American DJ and audio engineer (born 1974)
Kevin Marques Moo
[1] (born 1974),
[2] better known by his stage name Daddy Kev , is an American DJ,
[3]
Grammy Award -winning audio engineer,
[4] record producer and executive from
Los Angeles ,
California .
[5] He is the owner of
Alpha Pup Records
[6] and the founder of
Low End Theory .
[7] As an audio engineer, Daddy Kev has mixed and mastered albums by
Flying Lotus ,
[8]
Thundercat ,
[9]
Kamasi Washington ,
[10] and
Leon Bridges .
[11]
Early life
Daddy Kev was born and raised in the
Harbor City neighborhood of Los Angeles.
[12] As a child, he played piano and trumpet.
[13] At the age of 13, he started playing turntables.
[13] He graduated from
Narbonne High School .
[13] He earned a
Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from
University of California, San Diego .
[14]
Career
In 2001, Daddy Kev released an EP, Lost Angels , on
Celestial Recordings . It featured guest appearances from the rappers
Myka 9 ,
P.E.A.C.E. ,
Busdriver ,
Awol One , and
Circus .
[15]
[16] In that year, he also released Souldoubt , a collaborative album with Awol One, on Meanstreet Records.
[17]
[18] Another collaborative album with Awol One, titled
Slanguage , was released on
Mush Records in 2003.
[19] 2004 brought Busdriver's
Cosmic Cleavage , which was produced entirely by Daddy Kev and released on
Big Dada .
[20]
In 2006, he founded the weekly
Low End Theory club night at the Airliner in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles.
[21]
In 2012, he founded the studio Cosmic Zoo in Los Angeles along with the rapper
Nocando .
[22]
At the
58th Annual Grammy Awards held in 2016, he was nominated for the
Best Dance Recording award for mixing the
Flying Lotus song "
Never Catch Me " featuring
Kendrick Lamar .
[23]
At the
63rd Annual Grammy Awards held in 2021, he won the
Best Progressive R&B Album award for mixing the
Thundercat album
It Is What It Is .
[24]
In July 2021, he started the weekly Scenario club night in Los Angeles, which showcases upcoming artists in the local scene.
[25]
In 2022, he self-published a book on audio engineering entitled Audio Dynamics: Compression Techniques for Modern Mixing and Mastering .
[26]
At the
65th Annual Grammy Awards held in 2023, he was nominated for the
Best Historical Album award for mastering the
Freestyle Fellowship album
To Whom It May Concern... .
[27]
Style and influences
Pitchfork called Daddy Kev "one of the Los Angeles underground's most visionary producers",
[28] while
Fact called him "one of underground hip-hop's most respected engineers".
[29]
Discography
Studio albums
EPs
Singles
Productions
Phoenix Orion – "Scanners", "Millennium Fever", "Dead Men Don't Download", and "Blade Runner" from Zimulated Experiencez (1998)
Supernatural – "Seven Minutes of Understanding" (1999)
Alien Nation – "Unicron" (1999)
Sole – "Famous Last Words" from
Bottle of Humans (2000)
Naptron – "Marvin Meets Seymour Frye Pt. I" (2000)
Mikah 9 – "First Things Last" from Timetable (2001)
Abstract Rude – "Frisbee" from P.A.I.N.T. (2001)
Busdriver – "Mindcrossings", "Suing Sony", and "Single Cell Ego" from
Temporary Forever (2002)
Existereo – "Four Way Window Pain" from Dirty Deeds & Dead Flowers (2003)
Abstract Rude & Tribe Unique – "Flow and Tell" from Showtyme (2003)
Neila – "Vertical Trees with Eternal Leaves" from Vertical Trees with Eternal Leaves (2003)
Busdriver and
Radioinactive – "Winthorp & Winthorp" (2003)
Existereo – "Same Breath" from Crush Groove (2004)
The Shape Shifters – "Rockin' These Mics", "Kreye Inn", and "Futuristic" from Was Here (2004)
Busdriver –
Cosmic Cleavage (2004)
Sage Francis – "Dance Monkey" from
A Healthy Distrust (2005)
Awol One – "Everything's Perfect" from The War of Art (2006)
Subtitle – "Restructure/Reroute" from
Terrain to Roam (2006)
Acid Reign – "Too Kool for Skool" and "Here Comes Trouble" from Time & Change (2008)
The Grouch – "Shero" from
Show You the World (2008)
Select works mastered by Daddy Kev
2000s
2010s
2020s
Awards and nominations
References
^ Walker, Chris (August 29, 2014).
"How Daddy Kev Uses Low End Theory as a Talent Incubator" .
LA Weekly . Retrieved August 26, 2019 .
^
"Daddy Kev" .
Resident Advisor . Retrieved August 26, 2019 .
^ Bourgelle, Fabrice (April 2, 2014).
"Slinking In LA: Daddy Kev Plays Tour Guide" .
Clash . Retrieved August 26, 2019 .
^ Bloom, Madison (March 14, 2021).
"Thundercat Wins Best Progressive R&B Album at 2021 Grammys" .
Pitchfork . Retrieved August 15, 2021 .
^ Rubin, Mike (May 28, 2010).
"Lost, With Laptops, in Psychedelic Space" .
The New York Times . Retrieved December 24, 2010 .
^
"Episode 100: Daddy Kev" . Kinda Neat . 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2019 .
^ Fintoni, Laurent (February 11, 2013).
"Interview: Daddy Kev" .
Red Bull Music Academy Daily . Retrieved August 26, 2019 .
^ Fintoni, Laurent (August 26, 2015).
"How Flying Lotus Built Brainfeeder, His Spiritual Little Empire" .
The Fader . Retrieved August 15, 2021 .
^ Dandridge-Lemco, Ben (February 24, 2017).
"Here Are The Full Credits For Thundercat's Drunk Album" .
The Fader . Retrieved August 14, 2021 .
^ Dwyer, Alex (May 3, 2017).
"How The LA Beat Scene Brought Jazz Back" .
Forbes . Retrieved August 14, 2021 .
^ Bromwich, Jonah (July 23, 2021).
"Leon Bridges: Gold-Diggers Sound" .
Pitchfork . Retrieved August 14, 2021 .
^ Pirone, Kristy (February 3, 2015).
"Sounds of LA: Daddy Kev" .
Daily Bruin . Retrieved August 26, 2019 .
^
a
b
c Bell, Max (May 16, 2016).
" "I'm Going To Make Records Until I'm Dead": An Interview with Daddy Kev" . Passion of the Weiss . Retrieved August 26, 2019 .
^ Bell, Max (May 4, 2016).
"When It Comes to L.A.'s World-Renowned Beat Scene, Daddy Kev Does It All" .
LA Weekly . Retrieved August 26, 2019 .
^ DiBella, M.F.
"Lost Angels – Daddy Kev" .
AllMusic . Retrieved August 26, 2019 .
^ Juon, Steve (May 29, 2001).
"Daddy Kev – Lost Angels E.P. – Celestial Recordings" . RapReviews.com . Retrieved August 26, 2019 .
^ Van Groningen, Tony (September 1, 2003).
"Daddy Kev & Awol One – Souldoubt – Review" .
Stylus Magazine . Archived from
the original on June 29, 2013. Retrieved August 26, 2019 .
^ Quinlan, Thomas (May 1, 2001).
"Awol One & Daddy Kev – Souldoubt" .
Exclaim! . Retrieved August 26, 2019 .
^ Heaton, Dave (June 1, 2003).
"Awol One and Daddy Kev: Slanguage" .
PopMatters . Retrieved August 26, 2019 .
^ Dahlen, Chris (July 25, 2004).
"Busdriver: Cosmic Cleavage" .
Pitchfork . Retrieved August 26, 2019 .
^ Brown, August (October 4, 2009).
"Low End Theory: High-concept music" .
Los Angeles Times . Retrieved August 15, 2021 .
^ Fintoni, Laurent (September 12, 2015).
"Inside Cosmic Zoo, the studio at the heart of L.A.'s beat scene" .
Fact . Retrieved August 26, 2019 .
^ Medved, Matt (December 7, 2015).
"Grammy Nominations 2016: Dance Nominees Are Deserving, But Can't Catch a Major Category Break" .
Billboard . Retrieved December 7, 2015 .
^ Freiman, Jordan (March 15, 2021).
"Thundercat's 'It Is What It Is' Wins Grammy for Best Progressive R&B Album" .
CBS News . Retrieved August 15, 2021 .
^ Weiss, Jeff (2023-03-16).
"After the death of the Airliner, who are the next heirs to L.A.'s underground throne left behind by Low End Theory?" . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2023-03-24 .
^ Lejarde, Arielle (November 10, 2022).
"Low End Theory founder Daddy Kev publishes book on mixing and mastering" .
The Fader . Retrieved November 27, 2022 .
^ Willman, Chris (November 15, 2022).
"Grammy Awards nominations 2023: The complete list" .
Chicago Tribune . Retrieved November 22, 2022 .
^ Shepherd, Julianne (March 27, 2003).
"Awol One / Daddy Kev: Slanguage" .
Pitchfork . Retrieved August 26, 2019 .
^
"Daddy Kev drops essential mastering advice on Twitter" .
Fact . June 21, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2019 .
^
"Grammy Nominations 2016: See the Full List of Nominees" .
Billboard . December 7, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2019 .
^
"Grammy Awards 2016: See the Full Winners List" .
Billboard . February 15, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2019 .
^
"Grammy.com page for Kevin Marques Moo" .
Grammy.com . February 1, 2022. Retrieved Feb 1, 2022 .
^
"Thundercat Wins Best Progressive R&B Album For 'It Is What It Is' " .
Grammy.com . March 14, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2021 .
^
"Grammy Awards 2023: The Full List of Nominees" .
The New York Times . November 15, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2022 .
External links