Interview

Gimel Androus Keaton, better known by his stage name Young Guru, has over a decade of experience in the music business as an audio engineer, record producer and DJ. He’s revered as “The Sound of New York” with a resume that has Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings written all over it.

Young Guru is widely known for his years working with powerhouse Artist and Businessman, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter. He’s mixed 10 of Jay’s 11 albums and was nominated for a Grammy in 2011 for his work on “Empire State of Mind” by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys.

Guru has accomplished a whole lot in his years in the music business, but has not forgotten where he came from. He’s very open about his early adversities, once being homeless and having to sleep on a friends couch in his college days at the well-known Howard University.

It’s the journey that Guru had to go through to become the talent and high demand that he is today and that’s something he doesn’t just keep for himself. Guru shares his story and his skill set with other aspiring artists at the Grammy University every year.

I had the opportunity to catch up with Young Guru at his friend, Tracey Lee’s, listening party for his new project ‘ESQ. The Revelation,’ which Guru appears on.

Q: How did the “Devil’s Advocate” record on Tracey Lee’s album come about?

A: Me and Tracey have been making music together for so many years. I met him in ’92 and that’s been my dude ever since. We’ve been friends for over 20 years, so with me and him it’s about trying to find the best record and when Tracey had the idea to basically speak on everything that people have been saying about him, it was the best opportunity for me to make something great for him.

I gave him the beat first and then he showed me the idea. The beat was a skeleton. When he gave it back to me with the lyrics, I just started adding my touch to it, putting the extra music on it and making something that would be special. I love the fact that it opens up the album. It puts you in the right state of mind for Tracey’s album, where he’s coming from, where he’s been, what he’s been up to and where he wants to go. It was just a great opportunity again to work with my brother.

Q: How important is it to cater to the fans of the older hip-hop era?

A: It’s a conversation we have all the time. The kids have what they have and we don’t diss that, but I’m not 18 years old. My experiences are a little different. If you look at the communities that exist, the new era of hip-hop kind of skips us. It goes from the kids all the way to my aunts and uncles generation.

Tracey’s album gives back to the 40 year old. People that aren’t 50, but aren’t 18 either. My daughter is 18 years old now. We have to have something that represents us, our age group and demographic. I think Tracey is one of the only ones out there who is giving us that. That music that we love. That feeling that we love and making sure that real hip-hop never dies.

Q: You’ve worked with Jay-Z. A lot of people see that name, but just see the finishing product of your career and don’t understand the process it took for you to get here. What’s the importance of “process” as an artist? 

A: I don’t think people really understand how much Jay-Z critiques his own music and how much we sit and figure out if we have the right record. We don’t just make music and throw it out. It takes some time. Especially, when you’ve been doing it for so long. What other concepts can we talk about? What other things can we get into or explain that’s not repeating ourselves? These are questions we ask each other. The process is like yeah he’ll spit the rhyme, but then it’s me tailoring the beat making sure the mixes are right. I have to sit with the producers to make sure the drops are right. We have to make sure the presentation of everything that he does is right.

It’s like an NBA player. You may see the NBA player and he’s out there on the court doing what he does, but there’s a trainer behind the scenes. There are people that make sure everything is right for that player so that when they step onto the court they can perform at the highest level. That’s really what my job is. Not only just mixing the joints and mastering the joints, but also making sure that the emcee is in the right frame of mind or in the right zone and going down the right path based on where they are in their career at that given time.

Q: You were nominated for a Grammy in 2011 for the “Empire State of Mind” record with Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. How did that come about? 

A: It was an incredible record. It was good for Jay to have such a big record late in his career. It took us to another level. We were on stages around the world. That record took us to so many different places and it’s just a blessing to have added that onto the resume. To say Grammy-nominated or Grammy award-winning engineer. We actually won two that year. One for “On To The Next One” and the other for “Empire State of Mind.” It was a great experience for me.

It actually got me involved with the Grammys in terms of teaching. Now, I deal with the Grammys in terms of teaching youth. It’s something called Grammy University, which takes a lot of the younger musicians around the country, linking them together and teaches them the business and how to groom themselves and get ready for whatever they’re about to get into. The award is one thing and I love it, but the award is just an award. The work and everything else that you put into it is really the reward versus that piece of statue that says I won a Grammy.

The true reward allows the music community to acknowledge what you did during the year. It’s something that’s really big for me and I appreciate it. It’s like one of those dreams that you have when you’re nine, 10 or 11 years old. You’re like one day I want to win a Grammy. I’ve actually won one and I appreciate it. It’s one of those accomplishments that you can check off on your list.

Q: You have years in the business. What experience did you have that impacted your music career and your life the most? 

A: My time at Howard University impacted me the most. For me to come from high school and be from Wilmington, Delaware and not understand anything about the music business and how things work, to come to Howard and actually see Puff start Bad Boy Records. To actually see Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie. To be able to see Chucky Thompson, who was my direct mentor, and then to go through it with my own crew. I was in the trenches with Tracey. I was sleeping on this mans couch when I was homeless. I was really homeless and I was sleeping on my homeboy’s couch.

For me to see him go through all the trials and tribulations, we really learned off of Tracey. That was our first experience of actually getting a deal and signing on the dotted line and having a single out and being #1 on Rap City. We were in college when this happened. That was one of the greatest learning experiences that you can have in your life, and I just thank Tracey for allowing me to go along for the ride with him.