Saturday, December 5, 2009

iStandard / CertiFYD intervew on "iStandard Producers" website



iStandard's website link:  http://blog.istandardproducers.com/2009/12/certifyd/
iStandard / CertiFYD Interview

CertiFYD HEAT

Interview by: Kristen Teesdale


What’s up, CertiFYD. Thanks for taking time out to talk to iStandard. So let’s get to it. You both began as musicians for several independent and major acts. How did you score your first gig?

J. Guido- Basically it all started playing in church as a kid. Music was always the coolest part of church when I grew up and when a need for a guitar player arose I stepped up thanks to the help of my mom and dad.

Pi- My first gig was at church as well.


Who are some of the artists you played with/for prior to the inception of CertiFYD Production Group?

PI- Musiq SoulChild, Jeff Bradshaw, Corey “Latif” Williams (songwriter for Chris Brown, Cassie, Musiq)


I read that you grew up in Camden, NJ. What was the music scene like in Camden when you were younger and how did that play into your career development?

Pi- There is a lot of talent in Camden NJ but really not a lot of outlets to get your music out there. I went to a Creative Arts High School, which helped a lot in being around other artist and musicians. But you have to realize that Camden NJ was just rated “The Most Dangerous City” in the nation according to FBI reports just the other day.

Camden has consistently been in the top 10 most dangerous cities. Surrounded by so much negativity and crime, CertiFYD wants to show and prove that there is a lot of talent coming from this city and positive things happening as well.

J. Guido- Philadelphia is just a 5 minute drive over the bridge so we are influenced by the Philly scene as well.


Incorporating real instruments into your production work can really foster a unique sound that a lot of producers don’t have the ability to recreate. Do you find that it gives you an edge in the industry?

J. Guido- I think it does because we are able to cut stuff from scratch, transpose, and arrange harmonies, naturally because of our background with understanding chord structure.

Conversely, what are some of the challenges posed when you integrate your own musical elements in this line of work?

Pi- I guess it can be a gift and a curse to be so talented…lol, just joking.

Nah, just playing. I think the challenge is being to able put to produce music for the average listener to enjoy versus making music for musicians.

As brothers, do you find it difficult to work together at times? Or does the sibling connection only strengthen the work relationship?

J. Guido- Lol…I think it’s both. Sometimes it difficult to draw the line between brother versus partner and like all family things can get tensed and stressful, but the bottom line is that we have great chemistry together and love making music.

Ok, break it down for us. Who is better on the drums? The bass?

Pi- Well basically my main instrument is the drums and J. Guido’s strength is the guitar, but we can play it all in the studio.

With such a broad range of experience to boast (rock, pop, hip hop, etc.), you remain versatile in a constantly evolving industry. Does your creative process differ for each genre or do you maintain the same system regardless?

J. Guido- It really just depends. Usually if we are working on a Rock or R&B track it will start from a melody idea from the guitar or keyboard. For the Hip Hop joints is more about the drums. We get our inspiration from many different things in life, but no matter if we are working on a Rock or Hip Hop track we are just capturing the moment.

Pi-Sometimes it may vary on how you approach the different music styles. These days an R&B track can be a Hip Hop joint and vice versa or Rock music with Hip Hop drums is a hard beat, etc… Music is music, it just has to fit the vibe.

What do you do when you find yourself struggling to find that perfect beat?

Pi- If we are in a situation where we are not feeling the vibe or the ideas we’ll just take a break, clear the mind a little…lol, and get back to work. That usually works… (jokingly laughs)

You’ve said that “this is not a hobby, but it’s your life.” Do you believe that the passion that drives you was born in you or has it developed and increased over time?

J. Guido- Both. In order to fight this music industry battle you have to love and hate it at the same time. At the end of the day it’s our love for the music that keeps us here. Being able to change the way people feel thru our music is what motivates us.


What’s next for CertiFYD?

J. Guido- Right now we are just working hard and pushing forward. We are about to ink an endorsement deal with Roland for promoting some of their products, and working on some new projects that will be coming out soon. Also, getting ready to drop our artist, Yae Hustle (rapper from Philly) first mixtape and working with our R&B Artist / Songwriter Chino Moy.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

CertiFYD's QUICK CHECK IN



HELLO EVERYONE!!!

We know that it has been a while so our apologies for not checking in sooner.  This is just  a quick update so that you can actually skim thru this blog in no time and get an update on what we are doing.  Our goal is to give you a quick picture of the projects that we are working on and do these QUICK CHECK INs from time to time to make sure that we are all on the same page.

CertiFYD has been hard at work on various projects and we are excited to be able to share them with you. 

KEYSHIA COLE
In the past year we have had our works release via Keyhia Cole's latest album, "A Different Me" alongside platinum producer, Kwame.



Listen to Keyshia Cole's "No Other"



Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyshia_Cole

Keyshia Cole

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Keyshia Cole
Background information
Birth nameKeyshia Myeshia Cole[citation needed]
Also known asKC, The Princess of Hip-Hop Soul
BornOctober 15, 1981 (age 29)
OriginOakland, California
GenresR&Bhip-hopsoulhip-hop soul
OccupationsSinger–songwriter
InstrumentsVocals
Years active2004–present
LabelsA&MGeffen
Associated actsMonicaFaith Evans
Websitewww.keyshiacole.com
Keyshia Myeshia Cole[1] (born October 15, 1981)[2] is an American recording artist. She released her platinum selling debut album The Way It Is in June 2005, and her sophomore platinum album Just Like You in September 2007. Cole's third studio album, A Different Me was released on December 16, 2008, and is also certifiedplatinum. She is also known for her reality/documentary series Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is which aired on BET from 2006 to 2008, which depicted Cole navigating both her career and strained relationships with her biological mother and sister. Cole cites Mary J Blige and Brandy as her biggest influences and inspirations.

Contents

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Career

Early life

Keyshia Myeshia Cole was born on October 15, 1981 in Oakland, California, where she was also raised. Cole was born to Francine "Frankie" Lons and Sal, her deceased father. She was later adopted by Yvonne Cole and her husband's family-friends who raised her. Along with her brother Sean, Keyshia was first introduced to the music industry at the age of 12, when she met and recorded with MC Hammer.[3][4][5][6] She later formed a friendship with Tupac Shakur, who promised to help start her singing career before he died unexpectedly. Cole moved to Los Angeles when she was 18 to pursue a music career. In 2002, she attracted the attention ofA&M Records executive Ron Fair, who signed her and began mentoring her. She would later release a mixtape in 2004.
Before being signed, Cole collaborated with artists from her native Bay Area, among them D'Wayne Wiggins of Tony Toni Tone and Messy Marv.
In anticipation of her debut album, Keyshia and DJ Green Lantern released a mixtape, Team Invasion Presents Keyshia Cole, in June 2005. It featured appearances by ShyneRemy MaFat Joe and Ghostface Killah. The mixtape was composed mostly of songs recorded over popular hip-hop instrumentals, including 2Pac's "I Get Around", Nas' "Ether", Mobb Deep's "Shook Ones (Part II)" and Scarface's "Guess Who's Back", among others. The singles "(I Just Want It) To Be Over", a remix of "I Changed My Mind", and "I Should Have Cheated" were also included.

2004–2005: The Way It Is

Cole's debut single, "Never", featuring Eve, was released on March 23, 2004 to promote the soundtrack to the film, Barbershop 2: Back in Business. The single failed to chart, and Cole proceeded to record her debut album for the rest of 2004 and into early 2005. "Never" eventually became the final song on The Way It Is.
On November 9, 2004, Cole released her first single, "I Changed My Mind", featuring Kanye West. The single reached #71 in the US, and was not a huge hit for Cole. The second single from the album, "(I Just Want It) To Be Over", was released on April 5, 2005, and reached #1 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 (#101).
Cole completed her debut album in early 2005. The Way It Is was released on June 21, 2005. It debuted at number six on the Billboard 200, selling 89,000 copies in the first week of release.[7] It has since sold 1.4 million copies in the US, receiving a Platinum certification from the RIAA.
The third single from the album, "I Should Have Cheated" was released on August 3, 2005, and reached #30 on the Hot 100. The fourth and final single, "Love" was released on January 6, 2006 and reached #19 on the Hot 100. It has been regarded as Cole's "breakthrough single" by many.

2006-2007: Just like You

Cole began work on her second album in early 2006, shortly after the release of her debut album. She was featured on the single "Last Night" by Diddy, which was the third single from his fourth studio album,Press Play. The recording of her second album was documented on her reality TV show, Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is in late 2006 and early 2007.
Cole's sophomore album, Just like You, was due for a release on July 8, 2007, but wasn't released until September 25, 2007. It featured the singles "Let It Go" featuring Missy Elliott and Lil' Kim, "Shoulda Let You Go" featuring Amina, "I Remember", and "Heaven Sent". Other guest artists included Too $hortAnthony HamiltonYoung Dro, and T.I.
Just like You debuted at #2 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 281,000 copies in its first week, and has proceeded to sell 1.6 million copies in the US, earning a Platinum certification from the RIAA, like her debut. The album was nominated for four Grammys, Best Contemporary R&B Album and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 2008 Grammy Awards and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song at the 2009 Grammy Awards, however Cole failed to win any of them.
The lead single from the album, "Let It Go", featuring Missy Elliott and Lil' Kim, was released on June 19, 2007. The single is Cole's most successful single to date, as it reached #7 in the US. The second single, "Shoulda Let You Go", featuring and introducing Cole's best friend Amina, was released on October 19, 2007, and was mildly successful, by reaching #41 in the US.
The third single from the album, "I Remember" was released on December 5, 2007. The single was highly successful, by reaching #24 in the US. The fourth and final single was the critically acclaimed "Heaven Sent", was released on March 7, 2008. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for nine weeks, and #28 in the US.
Cole was featured on Jaheim's third single, "I've Changed", off his fourth album, The Makings of a Man.

2008–2009: A Different Me

In 2008, Cole made guest appearances on songs such as "I Got a Thang for You" with rapper Trina on her album Still Da Baddest and "Boyfriend/Girlfriend" with hip-hop band C-Side on their album Class In Session. She also made a guest appearance in the music video for "She Got Her Own", by singers Ne-Yo Jamie Foxx and Destiny McMorris-McCall and in the song "Game's Pain" by Compton-based rapperThe Game.
Cole is also featured on the charity song "Just Stand Up", which was released in August 2008 and raises money for cancer research along with various pop, hip-hop, and R&B artists that year. As a result of SU2C fund raising endeavors, the SU2C scientific advisory committee, overseen by the American Association for Cancer Research was able to award 73.6 million dollars towards novel, groundbreaking cancer research.[8]
Cole embarked on the I Am Music Tour with Keri HilsonLil' Wayne, and T-Pain from December 2008 to February 2009.
She released her third studio album, A Different Me, on December 16, 2008. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, selling 322,000 copies in its first week.[9] The album has gone on to sell over 850,000 copies in the US, receiving a gold certification from the RIAA. The album is Keyshia's least successful album to date.
The album was preceded by lead single "Playa Cardz Right", featuring the late rapper 2Pac, which was released on October 28, 2008, and reached #63 on the Hot 100. The second single from the album, "You Complete Me", was released on January 20, 2009, and reached #62 on the Hot 100, making the first and second singles mild hits.
Cole released the third and final single from the album, "Trust", a duet with Monica, on May 5, 2009, and reached #5 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and #70 on the US Hot 100. The fourth single from A Different Me was confirmed as "This is Us", and was due for a release in September 2009, but it was never released, due to Cole's pregnancy.
Cole was on the cover of the March 2009 issue of Vibe, and was on the cover of the Summer 2009 final double-cover issue of King. Keyshia and Yvonne Cole appeared on the June issue of Sister 2 Sistermagazine.
In 2009, she also made a guest appearance on Keri Hilson's "Get Your Money Up" from her debut album In a Perfect World…. Keyshia began work on her fourth studio album in early 2009 also with Jasmyne.
She also toured with Keri Hilson, The-Dream and Bobby Valentino on the A Different Me Tour.

2010-present: Calling All Hearts

In August 2009, Keyshia Cole announced that she was beginning work on her fourth studio album Calling All Hearts[10] which will be released by Winter of 2010. The new album is said to contain production from KrucialKeyz, The RunnersKanye West, and Missy Elliott.[11] Cole was featured on the remix of R. Kelly's single "Number One" along with T-Pain. She is also currently listed as one of the inspirations for Pepsi: We Inspire.[12] Cole also worked with Gucci Mane on the song "Bad, Bad, Bad" from The State vs Radric Davis. On June 27, 2010 she returned to the spotlight for her first televised appearance since the birth of her son, filling in for Hayley Williams to sing the chorus to B.o.B.'s "Airplanes (Part II)", featuring Eminem during the 2010 BET Awards. Cole featured on Faith Evans album Something About Faith. In September 2010 Cole stated that her fourth studio album will be released on December 21, 2010. The album's first single entitled, I Ain't Thru, features Nicki Minaj and was released by Keyshia herself via Twitter on October 15, 2010. The album's second single entitled, "Long Way Down" was released November 19, 2010.

Other ventures

Acting career

In 2005 Keyshia Cole starred as herself in the dance movie How She Move.[13]

Reality TV

Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is

In conjunction with her album release, BET began airing the second season of Cole's reality show Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is on October 30, 2007. The show premiered to record breaking ratings for BET. It is the top returning series premiere in BET history, as well as the number one original series premiere of the year. A reported 2.9 million viewers and 2.0 million households watched the season 2 finale. It is now the #1 series telecast in BET history.[14] Season 3 of the series was filmed in Summer 2008 and premiered on November 11, 2008. The show was rumored to be having a fourth season, however; Cole has concluded that there will not be a fourth season. On Tuesday, August 25, 2009, Cole's mother and sister debuted their own reality show titled Frankie & Neffe on BET. Their show's season finale aired on Tuesday, October 6, 2009.

Personal life

In 2006, Cole dated rapper Young Jeezy. Their relationship ended after a declined proposal; however, there has been conflicting reports on either side as to who actually proposed. Jeezy claimed that Cole proposed to him in a Vibe article, while Cole asserted in an Essence article that she turned down a proposal from him.[15]
In March 2009, Cole began dating Daniel Gibson of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers.[16] and later became engaged to him. On February 4, 2010, the pregnant Cole was hospitalized for precautionary reasons.[17]On March 1, 2010 Cole was admitted into the hospital with labor pains. One of Keyshia's closest friends, R&B singer Monica, confirmed the labor situation via her official twitter page.[18]
On March 2, 2010, Cole gave birth to her first child, a boy, named Daniel Hiram Gibson Jr.[19] Keyshia currently resides in Ohio and Georgia. Keyshia and Daniel are currently engaged and are planning to get married in March.

Discography



DJ Khaled & E-Class "LIVE FROM THE 305" - Jacki-O featuring Brisco
Also, CertiFYD recently produced "M. I. A.", track 10 on the DJ Khaled & E-Class "Live from the 305" latest project  that was just released October 13rth, 2009 with Jacki-O featuring Brisco released on Poe Boy / E1 Music.




Please show your support and pick up these albums.


SERIUS JONES - INVINCIBLE
In addition to that we have been working on a bunch of other projects that should be coming soon.  Including with"Mr. I will wreck you on the mic and embarrass you in front of all your homies, "Serius Jones".  Check out the making of "Invincible" track and the video, produced by CertiFYD Production Group..
Check it out here:
Title Release:   "Invincible" (Street Single)
Video of the making for the song "Invincible":
Artist:  Serius Jones 


Music Video for "Invincible":
Artist:  Serius Jones
Produced by:  CertiFYD Production Group 


Currently we are hard at work in the studio working on new music, developing our artist, and continuing to build the "CertiFYD" brand.

Support and go buy these albums:
Keyshia Cole's latest release, "A Different Me" and support us.  CertiFYD's production work can be heard on track 6, "No Other" produced by Kwame with additional production by CertiFYD.
DJ Khaled & E-Class, "Live from the 305" via Poe Boy / E1.  CertiFYD produced track number 10 with Jacki-O featuring Brisco that was just released on October 13th, 2009.

Make sure you visit us online:
www.CertiFYD.com
www.Twitter.com/CertiFYDmusic
www.myspace.com/CertiFYDmusic.