Los Angeles, California – December 11, 2008 – The 2009 Grammy Ceremony is coming up and hip-hop music from the South takes over the list of nominees with artists like Lil Wayne, T.I., Young Jeezy, Ludacris, T-Pain, Andre 3000 and Flo Rida. Multi-platinum producer Drumma Boy who has worked with all the aforementioned artists as well Yung Joc, Rick Ross, Paul Wall, Gorilla Zoe and Plies has received two Grammy nominations for his musical ingenuity. The nominations come in the form of work for T.I.’s platinum selling Papertrail (Best Rap Album) where the young Atlantan beat maker produced a total of four songs on the fourth highest debut album of 2008 including the hit single “What Up, What’s Happenin” as well as “My Life Your Entertainment” f/ Usher, “Ready for Whatever” and “You Ain’t Missin Nothin” while T.I. called Drumma Boy “the next big thing.” Additionally Drumma Boy composed the blazing track “Put On” f/ Young Jeezy and Kanye West which has been nominated for “Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.” The song which became the hit anthem of the summer reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks and Mainstream R&B/Hip Hop charts. Drumma Boy says the nominations come from his “work ethic and consistency.” He says, “I have practiced my craft faithfully for 11 years – a routine that has lead me to opportunities such as producing for T.I.’s Papertrail as well as Young Jeezy’s “Put On” featuring Kanye West. I believe that any dream can be accomplished with proper follow through.”
Drumma Boy and Jazze Pha have teamed up on a new American Idol-esque show “Welcome to Dreamland†airing on Peachtree TV/Turner Broadcasting where they will try to help upcoming musical talent reach stardom. The multi-platinum Atlanta based producers will compete with each other to see who can develop the best act as the show follows along as performers are put through an intense development process with producers, songwriters, stylists, designers and photographers. Welcome to Dreamland is a six episode series that will debut with back-to-back episodes on Jan. 19th at 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Subsequent episodes will premiere on Monday nights at 10 p.m. with finale set for Feb. 16th.
About Drumma Boy
Talent can be defined in a myriad of ways. It can be an innate gift or a learned proficiency but occasionally, it’s a potent mixture of both, which happens to be the case with Christopher Gholson, the southern-reared producer and visionary who goes by the pseudonym Drumma Boy. Born and bred in Memphis, Tennessee, Drumma Boy’s destiny was solidified as a young child with a mother who was an opera singer and a father who was a professional clarinetist and music professor at the University of Memphis, the first African-American man to hold the 1st chair position in the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. “My dad taught me everything I know about traditional music and had me playing the clarinet at age 5 but it was my mom that introduced me to Curtis Mayfield and 70’s oldie, so my style now is a reflection of all of that, classical, soul and street music.â€
Now at only 25 years old Drumma Boy merges his unique musical influences ranging from German composers Ludwig van Beethoven and Johann Sebastian Bach to Jazz icons Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis all the way to Academy Award winning Three 6 Mafia and Scarface, combining classical chords with urban street sounds to create an ingenuity worthy enough of receiving a nomination for “Producer of the Year†at the Ozone Awards 2008. The highly sought after rhythm architect enjoyed credit for the single Jeezy’s “Put On†f/ Kanye West which proved to be one of the summer’s hottest anthems while other recent tracks include “What Up, What’s Happenin†from T.I and “Lost†from Gorilla Zoe f/ Lil’ Wayne. In Fall 2008 Drumma was known as the man responsible for several songs off T.I.’s highly anticipated Paper Trail (Grand Hustle/Atlantic) as well as hits from multi-platinum recording artist Young Jeezy’s The Recession. Additionally Drumma Boy has tracks on upcoming albums from Monica (Still Standing), Keyshia Cole (A Different Me), Bow Wow (New Jack City Pt. 2), Gorilla Zoe (Don’t Feed the Animals), Rick Ross (Deeper Than Rap), Plies (Da Realest) and Yung Joc (Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood). With a gift to manufacture inimitable sounds the young virtuoso has been recruited into the studio recently with a wide range of artists including Busta Rhymes, Mary J. Blige, Akon, Raheem Devaughn, Nelly, Mya, Amerie, Souljah Boy, The Clipse, Lupe Fiasco, Rich Boy, Dionne Farris and Jagged Edge.
The musical prodigy who sites producers Quincy Jones, Raphael Saadiq & The Funk Brothers as his inspirations, skillfully adds crispy, hard-hitting 808 bass lines with gentle touches of rhythmic change and chord progression to each crafted beat. He composes thick and textured sounds that take some producers years to perfect. It takes a special kind of artist to rock with him, which explains his impressive roster of hip-hop and R&B acts. Drumma Boy is fresh, as in innovative and expressive but more importantly, he’s admirably great at pushing boundaries; taking the art form into new realms of abstraction. His musicianship is incredible, having the ability to pour passion and conviction into whatever he does. His combination of multi-talent is one of many factors that separate him from the mainstream. His soul is soaked in the eccentricity of vintage Rhythm and Blues and P-Funk. He plays with this dichotomy of yesteryear classics and current trends to concoct sophisticated arrangements that fuse the arrogance of hip-hop with the slickness of R&B.
Drumma Boy is famous for making diverse beats that range from rap, rock, classical and pop to soulful R&B ballads and gospel-inspired jams. He is as authentic as a creative artist can be, reading music with an educated ear while possessing the ability to instantly recognize the correct key. In addition to a learned knowledge, there is that burning desire he inherently possesses to win and maintain respect.
