Born in Canada and raised in Minneapolis, McKinney was exposed to the Twin Cities indie scene.[5] During his adolescent years, McKinney played in various punk rock and hip hop based groups. While the cities' most influential contributions came out of the 1980s, McKinney was immersed in the music scene of that decade.[5]
McKinney settled in Toronto in 1994, as an aspiring producer. McKinney was introduced to Jenny Bea Englishman – now known as "Esthero"[6] – which led him to becoming one half of the then duo.[7] The introduction was headed up by then EMI Publishing President, Michael McCarty. After producing and writing all the music to their entire breakthrough album Breath From Another,[8] McKinney left the group and Esthero kept the groups name and became a solo act. She remained with Sony until 2000 when she was released from contract and went on to sign with Warner/Reprise where she was ultimately released again from the contract. [7] McKinney went on to produce Res – and co writing her critically acclaimed album, HowIDo, alongside Santi White (Santigold).[9] McKinney has since worked with Santi White (Santigold) on various projects, including her 2008 release of her Solid Gold Mixtape.[10]
Since then, McKinney has had the opportunity to work with Sting, Drake, Kelis, Dr. Dre, G-Love, Raphael Saadiq, Mary J. Blige,[11] Sinéad O'Connor,[11][12] Alice Smith, Amanda Blank, Trouble Andrew, Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest),[13] Hawksley Workman[14] as well as Latin artists Belinda, RBD and Debi Nova.
