Kerry Brothers Jr. (born October 1, 1970), also known as Krucial, is an American

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

, songwriter and rapper. Both natives of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, he and singer-songwriter

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

began a musical partnership in 1998, with songwriting and production work in tandem on several of the latter's earlier releases—''

Songs in A Minor ''Songs in A Minor'' is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys. It was released on June 26, 2001, by J Records. Keys began writing songs for the album in 1995 at age 14 and recording the album in 1998 for Columbia Reco ...

'' (2001), ''

The Diary of Alicia Keys ''The Diary of Alicia Keys'' is the second studio album by American singer Alicia Keys. It was released on December 2, 2003, by J Records. The album was recorded at several recording studios, and production was handled primarily by Keys with cont ...

'' (2003), '' As I Am'' (2007), and '' The Element of Freedom'' (2009). He has won two

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

Best R&B Album The Grammy Award for Best R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the Contemporary R&B, R&B mus ...

for his contributions to ''Songs in A Minor'', and

Best R&B Song The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song (sometimes known as the R&B Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1969. From 1969 to 2000, it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song. Beyoncé has won it a record five times, while Ba ...

for Keys' 2007 single, " No One". In 2006, Brothers released his debut extended play (EP) ''Take Da Hood Back''. Brothers co-wrote songs that appeared on the soundtracks of films such as '' Dr. Dolittle'', '' Shaft'', and ''

Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...

''. He has also worked with other R&B and hip hop acts, including

Mario Mario (; ) is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Ja ...

Rakim William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim (), is an American rapper. He is one half of Golden age hip-hop, golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, with whom he released four albums: ''Paid in Full ...

Angie Stone Angela Laverne Stone (née Brown; December 18, 1961 – March 1, 2025) was an American singer-songwriter, rapper, actress, and record producer. With a career spanning over four decades, she has been credited with revolutionizing the sound of Ol ...

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...

Keyshia Cole Keyshia Myeshia Cole (née Johnson; born October 15, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, television personality and actress. Dubbed by critics as the " Princess of Hip-Hop Soul", she is known for her soulful voice and heartfelt lyrics. Bor ...

Goapele Goapele Mohlabane ( ; born July 11, 1977) is an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. Her name means ''to move forward'' in Setswana, a Southern African language. Early life Goapele's South African father Douglas Mohlabane was an exiled pol ...

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and K'naan.

Early life

Brothers was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and grew up in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

and

Far Rockaway, Queens Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the eastern part of the Rockaway peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood extends from Beach 32nd Street east to the Nassau County li ...

Career

Initially a teen rapper, Brothers signed with

B-Boy Records B-Boy Records was an American independent hip hop record label formed by Jack Allen and William Kamarra in 1986, and situated at 132nd Street and Cypress Avenue in the Bronx, New York City. Its most notable signing was Boogie Down Productions, a ...

as part of the group K-Bee and Ceil B. In 1988, they released the 2-sided single
"Who Am I"
and
We Are The Move
. After their debut album was shelved due to creative differences with the label, the group split up. Brothers then began to producing beats for him to perform on. In the early 1990s, Brothers moved to

, where he frequented

open mic An open mic or open mike (shortened from "open microphone") is a live show at a venue such as a coffeehouse, nightclub, comedy club, strip club, or pub, often taking place at night (an open mic night), in which audience members may perform on ...

s. During this time, he was a founding member of the collective "Melanin 2000", who visited Nuyoricans Poet Café and

Lyricist Lounge The Lyricist Lounge is a hip hop showcase of rappers, emcees, DJs, and Graffiti artists. It has spawned the album '' Lyricist Lounge, Volume One'', '' Lyricist Lounge 2'' and '' Lyricist Lounge & Ecko Unlimited presents: Underground Airplay'', ...

downtown in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

. Later on, they performed at

Washington Square Park Washington Square Park is a public park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is an icon as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity. The park is operated by the New York City Department o ...

, where he met

1998, who, at the time, was part of an R&B ensemble. Brothers and Keys took five years to produce, record and write for Keys' debut album, ''

'' (2001). Both of them co-founded the company KrucialKeys, and co-founded a recording studio, the Oven Studios, in Long Island. He won

at the

2002 Grammy Awards The 44th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 27, 2002, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The main recipient was Alicia Keys, winning five Grammys, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for " Fallin'". U2 won fo ...

for his contributions to the album, as well as

for her 2007 single, " No One". In 2006, Brothers released his debut EP ''Take Da Hood Back''. Brothers has also co-wrote songs that have appeared on the soundtracks to the films '' Dr. Dolittle'', '' Shaft'', and ''

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brothers, Kerry Jr. African-American songwriters Songwriters from New York (state) Alicia Keys American hip-hop record producers Living people 1970 births Grammy Award winners Rappers from Brooklyn