Kawan "KP" Prather

Kawan “KP” Prather has certainly assumed many roles throughout his storied career in
the entertainment industry.
He stands out as an A&R legend, esteemed executive, established producer,
soundtrack curator, headlining DJ, and GRAMMY® Award-winning songwriter. Personally hired by L.A. as Vice President of A&R at LaFace Records in 1996, KP went
on to A&R a string of seminal classics for the RIAA diamond-selling, six-time
GRAMMY® Award-winning OutKast, including ATLiens, Aquemini, Stankonia, and Big
Boi and Dre Present...OutKast. Concurrently, he oversaw the breakout of P!nk and
Usher in between launching his own Ghet-O-Vision imprint and signing future “King of
the South” Tip “T.I.” Harris and YoungBloodz. Transitioning from LaFace/Arista to
Senior VP of A&R at Columbia Records in 2001, his hot streak continued as he signed
John Legend and fostered the R&B crooner’s explosion with the release of “Ordinary
People” in 2004 for the icon’s major label debut Get Lifted. Following his time as Executive Vice President of A&R at Sony Urban Music from 2005-
2007, he turned his attention to producing alongside Malay [Frank Ocean, Alessia Cara,
ZAYN]. They built an impressive discography together, manning the board behind John
Legend’s platinum-certified, GRAMMY® Award-nominated “Green Light” [feat. André
3000], Fantasia’s “The Thrill Is Gone” [feat. Cee-Lo Green], Jamie Foxx’s “15 Minutes,”
Big Boi’s “Something’s Gotta Give” [feat. Mary J. Blige], and more.
He went from SVP of A&R at Def Jam to Head of Urban A&R (East Coast) at Atlantic
Records in 2011 where he inked a deal with Kap G and reunited with T.I. for the
blockbuster chart-topping gold-selling, Trouble Man: Heavy Is The Head. In between
everything, he signed YelaWolf to Ghet-O-Vision and subsequently launched the
Alabama spitter’s career producing a number of cuts on the acclaimed Trunk Muzik 0-
60 and Radioactive.
During 2015, Pharrell tapped KP to become Head of Music at his creative venture i am
OTHER. As Head Of Music, KP consulted on the soundtrack for Dope in addition to
cultivating the careers of Kap G, BIA, and WatchTheDuck. Meanwhile, he also co-wrote
Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” with alongside Pharrell, for which he took home the 2016
GRAMMY® Award for “Best Rap Song.” Simultaneously, KP has cemented himself as one of the industry’s most in-demand DJs.
A master on the decks, he’s lit up the stages of Miami’s Rolling Loud Festival, Complex
Magazine’s ComplexCon, Atlanta’s Jazz Festival, One Music Fest and many more (as
well as features in some of today’s top music and lifestyle sites such as Complex, DJ
Mag, Bossip, Stupid Dope, Rolling Out, and Upscale Magazine. 2017 saw him close out
Rolling Loud Festival with a show-stopping performance on Saturday night.
No matter what he does, he lives up to his personal motto, “Be Great.”

[Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.]