Of The Road" live for Telemundo. After that, we didn’t do it again!

At a time when memorable music videos were just as important as radio hits, Boyz II Men were MTV mainstays by consistently delivering cinematic gold. Having such good chemistry with director Lionel C. Martin on their first music videos for "Motownphilly," "It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday," "Uhh Ahh," "End Of The Road" and "Let It Snow," they continued the creative partnership through the music videos for II’s "I’ll Make Love To You," "Thank You" and "On Bended Knee," the latter of which saw the bandmembers getting to act alongside their hand-pick childhood crushes.

Wanya Morris: We each got to request our own partners for the "On Bended Knee" music video and I chose Lark Voorhies from Saved By The Bell. We were guys, so we were all trying to holler at them all day. I’m not going to lie, it was really cool and really fun getting to shoot that video. 

Nathan Morris: We all got to pick a couple names of who we wanted them to reach out to and luckily I got my first pick. I choose Kim Fields because I was a big fan of Facts Of Life. At the time, I was in a relationship and we ended up having a big fight about me being in the video. It was great though. We shot it in New Orleans and I think it was a three-day shoot. Between that one and "Water Runs Dry," those are my two favorites music videos that we’ve ever done.   

As the trajectory of the band's career continued to skyrocket on the back of II, the following year found the vocal giants collaborating on a trio of top-tier releases: Michael Jackson’s HIStory, LL Cool J’s Mr. Smith, and Mariah Carey’s Daydream. Their duet with Carey, the massively popular "One Sweet Day," hit number one on December 2, 1995 and firmly reigned there until March 23, 1996. Its astounding 16-week stay not only marked the third time that Boyz II Men had tied or broken the record for longest-running number one single, but it was also strong enough to remain as a record all the way up until earlier this year when Lil Nas X’s surprise smash "Old Town Road" landed at number one for a combined 19 weeks (the first week as a solo artist and then 18 weeks with the Billy Ray Cyrus version).   

Nathan Morris: The Lil Nas X thing is surprising because we’re in this fast food entertainment society where you need something new every four seconds. You wouldn’t think that something would stick around that long, but the good songs do. There have been some other really great songs in the last few years that I thought should’ve broken the record, but "Old Town Road" was the one to do it. 

Wanya Morris: I think it helps that there’s not so much of a "big stage" competition nowadays. Everyone is more of an individual. Plus, there are more things out today that help your music get heard. We didn't have Instagram. The internet was just a baby back then. If we wanted to reach a million people, we had to go on the road and touch a million people. Nowadays, people can just click a button and reach all of their social media followers at once, who in turn can reach all of their followers, and you can quickly get in a zone that’ll start promoting you to people who don’t know who you are.

The part about the Lil Nas X thing that makes sense to me is that it’s a black man singing country music, it sparked some controversy because they didn’t want to let him in, then the LGBTQ community embraced it towards the end and it really became a phenomenon. It’s a good song but it became a huge record because it was relatable. Everybody could sing it, everybody could dance to it, and it became one of those things that allowed people to hear and experience something new.

Nathan Morris: It’s a weird time. Music is changing so fast. You don’t have those multi-year cycles of popularity. Audience tastes seem to change every month. For us, it’s really nice to have three of the top five records for longevity at number one, but we understand that records are made to be broken. We broke the records of Elvis and The Beatles, so we totally get it. 

'Pronounced Jah-Nay' At 25: Zhané's Renée Neufville & Jean Norris Look Back On Their Classic R&B Debut

Erykah Badu in 2000

Erykah Badu in 2000

Photo: Anthony Barboza/Getty Images

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20 Years Of Erykah Badu's 'Mama's Gun' erykah-badu-mamas-gun-20-year-anniversary

Didn't Cha Know?: 20 Years of Erykah Badu's 'Mama's Gun'

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Released in November 2000, the Queen of Neo-Soul's GRAMMY-nominated sophomore album was a huge step forward for her as a creator and as a leading voice within the genre
Jordan Blum
GRAMMYs
Nov 21, 2020 - 2:51 pm

Erykah Badu was a force to be reckoned with throughout the late '90s and early 2000s. Her 1997 debut album, Baduizm, which was directly influenced by Brandy's self-titled first record, was immensely confident, enjoyable and successful. Its fusion of vintage and modernized styles—R&B, soul, jazz, hip-hop and traditional African music—earned Badu comparisons to Billie Holiday, Mary J. Blige, Lauryn Hill, Chaka Khan, Maxwell and Stevie Wonder. Paired with the equally efficacious Live later that year, Baduizm instantly earned the Texas singer-songwriter recognition as one of the leading forces in neo-soul.

Clearly, hopes were high for her next move; even so, her follow-up in 2000, Mama's Gun, was decidedly sleeker, edgier and more diverse, allowing Badu to fully come into her own and play a larger role in the mainstream impact of the subgenre. On Mama's Gun, she found her tangibly idiosyncratic path. Today, the album's blueprint can be heard in the sound of countless protégés: Childish Gambino, Amy Winehouse, John Legend, Janelle Monáe and Raheem DeVaughn, to name a few. That she'd eventually lean on increasingly raw, minimalist and experimental avenues on her later albums, Worldwide Underground and the two-part New Amerykah series, makes Mama's Gun that much more special.

Badu began recording Mama's Gun, her first album on Motown Records, in 1998—at Jimi Hendrix's famed Electric Lady Studios—shortly after giving birth to her first child, Seven, who she had with OutKast's André "3000" Benjamin. Along the way, she also worked with The Roots' drummer/co-frontman, Questlove, and joined his collective, The Soulquarians, a rotating group of collaborative Black musicians that also featured James Poyser, Pino Palladino, Mos Def, Q-Tip, Common and many other eminent artists. Naturally, some of them helped create Mama's Gun—as producers, players or both—alongside over a dozen other instrumentalists. It's no wonder, then, why the album features such a luscious, retro and inventive blend of funk, jazz and soul tapestries.

Lyrically, Mama's Gun is rightly considered more accessible and overtly autobiographical than Baduizm; its strong sense of poise explores personal hardships, such as her breakup with Benjamin, self-doubt and social issues, like the killing of Amadou Diallo ("A.D. 2000"). All the while, the record's mixture of condemnation and celebration keeps it resonant and fun. Much like how early Tori Amos and Ben Folds albums could be seen as approaching similar sentiments and styles from oppositely gendered perspectives, Mama's Gun has been viewed as the female counterpart to frequent collaborator D'Angelo's Voodoo, which released almost a year prior. Granted, such comparisons are almost always a bit reductive and devaluing, but there's certainly enough shared DNA between them.

Read: I Met Her in Philly: D'Angelo's 'Brown Sugar' Turns 25

Mama's Gun produced many accolades. Lead single "Bag Lady" became her first charting track on the Billboard Hot 100. The track was also nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song at the 2001 GRAMMYS; "Didn't Cha Know?," the album's follow-up single, was also nominated for the latter award one year later. Mama's Gun itself peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the RIAA.

Likewise, press reviews of the album were overwhelmingly favorable—if more mixed than those for Baduizm—with The Guardian, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone and The Village Voice being among the most complimentary. Unsurprisingly, it appeared on several major "Best Of" year-end lists, too. While there were also some naysayers, such as Q and Entertainment Weekly, no publication was outright dismissive of Mama's Gun. Naturally, this led to her feeling somewhat disappointed by its reception. Still, she felt equally encouraged by how fans reacted at concerts, latter surmising that "the work is not always for commercial success. It's also for spiritual upliftment."

Read: The Verzuz Effect: How Swizz Beatz & Timbaland's Beat Battles Showcase Music's Past, Present And Future

Two decades on, Mama's Gun remains a beacon of confessional observations and smoothly flowing stylistic changes. Opener "Penitentiary Philosophy" is an exhilarating group effort that begins cleverly with interlocking voices projecting creative and personal anxieties; from there, it explodes into a wonderfully nuanced and conceived psych/funk/soul festival beneath which Badu pushes toward unity in society and the agency of the individual. Such energies follow her onto the quirkier and more playful one-two punch of "Booty" and "Kiss Me On My Neck," as well as the multipart, multifaceted and highly ambitious closer, "Green Eyes," a breakup suite, inspired by Benjamin, whose use of horns, noirish piano, soothing percussion and sundry accentuations make it enormously poignant and seductive.

Elsewhere, the record is softer and calmer, such as with the hip and catchy "Didn't Cha Know?" and the cool-as-ice R&B composure of "My Life." Interestingly, "... & On" is the successor to Baduizm's "On & On" in form and function, with a synthesis of hip-hop, spoken word and jazz elements yielding a carefree gem of self-empowerment that evokes Stevie Wonder in its flamboyant breakdowns. His influence also shines in alternative ways on the tranquil yet sobering acoustic ballad "A.D. 2000," an evocative commentary on the ease with which Black lives are taken and then forgotten in American society. In contrast, Badu's duet with Stephen Marley, "In Love With You," is minimalist, but still uplifting.

Aside from periodic collaborations and other one-off projects, Badu has been relatively removed from the industry over the last few years. Whatever the reasons, her absence weighs heavily considering how much she accomplished beforehand. In particular, Mama's Gun was a huge step forward for her not only as a creator, but also as a leading voice within the genre. No matter which album is your favorite—they're all justifiable candidates that do things differently—it's impossible to deny what Mama's Gun did for Erykah Badu and neo-soul overall. 

Twenty years since its release, Mama's Gun is just as captivating and significant today.

These Dreams Are Forever: 10 Years Of Janelle Monáe's 'The ArchAndroid'

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Sonic Spotlight: Hip-Hop & R&B Hitmakers sonic-spotlight-hip-hop-and-rb-hitmakers-highlight-human-element-hits

Sonic Spotlight: Hip-Hop And R&B Hitmakers Highlight The Human Element To Hits

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The Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing's recent live discussion featured some of today's hottest studio pros on the making of top hip-hop and R&B hits
Keith Nelson Jr
GRAMMYs
Oct 8, 2020 - 5:34 pm

A great song is more an arrangement of human relationships than sounds. For the creators on the control room side of the glass, knowing your way around Pro Tools and an SSL mixing board is only part of what goes into making a hit – it comes down to people.

On Sept. 24, the Recording Academy's Producers & Engineers Wing hosted a live webinar with a group top engineers and producers who have helped shape some of the biggest recent hits across hip-hop and R&B. During the discussion, which was moderated by multi-talented producer, engineer and singer-songwriter Ebonie Smith, Hit-Boy (Travis Scott’s “SICKO MODE”), MixedByAli (Kendrick Lamar’s “HUMBLE”), Chris Dennis (Roddy Ricch’s “The Box”), DJ K.i.D. (DaBaby’s “INTRO”), and Marcella Araica (Timbaland’s “The Way I Are”) discussed the balance between human and technical requisite in making hits.

Before Araica was a seasoned music industry vet, she was an assistant at Miami’s Hit Factory Studio in 2002 surprisingly tasked one day with engineering a Missy Elliott session only two years removed from graduating from Full Sail University. Araica revealed in the discussion she was not experienced enough with Pro Tools to keep up with Missy’s speed of working and was subsequently kicked out of the session. From that moment on, Araica made sure she became more skilled at Pro Tools and ready for the next opportunity when it came. But the computer aside, there was a more human element she learned to hone from working with Missy and Timbaland.

“On the engineering side, just really learning how to use my ears. It wasn’t just about hitting the computer and hitting buttons, that was one aspect of it. Really understanding, ‘What was I trying to accomplish in sound,’” Araica said.

Araica’s prioritizing of serving the song and the session beyond just operating the equipment is a piece of advice every participant echoed. There are thousands of engineers and producers in the world, but these accomplished panelists agree the ones who can make the artist’s studio experience the easiest on a human level are the ones that end up sticking around. That may include cleaning up the studio before the artist gets there or getting the artist tea if their voice is raspy.  “It’s not only [about] being an engineer. It’s easy to record and hit command + space bar. It’s also about being there for them on a personal level making sure they’re taken care of; making sure the vibe is right; doing whatever you have to do to make sure they’re in their right mindset to make the best music possible,” Dennis said.

Behind The Board: Marcella Araica

Still, a producer’s primary way of standing out is their work. Unless fans read the credits or an artist is willing to keep the producer’s tag in the beat, the architects of the sound can get lost in the final project. Ali spoke on the importance of engineers and producers developing what he calls their “sonic thumbprint.” “You have to sit up and spend countless hours developing and curating the sound with them. At that point, you create the sonic thumbprint. I speak about the ‘sonic thumbprint’ because that’s how you separate yourself from the herd of people,” Ali said.

He advises engineers to stay an extra few hours in the studio after mixing a record for an artist to do an additional mix with all the tricks that show the unique creativity they can bring to the table. The extra time may be unpaid, but the connection with the artist could grow more inextricable. “Invest in an artist early. Invest in time of getting with them early and creating a sound together because when they blow up, they’re going to need that sound throughout their career,” Ali added.

DaBaby’s hit-making producer/engineer DJ K.i.D. is a testament to that advice. K.i.D. helped DaBaby get a Top 15 Billboard Hot 100 hit by transforming NSYNC's 1998 rendition of "O Holy Night" with booming 808 drums for the song “INTRO” from DaBaby’s KIRK album. He credits the extensive time spent working with DaBaby for understanding his sound enough to know how to expand it.  “I was the dude that loved pop music and wanted to put 808s on pop instead of just straight trap music. He helped me step into the trap lane," K.i.D said. "Then, on the road as his engineer, it was like, 'Ok, you need to speed stuff up.' So, working with such a great artist helped me turn into a better engineer.”

Sometimes as a producer or engineer, the most human approach to success in music is to listen to the people over your own ego. Hit-Boy burst onto the scene in 2011 producing the six-times platinum megahit “Ni**as In Paris” from Kanye West and Jay-Z. If he only trusted the depth of his technical talents and not the ears of others, he may not have recognized the hit on his hands.

“Once I caught my first big rap hit, which was ‘Ni**as In Paris,’ that was my most simple beat, I was dumbfounded. I’m doing beats with all these chord changes and y’all pick my simplest beat to be my biggest beat,” Hit-Boy said. “That really killed me for a second. That really taught me that it’s the way it hits the ear. It’s not always about piling everything on. It might be the simple thing that takes off."

Behind The Board: Hit-Boy 

During the panel, Ali spoke of his prolific time 2016-18 run where he worked on Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN, SZA’s CTRL, Mac Miller’s The Divine Feminine, Danny Brown’s Atrocity Exhibition, Vince Staples Primadonna, YG’s Still Brazy to name a few. While he was racking up GRAMMY Awards and platinum plaques with his work being played everywhere, he says he was depressed because he felt like a mixing robot who took no time for himself. The panelists all agreed, including DJ K.i.D. who revealed he can be so preoccupied with work he forgets to eat for more than 13 hours and stressed the importance of engineers and producers’ health in making hits.

“As much as we love the grind to be in the studio and going hard for what we love, taking a break for what yourself is super important because you never know what could come out at the end of that. You might take a seven-day break from the studio and make a hit,” DJ. K.i.D said.

While these sonic masters focused more on the human side of hitmaking, they still gave a peek into the gear behind the work they do. Araica expressed her appreciation of the handheld approach on the [Shure] SM-7 or SM-58. MixedByAli briefly touched on his mixing approach being a fusion of analog, explaining he mixes on the SSL G-Series mixing console gifted to him by Dr. Dre while using a sample peak program meter to gauge the loudness of his mixes before sending them off to mastering.

But, in the end, these professionals who reached what most would consider the apex of engineering and production made their hits by being more than service and nothing less than human.

“The relationship between the artist and the engineer is like [being] with your homeboy taking a road trip. Your homeboy knows where he wants to go, but the engineer is holding the map kinda taking him there,” MixedByAli said, as his peers nodded in a shared understanding.

Watch the full conversation here.

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Read More: Hit-Boy On Producing Big Sean's 'Detroit 2' And Nas' 'King's Disease,' Carving His Own Path As An Artist

Ambré

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Quarantine Diaries: Ambré quarantine-diaries-ambr%C3%A9-making-music-enjoying-new-orleans-playing-video-games-her

Quarantine Diaries: Ambré Is Making Music, Enjoying New Orleans & Playing Video Games With Her Brother

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"You gotta figure out new ways to live life, and it's making me a better person. As messed up as the circumstances are, you can always find the good," Ambré says her video diary
GRAMMYs
Sep 29, 2020 - 12:58 pm

As the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic continues to rock the music industry, GRAMMY.com reached out to a few musicians to see how they were spending their days indoors. Today, New Orleans-born alt R&B singer/songwriter Ambré shares her video Quarantine Diary.

Alt R&B singer/songwriter Ambré met producer Erick Bardales in 2014 and began making music with him when she was just 17. In 2015, she released her first mixtape, Wanderlust, which was produced by Bardales. That same year, the "american beauty" singer gained recognition for her first collab with Kehlani in 2015, a cover of Drake's "Preach."

She's also collabed with the Glitch Mob, TOKiMONSTA, Keys N Krates and Ryan Hemsworth, and co-written music on H.E.R.'s GRAMMY-winning self-titled mixtape. After signing to Roc Nation in 2019, she released her major label debut project, the Pulp EP, in November 2019, followed by Pulp (Director's Cut) this past July 31.

Quarantine Diaries: Ambré

In the latest episode of GRAMMY.com's Quarantine Diaries series (watch above), the "fubu" singer brings us along for a productive day working on music and enjoying good company (her brother and Bardales) and good food while staying in her hometown of New Orleans.

"You gotta figure out new ways to live life, and it's making me a better person. As messed up as the circumstances are, you can always find the good," Ambré says in the video.

Quarantine Diaries: Black Pumas' Eric Burton Is Working On A New Album & Spending Time In The Garden

Kiana V

Kiana V

Photo Courtesy of 88rising

 
 
News
How 88rising's New Label Spotlights Filipino Music 88rising-paradise-rising-interview-sean-miyashiro-kiana-v-leila-alcasid

PARADISE RISING: How 88rising's New Label Is Pushing Filipino Music And Culture To The Forefront

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GRAMMY.com caught up with 88rising founder Sean Miyashiro and Filipino artists Kiana V and Leila Alcasid to talk about how PARADISE RISING is spotlighting the blossoming music scene in the Philippines
Anjana Pawa
GRAMMYs
Aug 30, 2020 - 7:00 am

From the start, 88rising was always a passion project, with founder Sean Miyashiro at the forefront of a dream. In 2015, he started the company, which takes its name from the Chinese symbol for "double luck and fortune," hoping to create a label that could represent and showcase the talent of underground Asian artists. Fast-forward five years later, and 88rising has become a global brand, bridging the gap between Eastern and Western pop culture and representing some of the most fervent Asian acts in the music industry. But was it really "double luck" that propelled them to the top?

 

Regularly collecting millions of views per video on their YouTube channel, 88rising has launched multiple newcomers into superstardom, in turn creating a space for Asian rappers, singers and artists to thrive in music. The company's roster includes Rich Brian, the Indonesian-Chinese rapper/singer behind the 2016 viral song and video "Dat $tick"; Chinese hip-hop quartet Higher Brothers, who have been revered for bypassing several censorship regulations in their homeland with their lyrics; and Indonesian R&B songbird NIKI, who, at 21, has opened for Taylor Swift, Halsey and other major stars on tour. 

88rising artists have also secured high-profile collaborations with some of the biggest names from the East and West, including Hong Kong-native rapper and K-pop idol Jackson Wang, Korean rock/pop group DAY6 and former EXO member Kris Wu as well as rap giants likes 21 Savage, Playboi Carti and Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah.

Both the artists and the mass media company itself have grown cult-like followings via their groundbreaking music and the globally inclusive multimedia world they've created, which collectively celebrate Asian and Asian-American culture and identity. 88rising's annual Head In The Clouds Festival, dubbed the "Asian Coachella" by Rolling Stone, emphasizes the importance of representation, one of Miyashiro's main goals behind the label. (Head In The Clouds was due to debut in Jakarta, Indonesia, this past March before it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 88rising was scheduled to host its Double Happiness event series at this year's Coachella before the festival was postponed in June.)

"88rising is a culture that people want to get behind," Miyashiro explains to GRAMMY.com via email. "It's the type of movement that makes people wanna get tattoos of the logo on their bodies. That doesn't just happen to any media company or record label. We mean something intangible to people."

Now, the collective is expanding into Southeast Asia with the launch of its new sister label, PARADISE RISING. 

In July 2020, 88rising partnered with Globe Telecom, the Philippines' biggest telecommunications company, to create PARADISE RISING, a label focused on highlighting Filipino artists and culture. The imprint's inaugural mixtape, semilucent, released last month (July 31), spotlights the rising artists putting the island country on the music map, including Jason Dhakal, Leila Alcasid, Massiah, Fern., and Kiana V. Collectively, semilucent embodies the individual artists' Filipino heritage and culture.

GRAMMY.com caught up with 88rising founder Sean Miyashiro and Filipino artists Kiana V and Leila Alcasid to talk about how PARADISE RISING is spotlighting the blossoming music scene in the Philippines, the rising influence of Asian artists in R&B and hip-hop, and the ongoing journey toward "true Asian representation in pop culture."

How did 88rising start?

Sean Miyashiro: 88rising started with a small dream in a parking lot in the Bronx. That's what makes it so crazy. We had no idea what we would become. We're still a small team, and it's always been DIY for us. Being small and scrappy has allowed us holistic creative control of our brand, our vision and our future. We put out things into the world that we believe in. 

You have a very wide array of artists who are given the freedom to express themselves as they see fit. Has this always been your vision with the label?

Miyashiro: We're all family. We provide our artists the space and creative freedom to do what they want. At the end of the day, what we want is the same: to make dope music while trailblazing the way towards a future with true Asian representation in pop culture. 

88rising has collaborated with many artists who are already so successful in the East, including Jackson Wang and Kang Daniel. How do these collaborations come to fruition? Do you think this helps blur the lines that might exist between artists from the West and the East?

Miyashiro: Everything that happens has been serendipitous and natural. We never force anything, but when we see an opportunity, we put our whole hearts behind it. And in the process, if it brings more people together, then we've done our job—and more.

Read: K-Pop Phenom Eric Nam Talks New Mini-Album 'The Other Side' And Life As One Of Korea's Biggest Stars

What prompted the creation of PARADISE RISING? 

Miyashiro: It really just made sense for us. The synergy with Globe was there. With their local expertise paired with 88rising's global infrastructure, PARADISE RISING brings talented emerging Asian artists to the forefront of global youth culture. We're just continuing to do what we do best. 

The label's debut EP, semilucent, highlights the broad diversity of Filipino artists and styles. Is there something about the Philippines, in particular, that led you to explore the artists and music from there? 

Miyashiro: The Philippines has such a vibrant music culture, and there are so many young talented artists who are emerging. We want to amplify this on a global scale. 

What parts of your Filipino culture and heritage do you bring into your music, lyrics and songwriting?

Kiana V: I'd say being a Filipino, we're very passionate people, and you hear that in our music; [whether it's] songs that are lively, our ballads or in our folk music, the vulnerability stands out. That's something I definitely bring into my music. 

Leila Alcasid: I always pay attention to my process; Filipinos always want to give every part of themselves. The way that this translates in music is that we're very vulnerable. If you look at the music that we listen to, it's really all to do with digging deep and having music that relates to the human condition ... I guess I'm trying to be as vulnerable as possible, trying to open myself up. 

Who are your biggest musical influences?

Kiana V: I was always drawn to Solange. When she was able to break away and do her own thing, I followed her immediately. I'm a huge fan of her storytelling and her way of writing. I grew up listening to a lot of Brandy, JoJo and Aaliyah, too. [Laughs.] Oh my God, I'm such a millennial. A lot of R&B and jazz artists. I'd say those are my main musical influences. 

Alcasid: Different aspects of my music are informed by different artists. Norah Jones, a lot of Nelly Furtado, that's an example of who I look to on how to approach my vocals. I'm not a belter, I'm a lot more relaxed when I sing, and I think that was heavily influenced by those artists. From 88rising, I am so inspired by NIKI. I think she is such a talented writer. Her lyrics are so witty, but they're also incredibly poetic; I'm a huge fan. 

Between 2017 to now, which is the bulk of when I started learning how to write songs and figuring out what my sound was, I started listening to a lot of Korean music. There was a point when I was obsessed with BTS, and I feel like my love for BTS was a big part of why I attempted to string a narrative through everything in my first EP. A lot of their work is very narrative-heavy, and I was inspired by that. I wanted to do that for my EP, and it kind of even happened and continued in "Clouds," my song on semilucent.

Read: BTS Talk Inspiration Behind "Dynamite," New Album, Gratitude For ARMY & More

The sounds on semilucent are mainly R&B and hip-hop. Can you speak a bit on the rising influence of Asian artists in this space? 

Kiana V: R&B and hip-hop has been a growing sound in the Asian community. I believe it's always been there. With technology and social media, people have been given a space to grow their own platforms, and these talented artists are finally being able to shine in their own space. As far as evolution is concerned, I think there's just room for so much growth and a burst of more and more artists.

Alcasid: There's such a huge collective of people here [in the Philippines] that focus on those sounds. I wasn't very aware of the hip-hop scene here, but as I've been here longer, I'm noticing that the one thing they're really informed by is politics. I feel like on one end, it can be a bit risky. But on the other, it's a way to express yourself in a way that's very honest and runs historical. 

I learned a lot about how Filipinos are approaching hip-hop through my boyfriend, who's a rapper here. It's been interesting to see what inspires hip-hop and how they're influenced by the West. They're tying in the sounds of the West, but it's still authentically them as possible ... In all different parts of Asia, we're influenced by the West and what's already been done, but you can identify the styles and the way in which they're transformed to become inherently Asian. 

What does the future look like for 88rising and PARADISE RISING? 

Miyashiro: We have a few super-exciting [artist] signings on the way and more mixtape drops incoming. 

Naeem Talks New Album 'Startisha,' Creativity In Quarantine And The Need For Change In America

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