Alex da Kid: Difference between revisions
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'''Alexander Grant''' (born August 27, 1983), better known as '''Alex da Kid''', is a Grammy award winning English music songwriter and [[hip hop music|hip-hop]] [[hip hop production|producer]]. |
'''[http://www.alexdakid.com/bio Alexander Grant]''' (born August 27, 1983), better known as '''Alex da Kid''', is a Grammy award winning English music songwriter and [[hip hop music|hip-hop]] [[hip hop production|producer]]. |
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London native and Grammy award winner Alex Da Kid began his journey into music production at the age of 19, attending Thames Valley University to obtain a bachelor’s degree in audio technology. While in school, Alex began forging relationships within the UK music industry, soon realizing that he also needed to establish himself in the United States. In 2008, he began making trips to the U.S. and quickly attracted the attention of top music executives. After working and ghost producing for top producers, Alex signed a publishing deal with Universal Music Group in 2009. As his workload became more intensive, he took on manager Marc Jordan (Rihanna & Jazmine Sullivan) and subsequently moved to New York. |
London native and Grammy award winner Alex Da Kid began his journey into music production at the age of 19, attending Thames Valley University to obtain a bachelor’s degree in audio technology. While in school, Alex began forging relationships within the UK music industry, soon realizing that he also needed to establish himself in the United States. In 2008, he began making trips to the U.S. and quickly attracted the attention of top music executives. After working and ghost producing for top producers, Alex signed a publishing deal with Universal Music Group in 2009. As his workload became more intensive, he took on manager Marc Jordan (Rihanna & Jazmine Sullivan) and subsequently moved to New York. |
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Revision as of 18:08, 3 October 2011
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Alex da Kid | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Alexander Grant |
| Born | August 27, 1983 |
| Origin | London, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Hip hop, pop, Alternative |
| Occupation | Record producer |
| Instrument(s) | Keyboard, drum machine, sampler |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Labels | KIDinaKORNER, Interscope Records |
| Website | Official Website |
Alexander Grant (born August 27, 1983), better known as Alex da Kid, is a Grammy award winning English music songwriter and hip-hop producer. London native and Grammy award winner Alex Da Kid began his journey into music production at the age of 19, attending Thames Valley University to obtain a bachelor’s degree in audio technology. While in school, Alex began forging relationships within the UK music industry, soon realizing that he also needed to establish himself in the United States. In 2008, he began making trips to the U.S. and quickly attracted the attention of top music executives. After working and ghost producing for top producers, Alex signed a publishing deal with Universal Music Group in 2009. As his workload became more intensive, he took on manager Marc Jordan (Rihanna & Jazmine Sullivan) and subsequently moved to New York.
Since his move less than two years ago, Alex has already made a name for himself in the industry. After producing Nicki Minaj’s debut single, “Massive Attack,” he teamed up with B.o.B. and Paramore’s Hayley Williams for the hit single “Airplanes,” which peaked at #2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and sold over 4 million digital singles to date. Alex collaborated with hip-hop master Eminem on the sequel to B.o.B.’s “Airplanes,” titled “Airplanes Pt. II,” and continued to work together resulting in the track on Eminem’s album, Recovery, titled “Love The Way You Lie” featuring Rihanna. This most recent hit spent seven straight weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and sold over 5 million singles to date. Additionally, the record went to #1 in over 30 countries around the world and the music video broke the YouTube.com record for the most views in 24 hours – 6.6 million. While Eminem and Rihanna burned up the charts through the end of 2010, Diddy released the Alex Da Kid-produced single, “Coming Home” featuring Skylar Grey, which was the first single off of his latest album, Last Train to Paris. Having sold over two million singles, “Coming Home” is Diddy’s biggest selling record to date, being used in countless movie and TV spots including a live performance before game four of the 2010 World Series. December also brought the release of T.I.’s No Mercy album, which included the track “Castle Walls” featuring Christina Aguilera.
So far 2011 has kept Alex very busy with the release of two huge records: Lupe Fiasco’s controversial single “Words I Never Said” featuring Skylar Grey and Dr. Dre’s first single off of his long-awaited Detox album, “I Need A Doctor” featuring Eminem and Skylar Grey. Alex was also nominated for four Grammys including “Song of the Year,” “Record of the Year” and “Album of the Year” at the 2011 Grammy Awards and received a win in the “Best Rap Album” category for Eminem’s 2010 release, Recovery. Most recently, Alex was asked by Bono and The Edge (from U2) to compose a new track for the Broadway production, “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.” The song, “Rise Above 1,” was performed by Bono, The Edge, and Reeve Carney on the season final of American Idol.
In May 2011, Alex signed one of the biggest label deals of the year with Jimmy Iovine and Interscope Records. Commented Jimmy Iovine, Chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M: “Interscope has always been committed to great producers, and I think in Alex we found one that will be around for a long time.” Alex was also nominated for 8 Billboard awards and his music was recently featured in the new Lexus Campaign. In addition, Alex is now the first Producer in Vevo history to have his music’s videos reach over half a BILLION views. Currently, Alex is in the studio with Skylar Grey, the first act signed to his new record label, KIDinaKORNER. With Grey’s first live performance having been alongside Eminem and Dr. Dre at the 2011 Grammy awards, she is definitely one of the most highly anticipated artists of 2011.
Early life
Grant failed to make the grade as a Trainee football , Training with Bristol City[1] until when, at 19 years of age, his friend introduced him to the digital music editing software Fruity Loops, which prompted an interest in music production.[2] He then attended Thames Valley University to obtain a bachelor’s degree in audio technology.
Universal Music Publishing Group's Jessica Rivera first heard about him through Grant's lawyer Scott Felcher.[3] On request Grant sent Rivera sent some of his music, and the publishing executive later related her reactions to HitQuarters: "It hit me right away that this dude had something different to bring to the table ... He wasn't just straight up hip-hop - his sound was very different and transcended genres."[3]
Production discography
2008
- "Going In"
2009
- "All Out of Tune"
2010
- "Massive Attack" (feat. Sean Garrett; produced with Sean Garrett)[4][5][6]
- "Airplanes" (feat. Hayley Williams of Paramore; produced with DJ Frank E)[7]
- "Airplanes, Part II" (feat. Eminem and Hayley Williams of Paramore; produced with Eminem and Luis Resto)[7]
- "Love the Way You Lie" (feat. Rihanna)[8]
- "Love the Way You Lie (Part II)" (feat. Eminem)
- "Castle Walls" (feat. Christina Aguilera)[9]
- "Coming Home" (feat. Skylar Grey)
2011
- "I Need a Doctor" (feat. Eminem & Skylar Grey)[10][11]
- "Words I Never Said" (feat. Skylar Grey)[12]
Upcoming
- "Never be the Same"
Cheryl Cole - Untitled Third Studio Album
- Some Songs Produced.
- Whole album produced.
Produced singles
 |
| Year | Single | Chart positions | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 | US Pop |
US Rap |
US R&B |
CAN | UK | |||
| 2008 | "Hello Heartbreak" (Michelle Williams) | – | – | – | – | – | – | Unexpected |
| 2010 | "Massive Attack" (Nicki Minaj featuring Sean Garrett) | 122 | – | – | 65 | – | – | Non-album single |
| "Airplanes" (B.o.B featuring Hayley Williams of Paramore) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 65 | 2 | 1 | B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray | |
| "Love the Way You Lie" (Eminem featuring Rihanna) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 2 | Recovery | |
| "Coming Home" (Diddy-Dirty Money featuring Skylar Grey) | 11 | 9 | 21 | 83 | 7 | 4 | Last Train to Paris | |
| 2011 | "I Need a Doctor" (Dr. Dre featuring Eminem & Skylar Grey) | 4 | 19 | 16 | 124 | 8 | 8 | Detox |
| "Words I Never Said" (Lupe Fiasco featuring Skylar Grey) | 89 | – | – | – | – | – | Lasers | |
| "Dance Without You" (Skylar Grey) | – | – | – | – | – | – | Invinsible | |
| "Invisible" (Skylar Grey) | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
Other charted songs
| Year | Single | Chart positions | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 | US Pop |
US Rap |
US R&B |
CAN | UK | |||
| 2010 | "Love the Way You Lie (Part II)" (Rihanna featuring Eminem) | – | – | – | – | 19 | 160 | Loud |
| "Castle Walls" (T.I. featuring Christina Aguilera) | 105 | – | – | 84 | 99 | – | No Mercy | |
References
- ^ "Alex Da Kid: The Brit behind 2010's biggest hit". BBC News. December 21, 2010.
- ^ Kondo, Toshitaka (2010). Production Credit (Alex da Kid). XXL Magizine. p. 103.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b "Interview with Jessica Rivera". HitQuarters. 22 Jun 2011. Retrieved 24 Jul 2011.
- ^ [Nicki Minaj Is 'Real Creative,' Producer Alex Da Kid Says] MTV. Accessed on June 9, 2010.
- ^ [Nicki Minaj featuring Sean Garrett, "Massive Attack"] Billboard. Accessed on June 10, 2010.
- ^ "Q&A: Producer Alex Da Kid Talks Eminem". Rap-Up.com. 2010-06-14. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
- ^ a b [FEATURE: B.o.B feat. Hayley Williams (of Paramore) – Airplanes] The Hype Factor. Accessed on June 10, 2010.
- ^ [Eminem, Rihanna Lament Abusive Relationship In 'Love The Way You Lie' MTV. Accessed on June 9, 2010.
- ^ "Rap-Up TV: Alex Da Kid Builds 'Castle Walls' for T.I. and Christina Aguilera". Rap-Up.com. 2010-11-23. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
- ^ Dinh, James (2010-11-23). "Dr. Dre Is 'Constantly Working,' Producer Alex Da Kid Says - Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
- ^ "Eminem: "I Need a Doctor" (Feat. Dr. Dre and Skylar Grey)". Prefixmag.com. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
- ^ "The LupE.N.D. Blog: Video: Alex Da Kid reveals that Skylar Grey is featured on Lupe Fiasco's "Words I Never Said"". Lupefiasco-lupend.blogspot.com. 2011-01-16. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
External links
- Alex da Kid at MySpace
- Alex da Kid on Twitter