Kentyah Fraser is a DJ/producer and percussionist. He also aspires to be a writer and pop culture educator. He was a de facto mentor and assistant to Paul D. Miller (aka DJ Spooky), and learned all about the indie music industry from one of its most consistent and shrewd producers. Kentyah, who was Spooky’s Synchronic Records manager, opted to stay behind the scenes. But, he is now stepping out into the spotlight as a producer and conceptualist. His total commitment to intellectual stimulation through vibrant and “evolutionary-minded” pop culture takes brilliant form with his debut release from Motema, Evolutionary Minded, a joint project with jazz/soul legend Brian Jackson which re-casts the Brian Jackson/Gil Scott-Heron Midnight Band catalog in a twenty-first century cultural light, featuring an A-list of jazz, hip-hop and soul artists. Kentyah draws inspiration from DJ Spooky, his mentor and other visionaries along the way, such as Teo Macero, a jazz saxophonist who was a legendary Columbia Records producer, and Bill Laswell, who is a bassist, producer, and owner of the label; RZA, renowned producer and visionary for Wu Tang; Madlib, acclaimed producer of LA progressive hip hop music; and various left-wing political figures like Cornel West, Howard Zinn, and others. Kentyah is now bringing his unique creative and cultural sensibilities to the post-hip-hop improvisational music and hybrid funk forms of funk and political discourse. Kentyah has worked with many prominent “musician’s musicians” in his career: Killah Priest and Ron Carter, Tony Allen, Tony Allen, Dead Prez and Bill Laswell, Mike Clark. He also collaborated with Chuck D, Chuck Jackson, Bill Summers, Bill Summers, Chuck D., Snoop (Dogg), Lion, George Clinton. Mike Stern, Charnett Mffett, Airto, to name just a few. He is a thought-shifter and has had public conversations with Bobby Seale, co-founder of Black Panther Party, Stanley Krippner (key pioneers in transpersonal psychology), Ralph Metzner, Dagara Shaman Malidoma Some and many other people. Kentyah has a Masters degree in Psychology, and will soon begin a PhD on Integrative Consciousness. Expect to hear from Kentyah soon, as he has many visions and projects. from www.montereyjazzfestival.org
