Kesha Lee
Kesha Lee
Kesha Lee is a sound engineer. She has been an in-house engineer for several engineers, including Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, Young Thug, Gucci Mane, Migos, Future, Migos, Zaytoven, and Metro Boomin. She is particularly known for participating on all of Uzi's mixtapes and EPs since 2015, as well as mixing four songs off his debut album, Luv Is Rage 2.
Early Life & Education
Kesha Lee was born to a mother who worked in the military and a father who worked on building computers and software.
Her first experience with music was playing the violin in middle school, and later playing the clarinet. Her father enjoyed music, and encouraged her to play the piano and learn more about DAWs. After getting a laptop and struggling with Pro Tools Lee eventually drifted into non-music jobs, including server positions at restaurants like T.G.I. Friday's.
While working, she took additional classes at Bailey Brothers during her high school years that taught her how to use Pro Tools.
Lee went to college at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She eventually dropped out, as she did not like the music program there. However, she found the Atlanta Institute of Music, which offers Associate Degree programs and Certificates in recording, audio, and music production.
Sound Engineering Career
Radio Station Internship
Lee's career in sound engineering began when she interned at a local radio station in Birmingham, Alabama on 95.7. She was friends on Facebook with Buckwild, who was a radio personality for the station at the time. She asked if she could intern for them, and they eventually hired her for one day a week.
While there, Lee was cutting commercials using Adobe. Buckwild brought up how she she should consider engineering. He told her to talk to Isis, a female radio personality who went to Full Sail University for sound engineering. Lee found schools similar to Full Sail.
That is when she went to the Atlanta School of Music where she learned about live sound, how to make beats, MIDI, music theory, how to work on Analog.
Gucci Mane
While she was at the Atlanta Institute for Music, she sat in on Gucci Mane's sessions. Once his studio was up and running, he hired Kesha to be his in-house engineer and often recorded people who visited's Gucci Mane's studio. Since several artists would record in his studio, including Young Thug, Peewee Longway, Young Dolph, Waka Flocka Flame, and Young Scooter, she would often record for them. When Gucci Mane's engineer -Sean Paine- was recording for one of the artists, she would record for Gucci himself if he was ready with a song.
Lil Uzi Vert
Kesha Lee started to gain prominence once she became Lil Uzi Vert's sound engineer. Recording for him as early as 2015, Lee recorded the remix for "The Way Life Goes." She went on to record "Money Longer" and his album Luv Is Rage 2 **.
Awards & Accomplishments
Kesha Lee receives her plaque for recording Migos' "Bad and Boujee"
In November 2017, Lee appeared on the Inside Track column of Sound on Sound . She was the fourth woman in the history of the column's history to appear on the column.
Later that month, Kesha was recognized in the 'Music' category of Forbes' 30 Under 30 for 2018.