Rob Bisel

Rob Bisel is an American music producer, engineer, mixer and songwriter. A four-time Grammy award winner, he has worked with artists including SZA, Doja Cat, Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, Harry Styles, Don Toliver and Jennie Kim.^[1][2]

Early life and education

Bisel was raised in Moraga, California and graduated from Campolindo High School the same year as actress Erika Henningsen and musical artist Sven Gamsky (Still Woozy).^[3] Although he sang in the school choir and played bass, he was mainly interested in music production. He began recording friends in his bedroom when he was 14, and at 17 got an internship at Studio 880 in Oakland.^[4]

Bisel studied music at the University of Michigan. During the summers, he interned for Mark Needham, an engineer and mixer who had worked with artists including Fleetwood Mac and The Killers. Bisel learned from watching Needham mix and later cited him as an influence.^[5]

Career

Rick Rubin, Shangri-La, Kendrick Lamar, Doja Cat, Grammys

Following his college graduation Bisel moved to LA, where he met Dana Nielsen, an engineer who worked frequently with Rick Rubin at Rubin's Shangri-La studio. He was hired as a runner at the studio in 2014, and later worked with Rubin as an assistant engineer and engineer. Bisel said that Rubin inspired him, "fueling his hunger to dive deeper into production." ^[4]

In addition to Rubin, at Shangri-La Bisel engineered for artists and producers including Mark Ronson, Travis Scott, and Harry Styles. He also served as an engineer on Kendrick Lamar's Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers during the six-month period that Lamar recorded at Shangri-La. In 2022, he worked with Lamar once again, earning a Record of the Year Grammy nomination for "The Heart Part 5" and an Album of the Year nomination for Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. Bisel was nominated for Grammy awards in the same two categories for engineering Doja Cat's album Planet Her and the single "Kiss Me More" the previous year.^[6][4]

SZA and SOS

In 2020, Rubin recommended Bisel to SZA, who had booked Rubin's studio and home in Kauai to begin recording her second album, the follow up to her multi-platinum debut, Ctrl. They spent a week in Kauai, "just vibing and coming up with song ideas", before returning to Los Angeles. They picked up their collaboration in LA and were working at SZA's home in Malibu at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. SZA invited Bisel to shelter-in-place at her house, and together they continued to work on the album.^[7] In a 2023 interview, Bisel said: "It was a pretty crazy situation, because she was used to going to big studios with tons of people coming in and out, and suddenly it was just the two of us, and I had to step into much more of a Rick Rubin producer role than just be the typical engineer. It gave me the space to present beats to her that I had made, alone or with others. If she liked the beat, she recorded over it. She also ended up really liking the way I recorded and mixed her vocals, which led to me mixing songs as well.” ^[4]

The album, SOS, was released in December 2022. Bisel engineered the album, mixed 10 songs, and co-produced 11 of the album's 23 tracks. He also co-wrote 15 songs, including the double-platinum single I Hate U and Kill Bill, which was the #1 song on the US Hot R&B/Hip Hop charts for 23 weeks, breaking the chart's record for weeks at #1.^[8][9] The album was #1 on the Billboard charts for ten weeks,^[10] and #1 on the R&B/Hip Hop for a record-breaking 41 weeks.^[11] Bisel hit #1 on the R&B producer chart in May 2023.^[12] In 2025, he won the Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album for SOS and Best R&B Song for the track "Saturn."^[13][6]

Personal life

Bisel lives in Los Angeles. His recording studio, Ponzu, is named after his dog.^[4]

Grammy Awards

|| Reference |- |style="text-align:center;" rowspan="1"| 2025 ||style="text-align:left;"| "Saturn" (SZA)|| Best R&B Song|| ||^[6] |- |style="text-align:center;" rowspan="9"| 2024 ||style="text-align:left;"| SOS (SZA)|| Album of the Year|| ||^[6] |- |style="text-align:left;|SOS||Best Progressive R&B Album|| ||^[6] |- |style="text-align:left;|"Kill Bill" (SZA)||Best R&B Performance || ||^[6] |- |style="text-align:left;|"Kill Bill"||Record of the Year || ||^[6] |- |style="text-align:left;|"Kill Bill"||Grammy Award for Song of the Year || ||^[6] |- |style="text-align:left;|"Snooze" (SZA)||Best R&B Song|| ||^[6] |- |style="text-align:left;|"Ghost in the Machine" (SZA and Phoebe Bridgers)||Best Pop Duo/Group Recording || ||^[6] |- |style="text-align:left;|"Low" (SZA)||Best Melodic Rap Performance || ||^[6] |- |style="text-align:left;|Girls Night Out (Babyface)||Best R&B Album || ||^[6] |- |style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"| 2023 ||style="text-align:left;"| Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (Kendrick Lamar)|| Album of the Year|| ||^[6] |- |style="text-align:left;| "The Heart Part 5" (Kendrick Lamar song)||Record of the Year || ||^[6] |- |style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"| 2022 ||style="text-align:left;"| Planet Her (Doja Cat album) ||Album of the Year|| ||^[6] |- |style="text-align:left;| "Kiss Me More" (Doja Cat song)||Record of the Year || ||^[6] |}

Selected discography

References

1. ^ Hiatt, Brian (2023-01-29). "The Making of SZA's Chart-Topping 'SOS'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
2. ^ Monroe, Jazz (2024-02-04). "SZA Wins Best Progressive R&B Album for SOS at 2024 Grammys". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
3. ^ Kohen, Doug (December 23, 2009). "Lamorinda Weekly issue 21 volume 3". Lamorinda Weekly. Retrieved April 27, 2026.
4. ^ "Inside Track: SZA 'Kill Bill'". www.soundonsound.com. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
5. ^ "Mark Needham Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
6. ^ "Rob Bisel | Artist | GRAMMY.com". www.grammy.com. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
7. ^ Mamo, Heran (2023-10-11). "Meet SZA's Secret Weapons: Her 'SOS' Producers". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
8. ^ Anderson, Trevor (2023-09-28). "SZA's 'SOS' Breaks Record for Most Weeks at No. 1 on Top R&B Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
9. ^ Conteh, Mankaprr (2023-10-03). "What's Behind SZA's Biggest Year Yet? Work, Wonder, and 'Weird Shit'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
10. ^ Sisario, Ben (2023-02-21). "SZA Makes It Nine Weeks at No. 1, and Rihanna Returns to Top 10". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
11. ^ Tuccillo, Andrea. "SZA's 'SOS' breaks a 'Billboard' chart record". Power 106.9 - Omaha's #1 For Hip Hop & Hits. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
12. ^ Zellner, Xander (2023-05-12). "Rob Bisel Hits No. 1 on R&B Producers Chart Thanks to SZA Hits". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
13. ^ France, Lisa Respers (2023-11-10). "Grammy nominations 2024: See the full list of nominees". CNN. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
14. ^ "Rob Bisel Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 2023-10-06.

External links

• Official website