Kevin Marques Moo (born 1974), better known by his stage name Daddy Kev, is an American record producer, DJ, Grammy Award-winning audio engineer, songwriter and executive from Los Angeles, California. He is the owner of Alpha Pup Records and the founder of Low End Theory. As an audio engineer, Daddy Kev has mixed and mastered albums by Flying Lotus, Thundercat, Kamasi Washington, and Leon Bridges.

Early life

Daddy Kev was born and raised in the Harbor City neighborhood of Los Angeles. As a child, he played piano and trumpet. At the age of 13, he started playing turntables. He graduated from Narbonne High School. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from University of California, San Diego.

Career

In 2001, Daddy Kev released an EP, Lost Angels, on Celestial Recordings. It featured guest appearances from the rappers Myka 9, P.E.A.C.E., Busdriver, Awol One, and Circus. In that year, he also released Souldoubt, a collaborative album with Awol One, on Meanstreet Records. Another collaborative album with Awol One, titled Slanguage, was released on Mush Records in 2003. 2004 brought Busdriver's Cosmic Cleavage, which was produced entirely by Daddy Kev and released on Big Dada. In 2006, he founded the weekly Low End Theory club night at the Airliner in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. In 2012, he founded the studio Cosmic Zoo in Los Angeles along with the rapper Nocando. At the 58th Annual Grammy Awards held in 2016, he was nominated for the Best Dance Recording award for mixing the Flying Lotus song "Never Catch Me" featuring Kendrick Lamar. At the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards held in 2021, he won the Best Progressive R&B Album award for mixing the Thundercat album It Is What It Is. In July 2021, he started the weekly Scenario club night in Los Angeles, which showcases upcoming artists in the local scene. In 2022, he self-published a book on audio engineering entitled Audio Dynamics: Compression Techniques for Modern Mixing and Mastering. At the 65th Annual Grammy Awards held in 2023, he was nominated for the Best Historical Album award for mastering the Freestyle Fellowship album To Whom It May Concern....

Style and influences

Pitchfork called Daddy Kev "one of the Los Angeles underground's most visionary producers", while Fact called him "one of underground hip-hop's most respected engineers".

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

Productions

Select works mastered by Daddy Kev

2000s

2010s

2020s

Awards and nominations