Kashif

Songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and vocalist Kashif stood among the leading figures who ushered post-disco R&B into a new era through synthesizers and drum machines. In the realm of commercially appealing yet forward-thinking, melody-driven R&B, his contributions formed the connective thread between Patrick Adams, Leroy Burgess, and Leon Sylvers III and the subsequent team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, thereby extending the same creative thread that later reached “super producers” such as Teddy Riley and Timbaland. From his emergence in the mid-’70s until his death in 2016, he exerted a dominant creative influence across most of the ’80s, refining his genre through rhythmically inventive and melodically intricate arrangements that strengthened the trajectories of Evelyn “Champagne” King, Melba Moore, and Whitney Houston, among others. Although his solo recordings from that period earned no gold or platinum certifications, they resonated strongly with dedicated R&B audiences and garnered multiple Grammy nominations.

Born Michael Jones in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood in 1956, Kashif lost both parents when he was very young, spent his formative years moving between foster homes, and endured repeated physical and psychological mistreatment. Music became his refuge. Before finishing junior high, he had already gained command of keyboards, brass instruments, and woodwinds. During his teenage years he entered B.T. Express as keyboardist, where he first explored synthesized bass lines on the Minimoog. After appearing on three albums with the group—Energy to Burn, Function at the Junction, and Shout! (Shout It Out), the initial two of which carried his earliest songwriting credits—he departed to join Stephanie Mills on the road.

Drawing inspiration from Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, and Thom Bell’s Mighty Three Music, Kashif soon established Mighty M Productions alongside fellow writers and producers Paul Lawrence and Morrie Brown. The trio introduced an energetic, synthesizer-driven aesthetic to early-’80s R&B that reinvigorated veteran performers while launching newcomers. Their first major success arrived with Evelyn King’s “I’m in Love,” which Kashif wrote, arranged, and co-produced while also performing a wide range of keyboard parts; the track entered Billboard’s R&B chart in June 1981 and climbed to number one. Across 1982 he supplied five further Top 20 R&B singles for Melba Moore, Howard Johnson, and King, the last of whom scored another chart-topper with “Love Come Down.” Newly available technology allowed him to experiment with sampling techniques, substituting drum timbres, positioning lead and background vocals, and replicating vocal phrases.

Even while his services as producer and songwriter remained in high demand, Kashif secured a contract with Arista and issued five albums on the label throughout the ’80s. His own singles “I Just Gotta Have You (Lover Turn Me On)” (1983), “Baby Don’t Break Your Baby’s Heart” (1984), and the 1987 duet with Meli’sa Morgan on a version of Mother’s Finest’s “Love Changes” each added to his growing tally of Top 20 R&B entries. Album tracks “The Mood,” “Call Me Tonight,” and “Movie Song” earned Grammy nominations for Best Instrumental R&B Performance, while the Al Jarreau collaboration “Edgartown Groove” was nominated for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Simultaneously he operated behind the scenes for established names including George Benson, Kenny G, and Dionne Warwick. Most notably, he produced Whitney Houston’s first solo single, “You Give Good Love,” which reached number two on the R&B chart, and he co-wrote and produced “Thinking About You” from her diamond-certified self-titled debut album.

Although his studio schedule eased after the ’80s, Kashif stayed engaged across several music-related fields. In 1994 UCLA Extension invited him to design the course Contemporary Record Production with Kashif. The following year, as chief executive of his Los Angeles-based Brooklyn Boy Books, Entertainment, and Information, he published the authoritative industry reference Everything You’d Better Know About the Record Industry. His final solo projects were Who Loves You?, released on the U.K. label Expansion in 1998, and the self-issued Music from My Mind in 2003. Kashif died in Los Angeles in September 2016 at age 59, still performing and developing a ten-part documentary titled The History of R&B Music.