Kamal Gray is a hip-hop keyboardist, rapper, vocalist, and producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is member of the hip hop band, The Roots, who are also the house band, The Tonight Show Band on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Gray occasionally appears in games and sketches on The Tonight Show.
Growing up in Mount Airy, Philadelphia, Gray played basketball and football at Martin Luther King High. He studied the guitar before focusing on jazz piano training in his early teens.
Gray joined The Roots in 1994 immediately after graduating from high school in Philadelphia. He replaced keyboard player Scott Storch joining the band in London. His first album with The Roots was Illadelph Halflife in 1996, and he has played on twelve of their fourteen studio albums.
Music writers have discussed Gray's background in classical and jazz piano with influences including Herbie Hancock and Thelonious Monk. Critics have also discussed Gray's ability to integrate complex jazz styles into hip-hop keyboard rhythms, which has helped set the band apart from other hip-hop acts.
Discography With The Roots ...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin, Def Jam Recordings, 2014 Wise Up Ghost, Blue Note, 2013 Undun, Def Jam Recordings, 2011 How I Got Over, 2010 Rising Down, Def Jam Recordings, 2008 Game Theory, Def Jam Recordings, 2006 The Tipping Point, Geffen, 2004 Phrenology, MCA, 2002 Things Fall Apart, MCA, 1999 What They Do, Geffen Records, 1996 Illadelph Halflife, DGC, Geffen Records, 1996
Soundtrack credits The 'Notic – Men In Black (The Album), Columbia/Sony Music Soundtrax, 1997
References
External links Kamal Gray, IMDB Kamal Gray, Discogs