Kwamé Holland (born 28 March 1973) is an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

and

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 ...

from

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...

. Starting as a rapper in the late 1980s, he later saw success as a producer.

Biography

In 1989, aged 16, Kwamé released his debut album, '' Kwamé the Boy Genius: Featuring a New Beginning'', which he produced with Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor. The title refers to his backing band, which was unusual for emcees at the time. The

music videos A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

featured a

polka-dot Red polka dots on a yellow background Girl wearing polka dot dress Polish ceramics German ceramics Polka dot is a pattern consisting of an array of large filled circles of the same size. Polka dots are commonly seen on children's clothing, ...

motif in the costumes and

production design In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wor ...

. This became Kwamé's

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...

and a

hip hop fashion Hip hop fashion (also known as rap fashion) is a style of dress originating from Urban Black America and inner-city youth located in New York City, followed by Los Angeles, then other cities across the United States. All have contributed various ...

fad, as his fans began wearing it. In 1990, Kwamé released his second album ''A Day in the Life: a Pokadelick Adventure'', a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

about a day in the life of a high school student. The album spawned singles "Oneovdabigboiz" and "Ownlee Eue.", the latter of which was part of the

new jack swing New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle, new jack swing was mos ...

genre. In 1992, aged 18, he released his third album, ''Nastee''. This album was a departure for him, discarding the polka-dots and writing more sexually charged lyrics, in contrast to his previously playful,

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...

persona. The title track was a minor hit, but the album quickly fell from the chart. His fourth album, 1994's ''Incognito'', failed to chart. In 2000, Kwamé reemerged as a

, sometimes working under the name K-1 Million. He produced for artists such as

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

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Keyshia Cole Keyshia Myeshia Cole Johnson; born October 15, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Born and raised in Oakland, California, Cole began her career as a backing vocalist for MC Hammer. After signing with A&M Records ...

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, and

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

. In 2004, he co-produced (with

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

)

Lloyd Banks Christopher Charles Lloyd (born April 30, 1982), better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of East Coast hip hop group G-Unit, alongside childhood friends 50 Cent and Tony Yayo. After the ...

' hit song " On Fire." In 2005, he co-wrote and co-produced Tweet's single " Turn da Lights Off and

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...

's single "

Switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...

". As a producer, Kwamé has sold over 30 million records. In 2012, Kwamé teamed up with

Vin Diesel Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), known professionally as Vin Diesel, is an American actor. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is best known for playing Dominic Toretto in the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise. Diesel began audition ...

to help score his web series ''The Ropes''. He also formed the boutique label Make Noise, and released an instrumental album, ''Break Beat Diaries''. Kwamé has also written scores and music for film and TV, including ''

Drumline Marching percussion instruments are instruments specially designed to be played while moving. This is achieved by attaching the drum(s) to a special harness (also called a carrier or rack) worn by the drummer, although not all marching bands us ...

'', ''Step Up 1 & 2'', ''Freedom Writers'', ''Coach Carter'', and ''Fantastic Four'' and recently produced

Vivian Green Vivian Sakiyyah Green (born May 22, 1979) is an American R&B singer-songwriter and pianist. Early life Green was born May 22, 1979 in the East Oak Lane neighborhood of Philadelphia, and took an interest in singing, playing the piano, and ...

's fifth album ''Vivid''. He has joined the hip hop group the Alumni, alongside

Chubb Rock Richard Simpson, also known as Chubb Rock (born May 28, 1968 in Brooklyn, New York) is a New York-based rapper who released several successful hip hop albums in the late 1980s and early 1990s. A National Merit Scholar, Chubb Rock dropped out o ...

Dana Dane Dana McCleese (born September 6, 1965), better known by his stage name Dana Dane, is an American rapper known for performance of humorous lyrics and for his fashion sense. Early life Dana was born in the Walt Whitman housing project in Fort Gre ...

Special Ed Edward K. Archer (born May 16, 1972), known professionally as Special Ed, is an American rapper and producer. Ed is perhaps best known for the songs "I Got It Made", "Think About It" and "I'm the Magnificent" from his debut album '' Youngest in ...

, and

Monie Love Simone Johnson or Simone Gooden (born 2 July 1970), better known by her stage name Monie Love, is a British rapper, actress and radio personality from London. Best known for her singles during the late–1980s through the 1990s, Monie Love curre ...

. In 2015, Kwamé formed Make Noise Recordings. Distributed by Caroline / Capitol records, Kwamé signed R&B singer

and released her fifth album, ''

Vivid Vivid may refer to: Music * Vivid (band), a Japanese rock band * "Vivid" (song), by Electronic, 1999 *"ViViD", a 2016 song by Loona from '' HeeJin'' Albums * ''Vivid'' (Vivian Green album), 2015 * ''Vivid'' (Crystal Kay album), 2012 * ''Vivi ...

''. Also garnered a top 2 R&B hit "Get Right Back To My Baby" & top 15 R&B Hit "Grown Folks Music (Work)" . In 2016, TV One aired an episode of '' Unsung'' featuring Kwamé, in which he scored all the music for his episode. In 2017, Make Noise released

's sixth album ''VGVI'' reaching No. 38 on the ''Billboard'' R&B albums chart. The single "I Don't Know" reached the top 10 on the ''Billboard'' adult R&B chart. In 2018, Make Noise released " Vibes", the second single from ''VGVI''. This reached No. 12 on the Adult R&B chart.

Personal life

Kwamé is a cousin of

, who danced in some of his early music videos.

Discography (as artist)

Albums

*'' Kwamé the Boy Genius: Featuring a New Beginning'' (1989) *''A Day in the Life: A Pokadelick Adventure'' (1990) *''Nastee'' (1992) *''Incognito'' (1994,

Ichiban Records Ichiban Records is an American independent record label, founded in 1985 by John Abbey and Nina Easton in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. History Wrap Records and Nastymix Records were some of its subsidiary labels. Urgent! Records and Mr. Henr ...

) *''Break Beat Diaries (Instrumental Album)'' (2012, MAKE NOISE Recordings)

Singles

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwame African-American male rappers American hip hop record producers Atlantic Records artists Cold Chillin' Records artists Five percenters Living people People from Queens, New York Rappers from New York City 1973 births 21st-century American rappers Record producers from New York (state) 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people