Hit producer mixes it up on debut album
AFTER nearly a decade in the music business, music producer and singer Anatii is about to wrap up production on his own debut album, which he has been working on in Los Angeles.
The Eastern Cape-born artist said he had decided on LA to complete his project as “it’s a better place to focus”.
“When I’m home, there’s so much going on, everyone wants to do something.”
His debut will include the Midas touch of Grammy award-winning producer Karl Brutus. Brutus won two Grammies this year for his work on Justin Bieber’s song Where Are You Now?.
Anatii would not reveal exactly who else would perform on the album, but hinted that one collaborator was a “US R&B singer”.
In the past, the artist has worked with a who’s who of the local and international music scenes. At just 23, he has been behind a string of hits, including some by rappers Cassper Nyovest, AKA, L-Tido and Dream Team. He has also worked on tracks with international record producers DJ Khaled and DJ Drama.
Anatii has made his mark working on hip-hop hits, but, he said, he grew up listening to pop and soul singers including Michael Jackson and Eryka Badu. His dream collaboration would be “to do a song with Stevie Wonder, man”.
He has already realised his dream of working with Badu. “She stayed with us for about two weeks. She recorded some songs and we wrote some songs together,” he said.
The release date of his album is still a closely guarded secret but Anatii said it would likely be in June. “I’ve recorded about, like, 60-something songs for the album but I’ll probably only end up choosing about 12 to 14.”
Fans of the muso might be disappointed at his planned departure from a strictly hip-hop sound. Anatii said he would be appealing to a “broader market”.
“The album is a mixture of R&B, pop, hip-hop and Afro-beats,” he said.