Atlantic Records in L.A.

12.01.10 | 1:49 pm

Its my fifth day in L.A. and I’ve already gotten so much accomplished. Today happens to be the day of the Grammy’s and though I was invited and received tickets, I made an oath to myself that I wouldn’t attend the actual award ceremony until I was nominated. So while I awaited the closure of the awards I decided to make the day productive and set up a meeting with Atlantic Records. Soon as I walked into the Warner building to sign in I ran into Mike Jackson from EMI Publishing so we got a chance to chat as well about my Keys and Ink organization. Big ups to my A&R homie Raj, Byron Wright from BMI, Sateesh, Cory, Hanif and Regina for recognizing my grind and acknowledging my creativity.



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Gooning with Plies

11.20.10 | 2:31 pm

Welcome to Southwest Airlines, The time is now 11:18am we will be departing shortly… arriving in Tampa, FL. in approximately 2 hours, The captain says. Fortunate for me my eyes would be glued together for about 90 minutes minimum. From the time I stepped off the plane it was game time. As soon as I arrived at TPA I jumped on there Wi-Fi and started to download Yousendit files of tracked out versions of the songs Plies would be cutting. From editing in the cab that day to 4 Days later at the studio there was a non-stopped chain of hits being made with the Goon himself Plies.

As you can tell I was bit exhausted but So much stuff was done on the spot. Andre “Dre” Monsanto (A&R/Mgmt. of Keys and Ink) and I help place 7 Keys and Ink tracks on this recent release from B.C. aka Mr.Necronam and Gavin “G.Luck” Luckett. I’m excited about the future of our company. Almost every month in 2010 we have placed on a major released album. As Plies continues to write…

…we continue prepping tracks to get back in action towards the 1st quarter to work on his LP release via Atlantic Records. Download “You Need People Like Me” Part 1 & 2. A Total of 15 Keys and Ink tracks. Awwww Yeeeeeeeeeeee!

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In the Lab working w/ Jazze Pha

11.13.10 | 7:11 am

Simmer Saute in The Sausage!!! Haha… Another working trip in ATL making some certified classics. Jazze and I have so many similarities in producing and songwriting styles, so everytime we get in the studio its like magic! Today we worked out of Multi-Platinum Grammy Winning Producer Dallas Austin’s studio. I got a chance to write to my 1st Drumma Boy track, Jazze already had the hook idea laid down so I came in and murdered the verses, and we also laid a reference down to a record called “Biggest Fan” that I produced. Me and Jazze Co-wrote it and referenced it in like 30 mins. flat. By the time we did this blog we were on our 3rd record.

P.S. Dallas your black on black Rolls Royce Phantom in the driveway is motivation to keep working hard…In the words of Jazze Phinzzle himself “O Boi!” lol. Big ups to Greedy and Vawn, yall showed me much love and made sure I was straight like blood family.

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I’m a Film Director

11.01.10 | 1:14 pm

Recently I’ve been dibbling into film. I’ve always had a passion for imagery, but just recently I got serious and start working on the Canon 5D Mark II. As with all things, if you keep practicing you’ll get better. So this is one of my newest viral videos I shot, color corrected and edited for my artist Miss Mykie. This is by far my best thus far from a cinematography stand point. I shot this with NO lights… Thank God for Final Cut Pro.

You can check out some of the other vids I’ve shot and edited on Miss Mykie’s YouTube Channel. Right now she’s my test dummy. lol

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I Got Punk’d

10.06.10 | 4:10 pm

As alot of you know I am big on jewelry. I don’t do drugs & I rarely drink, and I’ve come to find that jewelry is officially my addiction. Yet as I get older clarity & quality become more important to me, rather than having the biggest piece of jewelry. So Recently I traded in all my yellow gold and yellow diamond jewelry and ordered a new watch via C. $tone from Johnny Dang & Co.. On a tight deadline, I knew the odds of me getting my watch before my trip to Atlanta were small but I felt so weird stepping out without my ice. So prior to a studio session with C $tone he attempts to prank me with my own watch.

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After Rehearsals in Atlanta

04.28.10 | 11:43 am

In the dance studio after my artist Miss Mykie’s performance rehearsals. Tomorrow we have a big show… she’s opening up for Drake & Travis Porter. Its hosted by Lloyd a bunch of record label and music execs will be there checking for her. I’m very excited about Mykie’s future…We have put in alot of work collectively as a team to get her to this point, and I’m just extremely excited to see her blossoming as an artist.

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Atlanta’s WNBA Allstars

03.23.10 | 3:14 pm

Another great trip to Atlanta, this was Jazze and Vawn & Greedy’s 1st time ever meeting my artist Miss Mykie. I always talk about her so this time i decided to bring her down. We ended up putting her to work before she left. This particular clip is from our 2nd day in the studio. We were writing and cutting a reference record for a group called Crave for a WNBA theme song. As you can see Jazze wild’n out at the end trying to get a feeling of being in a stadium. “Ladies and Gentlemen, The WNBA Allstars…” lol [ Good Times ]

I also got a chance to meet Patrick aka Guitar Boy who has played and co-produced on tracks w/ R. Kelly, Trey Songs, Jennifer Hudson and so many more. Also in the building was a dope upcoming keyboardist/producer Johnny Bravo. Its always awesome to be in the mist of so much talent, it rubs off easily.

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Keys and Ink – The Dream Team

03.19.10 | 2:48 pm

Yezzzzir! Whitney Houston, Lil Wayne, Beyonce, Plies, Rick Ross, Jay-Z, Yung Berg, Paul Wall, Keyshia Cole, Snoop Dogg, Ludacris etc….The list goes onnnn. The Keys and Ink click placement list is solid w/ so much more to come. Thus far the team consist of Myself (Producer/Songwriter), Mateo Amarei (Writer), G. Luck & B Don (Producers), Tami Latrell (Songwriter), Mas Beatz (Producer), Riquo Jones (Songwriter), Necronam (Producers), Lauren Seymour (Writer), Cam Wallace (Producer)

Today was truely a blessing and GOD really gave me confirmation that my vision 2 years ago wasn’t in vain. When Keys and Ink was founded in 2008 I knew that it had potential to be a timeless brand and really be an organization to help producers/songwriters grow. So now we in that thang! Helping take each other to the next level and making GIGANTIC records…So when you looking for them hits you know where to find um. Awwwww Yeeeee!
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Check out our website: www.keysandink.com [ Its currently under construction but will be 100% Up very soon ]

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I Need an Assistant

03.11.10 | 10:22 pm

On the way out the crib for a long day of running errands and taking care of business after 4 days straight in the studio. I think I’m gonna hire an assistant.

P.S. Big shout out to Pizza Hut and their Pepperoni Lovers Pizza

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Day26 on the 27th

02.27.10 | 5:37 am

Today I was in the studio with Day 26’s Brian Angel. During this blog he’s trying to reframe his self from saying what he told me during the session about my talent on camera…but I’m sure you know what time it is. This dude has to be one of the most dopest vocalist I’ve ever worked with in the studio. He’s range is amazing and pretty much anything I think up in my head and sing to him, he can sing it back a million times better.

After the session Brian, Will and I hung out at Pravada for a second, where they were hosting an event. Slim Thug showed up to show love and it was an overall very productive evening. Big ups to Mas Beatz and the whole Keys and Ink click. Its about to get u-g-l-y

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