Frank Dukes’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Adam King Feeney (born September 12, 1983), professionally known as Frank Dukes, is a Canadian record producer and DJ. A Grammy nominee, Dukes is known for producing original compositions for prominent record producers to sample in their own productions. Many of his original samples have been used in songs for major artists across the hip hop and pop industry including Taylor Swift, Lorde, Camila Cabello, Travis Scott, Future, Young Thug, Drake, Kanye West, Post Malone, The Weeknd, and Rosalía.

Early life

Adam King Feeney was born on September 12, 1983, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His first exposure to creating music was piano lessons at age five; however, he quit lessons after three years due to losing interest in it. He later taught himself to play guitar, bass and drums.

As a teenager, he spent a lot of time skateboarding and gained more interest in music, becoming a DJ. In 1999, at age 16, Dukes began collecting records from the 1960s and 1970s in an effort to understand how they were made. This habit got him into record production and he bought an MPC the following year. Dukes has stated that he had no intention to make music his profession.

Career

In the 2000s, Dukes sold his first beat for $250 to a local Canadian hip hop recording artist from Toronto named “General Too Smooth”. In 2008, Dukes had the first paid placement for a major artist at the time, a beat for American rapper Lloyd Banks. Banks paid Dukes $5,000 for a beat, which would later show up on Banks’ third studio album H.F.M. 2 (The Hunger for More 2) as the song “Sooner or Later (Die 1 Day)” featuring American rapper Raekwon.

Observing the sample clearance issues Eminem had with his song “Like Toy Soldiers,” Dukes had the idea of composing original compositions intended for the use of sampling by other record producers to use in their productions. He began recording his compositions, using vintage equipment that evoked the style of the 1960s and 1970s, and packaged them in various volumes for a collection titled Kingsway Music Library which he sells with the clearance of his samples guaranteed. He continues to distributes some of his music this way and invites up-and-coming musicians to collaborate or contribute whole volumes to his platform.

These original samples have led to him working with record producers such as Boi-1da, Metro Boomin, Vinylz, DJ Dahi, Tae Beast and more, which landed him prominent placements for Kanye West, Drake, Eminem, 50 Cent, Travis Scott, Danny Brown, Ghostface Killah, Jeremih, Tory Lanez and Rihanna, among others.

Dukes has also worked in genres other than hip hop, including writing songs for Charles Bradley’s second studio album, Victim Of Love. In 2011, Dukes attended BadBadNotGood’s first ever show and become close collaborators with the band. Members of the band have contributed to Duke’s compositions, and Dukes executive produced their album III and its follow-up Sour Soul, a collaborative record with Ghostface Killah. He and the band shared an analog recoding studio in Toronto for much of the 2010s.

Personal life

Dukes has two sons. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California, having moved from Mississauga, Ontario.

Discography

Songwriting and production credit

Credits adapted from AllMusic.

Awards and nominations