KEITH ERIC MARTIN is an outstanding songwriter, producer, and vocalist. He recently returned to the U.S. after 4 years in the Philippines, producing and writing for major labels throughout Asia. He made that move in order to grow musically and take his career in directions that he couldn't do anywhere else. There, he was exposed to people who really appreciate good music for the sake of the art and not for one's ability to program a computer.
Originally from Washington, DC, Keith was a force among local artists in the late 80s, working and performing with such artists as Johnny Gill and Stacy Lattisaw. Con Funk Shun founder and drummer Louis McCall discovered him there and immediately signed him to the Gaithersburg, MD artist management company owned by he and his wife Linda Lou McCall, a music business consultant and songwriter. The McCalls had returned to Linda Lou's hometown of Washington in 1986 after Con Funk Shun disbanded. They thought they would try working in the "square world" for a while but couldn't stay away from the music business. Their pre-production studio quickly became a popular hang-out for talented aspiring artists. Shortly after signing Keith, Linda Lou was hired by rap megastar MC Hammer in 1990 to help set up his corporate operations and administration in Oakland, CA. When she became Vice President of Hammer's artist management company, she and Louis arranged for Keith to come to California and got him on as part of MC Hammer's "Please Hammer Don't Hurt "Em" and "Too Legit 2 Quit" world tours. When the McCalls relocated to Los Angeles in 1992, Keith followed, enabling him to work with Boyz II Men, Shovani and Buster, Grammy award-winning songwriter and producers Marty Sharon and Danny Sembello, ,Oji Pierce, Ian Prince, and The Time's Jesse Johnson. He also honed his already impressive vocal skills under Kenny Lattimore and Johnny Gill, then part of New Edition. In 1995, was a featured vocalist on "Never Find Someone Like You" which was on the platinum-selling "Bad Boys" soundtrack. For the next decade Keith stayed busy in the music business, producing and writing, and even making time to release several successful solo CDs, gaining him a large fan base throughout the world. His ballad, "Because Of You", is still a major favorite in the US and Asia.
In 2004, he came to the attention of EMI-Phillipines, who hired him as in-house producer in Manila, producing and writing for artists in the Philippines and Indonesia. In May 2008, Martin was brought back to the U.S. by his first manager, Linda Lou McCall, and her new business partner, Ruben L. Harper. He is currently signed to the harperMcCALL Omnimedia Group for management. He lives in Stockton, California and is working as chief producer/songwriter for the harperMcCALL "Rhyme Scene Unit"™ production team. Keith is also the proud father of two sons, Jerrod and Dion.
