Kevin Rudolf

Kevin Winston Rudolf (born February 17, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist from New York City.

Kevin Winston Rudolf was born on February 17, 1983, in New York City, New York, to Ellyn, an American singer, and Stephen, a disc jockey originally from the United Kingdom and of English extraction.

He grew up an only child on the Upper East Side, his parents divorcing while he was still very young.

Rudolf has said that his first musical memory is of listening to the Van Halen song "Jump", while jumping around the apartment in which he grew up.

His skills on the instrument improved rapidly.

"My mother actually said something really smart to me. She said, 'Whatever you put in, you'll get out,' so I thought, that makes sense...I started practicing a lot."

Rudolf played with several local bands, including an alternative rock group known as 'Paint', but soon found himself frustrated with the tensions and internal squabbles associated with a band situation.

Taking matters into his own hands, Rudolf began creating his own beats and musical tracks, as well as writing the material.

In 2000, Rudolf began work on the group of songs that, nine months later, would form the basis for his major label debut.

Written, produced and engineered by Rudolf, and mixed by Mark Saunders, the album took nine months to complete.

Rudolf was signed to Madonna's record label, Maverick, which released the album under the pseudonym, Binocular.

Prior, he released his then-eponymous debut album (2001)—under the name Binocular—through Madonna's record label Maverick.

As a record producer for other artists, Rudolf has amassed production credits on albums for fellow pop or alternative rock acts including Lifehouse, Cobra Starship, Hollywood Undead, Jesse McCartney, Big Time Rush, Selena Gomez & the Scene, Keith Urban, Gavin DeGraw, and My Darkest Days, among others.

A song from the album, "You", was used in the TV show Smallville (2001), and a song not appearing on the album, "Maybe You're Gone" (written by Danny Scherr), was later used over the end credits of the movie "The Girl Next Door" (2004).

Despite receiving positive reviews, the album went largely unnoticed in the United States.

Rudolf's solo career took a detour in 2003, when recording engineer Jimmy Douglass introduced him to producer Timbaland.

Rudolf was invited to watch a recording session, but, at Timbaland's urging, soon found himself participating, by playing guitar on Lil' Kim's 2003 hit "The Jump Off."

Rudolf remembers, "At first I just went into the studio to absorb what I could. I brought my guitar as sort of peace offering so I wasn't feeling completely useless. Soon I was playing parts on songs."

Rudolf has stated that his time spent with Timbaland influenced his own attitude in making records.

"Working with Timbaland, I was amazed by his work ethic and just how much he would work on something until he got the results he wanted."

He would go on to collaborate with Timbaland on many songs, including those by The Black Eyed Peas, Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado, and David Banner.

Rudolf continued to work on his solo material throughout 2007, while still working with Timbaland.

During one memorable session, he met Bryan "Birdman" Williams and Ronald "Slim" Williams, brothers and co-CEO's of Cash Money Records.

"I played them a couple of records I produced and wrote and they liked them for one of their artists. Then I played them my solo stuff and they flipped out over this song called 'Coffee and Donuts'. We built from there, and a few months later Lil Wayne got on 'Let It Rock' and they signed me, and the rest is history."

When Rudolf was signed to a record deal by Cash Money, he became the first white artist, as well as the first rock artist, signed to a label previously known for releasing records by African-American rap artists, including, most famously, Lil Wayne.

CEO Slim Williams explained, "we love one-of-a-kind artists, and Kevin rolls that way in everything he does...we are always looking at the next step, the next level we can take our audience. I knew his work with other artists, but when he played me his solo stuff, we just knew we had to partner up."

He is best known for his 2008 debut single "Let It Rock" (featuring Lil Wayne), which peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and received quadruple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

He signed with Birdman's Cash Money Records, an imprint of Universal Republic Records to release the song along with the parent album of which it preceded, In the City (2008).

"Let It Rock", the initial single from Rudolf's then-upcoming album, In the City, was released on June 16, 2008.

Written and produced by Rudolf, and featuring Lil Wayne, the song met with immediate success, debuting at number 5 on Billboard magazine's influential Hot 100 chart.

Noted music critic David Jeffries predicted that fans would find the song "a near-perfect highlight," while critic Rick Florino called Rudolf's voice "sexy and bombastic" and noted his "diverse set of pipes."

The song became a staple of sporting events, listed by BMI as the second most-played song in NFL, MLB and NHL arenas and stadiums.

With "Let It Rock" already a massive hit, fans and media still noted a sense of "mystery" surrounding Rudolf.

"There really was no mystery," he said.

"The song just blew up faster than we could catch up with it. But it was great that the music was given a chance to speak for itself. People truly felt it--it wasn't anything fake. And with me, music always comes first. Unlike some artists, I don't want the attention to be put on myself as much as my music."

Rudolf's first studio album, titled In the City, was released on November 24, 2008, and was produced and co-written by Rudolf, with the exception of one song, "She Can Get It", which was co-produced by the Neptunes.

Rudolf explained that the album was about "growing up in New York City when the city was wild... it felt like there were no rules and you could be anyone you wanted. That is the landscape of this album."

The album was noted for Rudolf's distinctive merging of musical styles, namely, rock and hip-hop.

"It's about taking rock attitude vocally, hip hop drums, synths, and guitars and sharpening the edges of everything in a sense. You bring it together. That's how I do it."

The album received mixed reviews and underperformed commercially at number 94 on the Billboard 200, along with his third album To the Sky (2010), which peaked at number 78.