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| Easy Mo Bee | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Osten Harvey, Jr. |
| Born | December 8, 1965 |
| Origin | Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupations | Producer |
| Years active | 1991 – present |
| Labels | Bad Boy, Easy Mo Records |
| Associated acts | The Notorious B.I.G., RZA, GZA, Sean Combs, Big Daddy Kane, Afu Ra, Mos Def, Blaq Poet |
Easy Mo Bee (born Osten Harvey, Jr.) is a hip hop/R&B record producer, most notable for his affiliation with Bad Boy Records in its early years and his heavy production involvement in The Notorious B.I.G.'s acclaimed debut Ready to Die.
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Biography
With Sean Combs and Bad Boy
In the early 1990s, he linked up with Bad Boy Entertainment and became their main staff producer, crafting most of the tracks for its first release, Craig Mack's Project: Funk Da World and the label's first major hit, "Flava in Ya Ear." He also produced "Party and Bullshit" for The Notorious B.I.G, the rapper's first single.
Subsequently he produced for both Tupac Shakur and Biggie. He is one of the few producers to have worked with both of them, most notably on the song "Running from the Police" (from the album One Million Strong), recorded in the same session by Tupac, B.I.G., Dramacydal and the Live Squad's Stretch. After producing with Shakur, then based in New York, on the rapper's Me Against the World--including two cut songs, a version of "So Many Tears" and the song "God Bless the Dead" (later found on Greatest Hits), both featuring Stretch—Mo Bee started on Biggie's Ready To Die. His production on both spawned hits and critical acclaim; he continued producing for Biggie on the rapper's second album. Bad Boy CEO Puff Daddy eventually asked to manage Mo Bee and for the producer to join his Hitmen production team; he declined, and Puff severed their ties. Mo Bee also produced the driving hit for Busta Rhymes's The Coming, the song "Everything Remains Raw."
After Bad Boy
Easy stayed close with Big and they recorded tracks, including a song for his third album Born Again called Dead Wrong. After the rapper was killed, however, the album version that appeared was remixed without credit to Easy. Puff stopped bringing him in on label projects, and over the course of future releases has remixed more of Mo Bee's material without giving the producer credit, such as Flava in Ya Ear, remixed by Puffy on the Bad Boy 10th Anniversary album, and Runnin, remixed by Eminem on the Tupac: Resurrection (Original Soundtrack). Mo Bee also has a label, Easy Mo Records, which has yet to see a release. In 2000, he put out an album called Now or Never: Oddysey 2000, featuring east coast staples Busta Rhymes, Raekwon, Prodigy, Heltah Skeltah, Kool G. Rap, and Sauce Money, along with Goodie Mob and Kurupt.
Recently, Easy was tapped for the Wu-Tang's 2007 group album 8 Diagrams, co-producing a track with RZA called "Take it Back." He produced the introduction to Termanology's debut album, and Cormega has worked with him for the rapper's upcoming Born & Raised[1]. After an announcement that he would handle the scoring for Biggie biopic Notorious, the score was handled without him; this has led to speculation that Diddy is keeping him distanced from the industry.[2] Lately, he has been working with a female Brooklyn rapper named Honey, a soul singer named Miss Quick on Platinum Ice Records, and R&B artist Noelle on Easy Mo Records.
Production technique
Mo Bee has been acclaimed for his bass-heavy style and jazzy influence. In an interview with allhiphop.com, Mo Bee stated that for collaborations, he looks for a soulful, emotional artist.
At times Mo Bee has branched out more with his sound, as on the smooth, poppish "I Love the Dough" by Biggie, sampling René & Angela's "I Love You More". He also turned to trippy rock for inspiration on Mos Def's "Zimzallabim".
External links
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