Salaam Remi

Salaam Gibbs, better known as Salaam Remi, is a hip hop producer and keyboard player, known for his association with Nas and his reggae-tinged (often referred to as "broken-bottle") approach to production. To some, the name Salaam Remi may only sound vaguely familiar, but the music the prolific producer has helped create has inevitably soundtracked your night out at the club, your favorite concert or a night with your special someone. Look for Remi, and you’ll most likely find him holed up in the studio, crafting another track that would soon embed itself in your brain for years to come.

“I’ve never been in any videos. I’m just not that guy,” he admits. “I would rather people know my name as an example of quality and pushing the envelope. I don’t make the same records 10 times just for the sake of trying to make myself hot. Every day is a new idea.” Having produced everyone from Nas and The Fugees to Amy Winehouse and Ricky Martin, there’s no particular “Remi sound.” There is, however, a reason why so many Grammy winners, innovators and legends claw at the chance to work with him nearly 20 years after his first production. Unlike other producers whose range is limited to a single musical style, Remi’s talents transcend genre. One day, you might find him working on a soul or hip-hop album. The next day, a Latin or pop record. For Remi, genre is trumped by work ethic and his gifted ear. It’s also the reason why directors like Brett Ratner and Michael Patrick King have hand-picked him to Executive music produce their blockbusters (Rush Hour 3 and Sex and the City, respectively.) It wasn’t enough to be one of the most sought-after producers in the music industry. Now he’s one of the most sought after in Hollywood.

“I find that the director is the artist and the movie studio is the label,” he says. “I can sit down and listen to what the director as the artist is trying to get across. Sometimes they can verbalize it exactly, but sometimes they can’t. But for me, it’s just really listening. I’m a great listener.” Like any of his production work, Remi’s work ethic on films is unparalleled, with the producer sitting through every mix, every meeting and every edit while simultaneously discussing the project with composers, editors and directors. In addition to heading up all music duties on Sex and the City, the versatile producer recently finished scoring an upcoming documentary on Mike Tyson. And like Tyson, the potential of Remi was seen at a very early age. With a jazz musician father and uncles, a singing mother and aunts, and a pastor grandfather, “I definitely had a full band between both sides,” he says, laughing. At the age of 3, Remi could play drums in local music stores with his family, playing in rhythm while his peers would simply bang away aimlessly.

Surrounded by hip-hop in his hometown of New York, Remi would immerse himself in music, learning drum machines and keyboards before graduating to 4-tracks and samplers. As the record-carrier for legendary DJ Chuck Chillout alongside Funkmaster Flex, and getting production tips from Marley Marl, Remi constantly created demos and remixes before producing his first album with hip-hop group Zhigge’s 1992 debut. With beat shopping and chopping quickly taking over his life, the producer took an extended break from college to focus on music full-time and, 20 years and countless hits later, things look like they’re working out. “I feel like I have thousands and thousands of records that I own and every day, I’m going to work trying to make another one I’d want to own as well.”

elected Productions

*Amy Winehouse - You Sent Me Flying/Cherry
*Amy Winehouse - I Heard Love Is Blind
*Amy Winehouse - In My Bed
*Amy Winehouse - Just Friends
*Amy Winehouse - Me & Mr Jones
*Amy Winehouse - Moody Moody For Love
*Amy Winehouse - Mr. Magic
*Amy Winehouse - Roun' Midnite
*Amy Winehouse - Some Unholy War
*Amy Winehouse - Stronger Than Me
*Amy Winehouse - Tears Dry On Their Own
*Da Bush Babees - Remember We (Remix)
*Fugees - Fu-Gee-La
*Fugees - Nappy Heads (Remix)
*Ini Kamoze - Here Comes The Hotstepper
*Jazmine Sullivan - Bust Your Windows
*Jazmine Sullivan - Lions, Tigers And Bears
*Joss Stone - Young At Heart
*Lil' Flip - You'z A Trick
*Lil' Flip featuring UGK - You'z A Trick (Remix)
*Mutya Buena - B Boy Baby
*Nas - Bridging The Gap
*Nas - Get Down
*Nas - Hey Nas
*Nas - I Can
*Nas - Made You Look
*Nas - The N
*Nas - Thief's Theme
*Nas - What Goes Around
*Nas - Where Y'all At?
*Nas - Zone Out
*Nas - You Can't Stop Us Now
*Rupee - Do The Damn Thing
*Toni Braxton -You're Making Me High
*Beenie Man - Love Me Now (feat. Wyclef Jean)
*Angie Martinez - No Playaz (feat. Lil' Mo & Tony Sunshine)
*Angie Martinez - Live At Jimmy's (feat. Big Pun, Cuban Link, Domingo & Sunkiss)
*Blaque - Can't Get It Back
*Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes - The Block Party
*Mis-Teeq - All In One Day
*Mis-Teeq - Can't Get It Back (co-produced by Staybent)
*Mis-Teeq - Strawberrez
*Pras Michel - Dance Hall (feat. Sean Paul, Spragga Benz & Roundhead)
*Nas & Cee-Lo - Less Than An Hour
*I-20 - Fightin In The Club (feat. Lil Fate, Titty Boi & Chingy)
*I-20 - The Realist
*I-20 - Point 'Em Out (feat. Juvenile)
*Kevin Lyttle - Last Drop (feat. Spragga Benz & Assassin) (produced by Nicholas Brancker & Salaam Remi)
*Kevin Lyttle - I Got It (feat. Trey Songz & Troy Taylor) (produced by Nicholas Brancker & Salaam Remi)
*Kevin Lyttle - My Lady (produced by Salaam Remi)
*Kevin Lyttle - Dancing Like Making Love (produced by Nicholas Brancker & Salaam Remi)
*Kevin Lyttle - My Love (produced by Da Bhann & Salaam Remi)
*Leona Lewis - Forgiveness (Co-Produced and Co-Wrote by Remi and Kara DioGuardi)
*Leona Lewis - You Bring me Down (Co-Produced by Taj Jackson and Remi and Co-Wrote by Remi, Jackson and Lewis)
*Ludacris - Virgo (feat. Nas & Doug E. Fresh)
*Wyclef Jean - Bubblegoose (co-produced by Wyclef Jean)
*Chrisette Michele - In This For You
*Carlos Santana - Manana (feat. Keon Bryce)
*Ciara - Click, Flash

ources

*http://www.salaamremi.com
*http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll
*http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/features/id.905/title.salaam-remi-made-you-listen

References