Behind The Scenes: Meet Producer Akeel Henry

Imagine working with today’s hottest artists and producing some major Billboard hits – Akeel Henry is doing just that! Meet the music producer, audio engineer and pianist, from Toronto, Canada, currently residing in Los Angeles, California.

Akeel got into music at a young age, starting with piano lessons, which led to playing piano at church and at age 9, he took up bass guitar and developed an interest in creating his own songs. He then started taking production more seriously and would pursue a career in it after graduating high school. After studying Audio Production & Engineering at Metalworks Institute, Akeel quickly got internships with local producers – including the one and only Noah “40” Shebib, co-founder of OVO and Drake’s right-hand man. After starting his own studio, he worked with different producers and reached out to people he wanted to work with as well. Things really started to take off for Akeel when he met producer DZL and together, they got tons of placements with several music labels.

Akeel has worked with some of music’s biggest names, including Trey Songz, Ty Dolla $ign, Kid Ink, Desiigner and many more. He just wrapped up working on rising Toronto-based artist LOONY’s upcoming EP. When asked about projects he’s worked on in the past, one of his favorites is the track he produced on the "Fate of the Furious" album, titled “Don't Get Much Better”, by Jeremih featuring Ty Dolla $ign and SageTheGemini. Akeel earned his very first plaque when the album was certified Gold by the RIAA, however he says the best feeling for him when producing is seeing an artist he’s worked with get millions of listeners a month.

As for artists he would like to work with in the future, Akeel says Beyonce and Justin Bieber are definitely on his list, but before reaching that goal, he would like to get in the studio with a top artist from every genre - from HipHop to R&B to Pop to Country. He’s confident he can bring something cool in every room he’s in.

This year, Akeel received a nomination in the Jack Richardson Producer of the Year category at the Juno Awards, alongside Murda Beatz and WondaGurl. He is nominated for "Rain", by Trey Songz featuring Swae Lee, and "Spell My Name", by Toni Braxton.

Check out a few of the songs that Akeel has produced below.