Kawan "KP" Prather (born March 30, 1973) is an American
record executive
A music executive or record executive is a person within a record label who works in senior management and makes executive decisions over the label's artists. Their role varies greatly but in essence, they can oversee one, or many, aspects of a re ...
,
songwriter
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...
,
record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
and member of first generation
Dungeon Family
The Dungeon Family is a musical collective, based in Atlanta, Georgia that specializes in Southern hip hop with heavy funk and soul influences. The group derives its name from "The Dungeon", the name given to record producer Rico Wade's studio, ...
group
P.A. He started his career at
LaFace Records
LaFace Records was an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated as a unit of Sony Music Entertainment from 2008 to 2011 and was historically a part of Bertelsmann Music Group from 1989 to 2004. It was most active and achie ...
and has worked with
TLC
TLC may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Television
* ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2
* TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network
** TLC (Asia), an A ...
,
OutKast,
Goodie Mob
Goodie Mob is an American hip hop group based in Atlanta, Georgia, consisting of CeeLo Green, Khujo, T-Mo, and Big Gipp.
History
The group was formed in 1991 by Cameron " Big Gipp" Gipp, Willie "Khujo" Knighton Jr., CeeLo Green (born Thoma ...
,
Usher
Usher may refer to:
Several jobs which originally involved directing people and ensuring people are in the correct place:
* Usher (occupation)
** Church usher
** Wedding usher, one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony
** Fiel ...
,
John Legend
John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...
,
Pink
Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...
, and
Toni Braxton
Toni Michele Braxton (born October 7, 1967) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female artists in history. ...
. At LaFace he also started his own label called Ghet-O-Vision Entertainment. Under Ghet-O-Vision he signed The
YoungBloodZ
YoungBloodZ is an American Southern hip hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia composed of J-Bo (born Jeffrey Raymond Grigsby on October 4, 1977) and Sean P (born Sean Paul Ryan Joseph on March 7, 1978). The duo was signed to LaFace Records. They are o ...
and a solo M.C., named
T.I. and released the albums ''
Against Da Grain
''Against da Grain'' is the debut studio album by American Southern hip hop duo YoungBloodZ from Atlanta, Georgia. It was released on October 12, 1999 via LaFace Records. The album features guest appearances from Backbone, Big Boi, Bone Crusher a ...
'' and ''
I'm Serious
''I'm Serious'' is the debut studio album by American rapper T.I., released on October 9, 2001 through Arista Records.
The album included guests appearances from Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes (who called T.I. "the Jay-Z of the South"), Jazze ...
''. Most recently (January 2009), KP was appointed Senior Vice President of A&R at
Island Def Jam
The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American recording music unit, formed on New Year's Eve 1998 by the Universal Music Group. It consists of labels devised and consisted under the basic operations of Island Records and Def Jam Recordi ...
where he signed 15-year-old R&B sensation
Khalil. KP also has a production deal for his company Ghet-O-Vision at
Island Def Jam
The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American recording music unit, formed on New Year's Eve 1998 by the Universal Music Group. It consists of labels devised and consisted under the basic operations of Island Records and Def Jam Recordi ...
, there he has signed, Las Vegas native Mr. Finley. Ghet-O-Vision has also inked a label deal with
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...
for up and coming Alabama M.C.
Yelawolf
Michael Wayne Atha (born December 30, 1979), better known by his stage name Yelawolf, is an American rapper. Born in Alabama and raised in Tennessee, he embarked on his career independently in 2005, releasing one extended play (EP) and four mixta ...
.
Biography
In 2000, LaFace was merged into
Arista Records
Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...
. After working on projects with Usher, Pink, and OutKast, he took a position as Executive Vice President, A&R, Sony Urban,
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
. While at Columbia Records, KP worked with
Omarion
Omari Ishmael Grandberry (born November 12, 1984), better known by his stage name Omarion, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, actor and dancer. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the boy band B2K. The group achieved success in the e ...
,
Killer Mike
Michael Santiago Render (born April 20, 1975), better known by his stage name Killer Mike, is an American rapper, actor, and activist. Mike made his debut on Outkast's 2000 LP ''Stankonia'', and later appeared on their Grammy-winning single " ...
,
Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...
,
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
, and signed John Legend.
In 2008, KP teamed up with producer
Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
and have a roster of artists and projects they are planning for release in the near future.
Discography
References
External links
Interview, HitQuarters Apr 2001
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prather, Kawan
1973 births
Living people
African-American songwriters
American music industry executives
African-American record producers
American hip hop record producers
Southern hip hop musicians
American rhythm and blues musicians
Musicians from Atlanta
Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)
P.A. (group) members
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American people