Draft:David James Kennedy (audio engineer)

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David James Kennedy (audio engineer)

David Kennedy (also known as Dawit Kennedy, Dox, Dave Kennedy) is an American recording and mixing engineer and producer whose work spans hip-hop, R&B, reggae, and popular music. He has contributed to recordings by artists including A Tribe Called Quest, Mos Def (Yasiin Bey), LL Cool J, Mary J. Blige, Brand Nubian, Run-D.M.C., Shinehead, and Keith Richards. Independent coverage of his career has appeared in LargeUp and VICE.

Early life and education

Kennedy was born in New York City and spent part of his youth in Jamaica, where early exposure to Caribbean music and studio environments influenced his career path. He later studied audio engineering at the Institute of Audio Research in New York and began working professionally in recording studios in both the United States and Jamaica.

Career

Early studio work

Kennedy’s early professional work included engineering at Dynamic Sounds in Kingston, Jamaica, a studio associated with reggae and crossover recordings. His experience across Jamaican and U.S. studios positioned him within both reggae and hip-hop production environments. Hip-hop, R&B, and major-label projects From the late 1980s through the 2000s, Kennedy worked as a recording and mixing engineer on numerous major-label releases in hip-hop and R&B. He is credited as an engineer on LL Cool J’s Mama Said Knock You Out (1990) [1], a landmark hip-hop album. Kennedy also engineered and mixed recordings for Mary J. Blige, including tracks on What’s the 411? (1992)[2] and Mary (1999)[3], contributing to early and mid-career releases by the artist. His work further includes engineering and mixing credits for Brand Nubian (Everything Is Everything), Run-D.M.C. (Back from Hell), Dru Hill, Keith Sweat, Stephanie Mills, and Raven-Symoné, among others. A Tribe Called Quest Kennedy collaborated with A Tribe Called Quest on multiple projects. He is credited as a mixing engineer on We Got It from Here… Thank You 4 Your Service (2016), the group’s final studio album. He also contributed engineering and mixing work on The Love Movement (1998) and related releases. Mos Def / Yasiin Bey Kennedy was involved in the recording, mixing, and production of Mos Def’s (Yasiin Bey’s) debut solo album Black on Both Sides (1999)[4]. His role in the album’s creative and technical process is discussed in a VICE oral history of the album.

Later work

After years working on major projects in the United States, Kennedy returned to Jamaica, where he established a recording facility and continued working as an engineer and producer. His later work has included recording, mixing, and mentoring within Caribbean and diaspora music communities.

Name disambiguation

Kennedy’s credits are occasionally conflated with those of other music professionals with the same name. Published sources and genre-specific documentation distinguish his work primarily within hip-hop, R&B, reggae, and related genres.

Selected credits

(representative, verifiable) LL Cool J – Mama Said Knock You Out (1990) — engineer

Mary J. Blige – What’s the 411? (1992) — engineer

Mary J. Blige – Mary (1999) — engineer

Mos Def – Black on Both Sides (1999) — mixing / production

A Tribe Called Quest – We Got It from Here… Thank You 4 Your Service (2016) — mixing engineer [5]

Brand Nubian – Everything Is Everything (1994) — mixing

Shinehead – Sidewalk University (1992) — engineer

References

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