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Kenny Dope
Biography
Breakbeats, hip-hop, house, jazz, and Latin music are the building blocks for the recordings of DJ, remixer, and producer Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez. While he scored with "Salsa House" and "The Bomb (These Sounds Fall Into My Mind)," produced under the alias Bucketheads, Gonzalez made his greatest impression with Masters at Work, a production team that he shares with Little Louie Vega. Their first album featured the vocals of Jocelyn Brown, Vega's wife India, and Todd Terry, who recorded several late-'80s singles under the Masters at Work name, while their subsequent work has incorporated a diverse range of influences. Nuyorican Soul featured guest appearances by George Benson, Roy Ayers, Tito Puente, and Dave Valentin. Ayers also performed on Masters at Work's 2002 album Our Time Is Coming.

Born to Puerto Rican parents in the Sunset Park district of Brooklyn, NY, Gonzalez began his musical career as a buyer for a local record shop, WNR Music. Together with Mike Delgado, he organized neighborhood parties under the Masters at Work pseudonym. When the parties acquired a reputation for violence, Gonzalez and Masters at Work moved to the recording studio. Using a drum machine borrowed from a friend, Todd Terry, Gonzalez began recording breaks and beats for DJs, releasing several underground hits on his own independent label, Dope Wax, before branching out to produce tracks for Strictly Rhythm, Cutting, Nervous, and Big Beat.
Selected Discography