DOC McKINNEY

Raised in the heart of Minneapolis, Doc McKinney’s love of music was inexorably shaped by the new wave influence of Prince and R&B/pop songwriting combo Jam & Lewis. Having played in numerous punk and indie bands, and aspiring to be a producer himself, McKinney made contacts and settled in Toronto where he was introduced by then-EMI president Michael McCarty to Jenny Bea Englishman. Immediately impressed, McKinney formed the outfit Esthero and was courted by every major label in the US, resulting in an critically acclaimed debut album entitled Breath from Another.

McKinney then teamed up with Santi White of Santigold fame to produce the Res album How I Do before hitting the jackpot with Canadian singer/songwriter Abel Tesfaye of The Weeknd. Co-producing his mixtape House of Balloons, McKinney later returned to worked alongside Tesfaye on his No. 1 selling album Starboy – earning himself a Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary album. McKinney’s production career has seen him work with Sting, Drake, Dr. Dre, Mary J Blige and Sinéad O’Connor, making him one of the industry’s most sought-after producers.

You started in the industry at a very young age. Was that as a guitarist?

I was always into music from a young age and played guitar fast and loud in a punk group with some kids in my neighbourhood. I came from Minnesota – the Twin Cities, which is a very musical town. My high school had a studio programme, so there was a lot of support for the arts and it was very common to have lots of bands around.

You played in a combination of punk rock and hip-hop groups, which is a bit of an unusual combination. Did you know what you wanted to be?

I was a mixed-up kid surrounded by Prince, Jimmy Jam