Kwamé Holland is an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

, singer and

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

from East Elmhurst, Queens, New York. Starting as a rapper in the late 1980s, he later saw success as a producer.

Biography

In 1989, 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 that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

featured a

polka-dot Red polka dots on a yellow background Alison Jackson wears a cycling_jersey.html" ;"title="Queen of the Mountains polkadot cycling jersey">Queen of the Mountains polkadot cycling jersey The polka dot, also written polkadot, and also called s ...

motif in the costumes and

production design In film industry, film and television, a 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 ...

. This became Kwamé's

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

and a

hip hop fashion Hip-hop fashion (also known as rap fashion) refers to the various styles of dress that originated from Urban Black America and inner city youth in American cities like New York City, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. Being a major part of hip-hop culture ...

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, Bernard Belle, Jimmy Jam and Te ...

genre. In 1992, 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 Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...

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 and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

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Keyshia Cole Keyshia Myeshia Cole (née Johnson; born October 15, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, television personality and actress. Dubbed by critics as the " Princess of Hip-Hop Soul", she is known for her soulful voice and heartfelt lyrics. Bor ...

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971), also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began her musical career as a member of the Contemporary R&B, R&B girl group 4 All the Sistas Arou ...

, and

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...

. In 2004, he co-produced (with

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

)

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, East Coast hip hop group G-Unit, which he formed with childhood friends ...

' hit song " On Fire." The single has been certified Gold by the RIAA. 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) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...

'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 o ...

". 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 and film producer. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is best known for portraying Dominic "Dom" Toretto in the '' Fast & Furious'' fra ...

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 percussion instruments (usually drums, such as snare, bass, and tenor drums) specially designed to be played while moving. This is achieved by attaching the drum(s) to a special harness (also called a carrier ...

'', ''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. The Green home was filled with the sounds of ''Motown, ...

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

Chubb Rock Richard Anthony Simpson (born May 28, 1968), also known as Chubb Rock, is a Jamaican-American rapper who released several successful hip hop albums in the late 1980s and early 1990s. A National Merit Scholar, Chubb Rock dropped out of Brown Un ...

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 (born Simone Gooden) (born 2 July 1970), better known by her stage name Monie Love, is an English rapper, actress, and radio personality known for her singles during the late 1980s and the 1990s. Love is a radio personality for u ...

. In 2015, Kwamé formed Make Noise Recordings. Distributed by

Caroline Records Caroline Records is a record label that was founded in 1973. Founded in the United Kingdom to showcase British progressive rock groups, the label ceased releasing titles in 1976 and then re-emerged in the United States in 1986. The label rel ...

, Kwamé signed R&B singer

and released her fifth album, '' Vivid''. He also garnered a top 2 R&B hit "Get Right Back To My Baby" and 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 has stated he 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 was 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. Hen ...

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

Singles

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwame African-American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers American hip-hop record producers Atlantic Records artists East Coast hip-hop musicians Five percenters Living people Rappers from Queens, New York 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 musicians