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| Dapo Torimiro Breaks Onto the R&B/Pop Music Scene You probably haven't heard of Nigerian-born songwriter/producer Dapo Torimiro, but that is about to change with the recent placement of high-profile singles on various top R&B/pop artists' albums. The album release dates fall within weeks of each other, but Torimiro's first break is placing the song ''Quickly'' on five-time Grammy winner John Legend's third studio album Evolver, which will hit the streets on October 28. Featuring multi-platinum-selling artist Brandy, ''Quickly'' has received early industry buzz as not only an inspired, sleek duet featuring R&B/pop music's leading artists, but also as one of the album's stand-out gems. Later this Fall 2008, Torimiro will also enjoy credit for other upcoming tracks, including ''Running'' on David Archuleta's self-titled debut album (11/11/08) - his first since becoming runner-up on American Idol in June 2008 - and ''Torn Down'' from Brandy's highly-anticipated album, HUMAN (12/9/08), which she describes as her most personal album to date. A Yamaha-endorsed artist, Torimiro has been recognized by many as a talented multi-instrumentalist and musical catalyst, and he was previously sought after by the industry's top-notch artists to exhibit his skills as a touring and studio musician as well as to score various television and film projects. In 2006, Lauryn Hill selected him to tour with her as her keyboardist for several months, and he also had the opportunity to tour with Lalah Hathaway and perform with the legendary Stevie Wonder. Leaving his role as a touring musician behind him, Torimiro enthusiastically embraces the realization of his ultimate goal: songwriting and producing for major artists. "It's a great opportunity and a dream come true to be able to make the transition from being a touring and studio musician to songwriting and producing for artists that I've always been a fan of. It's great to go from being a fan to a collaborator, " he expresses. Torimiro's musical and production abilities are so diverse that no two songs sound alike. Whether he's writing and producing a jazz song or a rock song, an R&B song, or a gospel song, one thing remains constant-the end product will be both absolutely unique and yet authentic to its genre. In the midst of being pursued by various respected artists with whom he has cultivated relationships, Torimiro also recognizes the value of collaborating with other talented producers. The gifted musician has recently teamed up with the award-winning production duo Midi Mafia (50 Cent, Fantasia) in Los Angeles to collaborate on various projects. Of the super-producers' recent collaboration with Torimiro, Bruce Waynne of Midi Mafia says, "He brings something different to the table. You have to do something very special and unique for us to decide to work with you." Elaborating further, he explains, "He plays multiple instruments, and he's not just a beat guy. He's someone who can also start from scratch, but he does it his own way, from his own perspective. He brings a lot of musicality and a lot of theory to the mix. You're going to be seeing a lot more of us working with him." Most recently, Torimiro worked with two-time Grammy-winning producer Jeffrey Weber to record a song for the Obama campaign called "Change." write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Jazz News :: home page |