Brent Kolatalo
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Brent Kolatalo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Cincinnati, Ohio, United States |
| Genres | |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Website | brentk |
Brent Kolatalo is an American mixer, record producer, engineer and songwriter based in New York City. Kolatalo has worked with numerous artists and musicians, including Kanye West, Jay-Z, Eminem, Drake, Bruno Mars, X Ambassadors, Future, Chris Webby, Ella Henderson, Taylor Swift, Lorde, OneRepublic, Lady Gaga and Lana Del Rey among others.[1]
He has worked on several albums such as, To Pimp a Butterfly, Uptown Special, If You're Reading This it's too Late, Based On a T.R.U. Story, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Watch the Throne, Just Charlie, Late Registration and The College Dropout among others.
Kolatalo was born in Barberton and grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio.[2] He began practicing guitar when he was a kid, one of his tutors was Jeff Martin.[3][4]
He attended Lakota West High School in West Chester, Ohio and graduated in 2000.[4] In 2002, he went to Berklee College of Music in Boston, during summers he was a trainee at Avatar Studios.[5] Kolatalo dropped out in 2004 after working on Kanye West debut studio album, The College Dropout which earning several nominations at the 47th Grammy Awards.[5][6]
In 2007, Kolatalo started The Skywalkers, a production team with his partner Ken Lewis which was renamed to Katalyst in 2011.[7][8]
Kolatalo's songwriting credits include "The Blacker the Berry", Kendrick Lamar's track, which appeared on his album To Pimp a Butterfly (2015).[2] He is the engineer on multi-platinum Mark Ronson's single featuring Bruno Mars, "Uptown Funk".[9][10] In 2016, Kolatalo recorded and played on the track "Come to Mama" from Lady Gaga's album, Joanne.[11] In 2019, he worked on Taylor Swift's album, Lover.[12]
Awards and recognition
He is a three-time Grammy nominee by name and has worked on over sixteen Grammy nominated albums.[13][8] He was nominated for his work as audio and mixer engineer on Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly (2015),[10] Eminem's Eminem (Recovery) (2010)[14] and Kanye West's The College Dropout (2004).[15]
Grammy awards
| Year | Artist | Album or Song | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Kendrick Lamar | To Pimp a Butterfly - The Blacker the Berry | Best Rap Album | Nominated |
| 2010 | Eminem | Recovery - Session One | Best Rap Album | Nominated |
| 2004 | Kanye West | The College Dropout - All Falls Down, Heavy Hitters, Last Call, Family Business | Best Rap Album | Nominated |
