.Call her talented. Call her gifted. Call her a renaissance woman for the new millennium. Or, just call her when you need a hit, as some of todays hottest producers and artists do when they need that platinum touch.
21 year-old multi instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, arranger AND vocalist Kenisha Pratt has been at the forefront of contemporary R&B, pop, and soul music for the past couple of years and now, her time to shine has come.Kenisha has written and co-written some of the hottest songs by artists such as Brandy, Toni Braxton, TLC, and more. Shes also worked with such talented producers as Rodney Jerkins (Brandy, Destinys Child, Jennifer Lopez), Full Force (*NSYNC, Britney Spears), QD III (Tupac, Westside Connection), and others. Her biggest breakthrough came with the success of Brandys crossover smash hit of 2002 What About Us? Written alongside producer Rodney Jerkins, Kenishas talents began to get picked up by other artists, and soon lead to her publishing deal with major heavy-weight Windswept Publishing. In addition to What About Us, Kenisha wrote on 7 other songs on Brandys Full Moon album: B*Rocka, What About Us?, When you Touch Me, Anybody, Nothing, WOW, and Apart. She also wrote the hit for TLC Over Me, and two album cuts for Toni Braxton entitled Selfish and Whatchu Need. In May of 2003, Kenisha received the BMI Songwriting Achievement Award for writing the smash hit What About Us? for Brandy. This was only the beginning of her many awards and career highlights.Such an auspicious start for a girl from Los Angeles was by no means a chance happening. Having been groomed by the start by her mother, an accomplished voice and piano teacher in her own right, Kenisha sang her first solo at the tender age of 2. She also comes from a musical family; Kenishas brother K. Young is also a successful songwriter at the age of 18, having already had chart success as the lead singer in R&B group 3 rd Storee. Her sister KeAna is also working ..ting a gospel record. Soon after coming into her own vocally, Kenisha was introduced by her mother to family friend Rene Moore, half of the acclaimed late 70s, early 80s R&B duo Rene and Angela (hits include the oft-sampled Ill Be Good, and other hits like Drive My Love and Save Your Love (For ..1)). Kenisha had the privilege of studying under Moore for four years, on which she reflects, He (Rene) taught me about the different forms of music, about melodies and how they had to be changed depending on each section of the song. He just really groomed me. After I got done working with Rene, I was ready. Ready she was, as Kenisha proceeded to write her first song at the age of 13.Kenisha then took her many musical talents to high school. But not just any high school. Kenisha attended HollywoodHigh School for the Performing Arts, the high school that turned out many of todays stars of music and film. Kenisha embraced her acting talents as well, as she soon landed the lead role in the school production of Dream Girls, and also starred in a number of other musicals as well, including West Side Story and Pajama Game. By graduation, she had received scholarships to attend the University of Southern California and the Musicians Institute. Choosing to attend the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, CA, Kenisha soon graduated and obtained her degree in Vocal Performance.Kenishas reputation as a passionate songwriter and compelling singer has sparked strong interest in a recording career, but she still remains humble. A lot of people want to get into this industry, but they dont want to put in the work that it takes to get it, Kenisha says. You have to work for it. With encouragement from my parents, Phillip and LaCarol, who also manages me, I have been allowed to work on music all of my life. God has seen us being faithful, and hes chosen us to bless others because we serve him, and we will work for his kingdom. It is because of Kenisha's talent, dedication, hardwork, and faith that she is just now hitting her stride. With new material coming out on Brandys new as-yet-untitled release, co-writing with her brother K. Young on numerous new projects, and also her forays into film and music supervision, Kenisha is on the rise, and is sure to have longevity in an industry full of one-hit wonders and fly-by-night artists.
working with dreSource: http://the_yz.tripod.com/dre/dre_biography.html
Dre (Andre Young) was born in February 18, 1965, Los Angeles, California.
He was raised in Compton, and got his nickname by adoring basketball superstar, Dr. J. His step-brother is Warren G. His brother got killed in a fight while Dre was on tour with N.W.A "My brother was my best friend. He was three years younger than me." Dre tells of being on the road when he received a phone call with the bad news. "You never forget that."
He started off as a D.J for parties as a teenager, and soon earned himself a spot in the "Eve After Dark" club, where he would play keyboards and sing.Once a member of the rather anonymous group, "World Class Wreckin' Cru", Dre earned himself a name by producing tracks for Eazy-E, the D.O.C and others, and later became a gangsta rap pioneer as a co-founder, member, co-producer and rapper in the controversial group, N.W.A. (Niggaz With Attitude).The band was extremely successful and was very promoted by endless scandals and unfettered messages of street violence. The debut album (Straight Outta compton) went platinum with minimal radio play, the second LP entered the charts at number one. "We loved the controversy. It's the reason we blew up as big as we did. It wasn't hurting us, it was helping us."The group disbanded in '91, but Dre didn't stop for a second:
He established Death Row Records along with Marion "Suge" Knight, and shortly after released "The Chronic" (1992), which sold over three million copies, won two Grammy Awards, and is still considered to be one of the most influential rap albums ever.The album introduced the new Death Row artists, such as Snoop Doggy Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound, and marked Dr. Dre not only as one of the most creative producers in the rap/hip-hop industry, but also as a fantastic rapper.
The following Death Row album, Snoop Doggy Dogg's "Doggystyle", was produced by Dr. Dre, and sold four million copies.
"I was trying to take it places no other record company had ever been," he says.
"Not just limiting myself to R&B and hip hop. I wanted to branch off into jazz, reggae,
and black rock 'n' roll."In 1994 he directed the short film "Murder Was The Case", and co-produced the soundrack. He also added a song to the soundtrack entitled "Natural Born Killaz", which marked the reunion with former fellow band member, Ice Cube. That was his last work with protege Snoop Doggy Dogg. He decided that Snoop, who didn't make a single step without his mentor, should stick to his own work. In that same year he released a compilation album, entitled "Concrete Roots", which contained some old and some newer material.In 1995 Dre contributed a track for the "Friday" soundtrack, "Keep Their Heads Ringin'". The track was a massive success, and won Dre the MTV "Best Rap Song" award in '96.In that same year he left Death Row, and started his own label, "Aftermath Entertainment", a joint venture with Interscope Records."At first it was just a big family thing," he says. "But the more money that got made, the further apart everybody came. It's like, certain people started becoming what they hated." He adds:
"I wasn't feeling comfortable with the people I was around. Everybody wasn't professional. I always wanted things at Death Row to be right and positive, because I'm a positive person. And the situation I was in wasn't, plain and simple. It was too much negativity. Most likely, there are gonna be records coming out dissing me, dissing people I've worked with and am going to be working with. It's just a lot of negative bullshit. So from here on out, Death Row Records don't even exist to Dre."In November 26, 1996, Dr. Dre released the compilation album "Dr. Dre Presents... The Aftermath", which featured new performances from several well-known artists as well as introducing more than a dozen Aftermath Entertainment artists and producers.The albums unites hip-hop and R&B , east coast and west coast, hardcore and pop, male and female, old school and new school, delivered by talented performers hand picked by Dre, the album's executive producer.
One of the tracks in the album is "East Coast/West Coast Killas", which collaborates various artists from both coasts such as Nas, KRS-1, B-Real, RBX, and of course Dr. Dre."Now I'ma be able to do whatever I wanna do," he claims. "If it works, it's on me. If it fails, it's on me. But I'm an innovator. I like trying things." In that year he also released another compilation album, "First Round Knockout".On top of the list of Dre's future projects is Helter Skelter, Dre's long-awaited reunion with Ice Cube, which Dre wanted to do since '94.
"If Cube is still into it, I definitely wanna do that record. I don't give a fuck if it's 10 years from now, and we're like walking on canes with gray hair. I wanna do that record, cuz I think it'll be amazing."There were also rumors of an N.W.A. reunion, but it seems that Dre is not interested. "That was my past," he says. "What I thought was the thing to do then. I mean, I think 'Straight Outta Compton' was a classic hip-hop album. But I do look back on a lot of the things we were saying and doing then and go, "Damn!". But the shit was dope at the time. Would I ever do that N.W.A. material right now? No. No way. I'm more into totally positive moves."And what about a solo album?
Dre is working on "The Chronic 2000: No Seeds", which will be released on November '99, and has already announced the album will contain two tracks with Snoop Doggy Dogg, with whom he hasn't worked for almost four years, and should also include tracks with Redman, Eminem, RBX, Xzibit and others.
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