Interview: Grammy-Nominated Songwriter Keith Harris

By Ali Trachta in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 6, 2009 6:20PM

Though musician Keith Harris’ roots are firmly planted in Chicago, he’s literally all over the map. He brings home the bacon touring as the drummer with the Black Eyed Peas and moonlights as a hip-hop producer, remixer, songwriter and even talent scout. But don’t mistake this for career A.D.D., though. Having a hand in every aspect of the biz has made him a prolific music man, well-versed in classic theory and practice with an urban edge that’s given him an incredibly versatile skill set. The music he works to create is a fusion of different genres, vibes and styles, much like the man himself. The 2008 hit “American Boy,” which he co-wrote, is a prime example of this blurring of the lines with it’s hip hop-py lyrical flow overtop a laid-back, breezy, roller-skating on a sunny day musical feel. And people seem to like it, considering it’s up for "Song of the Year" at this Sunday’s Grammy Awards. We chatted with Keith just before he jetted off to L.A. to wait for his name to be read from the envelope, and we found even with his recent success, he’s still down to earth. But he’s nowhere near settled.

Chicagoist: Tell us about your musical roots in Chicago.

Keith Harris: Well, pretty much everything that I’ve learned for the foundation of my music came from playing in church. The different situations, like playing drums with the choir, under a choir director and watching his every movement, that translates to me on the Black Eyed Peas gig watching Will.i.am, Fergie and Apl.de.ap as they do their different things across the stage. Also, playing in church gave me the experience of playing a lot of varieties of music. I liked to listen to different styles and learn all of those things and incorporate them into one genre, which is gospel. So pretty much that’s what I do with the stuff that I produce now. I absorbed a lot of different styles of music to be able to write and produce the things that I do today.

If it weren’t for that upbringing in church, I wouldn’t have even known I was into music as much as I was. That’s the place that gave me my start.

C: So your upbringing drew you to a gospel-based form of music that transcends everything you do, including writing, producing and performing?

KH: Oh yeah, because I started going to church, but as far as I can remember I wasn’t really into music. But the first time I went to church I was fascinated by the drums. I used to sing in the choir too, but my mother used to tell me all the time that I would never sing because I was so fascinated watching the drummer! [Laughs.] I think that’s what drew me in, and then from there, just learning different instruments and then going to Curie Metropolitan High School for Performing Arts, that helped me to hone my craft and learn about electronic music. Reading music, and playing in the orchestra and the band, that really gave me the inspiration to realize, ‘Man, I really want to do this for a living.’ So it helped me, definitely, to transition to college as well. I went to Berklee College of Music and learned all I could there, and then the next level was playing for the Black Eyed Peas, and then producing and writing.

C: Today you’re a multifaceted talent: a songwriter, producer and musician. Do you have a first love?

KH: I would say...the drums. That’s what created the means for me to do a lot of things in the music industry. You know, I get paid to beat on things, and that’s cool. [Laughs.]

C: How did you become involved with the Black Eyed Peas?

KH: After college at the Berklee College of Music, I moved to New York. I lived up there for a couple of years and a friend of mine told me about this group called Star 69. It was a group based out of L.A., and the musical director of that group was also the musical director of the Black Eyed Peas. So for the most part, I did a show with them in New York at B.B. King’s and me and Prinz Board, he’s the musical director, we kept in contact. Maybe about a week or two after that show, the original drummer for the Black Eyed Peas quit. That’s when Prinz Board gave me a call and gave me a shot. I had to pick up about three CDs worth of music and learn it in about two or three days. Then they flew me to Los Angeles for my first show with them in front of 20,000 people at the Coachella music festival. It was a cool gig.

C: Will.i.am was very involved with the Obama campaign, writing songs, performing, speaking on his behalf and so forth. Were you alongside him for any of that?

KH: Actually yes, I was alongside him when he recorded “America’s Song” that they debuted on Oprah. I was actually in the studio with David Foster and Mary J. Blige and Seal when they all recorded their vocals the night before they sang it on live TV. So that was a pretty cool experience. And just being around Will.i.am...just his great energy for positivity in music. That’s been a great blessing to be a part of that, and to be a part of history. Just playing at the inauguration - the inaugural ball - and all those things, it was a really special time, and I was glad to be a part of that.

C: I would think especially since it had connection to your hometown.

KH: Exactly. You know, Chicago, we’re taking over the place. [Laughs.]

C: Have you always been a songwriter?

KH: Yes. I can say that I have always had the knack to be able to hear things and hear songs in my head, and be able to translate what I hear in my head into musical words. Like I said, I don’t think that was really brought out of me until I started going to church and learning about music from the technical side - learning theory, how to write music, read sheet music - all those things that I had to study. But I think that it was something that was always in me. And being around positive people that are professionals at what they do definitely helped me develop my craft and write songs today.

C: Is there a song you’ve been involved in writing that you consider your greatest accomplishment?

KH: I would say...well I have a couple. Some are songs I helped write, even though they were remixes, but the stuff I did for Michael Jackson I mean, that was...great. That was awesome just to meet one of my heroes. Another great moment for me was to be able to produce and write with Earth, Wind and Fire. They’re like...it. They’re a legendary group so that was great.

Also to be able to work on “American Boy.” Even though it started as one mutation and mutated into something else, I was still glad to be a part of that. People really dug the song and they really gravitated towards the feeling that we were trying to go for in the studio.

C: What was the writing process like for “American Boy?”;

KH: That song, “American Boy” originated on Will.i.am’s solo project, and the song was called “Impatient.” So that song was taken from that record, and then Estelle and Kanye [West] through Will.i.am and John Legend (because you know she’s signed with John Legend) but Will.i.am and John had a good relationship and Will let him use that song, that music, for Estelle. So that’s how there are like seven writers on it because we original writers were the musicians. Then they put their words on top of it and that’s how “American Boy” came to be.

C: Did you have any Chicago connection to Kanye West before this song?

KH: I’ve met him several times in passing, at different club events and things of that nature. But this was the first time I been...wait I take that back. I actually played drums on a session for him for a song called “Impossible.” But like I said, I have met him previously, but this was our first working relationship when we did that song together. Then of course “American Boy,” which was done via bouncing songs all over the internet [Laughs]...Nowadays you don’t have to be in the same room for somebody to record a song.

C: What does it mean to you to be nominated for a Grammy?

KH: I’m still in a little bit of shock knowing that I’m actually nominated and it’s not me going to the Grammys as a sidekick. This has been a dream of mine ever since I knew what the Grammys were. I used to think ‘I want to go there one day.’ Alright, I went there. ‘Man, I want to perform on stage.’ Ok, I did that. Now I want to win one. It’s just like the Holy Grail of being a musician/songwriter/producer...No matter how great or small it is, I was a contributor, and it feels great to be acknowledged for that in an industry of my peers.

C: As someone whose work covers all ground in the music industry, what do you think is the future of hip hop?

KH: [Pause] Hip hop is starting to move into a genre in which it’s turning into songs. Now you can’t really tell an R&B song from a hip hop song. You’ve got the rapper singing now. It’s all kind of melting into one big pot to whereas it’s still takes very good songwriting no matter what it is, be it hip hop, R&B or country, to make a really good song. And I think that’s what hip hop is going to: a new form of songwriting. Just listening to Kanye West’s new record - all of that is him singing songs and having story lines. I think that’s pretty much where it’s going. And influencing with it the electro-vibe of Europe that now people are gravitating to but over in Europe, people listen to dance music all day long. So it’s kind of a fusion of all of those things but the foundation of it is just creating a really good song with a really good story that a lot of people can identify with.

C: Are there any artists you haven’t yet worked with but hope to?

KH: I would definitely like to work with Beyonce. She’s a very talented singer. She’s awesome. I’d definitely like to work with Jay-Z as well...I definitely would like, if he ever were to do a record again, even on the jazz tip, to work with Quincy Jones because he’s my ultimate hero. I mean I’ve met him a couple times but I would love to just...’Hey man, why don’t you do a jazz record and let me help you?’ [Laughs.] Kind of for me, the people I’d like to work with are the legends: Tina Turner, or even Elton John. I’d even like to work with Bruce Springsteen. Some rock stuff. I don’t want to be confined to being one kind of producer, I want to just be known as a producer. A music producer, whatever the genre may be. I’m open, but those couple people would really make my life complete.

C: Any projects you’re currently working on that we should look for?

KH: The most important one is my group that I’m producing. Their name is Prototype. It’s a group out of the Bay Area and it consists of a rapper, his name’s H2O. He’s on tour currently with Sergio Mendes, the pianist. The girl, her name is Sene'...That’s kind of my baby project right now that I’m really working on and trying to get them out and about for the summertime so people can really gravitate to that. It’s a fusion of kind of like a new-school Fugees with electro. It’s a female singer that can rap, a rapper that can rap, but it’s over some electronic futuristic stuff. They’re signed to my label so pretty much I produce, and I also have another producer who’s working with me. His name is Trackmatic, and he’s out of the Bay Area as well. He and I are producing the record and getting it into your hands pretty soon.

To find out more about Keith Harris, visit his fan site, and sample music by Prototype here.