Tom Coyne, the legendary mastering engineer behind countless classic albums has died. A highly revered studio expert, Coyne was responsible for the final sound of some of the biggest hip-hop, R&B and pop albums. Public tributes mourning Coyne’s passing include DJ Premier and legendary Roots drummer Questlove.
As Fact reports, “Coyne’s credits are far too long to list here, but include three of the best Wu-Tang solo records, Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Return to the 36 Chambers, Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… and GZA’s Liquid Swords, as well as other albums by Nas, A Tribe Called Quest, Usher, Erykah Badu, Common, Sade, Big Pun, D’Angelo and Prince Paul. His credits also include many pop artists such as George Michael, Beyoncé, Destiny’s Child, R Kelly, Britney Spears, Adele, Mark Ronson.”
The engineer was known for forging close professional relationships with the artists he worked alongside, including Questlove, whose tribute states “For friggin at least 20 albums I’ve driven you crazy & learned so much about how people hear music.”
Coyne recently mastered British rapper Stormzy’s debut album, which reached No.1 in the UK.
No cause of death has been given at this time.
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