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<H2 id="articleHeadline">Kenny Keys</H2>
<div id="articleTeaser">The producer finds a happy medium between the keyboard and the MPC. </div>
<div id="articleDetails">Monday Dec 15, 2008.
&nbsp; &nbsp; <b>By <a href="/writers/details.cfm?ID=316">Jeff Min</a></b></div>
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					<p><div style="width:202;float:left" class="storyimageBox"><IMG SRC="http://www.centerstagechicago.com/photoarchive/8940.jpg" WIDTH="200" HEIGHT="150" ALT="Kenny Keys" TITLE="Kenny Keys" class="storyimage"> </div>    </p>
					
					<p>
<a href="http://www.centerstagechicago.com/music/whoswho/KennyKeys.html">Kenny Keys</a> is a premier underground producer who has helped make Chicago one of the most sophisticated hip-hop scenes in the nation. Keys has incorporated every facet of his life into his creative development, and the diversity of the city has been a constant source of inspiration. Centerstage was lucky enough to catch up with him and find out how it all got started.  <p>    </p>
					
					<p>
<B>Who were some of your influences growing up, both personally and musically?</B><br>  Personally I would say my mother, my father and my uncle. My mother is a sculptor, my father is a visual artist and my uncle is an avid music-buff. Between the three of them I was exposed to a pretty wide spectrum of music. My mother listened to mostly classic soul, R&B and blues while my father was a major jazz buff; anything ranging from bebop to the modern jazz era of the '80s. Stuff like Wynton Marsalis, Jeff  "Tain" Watts, Gonzalo Rubacalba, for example. My uncle loved funk, too, and late-'70s and early-'80s hip hop. My brother was also a house DJ in the early '90s, he influenced me a lot too.  <p>    </p>
					
					<p>
As far as music goes I essentially grew up listening  to artists like Herbie Hancock, Ahmad Jamal, Chick Corea, Art Tatum; Cal Tjader, Xavier Cugat, Roy Ayers, James Brown, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. The Jones Girls, Emotions, Patrice Rushen, Gene Carn, Kool & The Gang, Parliament, Earth Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder and Quincy Jones.<p>     <B>It seems like family was huge part of your creative upbringing. What about the neighborhood you grew up in?</B><br>  I grew up in <a href="http://centerstagechicago.com/neighborhoods/humboldtpark.html">Humboldt Park</a> and <a href="http://www.suntimes.com/chicago/chicagopedia/435043,CST-NWS-pedia20.article">K-town </a> and back then there was a strong sense of community. In the '80s my neighborhood exposed me to so many cultures; there was a large sense of togetherness. I mean there were gangs and violence, but with so much cultural diversity I was able to translate it into music.<p>    </p>
					
					<p>
<B>You started producing music at 14. Who was it that introduced you to the art form and how did you meet? </B><br>  Chris Robinson introduced me to producing. I met him in high school at the Chicago Academy for the Arts in '93. During his senior year there he, in a sense, took me under his wing. He taught me the difference between a cat who just makes beats and an actual producer.  <p>    </p>
					
					<p>
<B>There's a distinct element of jazz and soul in your music. Do you feel that hip-hop today does a good job of representing the past? </B><br>  The future is a representation of the past. Cats making music now are influenced by what they were listening to when they were coming up, not necessarily what their parents were listening to. I do feel that music has changed, but music is always changing. For example, my mother couldn't stand Roy Ayers, but my father loved him. I'm a fan of TI, but that doesn't sit very well with some of my peers. In the end there's something for everybody.p>     <B>Tell me about how you linked up with the All Natural crew and elaborate on some of the work you've done with them. </B><br>  I started working with Tone B. Nimble in 2004, doing work-for-hire on <a href="http://www.centerstagechicago.com/music/whoswho/AllNatural.html">All Natural</a>'s <i>Vintage</i> album. <a href="http://www.centerstagechicago.com/music/whoswho/ToneBNimble.html">Tone</a> and Cap D. showed me a lot of love by putting me on that project. After they heard my catalog-beats, and the music my partner Adad and I did under the name Eulorhythmics, we eventually signed to All Natural Inc. in 2005. I also did beats on <a href="http://www.centerstagechicago.com/music/whoswho/ThePrimeridian.html">Primemeridian</a>'s album <i>Da AllNighta</i>, Rita J's Artists Workshop and keyboard work for BSTC. And through working with All Natural I was able to land a spot on J-Live's BBE Release.<p>    </p>
					
					<p>
<B>Who are some of the artists that you're working with right now? </B><br>  Right now I'm working on my first solo full-length album, <i>A World Premiere</i>. I've been working with some pretty dynamic artists like Spq-Her, Nina Rae, Janiel Smith, Skip Lava, J. Hewitt, Adad, Cap D, JP, G-Roc and Nast� Nate just to name a few. I guess you can call it a very diverse sound piece ranging from classic soul and R&B to hip-hop and jazz.<p>    </p>
					
					<p>
<B>There seem to be so many different styles of hip-hop going through Chicago right now. How do you feel about that and where does Kenny Keys fit in? </B><br>  I feel blessed to be able to be around such a variety of talented musicians and word-smiths. Chicago has a very eclectic scene whether you believe it or not, and I feel the music that I create mirrors my peers and my city. I've been pigeonholed in the past as the type of cat who tends to make a conscious or non-aggressive style of hip-hop, but if you check the beat tapes and the "Dance to the Drummer's Beat" battle you can definitely see the diversity I contain, which I believe is a part of being a Chicagoan. <p>    </p>
					
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<B>You've been playing piano since '87. How has having that musical knowledge given you an edge over other producers? </B><br>  Let's get one thing straight: I am a musician first and foremost. Producing to me is one of my many methods to organize ideas and concepts that come to me from studying various artists in music. I feel that being a keyboardist has not necessarily given me an advantage, but it has given me a different perspective on how music can be arranged, composed and translated to my people. At times I feel it can be a gift and a curse because I tend to constantly battle between my keyboard and the pads on my MPC. But I think I've finally found a happy medium.   </p>
					
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