Steven Mandel (born 1969) is an American

music 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 ...

audio engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduc ...

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

, record label executive,

radio DJ A radio personality is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host (North American English), radio presenter (British English) or radio jockey. Radio personali ...

, and

podcaster A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an episodic series of digital audio files that users can download to a personal device or stream to listen to at a time of their ...

. He is also music producer for

The Roots The Roots are an American Hip-hop, hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Black Thought, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Questlove, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''T ...

on ''

The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...

''. Mandel has produced music for The Roots,

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia. He is known for his sophistica ...

, Squeeze and

Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer and songwriter. Influenced by rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...

among others. In 2016, Mandel co-founded the record label, J.M.I Recordings, which specializes in recording, mixing, and mastering in

analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...

. He is co-host of "Labeled On WKCR" on

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

’s

WKCR WKCR-FM (89.9 FM) is a radio station licensed to New York, New York. The station is owned by Columbia University and serves the New York metropolitan area. Founded in 1941, the station traces its history back to 1908 with the first operations o ...

radio station, and was a member of "Team Supreme" on the

Questlove Supreme ''Questlove Supreme'' is a podcast led by Questlove (Ahmir Thompson) and co-hosted by Team Supreme, which includes Unpaid Bill ( Bill Sherman), Suga Steve ( Steven Mandel), Laiya St. Clair, Phonte (Phonte Coleman) and formerly Boss Bill (Bill ...

podcast 2016-2025.

Early life

Mandel grew up in the

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...

of Bardonia and

Nanuet Nanuet is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Clarkstown, New York, United States. The third largest hamlet in Clarkstown, it is located north of Pearl River, south of New City, east of Spring Valley, and west of West Nyack. It ...

Rockland County, New York Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population is 338,329, making it the state' ...

. He graduated from the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

in 1991, with a Journalism major and English minor. He later graduated from the

Institute of Audio Research The Institute of Audio Research (IAR) was an educational institution in New York City. Students of IAR were offered a wide variety of academic programs in the field of music production and audio engineering. Students could choose from courses i ...

in 1996.

Work

In 1996, Mandel became an assistant engineer at

Electric Lady Studios Electric Lady Studios is a recording studio in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was commissioned by rock musician Jimi Hendrix in 1968 and designed by architect John Storyk and audio engineer Eddie Kramer. It was completed by 1970. Hendrix ...

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 ...

. Mentored by

Russell Elevado Russell Elevado (born 1966 in the Philippines) is a recording engineer and record producer based in New York City. Description Russell Elevado is a multi-Grammy award-winning record producer and recording engineer, born in the Philippines in 19 ...

, he recorded sessions with the

Soulquarians The Soulquarians were a rotating collective of experimental Black music artists active during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Initially formed by singer and multi-instrumentalist D'Angelo, drummer and producer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, and p ...

and met

Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson Ahmir K. Thompson (born January 20, 1971), known professionally as Questlove (stylized as ), is an American drummer, record producer, disc jockey, filmmaker, music journalist, and actor. He is the drummer and joint frontman (with Black Thought) ...

during

D'Angelo Michael Eugene Archer (born February 11, 1974), better known by his stage name D'Angelo (), is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He first garnered attention after co-producing the single "U Will Know" ...

's ''Voodoo'' album. Mandel would eventually become the first chief engineer of Electric Lady Studios since

Eddie Kramer Edwin H. Kramer (born 19 April 1942) is a South African-born recording producer and engineer. He has collaborated with several artists now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, L ...

. Other notable albums Mandel worked on during his time at Electric Lady (1996–2004) include

Common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

’s '' Like Water for Chocolate '' and ''

Electric Circus ''Electric Circus '' (also known as ''EC'') is a Canadian live dance music television program that aired on MuchMusic and Citytv from September 16, 1988, to December 12, 2003. The name originated from a nightclub that once existed at Citytv's fir ...

'', Erykah Badu’s ''

Mama's Gun ''Mama's Gun'' is the second studio album by American singer Erykah Badu. It was recorded between 1998 and 2000 at Electric Lady Studios in New York and released on November 21, 2000, by Motown Records. A neo soul album, ''Mama's Gun'' incorpora ...

'', The Roots’ ''

Things Fall Apart ''Things Fall Apart'' is a 1958 novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. It is Achebe's debut novel and was written when he was working at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation. The novel was first published in London by Heinemann (publisher), ...

'', '' The Roots Come Alive'' and ''

Phrenology Phrenology is a pseudoscience that involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits. It is based on the concept that the Human brain, brain is the organ of the mind, and that certain brain areas have localized, specific ...

'',

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

's ''

Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic ''Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic'' is the twenty-third studio album by American recording artist Prince, who was at the time going by the unpronounceable "Love Symbol" (as shown on the album cover). Released on November 9, 1999, by NPG Records and ...

'', D’Angelo's '' Black Messiah'' and Roy Hargrove's '' Hard Groove'', on which he received a songwriting credit for the song "Juicy". In 2004, Mandel relocated to

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, where he became the in-house engineer for

Questlove Ahmir K. Thompson (born January 20, 1971), known professionally as Questlove (stylized as ), is an American drummer, record producer, disc jockey, filmmaker, music journalist, and actor. He is the drummer and joint frontman (with Black Thought ...

and worked at "The Studio" on multiple Roots projects including ''

Rising Down ''Rising Down'' is the eighth studio album by the American hip hop band the Roots, released on April 28, 2008, on Def Jam Recordings. The album's title is adapted from William T. Vollmann's book '' Rising Up and Rising Down: Some Thoughts on Viol ...

'', ''

Game Theory Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interactions. It has applications in many fields of social science, and is used extensively in economics, logic, systems science and computer science. Initially, game theory addressed ...

'', ''Home Grown'', ''

How I Got Over How I Got Over may refer to: * "How I Got Over" (song), a gospel song written by Clara Ward, 1951 * ''How I Got Over'' (album), an album by The Roots, 2010 {{dab ...

'', '' Undun'', and

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...

& The Roots’

Grammy Award 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 ...

-winning '' Wake Up!''. He accompanied The Roots as an engineer and producer to ''

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of the '' Late Night'' franchise. Hosted by Jimmy Fallon,

'' in 2009 and has continued in that position on ''

'' since 2014. He has also appeared in various sketches on ''The Tonight Show''. Mandel co-produced and engineered the album '' Wise Up Ghost'' with Questlove and

in 2013. He is credited as a co-songwriter on most tracks. Mandel engineered and produced Swindles, a series of 24 recordings dedicated to the music of Squeeze. Six songs have been released since 2018 via

Yep Roc Records Yep Roc Records is an American independent record label based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and owned by Redeye Distribution. Since 1997, the label has released albums from North Carolina and international artists, including Fountains of Wayne ...

on Record Store Day. Mandel co-wrote "Godiva Girl" with

and Ray Angry in 2021. Mandel was a co-host of the

podcast for its run on Pandora and iHeart Radio 2016–2025, where he was dubbed "Suga Steve" by his co-hosts.

Production discography

Singles

*"American Tune" (2006), The Imposter (

), Lupe-O-Tone * "Someone Else’s Heart" (2018), Elvis Costello,

Yep Roc Yep Roc Records is an American independent record label based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and owned by Redeye Distribution. Since 1997, the label has released albums from North Carolina and international artists, including Fountains of Wayne ...

* "Take Me I’m Yours" (2018), Difford & Tilbrook with Questlove &

Robert Glasper Robert Andre Glasper (born April 5, 1978) is an American pianist, record producer, songwriter, and Arrangement, musical arranger. His music embodies numerous musical genres, primarily centered around jazz. Glasper has won five Grammy Awards from ...

, Yep Roc * Bob_James (2019), Antero Sievert featuring Daru Jones, JMI * "Tempted" (2019),

with

James Poyser James Jason Poyser (b. January 30, 1967) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has been a member of the hip hop band The Roots since 2009, and plays with The Roots in the hous ...

, Yep Roc * "Bang Bang" (2020),

, Yep Roc * "In Quintessence" (2020), Mike Watt and the Secondmen, Yep Roc * "Black Coffee In Bed" (2021),

Bilal __NOTOC__ Bilal may refer to: People * Bilal (name), or Belal or Bilel, including a list of people with the name * Bilal ibn Rabah, a companion of Muhammad, made calls for prayers * Bilal (American singer) * Bilal (Lebanese singer) Places * Bi ...

featuring Nikki Jean, Yep Roc * Happiness Is A Warm Gun (2022), Antero Sievert with Noah Halpern, JMI * Night Bell (2023),

Catriona Sturton Catriona Sturton (born June 8, 1976) is an Ottawa, Ontario–based singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has had a prolific career, performing in bands such as Plumtree and collaborating with artists like Joel Plaskett, Al Tuck, the ...

, JMI * When The Music's Over (2023),

Doyle Bramhall II Doyle Bramhall II (born December 24, 1968) is an American guitarist, producer and songwriter best known for his work with Eric Clapton and Roger Waters. He is the son of the songwriter and drummer Doyle Bramhall. Early life Bramhall was born ...

/ DJ Harrison/Daru Jones, JMI

Albums

* '' Gold Sounds'' (2005) - James Carter/

Cyrus Chestnut Cyrus Chestnut (born January 17, 1963) is an American jazz pianist, composer and producer. In 2006, Josh Tyrangiel, music critic for ''Time'', wrote: "What makes Chestnut the best jazz pianist of his generation is a willingness to abandon notes ...

, BBR * ''The Co-Op'' (2007) -

Jeremy Pelt Jeremy Pelt (born November 4, 1976, in California) is an American jazz trumpeter. Career Pelt studied classical trumpet as a child and focused on jazz after playing in a high school jazz ensemble. He studied at Berklee College of Music. Among th ...

/ Warren Wolf, BBR * '' Wise Up Ghost'' (2013), Elvis Costello & The Roots,

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by History of the Jews in Germany, German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it deriv ...

* ''Sit Back, Relax & Unwind'' (2017), Steve Wilson, JMI * ''One'' (2018), Ray Angry, JMI * ''The_Underscore'' (2019), Antero Sievert, JMI * ''everybody’s waltz'' (2020) Helen Sung with Marquis Hill, JMI * ''Onyx'' (2022),

Sasha Berliner Sasha Berliner (born June 20, 1998) is an American vibraphonist and composer. Early life Berliner was born in San Francisco and grew up in the Bay Area, where she began playing drums at age 8. In her earlier years, Berliner was more focused o ...

, JMI * ''Dear Bossa:'' (2022), Antero Sievert, JMI * ''Sun/Moon'' (2022), David Murray, JMI * ''Ashes'' (2023), Lage Lund, JMI * ''Blaque Dynamite'' (2023), Mike Mitchell, JMI * ''Max Gerl'' (2023),

Max Gerl Max Gerl (born 1992) is an American bass player and jazz musician. Gerl has performed internationally at venues including the Monterey Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, and Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club. Gerl grew up in a family of musicians in ...

, JMI * ''PLUMB'' (2023), David Murray/Questlove/Ray Angry, JMI * ''Life'' (2023), Warren Wolf, JMI * ''Un'' (2023), James Carter, JMI * ''Hard Pan'' (2023), Max Gerl & Mike Mitchell, JMI * ''Max Gerl Trio'' (2025), Max Gerl, JMI

Albums (as artist)

* ''Bardonia'' (2002), Bardonia, CHUH * ''Monroe'' (2003), Monroe, CHUH

References

External links

Questlove Supreme podcast
iHeart Radio
IMDB - Steven Mandel
* * *
Discogs - Steven Mandel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandel, Steven American record producers Jazz record producers American music podcasters Songwriters from New York (state) American radio DJs 1969 births Living people