Doc McKinney

Martin "Doc" McKinney (born August 27, 1971) is a Canadian-American record producer and songwriter.^[1] He was formerly one half of the duo (now solo act) Esthero. With fellow Toronto native the Weeknd, McKinney co-produced the mixtapes House of Balloons and Thursday;^[2] and co-produced his third album Starboy (2016), which earned McKinney the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album.^[3][4]

Born in Canada and raised in Minneapolis, McKinney was exposed to the Twin Cities indie scene.^[5] During his adolescent years, McKinney played in various punk rock and hip hop based groups. While the cities' most influential contributions came out of the 1980s, McKinney was immersed in the music scene of that decade.^[5]

McKinney settled in Toronto in 1994, as an aspiring producer. McKinney was introduced to Jenny Bea Englishman – now known as "Esthero"^[6] – which led him to becoming one half of the then duo.^[7] The introduction was headed up by then EMI Publishing President, Michael McCarty. After co-writing and producing their entire breakthrough album Breath From Another,^[8] McKinney carefully transitioned Jenny-Bea into a solo act so she could return to the studio.^[7] McKinney went on to produce Res – co-writing and producing her critically acclaimed album, How I Do, alongside Santi White (Santigold).^[9] McKinney has since worked with Santi White (Santigold) on various projects, including her 2008 release of her Solid Gold Mixtape.^[10]

Since then, McKinney has had the opportunity to work with Sting, Drake, Kelis, Dr. Dre, G-Love, Raphael Saadiq, Mary J. Blige,^[11] Sinéad O'Connor,^[11][12] Alice Smith, Amanda Blank, Trouble Andrew, Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest),^[13] Hawksley Workman^[14] as well as Latin artists Belinda, RBD and Debi Nova.

McKinney is a supporter of War Child (charity), GEM's – Girls Educational and Mentoring Services, and Red Hot Organization (AIDS Awareness).^[15] As an appreciation of his support, he donates his work as a producer/songwriter/engineer.