Dawna Lee Heising of EOE Interviews Award-winners Skee-Lo, Dino Maddalone and Mama Kym

Skee-Lo’s New Album “Fresh Ideas” Features Mama Kym and the New Rock Version of “I Wish” Is Produced by Dino Maddalone

Dawna Lee Heising of “Eye on Entertainment” on Time Warner Cable interviewed two-time Grammy nominated musician Skee-Lo, 2009 Record Producer of the Year Dino Maddalone and the fabulous Mama Kym at the Time Warner Cable studio in Costa Mesa, CA, on January 21, 2010..

Skee-Lo was born on the south side of Chicago, IL, and has been performing and recording songs since the age of nine.   In the late 70's Skee-lo moved to New York City, NY, where he first learned about hip hop music. He was influenced by artists like KRS-1, L.L. Cool J, Rakim, Whodini and Kurtis Blo, and admired their skills and their flow.  Skee-Lo moved to Los Angeles, CA in the mid 8o's where he began producing his own music. His first hit record was titled "I Wish" and was produced by the artist while still in his senior year of high school, with no formal musical training. His "I Wish" single, with a video that parodied Forrest Gump, became a huge hit on radio and television during the summer of 1995, and debut album, “I Wish”, was released shortly thereafter, earning him two Grammy nominations for both album and single.

Skee-Lo’s two Grammy nominations were for "Best Solo Rap Performance" and "Best Rap Album." He also received three Billboard Video Award nominations for "Best New Artist," "Best Clip of the Year," and "Maximum Vision Clip of the Year."  In 1996 Skee-Lo became a V.J. for both MTV's "The Beach House" and "The Grind;" and appeared as a lead actor on television shows such as Dangerous Minds, Goode Behavior and Bay Watch Nights.

Today Skee-Lo resurfaces with a new album project titled "Fresh Ideas”.  This project is features a mature sound from an evolved artist, as well as an all-star cast of producers and special features. Skee-Lo captures the vibe and feel of the 90's with today's music, and delivers a lyrical performance that is hard to find in Hip Hop music today. The album is said not to be "the return of Skee-Lo" but rather the start of "Skee-Lo Musik" the record label, with more artists of all genres to follow.  For more information on Skee-Lo, visit www.skeelomusik.com.

Dino Maddalone is a well-respected film, television and video games music producer. He owns a state-of-the-art recording and post production studio in Los Angeles, CA.  Dino Maddalone wrote and produced a new rock version of the two times Grammy Award-nominated song "I Wish" by the multi-platinum artist Skee-Lo.   Skee-Lo, Dino and Mama-Kym are featured on the song, which was released in October 2009.  Skee-Lo’s new "Rock Version - I Wish 2010" was released in the Netherlands and went to Number #1. “Rock Version I Wish 2010” has been licensed to be in the new feature film "Daze", which will star Gary Busey and Richard Moll. 

Dino has many credits for television and film, and has been a music producer, engineer and mixer for over 22 years.  In 2008, Dino was selected as “Record Producer of the Year” by The Los Angeles Music Awards committee, and the CD that he produced for Kris Searle was nominated for “Record of the Year”. Kris Searle also won “International Artist of the Year” for the CD they put together called “Slowly Diabolical”.  He has also won “Best Album of the Year” and “Best Hard Rock Album of the Year” at the Dove Awards for the Gospel Music Association (GMA). Dino was also selected for the Rugged Records “Hall of Fame”. Dino can be contacted at 310-782-1440 or DinoM4@aol.com

Dino is also producing Mama Kym’s new single for Skee-Lo’s new label "SkeeloMusik”.  Featured on the new “I Wish” single is Mama Kym.  In the last decade, Mama Kym has written and performed with artists around the world, as well as for film and television projects, but she has actually been evolving in music since she was a child. Her father worked as a sound engineer for many of the famous casinos in Vegas, Tahoe and Reno, as well as in the arenas back east, mixing shows for huge stars and legends like Elvis and Bruce Springsteen.  It was after the loss of her childhood marriage, in the face of extremely difficult times, including homelessness, in the streets of Los Angeles, that Mama Kym was brought into the world of rap and hip hop.  Mama Kym turned all her pain into triumph by taking this experience to the underground studios and creating the “True Life Story” album of the character she became – Mama Kym.  Her story and project gained instant recognition in the industry and by the underground as well. Her work is entertaining, profound, powerful and unique.  Mama Kym can be reached at:  www.myspace.com/stayinaplayer

The Eye on Entertainment production team included Linda Maxwell of Time Warner Cable, John Cox, Steve Van Wormer and Paul Heising.  Pictures were taken by David J. McNeil.

To see the video of the new Rock release of “I Wish”, visit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QuJkvwAeB8

About Eye on Entertainment
"Eye on Entertainment", a division of Eye on Excellence™ Productions, is aired twice weekly on Time Warner Cable in Southern California. The EOE team covers entertainment events, film festivals, red carpets and award shows, and features interviews with successful people in all walks of life, exploring the traits they have in common. Dawna Lee Heising is the executive producer and host of EOE. She is a long-standing member of SAG & AFTRA and is Ms. Universe 2009. The show is produced and directed by John Alsedek, who is also the writer, director & producer of the horror anthology series "AS DARKNESS FALLS", which runs on Time Warner Cable. The EOE co-director is Steve Van Wormer. The EOE photographer is David J. McNeil, who is a former executive with United Artists and was one of the developers of Pay-per-View.  For more information, please visit http://www.eyeonentertainment.tv/ and www.youtube.com/eyeonentertainment