Kerry Brothers Jr. (born October 1, 1970), also known as "Krucial", is an American

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 ...

, songwriter and hip hop artist. Brothers and singer-songwriter

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

began a musical partnership in the mid-1990s, co-writing and co-producing together a number of songs from her first four albums. He received two

Grammy Awards 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 ...

from his collaborative work with Keys: Best R&B Album for '' Songs in A Minor'' and Best R&B Song for " No One". In 2006, Brothers released his debut EP ''Take Da Hood Back''. Brothers co-wrote songs that appeared on the soundtracks of the films '' Dr. Dolittle'', ''

Shaft Shaft may refer to: Rotating machine elements * Shaft (mechanical engineering), a rotating machine element used to transmit power * Line shaft, a power transmission system * Drive shaft, a shaft for transferring torque * Axle, a shaft around whi ...

'', and '' Ali''. He has also worked with other R&B and hip hop artists including

Mario is a character (arts), character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in ...

, Rakim, Angie Stone,

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ...

, Keyshia Cole, Goapele,

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

and

K'naan Keinan Abdi Warsame (born 1 February 1978) ( so, Keynaan Cabdi Warsame, ar, كَينَان عَبدِ وَرسَمَ ''Kaynān ʿAbdi Warsama''), better known by his stage name K'naan (), is a Somali-Canadian musician. He rose to prominenc ...

Early life

Brothers was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and grew up in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

and

Far Rockaway, Queens Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the eastern part of the Rockaway peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood extends from Beach 32nd Street east to the Nassau County line ...

Career

Initially a teen rapper, Brothers was signed to B-Boy Records and released a 2 sided singl
"Who Am I"
and
We Are The Move
in 1988 with then partner Marcel Brooks. The group was called K-Bee & Ceil B. After being shelved for not seeing eye to eye with the label the group split up. Brothers then started to make beats himself for him to rap to. In the early 90's Brothers moved to Harlem and was part of the "Hard Pack" mixtapes and would frequent open mics. At the same time he was a founding member of a collective called "Melanin 2000" who frequent Nuyoricans Poet Café and Lyricist Lounge downtown in NYC

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

. Later on it was there in

Washington Square Park Washington Square Park is a public park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. One of the best known of New York City's public parks, it is an icon as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity. ...

had meet

. Brothers and Keys co-owned a production company, KrucialKeys, based in New York, and together they co-founded and co-owned a recording studio, The Oven Studios, in Long Island, New York. He received two

'', and '' Ali''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brothers, Kerry Jr. African-American songwriters Songwriters from New York (state) Alicia Keys American hip hop record producers Living people 1970 births Grammy Award winners