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Alarza Lee "Kip" Collins Jr. (April 26, 1969 – August 31, 2006) was an American record producer and composer who had collaborated with a number of music artists in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Early life

Collins, the only son of Alarza Collins and Betty Scott Collins, was born in Queens, New York City. Demonstrating an early interest in music and motorcycles, he attended The Harlem School of the Arts in Manhattan and Maria Regina High School in Hartsdale and graduated from Hempstead High School where he played saxophone in the marching band. Collins later gratued from Morgan State University with a dregree in communications and television broadcasting.

Career

In the early 1990s, Collins started his path of professional musical collaborations by taking on Keith and Hank Shockley of the Bomb Squad as one of his first clients. In 1993, he collaborated with R&B singer Aaron Hall on the album The Truth. In 1995, he collaborated with singer Monifah on her song "I Miss You". Collins went on to work with artists such as Heavy D and contribute songs to the Living Single soundtrack. He was the music director for the Warner Brothers sitcom Built to Last in 1997. In 2000, Collins wrote, produced, and played instruments for Faith Evans and Jennifer Lopez. The same year, he was hired to create the musical score and produce numerous songs for MTV's Carmen: A Hip Hopera, a musical romantic drama television film, directed by Robert Townsend and starring Beyoncé Knowles. Later on in 2002, Collins became the musical director and composer for the UPN TV series Half & Half.

Death

Collins died on August 31, 2006, at the age of 37, from injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash. He had been riding his 2000 Yamaha motorcycle when his bike collided with a car backing out of a driveway near Uniondale, New York. Collins was pronounced dead after being taken to Nassau University Medical Center. He was buried on September 11, 2006 at Sunset Cemetery in Asheville, North Carolina.

Discography

References

1. ^ "Obituaries: Funerals Today". Asheville Citizen-Times. September 10, 2006. Retrieved June 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Kip Collins – Work". IMDb. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
3. Bouley, Charles Karel (June 30, 2001). "Soundtracks And Film Scores News". Billboard. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
4. ^ Valenti, John (August 31, 2006). "Motorcycle crash kills man in Uniondale". Newsday. Retrieved June 25, 2024 – via Issuu.com.

External links

• Kip Collins at IMDb

• American male composers
• 1969 births
• 2006 deaths
• People from Queens, New York
• Road incident deaths in New York (state)
• Record producers from New York (state)
• 20th-century American composers
• 20th-century American male musicians