Kelman Duran is a Dominican songwriter, producer, composer, disc jockey and multi-disciplinary artist, best known for his production and songwriting contributions to opening track "I'm That Girl" and "Heated" from

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 ...

's 2022 album ''

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

'', as well as his scoring work on 2022 film ''

Rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...

''.

Early life

Duran grew up in the Dominican Republic before moving to the Washington Heights neighborhood of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1989, residing there from the ages of 5 to 19. He attended

Harlem School of the Arts Harlem School of the Arts (HSA) is an art school in Harlem, New York, Harlem, Manhattan, New York City. Harlem School of the Arts was founded in 1964, by soprano Dorothy Maynor. Maynor was succeeded by mezzo-soprano Betty Allen as President in ...

as well as Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Performing Arts, graduating in the same class as rapper

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...

. He then studied sociology at

Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university with campuses in Binghamton, New York, Binghamton, Vestal, New York, Vestal, and Johnson City, New Yor ...

, before enrolling in film and experimental video at

CalArts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of bot ...

Career

2017–2023: Debut projects, film scoring, and ''
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
''

After attending CalArts, Duran moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, where he became a fixture in RAIL UP, a series of recurring dance parties in the underground Afro-Caribbean night scene. In 2017, Duran released debut project ''1804 Kids'', which is a reference to the

Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution (french: révolution haïtienne ; ht, revolisyon ayisyen) was a successful insurrection by slave revolt, self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolt ...

and "dedicated to Afro-Caribbean sounds." Duran was recognized as "an artist you need to know" by music publication ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' in January 2019, before releasing his second full-length project ''13th Month'', inspired by the Sioux calendar as well as time Duran spent on the

Pine Ridge Reservation The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation ( lkt, Wazí Aháŋhaŋ Oyáŋke), also called Pine Ridge Agency, is an Oglala Lakota Indian reservation located entirely within the U.S. state of South Dakota. Originally included within the territory of the Grea ...

amid the Lakota Tribe making a long-form video piece ''To The North P.I & P.II'' about the lives of the Native Americans trapped on the reservations. ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' described the album as a juxtaposition between "the social plagues still haunting us" and a dance-floor "release". Duran released his third full-length project ''Night In Tijuana'' in 2021, inspired by his migration to the United States in the 1980s, and is described as traversing "spiritual jazz, electronic, and ambient ounds. Duran received permission from late Memphis artist Princess Loko's family, estate, and close friend

Tommy Wright III Tommy Wright III is an American rapper and hip hop producer. He began rapping in Memphis, Tennessee during the 1990s and is considered to be an early pioneer for fast-paced rap and trap production in South Memphis. Musical career Growing up in ...

to use her catalog of songs in his productions, sampling her song with Wright ("Still Pimpin") to create

dembow Dembow is a Dominican musical genre that can be traced to a riddim that originated in Jamaican dancehall. When Shabba Ranks released "Dem Bow" in 1990, it did not take long for the dembow genre to form. Riddims were built from the song and th ...

and

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico. It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American Hip hop m ...

-infused opening track "I'm That Girl" from

's seventh album ''

'' in 2022. He also co-produced

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

-fusion track "Heated". Duran scored French film ''

'', curating the soundtrack during

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

lockdowns in Berlin. He searched for music that elevated director Lola Quivoron's "portrait of suburban angst". The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' described his work in the film as an "adrenalized soundscape".

Discography

Studio albums

* ''1804 Kids'' (2017) * ''13th Month'' (2019) * ''Night In Tijuana'' (2021) * ''Scorpio falling’ (tba)

Songwriting and production credits

Credits are courtesy of

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

and

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

Filmography

Film

Awards and nominations

Notes

:A. Winning producers in this category with less than a 50% album contribution are awarded with a Winner's Certificate.

References

{{reflist Living people 1984 births Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Musicians from New York City