Om'Mas Keith (born December 20, 1976), also known simply as Om'Mas, is a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

-winning record producer, musician, composer, engineer, and songwriter from

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, New York. He has worked with

Frank Ocean Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987) is an American singer and songwriter. He has been credited by several music journalism, music critics as a pioneer of the alternative R&B genre. Ocean has won two Grammy Awards and a B ...

Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer and songwriter. Influenced by rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

, Kevin Abstract, and Vic Mensa. He is also known as a member of The Sa-Ra Creative Partners, alongside Taz Arnold and Shafiq Husayn.

Early life

Om'Mas Keith was born on December 20, 1976, in

, New York. Keith was exposed to music from an early age, as his parents were both avant-garde jazz musicians, working alongside

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...

, and his grandfather had a musical career working with

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

. His name is derived from Om, the sacred sound of the universe according to

Indian religions Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification o ...

Music career

Keith's music career began in 1994, when he took an internship with

RCA records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, after having performed poorly at John Bowne High School by skipping academic classes to participate in band. He also attended the

Institute of Audio Research The Institute of Audio Research (IAR) was an educational institution in New York City. Students of IAR were offered a wide variety of academic programs in the field of music production and audio engineering. Students could choose from courses i ...

, but left before completion to focus on his internship and music production. He garnered the attention of Jam Master Jay, who took him under his wing, along with Ice-T,

Ol' Dirty Bastard Russell Tyrone Jones (November 15, 1968 – November 13, 2004), known professionally as Ol' Dirty Bastard (often abbreviated as ODB), was an American rapper. He was one of the founding members of the New York rap group Wu-Tang Clan, which forme ...

, Suave House's Tony Draper, and Ultramagnetic MCs, who flew him to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and enlisted his work as a producer, where he met his Sa-Ra bandmate Shafiq Husayn. While building his early career as a producer, Keith also worked in advertising, and as a studio manager and designer while trying to support his daughter, who was born in 1997

Sa-Ra

In early 2000, Om'Mas Keith moved from New York to

, working full-time as a musician and producer. He partnered with Shafiq Husayn and Taz Arnold to form alternative hip-hop group Sa-Ra. The group produced for other artists, such as Jurassic 5, Pharoahe Monch, and

, and released their own music. Their first album, '' The Hollywood Recordings'', was released in 2007 under Babygrande Records. The album had been anticipated to be released under Kanye West's

GOOD Music GOOD Music (often stylized as G.O.O.D. Music; a backronym for Getting Out Our Dreams) is an American independent record label founded by rapper Kanye West in 2004. The label entered an exclusive long-term worldwide music distribution, distributi ...

, who the trio signed with in 2005, but the label was dissolved beforehand. The album bestowed features from Talib Kweli, Bilal, and Ty Dolla $ign, as well as many others. Keith brought attention to Sa-Ra while appearing on Diddy's show Making His Band, which aired on MTV. The group released their sophomore album '' Nuclear Evolution: The Age of Love'', in 2009, with features from

and Gary Bartz.

Later career

In 2009, through music producer Michael Uzowuru, Keith was introduced to

Odd Future Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, better known as Odd Future and often abbreviated as OF or OFWGKTA, was an American alternative hip-hop Musical collective, music collective formed in Los Angeles, California in 2007. The group consisted of rap ...

members

Tyler, The Creator Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has been cited as an influential figure in alternative hip-hop during the 2010s. Tyler beca ...

and

. Ocean had already been working on his debut studio album, '' Channel ORANGE'', and recruited Keith to assist him with production and vocals. The album was released worldwide in July 2012 to positive critical reception, and subsequently nominated in 2013 for a

in four categories: Album of the Year, Best New Artist,

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...

, and Best Urban Contemporary Album, for which it won. Keith was credited for his work on Jay Z and Kanye West's 2011 album, '' Watch the Throne''. In 2013, alongside producing on '' Channel ORANGE'', he released his first independent album ''City Pulse'' and was credited on Odd Future's Earl Sweatshirt's album '' Doris''. In August 2016,

released '' Endless'' and '' Blonde'', crediting Keith as a contributor on both. '' Blonde's'' single Nikes was produced by Keith, and he received writing credits on eleven other tracks on the album.

Philanthropy

Since his

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

win in 2013, Keith has heavily been involved with MusiCares, a foundation that aims to assist musicians and their families in times of financial crisis or medical emergency. Alongside

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...

, he has worked with outreach programs dedicated to educating young musicians. He currently serves as a member of the Recording Academy's

Chapter Board.

Discography

The following is a partial discography of production.

Albums

*''City Pulse'' (2013)

With Sa-Ra

*'' The Hollywood Recordings'' (2007) *'' Nuclear Evolution: The Age of Love'' (2009)

Songs as Featured Artist

* "Cute Girls" by

Patrick Stump Patrick Martin Stumph (born April 27, 1984), known professionally as Patrick Vaughn Stump, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Rock music, rock band Fall Out Boy ...

(2011)

Filmography

Television

*'' Making the Band'' *''Tracks'' (2016)

Film

*''Across the Board'' (2016) * '' The Black Power Mixtape 1967–1975'' (score) (2011)

Awards

for Best Urban Contemporary Album (2013) * Guldbagge Award for Best Original Score (alongside Questlove) (2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keith, OmMas Grammy Award winners American hip-hop record producers 1976 births Living people Plug Research artists