Remi Born in Queens, New York into a profoundly musical family, Salaam Remi Gibbs’ name itself was inspired by music. His father, Van Gibbs (music industry producer and musician) gave him the first name, Salaam, the Arabic word for “peace” and his middle name, Remi was derived from the second and third tones of the octave scale (Do Re Mi…).

“As a kid I started out with the rhythms, playing drums,” explains Remi, who got his first set from Elvin Jones (the legendary jazz drummer of John Coltrane Quartet fame).

Signed to ASCAP Performing Rights Society at the age of 13, Remi engrossed himself in the business of making music. Salaam Remi’s foundation creating hip-hop remixes and productions for reggae artists Supercat, Ini Kamoze, Shabba Ranks, and Patra in the early 90’s would lead to his production on The Fugees album, The Score, the highest selling hip-hop album of all-time, selling over 20 million copies worldwide. The sounds created on The Score were based around the energy of “Fu-gee-la,” and laid the foundation for The Fugees to find their own creative voices on their solo albums. Those days spent tinkering with demo tracks and remixing songs from the radio, were a precursor for the man who would go on to remix and produce songs for various acts including: The Fugees, NAS, Wyclef Jean, Toni Braxton, Santana, Sade, Sting (feat. Mary J. Blige), Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys, Usher, Miguel, Jazmine Sullivan and Amy Winehouse to name a few – sonic creations that have helped sell millions of records – domestically and internationally. Remi produced ten songs on Winehouse’s debut, Frank, released in 2003. The critically acclaimed single, “Stronger Than Me,” which he co-wrote with Winehouse, would win the coveted Ivor Novello Award for “Contemporary Song Of The Year.” The foundation laid by Remi on her debut album would lead to songwriting and production on her second album, Back To Black, (“Tears Dry On Their Own,” “Addicted,” “Me and Mr. Jones,” “Just Friends,” “Unholy War”) and catapult Winehouse into the spotlight to become one of the top music stories of 2007. To date, Back to Black has since sold more than three million copies worldwide, and become one of the blockbuster releases of the year.

The tracks he created for Oscar-winning actress/singer Jennifer Hudson’s album and film projects such as Sex And The City 1 & 2 allowed Remi to shift gears into different directions for each as all have a distinct demographic and artistic approach. In 2009 Salaam release his first instrumental album “PragueNosis” featuring orchestral instrumentals recorded during a trip to Czechoslovakia, some of its material was used for collaborations issued before and after release. “Shila’s Playground,” used for the Grammy-nominated song “Lions, Tigers & Bears,” by Jazmine Sullivan, “Praguenosis” itself was later repurposed for Nas’ “The Black Bond,” included on Life Is Good, one of several 2012 works that led to Remi’s Grammy nomination in the category of Producer of the Year, Non-Classical. In September 2013, Remi released his first official solo project, the R&B-oriented “One: In the Chamber,” featuring appearances from NeYo, Corinne Bailey Rae, Jordin Sparks, and Akon, which was nominated for the Best Urban Contemporary Album Grammy.

Remi’s most recent project, entitled Black On Purpose, was released in November of 2020. The album features artists such as Busta Rhymes, Nas, Jennifer Hudson, Mumu Fresh, Black Thought, Doug E Fresh, Cee Lo Green, Bilal, Teedra Moses, D-Nice, Mack Wilds, Common, Case, Betty Wright, James Poyser, Stephen Marley, Anthony Hamilton, Syleena Johnson, Super Cat, Spragga Benz, and Chronixx. Moved by heightening racial tensions and the loss many experienced due to COVID, Remi created this project to express what he didn’t want to have to explain, but what he felt the community needed to hear. Remi says, “the purpose of this project was to remind myself and my people that when I do something it’s for my community, ungentrified Black music. This is for us, by us. Black On Purpose.” “I’m always trying to find the sound of the artist, so I prefer to custom-make songs. It preserves the integrity of the artist’s vision and prevents me from sounding predictable,” Remi says of his production methods, “I don’t follow trends. I’m not ‘trendy.’ I hate following trends.” Remi concludes, “I think we have to go back to good music, learn from the people who’ve had longevity, use their foundation, and inject something new into it to move forward. I am inspired simply by looking back while moving forward.” – www.salaamremi.com