After bringing in game-changing artists like Kode9, Modeselektor and Hudson Mohawke in previous years, Red Bull Music Academy will treat Indian audiences to four-time Grammy nominated American producer, DJ and label owner, Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez. The legendary Brooklyn-based producer and DJ will travel to Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai for sessions – to be led by Nick Dwyer, a core associate and moderator at the Academy – and gigs.

A veteran of the electronic music scene for over two decades, Kenny Dope has enthralled audiences across the world with his genre-bending mix of house, hip-hop, Latin, jazz, funk & soul, reggae, alternative pop and broken beats. His extraordinary catalogue of original music lists thousands of original singles and hundreds of remixes that have earned him a reputation of being a living encyclopaedia of music.

Commenting on the exciting opportunity of performing for Indian audiences, Kenny said, “India, WOW! I’ve always wondered about this market. I'm excited to work with Red Bull Music Academy once again on informing the young generation and contribute to helping educate them on the history of music in general. I'm also interested in learning more about India and the music as well. This is going to be a dope experience."

A global institution committed to fostering creativity in music, the Red Bull Music Academy has touched down in a different host city every year since 1998, bringing together a mindfully selected group of producers, vocalists, beatmakers, instrumentalists and DJs from around the world.

Gig Details

The Red Bull Music Academy gigs will be preceded by comprehensive sessions. Set in the format of a chat between the moderator and artist, the sessions are especially beneficial to those looking to gain an insight into the minds of these legendary musicians. The sessions will be led by Nick Dwyer, who has an extensive career in music journalism and media, and is known best for his acclaimed RBMA documentary series on Japanese video game music – ‘Diggin’ In The Carts’. Dwyer also led the RBMA info sessions with Hyperdub boss Kode9 last year.

Spots for the RBMA sessions are limited. Here are the dates:

New Delhi – 17^th February

Bangalore – 19^th February

Mumbai 21^st February

Get to know Kenny Dope:

Over the last 25 years, Kenny Dope has enthralled audiences all over the world with his genre-bending mix of house, hip-hop, Latin, jazz, funk & soul, reggae, alternative pop and broken beats. His extraordinary catalogue of original music lists thousands of original singles and hundreds of remixes that have earned him a reputation of being a living encyclopaedia of music.

Gonzalez began his career in the industry as a buyer for a record shop in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, where he first discovered his obsessive passion for crate digging and began listening to hip-hop at local house and block parties. By the 80s, Kenny Dope got together with good friend Mike Delgado to organise a series of, now iconic, parties under the alias ‘Masters at Work’. In 1990, he began a creative partnership with DJ ‘Little’ Louie Vega, appropriately dubbed Masters at Work, and the MAW sound quickly grew to become a force to be reckoned with in the electronic music space, eventually remixing everyone from Michael Jackson and Luther Vandross, to Madonna and Daft Punk.

The collaboration between Vega and Kenny extended beyond MAW and the two launched Nuyorican Soul in 1993, a project that paid homage to their Puerto Rican heritage and their choice of music, soul. Apart from being a DJ and producer, Kenny Dope is also a label owner at Dopewax Records, which consistently releases quality house tracks. Kenny has also founded an offshoot label called Kay-Dee Records, which focuses on re-recording and releasing rare and classic music – everything from funk, soul & breaks, to gospel and movie soundtracks.

Aside from his own projects, Kenny has also been a producer for a number of other artists, including Grammy nominated R&B singer Raheem De Vaughn, Ludacris, Wale, Damian Marley, Jill Scott and Anthony Hamilton.