Gimel Androus Keaton (born February 27, 1974), better known by his stage name Young Guru, is an American audio engineer, record producer, disc jockey, and record executive from
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...
. In 2019, Young Guru won 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 ...
for
Best Urban Contemporary Album for mixing the album ''
Everything Is Love
''Everything Is Love'' (stylized in all caps) is the debut studio album by American musical duo the Carters, consisting of spouses Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter. It was released on June 16, 2018, by Parkwood Entertainment, ...
'' by
The Carters
The Carters (stylized in all caps) are an American musical duo composed of married artists Beyoncé and Jay-Z. They released their first album as the Carters, '' Everything Is Love'', on June 16, 2018. Before formally naming their collaboration, ...
. He has worked with many leading recording artists, most notably Jay-Z, and an April 2015 ''
Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' profile called him "the most famous and successful engineer in the history of hip-hop".
Career
Young Guru acquired his moniker as a teen when he taught African history classes at a community center. He also used his name when he began working as a DJ while still a teenager. In the early 1990s Young Guru bought his own amplifiers, lights and microphones which sparked his interest in music technology. While a student at
Howard University
Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...
, he saw the early development of
Bad Boy Records
Bad Boy Records (or Bad Boy Entertainment) is an American record label founded in 1993 by rapper Sean "Puffy" Combs. It operates as an imprint of Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. It has been home to many artists, including ...
and landed some of his early engineering jobs. He began DJing in Washington DC in 1996, where he met singer/rapper Nonchalant, who had a top 20 single at the time, and became her tour DJ. Young Guru, who had taken piano lessons as a child, used the money he received from the tour to fund a six-month music recording course at Omega Recording Studios in Rockville, Maryland, which had a great impact on him. After Omega, Young Guru engineered Nonchalant's second album, which was never released, but the producer,
Chucky Thompson
Carl Edward "Chucky" Thompson Jr. (July 12, 1968 – August 9, 2021) was an American hip hop and R&B record producer.
Biography
Thompson was born in Washington, D.C., in 1968. He was a member of Bad Boy Entertainment's " Hitmen" team of in-ho ...
(
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...
,
Faith Evans
Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American singer and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 for a career in the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B ...
) recognized the young engineer's potential and invited him to come and work with him in Washington DC. In 1999, Young Guru went independent and moved to New York, where he worked with
Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie on his Madd Rapper project and with
Memphis Bleek
Malik Deshawn Cox (born June 23, 1978), known by his stage name Memphis Bleek, is an American rapper who was a protégé of fellow New York rapper Jay-Z. Cox started his own labels: Get Low Records in 1998, and #Warehouse Music Group, Warehouse M ...
. The latter was signed to Roc-A-Fella Records, which led to Young Guru meeting Jay-Z.
Over the years Young Guru has been a major part of several artists' careers in addition to Jay-Z, including
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 ...
,
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...
,
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, record producer and record executive.
Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludac ...
,
Ghostface Killah
Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 C ...
,
Freeway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
,
Cam'ron
Cameron Ezike Giles (born February 4, 1976), better known by his stage name Cam'ron, is an American rapper, record executive, and actor from Harlem, New York City. Beginning his career in the mid-1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed to Lance "Un" ...
,
Redman &
Method Man
Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of t ...
,
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...
,
Pete Rock
Peter O. Phillips (born June 21, 1970), better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American record producer, DJ and rapping, rapper. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time, and is often mentioned alongs ...
,
Fabolous
John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition while still a senior in high school, when he performed live on American music executive ...
,
Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...
,
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and
T.I.
He was the tour DJ for the 'Watch The Throne' world tour featuring Jay-Z and
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
, and also for JAY-Z's '4:44' Tour
In August 2013, Young Guru taught an audio mixing class via Skillshare. The video lessons, filmed at
SAE Institute
The SAE Institute (SAE, formerly the School of Audio Engineering and the SAE Technology College) is a Private college, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit college with campuses and facilities, including license ...
New York, were titled "Sound Check: The Essentials of DIY Audio Mixing.
In April 2015, Young Guru was named the Director Of Operations at
9th Wonder
Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975),
better known as 9th Wonder, is a It's a Wonderful World Music Group
It's A Wonderful World Music Group is an independent record label, founded by hip hop producer 9th Wonder in 2008.
History
9th Wonder founded It's A Wonderful World Music Group shortly after leaving the group Little Brother (group), Little Br ...
.
Young Guru has also lent instruments to the youth-oriented
digital audio workstation
A digital audio workstation (DAW) is an electronic device or application software used for Sound recording and reproduction, recording, editing and producing audio files. DAWs come in a wide variety of configurations from a single software pro ...
, EarSketch.
In November 2018, Young Guru was credited with mixing the latest
Meek Mill
Robert Rihmeek Williams (born May 6, 1987), known professionally as Meek Mill, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he embarked on his music career as a battle rapper, and later formed a short-lived rap group, ...
album Championships.
Discography
Albums/scratches/production/mix
* Def Jam Recordings Presents
(CD, Comp, Promo)
Hustlin' (Remix)
Def Jam Recordings
(2006)
* Tell Em Why U Madd
(Album)
Surviving the Game
Columbia
(1999)
* Chicago '85 ... The Movie
(CD)
Doin' Wrong
DreamWorks
(2000)
* Charmbracelet
(CD, Album)
Boy (I Need You), You
MonarC, Island Records
(2002)
* The Blueprint, The Gift & The Curse
(4xLP, Album)
U Don't Know (Remix)
Roc-A-Fella Records
(2002)
* Welcome to New York City
(12")
Roc-A-Fella Records
(2002)
* Boy (I Need You)
(CD, Single, Promo)
Island Def Jam Music Group
(2003)
* Flipside
(12", Promo)
Roc-A-Fella Records
(2003)
* Dirt Off Your Shoulder / Encore Roc-A-Fella Records
(2003)
* What We Do Roc-A-Fella Records
(2002)
* The Chittlin Circuit
(CD)
Ladies' Jam
Fastlife
(2005)
* Philadelphia Freeway
(CD)
Roc-A-Fella Records
(2003)
* 99 Problems / My 1st Song
(12")
Roc-A-Fella Records
(2004)
* Be Your Girl
(12", Promo)
TVT Records
(2004)
* Get Crunk Shorty
(12", Promo)
Jive
(2004)
* Girlfight
(12", Promo)
Virgin Records America, Inc.
(2004)
* Rock Co. Kane Flow
(12")
Seven Heads
(2004)
* The Grind Date
(12")
Sanctuary Records
(2004)
* The Grind Date / Shopping Bags
(12", Promo)
Sanctuary Records
(2004)
* What's Happenin! / Salt Shaker
(12", Promo)
TVT Recordings
(2004)
* Dynomite (Going Postal)
(12", Promo)
J Records
(2005)
*Never Been In Love
(12")
Geffen Records
(2005)
* The Minstrel Show
(Album)
Atlantic
(2005)
* 4:21 ... The Day After
(Album)
Def Jam Recordings
(2006)
* The Pretty Toney Album
(Album)
Tooken Back
Def Jam Recordings
(2004)
* Def Jam Recordings Presents
(CD, Comp, Promo)
The Champ
Def Jam Recordings
(2004)
* Dynomite (Going Postal) /
Chicago-Rillas (12", Max)
J Records
(2006)
* Hustlin' Remix
(12")
Def Jam Recordings
(2006)
* Kingdom Come
(Album)
Roc-A-Fella Records
(2006)
* Eardrum
(Album)
Blacksmith Music
(2007)
* Tambourine
(12")
Geffen Records
(2007)
* Jeanius
(2xLP, Album, Ltd)
Blacksmith
(2008)
* NY's Finest
(Album)
Nature Sounds
(2008)
* Blackout! 2
(Album)
Def Jam Recordings
(2009)
* Fishscale
(Album)
The Champ
Def Jam Recordings
(2004)
* King
(Album)
I'm Talkin' To You
Atlantic
(2006)
* American Gangster
(Album)
Ignorant Sh*t
Roc-A-Fella Records
(2007)
* Strength & Loyalty
(CD, Album)
9mm
Interscope Records
(2007)
* T.I. Vs T.I.P.
(Album)
Help Is Coming
Atlantic
(2007)
* Theater of the Mind
(Album)
Nasty Girl
Island Def Jam Music Group
(2008)
* Music Inspired By The FIlm:
More Than A Game (CD, Album)
History
Interscope Records
(2009)
* The Blueprint 3
(CD, Album)
RocNation
(2009)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young Guru
1974 births
Living people
African-American DJs
American audio engineers
American hip hop record producers
Grammy Award winners
Howard University alumni
People from Wilmington, Delaware
People from Newark, New Jersey
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American people