Hailing from Landover, Maryland, Kevin Brown, aka Kev Brown, came to prominence in 2001 when famed beatmaker Pete Rock played a track for Marley Marl that Brown had done with rapper Grap Luva; Marl was so impressed with what he heard that he included the song on his album Re-Entry. That led to work with De La Soul and DJ Jazzy Jeff, but it wasn't until 2004, when The Brown Album, his remixed version of Jay-Z's The Black Album (which came before Danger Mouse's The Grey Album), hit the streets that Brown started to receive real attention. After a succession of collaborations and singles, Kev released his solo debut, I Do What I Do, in 2005. ~ Marisa Brown