Burt Blackarach (aka Amani K Smith)
DJ – Composer – Producer “The mark of a great DJ is being Unshazamable.” – R Kershaw ‘UNSHAZAMABLE’ – The show A pioneering live music project put into an art form by Burt Blackarach in 2017. ‘Unshazamable’ is a personal family music story told by a highly relatable protagonist in Burt, who demonstrates his innate […]
DJ - Composer – Producer
"The mark of a great DJ is being Unshazamable." - R Kershaw
'UNSHAZAMABLE' - The show
A pioneering live music project put into an art form by Burt Blackarach in 2017. 'Unshazamable' is a personal family music story told by a highly relatable protagonist in Burt, who demonstrates his innate gift for storytelling. Taking over the family's publishing business in 1986 at 14 years old, he gives an educative advance knowledge of the music he plays and its publishing history. A Grammy winner and Public Enemy producer himself Burt takes you through the decades from the 60s to contemporary sounds using his fascinating personal music story.
Burt Blackarach Airbnb's 'Groove Finder'
Burt is one of two people handpicked by Airbnb to represent their new concert series. Airbnb like many others is excited by the innovative concept and the fact he owns a music catalogue of some rare and unreleased sounds, creating a unique music experience for their audience.
An 'Unshazamable' performance took place February 2018 at Airbnb HQ, in front of 100 worldwide journalists and as a result, journalists were clamouring for interviews with Burt.
BIOGRAPHY
Burt Blackarach is a Grammy-winning engineer (The Temptations), seasoned DJ and longtime collaborator, as a producer and composer, with iconic MC, Chuck D, of the seminal rap group, Public Enemy.
Born in Los Angeles, to a Canadian mother and an American father, both heavyweights in the music business, Blackarach grew up watching his parents collaborate with the industry's biggest stars including Bob Dylan, Rick James, Fleetwood Mac and Etta James. Growing up around such legendary performers, Blackarach couldn't help but catch the music bug early. Fascinated with the emerging hip hop culture, a collaboration with high school best friend DJ Nu Mark (Jurassic 5) created Bum Rush Productions, a highly sought after West Coast DJ crew that rocked house parties and the hottest clubs in Los Angeles. While in college, dreams of one day working with his favorite hip hop groups, Blackarach began interning at some of L.A.'s most famous recording studios, both learning the art of production and engineering while simultaneously hosting his own college radio show and producing records for up and coming artists.
Blackarach quickly became an accomplished producer, engineer and guest DJ working with old and new talent alike including Snoop Dogg, The Temptations and Kelly Clarkson. In 2000, Blackarach achieved a 'Best R&B album' Grammy win for his engineering work with The Temptations and was quickly adding composer to his list of skills. While scoring for James Cameron's "Dark Angel" on FOX, a partnership with legendary "Bomb Squad" producer Gary G. Wiz (Ice Cube, Janet Jackson, U2) produced Urbanscore, an urban and traditional production and composing company. Together, Blackarach and G Wiz have produced songs for Public Enemy, Aerosmith, Ludacris, KRS One and Busta Rhymes among others. Urbanscores' long list of composing credits include HBO's "Entourage", ESPN's ESPY Awards, ESPN's X Games, countless Superbowl commercials and original music for MTV and VH1 produced shows and films.
Demand for Urbanscore's services opened Urbanscore Studios, a Los Angeles-based boutique recording studio. Using his Grammy-winning engineering skills and production know-how, Blackarach has lured in the likes of Aloe Blacc, Method Man, Redman and Sonny Digital. Many of Public Enemy's current work has been edited at Urbanscore including "Harder Than You Think", the first single off of their 20th anniversary album How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul? and the highest-charting single on the UK Singles Chart. In 2013, for his ongoing work with Public Enemy, Blackarach's name was added to their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame plaque when inducted into the famed instituion.
Due to his years of experience and impressive list of clients as a DJ, including Vanity Fair magazine, LRG, Interscope Records and Jay Z, Blackarach has been sought out by music journalists as well as music schools to share his perspective on the true art of DJing and all aspects of the music business. Blackarach's innate sense as a DJ has also landed him as a touring equipment expert for accomplished DJs like Cut Chemist and DJ Nu Mark, both of indie hip hop group, Jurassic 5.
Blackarach is currently in development for a music documentary based on his father, deceased legendary soul and rock keyboard player and songwriter William D. "Smitty" Smith. Using his father's personal memoir, "A Stroke of Luck" and his lost demo tapes as the foundation, this documentary delves deep into the underbelly of the music industry from the 1960's to the present day through found footage and personal stories by key players such as Quincy Jones, Bob Dylan and Jim Keltner.
Blackarach owns and manages his publishing catalog, Salamani Music, that has been sampled by the likes of DJ Premier, J Dilla and D'Angelo. He is a member of the Recording Academy.
