Donald Newkirk ( – November 2022) was an American musician, composer, and record producer.
Newkirk appeared on several hip hop records including the remix to "Say No Go" by De La Soul and
Stetsasonic's "Talking All That Jazz". In October 1989, Newkirk released his solo album, ''Funk City'', on Russell Simmons' OBR/Columbia Records (a subsidiary of
Def Jam Records). Not long after, Newkirk released the single "Small Thing". Although it was not included on ''Funk City'', it was included on the soundtrack to the film ''Livin Large''. Although his releases are few in number, Newkirk wrote, produced and sang all the songs.
Russell Simmons
Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. Simmons' ...
encouraged Newkirk to put together his second album for OBR/DefJam. His Southmore album entitled ''Between Love & Lust'' was recorded in 1992, but before it could be released, the DefJam label was sold and the project never came out. In 2021, Newkirk renamed the project ''Nostalgia'' and released the 1992 recordings, making them available on all streaming platforms.
In 2020, Newkirk and
Prince Paul composed the score for the documentary, ''Who Killed Malcolm X'', available on Netflix. The duo also composed the score to ''The Best Thief In the World'' starring
Mary-Louise Parker which came out in 2004 as well as the score for the independent film, ''Pressure Cooker''. Together they also composed the score and theme song for the podcast ''Mogul: The Life & Death of Chris Lighty'' for Gimlet Media. The two also contributed to the
Grammy Award winning
Chris Rock
Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and filmmaker. Known for his work in comic film, television and stage, he has received multiple accolades, including three Grammy Awards for best come ...
album, ''
Never Scared'' (2005). Another collaboration with Prince Paul is Baby Elephant, a collaboration with
Parliament and
Talking Heads keyboardist
Bernie Worrell. An album ''Turn My Teeth Up!'', released in September 2007, featured
George Clinton,
Shock G,
Yellowman,
Reggie Watts
Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Watts (born March 23, 1972) is an American comedian, actor, beatboxer, and musician. His improvised musical sets are created using only his voice, a keyboard, and a looping machine. Watts refers to himself as a "disinf ...
,
Nona Hendryx,
David Byrne
David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...
, and
Gabby La La.
His death was announced on November 25, 2022, at the age of 55.
References
External links
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1967 births
2022 deaths
American hip hop record producers
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