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

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

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

Queens 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 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He has worked with

Frank Ocean Christopher Francis "Frank" Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987), is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. His works are noted by music critics for featuring avant-garde styles and introspective, elliptical lyrics. Ocean ...

, Erykah Badu, John Legend,

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

Kevin Abstract Clifford Ian Simpson (born July 16, 1996), known by his stage name Kevin Abstract, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter, known for his role as a founding member of Brockhampton. He released his debut album, '' MTV1987'', in 2014 to crit ...

, and

Vic Mensa Vic (; es, Vic or Pancracio Celdrán (2004). Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 843. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. «Vic o Vich (viquense, vigitano, vigatán, ausense, ausetano, ausonense) ...

. He is also known as a member of The Sa-Ra Creative Partners, alongside Taz Arnold and

Shafiq Husayn Sa-Ra is an American musical group based in Los Angeles, California, also known by its full name, The Sa-Ra Creative Partners. The group is composed of Om'Mas Keith, Taz Arnold, and Shafiq Husayn. The name translates roughly to "the children of G ...

Early life

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

. Keith was exposed to music from an early age, as his parents were both avant-garde jazz musicians, working alongside Sun Ra, 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 pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

. 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 Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification of ...

Music career

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

RCA records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

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 ...

, after having performed poorly at

John Bowne High School John Bowne High School is a public high school located in Flushing, New York City and has an enrollment of nearly four thousand students.Institute of Audio Research, 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, Suave House's Tony Draper, and Ultramagnetic MCs, who flew him 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' ...

and enlisted his work as a producer, where he met his

Sa-Ra Sa-Ra is an American musical group based in Los Angeles, California, also known by its full name, The Sa-Ra Creative Partners. The group is composed of Om'Mas Keith, Taz Arnold, and Shafiq Husayn. The name translates roughly to "the children of G ...

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

, working full-time as a musician and producer. He partnered with Shafiq Husayn and Taz Arnold to form alternative hip-hop group

. The group produced for other artists, such as Jurassic 5, Pharoahe Monch, and Erykah Badu, and released their own music. Their first album, ''

The Hollywood Recordings ''The Hollywood Recordings'' is the first studio album by American hip hop group Sa-Ra Creative Partners. It was released on Babygrande Records Babygrande Records is an American independent record label based in New York City, founded by Chu ...

'', was released in 2007 under Babygrande Records. The album had been anticipated to be released under Kanye West's GOOD Music, who the trio signed with in 2005, but the label was dissolved beforehand. The album bestowed features from Talib Kweli,

Bilal __NOTOC__ Bilal may refer to: People * Bilal (name) (a list of people with the name) * Bilal ibn Rabah, a companion of Muhammad * Bilal (American singer) * Bilal (Lebanese singer) Places *Bilal Colony, a neighbourhood of Korangi Town in Karachi, ...

, and

Ty Dolla $ign Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his feature on Ameri ...

, as well as many others. Keith brought attention to

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 Erykah Badu and

Gary Bartz Gary Bartz (born September 26, 1940) is an American jazz saxophonist. He has won two Grammy Awards. Biography Bartz studied at the Juilliard School. In the early 1960s, he performed with Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner in Charles Mingus' Jazz Works ...

Later career

In 2009, through music producer

Michael Uzowuru Michael Uzowuru (born November 10, 1991) is an American record producer. He has produced and written for SZA, Frank Ocean, Beyoncé, Donald Glover, Vince Staples, Earl Sweatshirt, and Rosalía, among others. Life and career Michael Uzowuru was ...

, Keith was introduced to Odd Future members Tyler, The Creator 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 Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...

, Best New Artist, Record of the Year, and

Best Urban Contemporary Album The Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for quality works on albums in the urban contemporary subgenre within the R&B field. Honors in several categories are presented at t ...

, for which it won. Keith was credited for his work on

Jay Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

and Kanye West's 2011 album, ''

Watch the Throne ''Watch the Throne'' is a collaborative studio album by American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West, collectively known as The Throne. It was released on August 8, 2011, through Roc-A-Fella Records, Roc Nation, and Def Jam Recordings. Prior to the re ...

''. 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 Nike, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company is headquartered ne ...

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), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

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) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...

, 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 Sa-Ra is an American musical group based in Los Angeles, California, also known by its full name, The Sa-Ra Creative Partners. The group is composed of Om'Mas Keith, Taz Arnold, and Shafiq Husayn. The name translates roughly to "the children of G ...

*''

'' (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 musician, singer, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Fall Out Boy, originally from Wilmette, I ...

(2011)

Filmography

Television

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

Film

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

Awards

for

(2013) *

Guldbagge Award for Best Original Score The Guldbagge for Best Original Score is a Swedish film award presented annually by the Swedish Film Institute (SFI) as part of the Guldbagge Awards (Swedish: "Guldbaggen") to film composers working in the Swedish motion picture industry. Winn ...

(alongside

Questlove Ahmir Khalib Thompson (born January 20, 1971), known professionally as Questlove (stylized as ), is an American musician, record producer, disc jockey, filmmaker, music journalist, and actor. He is the drummer and joint frontman (with Black Thou ...

) (2011)

References

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