# Kip Collins

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

| Year | Album | Song / Artist | Role |
| 1993 | The Truth | Aaron Hall | Programming |
| 1993 | Joy and Blues | "Head Top" – Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers | Keyboards/Drum Programming |
| 1994 | Time to Taste Bass | "Dancin' Dirty" – Dirty Curt | Producer/Engineer/Mixing |
| 1994 | Debelah | Debelah Morgan | Producer |
| 1996 | Moods…Moments | "You Don't Have To Love Me"; "I Miss You (Come Back Home)"; "Nobody's Body"; "It's Alright" –Monifah | Producer/Keyboards |
| 1997 | Living Single: Music from & Inspired by the Hit TV Show | "Don't Waste My Time" – Esaga (featuring Pamela Bryant), "Gamin" – Deborah Williams, "I Commit to You" – Chris Gaddy & Pamela Bryant | Mixing/Guitar/Programming/Producer/Engineer |
| 1999 | The Notorious K.I.M. | "Hold On" – Lil' Kim | Keyboards |
| 2000 | Love Crimes | "Are You Fuckin' Around" – Ruff Endz | Producer |
| 2001 | MTV's Hip Hopera: Carmen | "The Introduction" – Da Brat, "What We Gonna Do" – Rah Digga, "If Looks Could Kill (You Would Be Dead)" – Beyoncé ft. Mos Def, Sam Sarpong, "Cards Never Lie" – Beyoncé ft. Wyclef Jean, Rah Digga, "The Last Great Seduction" – Beyoncé ft. Mehki Phifer, "B.L.A.Z.E" – Rah Digga ft. Casey Lee, Joy Bryant, "Black & Blue" – Mos Def ft. Mekhi Phifer, "Stop That!" – Beyoncé ft. Mekhi Phifer, "Blaze Finale" – Casey Lee, "Immortal Beloved (Outro)" – Da Brat | Producer/ Engineer |
| 2001 | J. Lo | "Come Over" - Jennifer Lopez | Instrumentation/Producer |
| 2001 | Faithfully | "Brand New Man" - Faith Evans | Producer |
| 2001 | Kamnesia | "Benefits" - Kam | Producer |
| 2002-2006 | Half & Half | UPN Television Show | Music Supervisor / Theme Song / Scene Cues |
| 2006 | Uncovered/Covered | "Just a Dream" - Kenny Lattimore/Chante Moore | Producer/Engineer |