{"id":22267,"date":"2024-07-19T00:50:13","date_gmt":"2024-07-19T04:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/multi.nycnewsnetwork.com\/brooklynbuzz\/?p=22267"},"modified":"2025-02-13T09:40:27","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T14:40:27","slug":"a-conversation-with-grammy-winning-producer-keith-harris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/brooklynbuzz\/a-conversation-with-grammy-winning-producer-keith-harris\/","title":{"rendered":"A Conversation with Grammy-Winning Producer Keith Harris"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Christopher Edwards<\/a><\/p>\n

He\u2019s the man behind some of your favorite hits, but you may not know his name. Keith Harris, who has been playing drums with the Black Eyed Peas for more than 20 years, is still touring with the group, and working on his latest album.<\/p>\n

Growing up in the South Side of Chicago, Harris is a lifelong musician. He first started playing drums in church as a kid.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything started from me playing in church,\u201d said Harris. \u201cThat’s where music found me, and I fell in love with music.\u201d<\/p>\n

He went on to attend Chicago\u2019s Marie Sklodowska Curie Metropolitan High School, and later Berklee College of Music in Boston. Just after college in 2003, he got the opportunity to work with the Black Eyed Peas, who at the time, had already released two albums, but had not yet blown up into the supergroup they are today.<\/p>\n

While with the Black Eyes Peas, Harris slowly began writing and producing for the group and other artists including Madonna, Mariah Carey, Usher\u00a0and Chris Brown. By the late 2000s, Harris began to score some of his biggest, era-defining\u00a0hits.<\/p>\n

\"img-20240710-wa0003\"
Keith Harris. Photo\/Supplied Sven Doornkaat<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the Peas, he produced\u00a0Meet Me Halfway<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0\u2018Imma Be<\/em>, both double platinum records. For Estelle, whom he still works with, Harris co-wrote\u00a0American Boy,<\/em>\u00a0which won the GRAMMY Award for Best Rap\/Sung Collaboration and was nominated for Song of the year in 2009.<\/p>\n

Personally, Harris has won a GRAMMY for Best Urban\/Alternative Performance in 2009 for being the producer of the the song\u00a0Be OK<\/em>, by\u00a0Chrisette Michele and\u00a0in 2010 as a producer and writer for the Black Eyed Peas album\u00a0The E.N.D.,\u00a0<\/em>which won for Best Pop Album.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s really fascinating to see something that was in your in your mind\u00a0fully progressed into something that’s tangible, and that other people vibe with as well,\u201d said Harris of his biggest hits. \u201cEverybody doesn\u2019t get to that point in their career that they have hit songs, so I’m extremely blessed to have done that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harris may have a long and impressive career playing, writing, and producing for others, but as his own artist, he\u2019s had to start from the ground up.<\/p>\n

In 2020, he independently released his first project,\u00a0The Keith Harris Experience<\/a>, a music collective produced by Harris where he collaborates with other artists including\u00a0rapper Chief Wakil and vocalists Church Boi and\u00a0Elle E.D.<\/p>\n

\u201cI use my platform as The\u00a0Keith Harris Experience to bring on new and upcoming talent to give them exposure,\u201d said Harris.<\/p>\n

The Keith Harris Experience is currently opening for the Black Eyed Peas on tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a whole band as big as 11 pieces, or as small as five\u00a0pieces. We go out there and rock the crowd and get people’s energy\u00a0and spirit up. That\u2019s the Keith Harris Experience, good times, good vibes, good party.\u201d<\/p>\n

But as an independent artist, the cost of touring can be high. Harris is currently running a\u00a0Kickstarter<\/a>\u00a0campaign to help cover costs for himself and the other artists in the Keith Harris Experience as they tour with the Black Eyed Peas. Gifts with donations include signed drumsticks by Harris and a vinyl of his first record,\u00a0The Keith Harris Experience: Volume 1.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI am a one-man operation. I have no label. I’m an independent artist just really trying to hustle and get my music out there,\u201d said Harris.<\/p>\n

While on the road, Harris is working on the final touches of\u00a0The Keith Harris Experience: Volume 2,<\/i>\u00a0which he says will feature collaborations from Estelle, the Black Eyed Peas, and other artists.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis next project is more pop-Urban. I want to switch directions and give people a different experience,\u201d said Harris of the album. \u201cSome of the greatest R&B artists are from Chicago, they\u00a0influenced me.\u201d<\/p>\n

On tour, Harris wears many hats. In addition to playing drums for the group\u00a0and opening for them, he also serves as their overall musical director. He’s responsible for hiring other musicians for the band, getting musicians for studio sessions\u00a0and helping to guide their musical vision.<\/p>\n

“They trust me musically,\u00a0and they trust me as a person.” says Harris.<\/p>\n

The Black Eyed Peas are currently on tour in Europe, and will be coming to the U.S. in August. They will\u00a0perform\u00a0<\/a>at Ovation Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. on August 4.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Christopher Edwards He\u2019s the man behind some of your favorite hits, but you may not know his name. Keith Harris, who has been playing drums with the Black Eyed Peas for more than 20 years, is still touring with the group, and working on his latest album. Growing up in the South Side of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5904,"featured_media":22268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,45,522,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dance","category-arts","category-brooklyn-people","category-whats-buzzin"],"yoast_head":"\nA Conversation with Grammy-Winning Producer Keith Harris - Brooklyn News and Events<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/brooklynbuzz\/a-conversation-with-grammy-winning-producer-keith-harris\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Conversation with Grammy-Winning Producer Keith Harris\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By: Christopher Edwards He\u2019s the man behind some of your favorite hits, but you may not know his name. 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