SZA is the most-nominated recording artist for this year’s Grammys with her record-breaking album SOS. Behind the boards, Shangri-La-trained music producer Rob Bisel co-wrote, produced, mixed, and engineered the album with SZA. The result: nine Grammy nominations for SZA and eight for Bisel, including joint nominations for the big three: Song, Record, and Album of the Year.
Originally from the Bay Area, Bisel’s professional career began as a college intern for famed audio engineer Mark Needham (Fleetwood Mac, The Killers, Chris Isaac). Afterward, Bisel went to the hallowed halls of Shangri-La Studios, working under Def Jam co-founder and eccentric producer Rick Rubin. Bisel worked his way up from intern to audio engineer.
“[Shangri-La] is like stepping into Wonka land, in some ways. It’s a special place. … I owe a lot of where I’m at to [Rick Rubin’s production style],” says Bisel.
Rubin sent Bisel to Hawaii in January 2020 to work on SZA’s sophomore album. Bisel and SZA immediately hit it off, and when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March, they sheltered in place together at her home in Malibu to continue working.
“It felt very isolated from all the chaos of the world. … Regardless of whether it’s a global epidemic or just the usual global chaos, you don’t want that to really … seep into the creative process,” reminisces Bisel.
Once the album came out in December 2022, it broke records with most weeks at No. 1 on the R&B/hip-hop chart in history. The album’s lead single, “Kill Bill,” was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 list and received three Grammy nominations. Bisel co-wrote and produced the song, and collaborated on 15 other songs on SOS.
“I think it’s impossible to predict chart positions or award nominations, but I really loved listening to it as we made it, and I thought that was a good North Star throughout the process. … [And SZA], she’s incredible. In music circles, the word ‘genius’ gets thrown a lot … about people, but I genuinely would apply that label to her,” explains Bisel.
The eight Grammy nominations for Bisel’s contributions to SOS join previous nods for collaborations with mega artists like Doja Cat and Kendrick Lamar, making Bisel a 13-time Grammy-nominated producer. Moving forward, he hopes to champion the next generation of budding artists into their own breakthroughs.