#71: Producing Music and Toronto Raptors Legends with Akeel Henry
When I was five years old, I distinctly remember having two talents: I was good at soccer (i.e. I could run around a lot without getting tired) and I liked vacuuming the house (i.e. I pushed a vacuum around and hopefully got some dirt with it). When Akeel Henry was five years old, he was already playing piano and drums for his father’s church. And he’s continued that musical prowess into an impressive music career that just keeps growing.
Akeel is a US Gold-Certified and Juno Award-nominated music producer, audio engineer, and musical wizard. He’s worked alongside artists like the Grammy-nominated Desiigner, Shawn Mendes, Ty Dolla $ign, Jeremih, Trey Songz, Toni Braxton, Swae Lee, and Daniel Caesar. He trained under Noah ’40’ Shebib of OVO Sound, the record label co-owned by Drake, and is currently signed to R&B singer Babyface’s record label Laface.
More recently, Akeel received a production placement on the US Gold Certified track Don’t Get Much Better featuring Jeremih, Ty Dolla $ign and Sage the Gemini, which you can hear on everyone’s favorite Vin Diesel/Dwayne Johnson/Ludacris vehicle, The Fate of the Furious. He also gives us the scoop on a brand new album he just produced with LOONY.
We’re only halfway through 2021 and Akeel has already snagged two Juno Awards nominations: Jack Richardson Producer of the Year for producing Trey Songz’ “Rain (feat. Swae Lee)” (co-producer Mike ‘DZL’ Holmes), Trey Songz’ “BACK HOME”, and Toni Braxton’s “Spell My Name” (co-producer Antonio Dixon); he’s also credited as a composer on Savannah Ré’s album Solid, which is nominated for “Traditional R&B/Soul Recording of the Year”.
We’re diving into Akeel’s extensive music career, how artists can better market themselves, and explore a little hoops talk because, my goodness, we’ve earned it after the past year.
Highlights of our conversation include:
A look at Akeel’s early days playing music - including how he started playing piano and drums when he was just five years old. (3:00)
Akeel walks us through his process for working with other artists as a producer and audio engineer, and gives us an inside look of creating with LOONY, whose album Soft Thing just dropped last week. (7:18)
The biggest pet peeve when working with other artists. (9:08)
The worst gigs Akeel has played — and why they’re also among his best. (10:29)
What it’s been like working with other musicians and making songs during the pandemic, and a potentially scary encounter with animals in the wild. (13:15)
Some of the top musician marketing tips for artists and why it’s so important to post regularly on Instagram and other social media platforms. (18:00)
We’re talking hoops! Akeel and I chat about our basketball adventures over the past year and a half, even though they’re few and far between. (24:46)
Akeel’s best advice for new producers and artists just getting into making music. (27:12)
The top three Toronto Raptors teams in franchise history. (29:32)
Where to find Akeel Henry:
Follow Akeel Henry on Instagram @akeel.music.
You can also find his curated list of songs on Apple Music.
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