Osten Harvey Jr., better known by his stage nameEasy Mo Bee, is a hip hop and R&B record producer, known for production work for late 1980s with artists such as Big Daddy Kane and Miles Davis, as well as his affiliation with Bad Boy Records in its early years and his heavy production involvement in The Notorious B.I.G.'s debut albumReady to Die. He also produced two songs on 2Pac's album Me Against The World.
Biography
Early career
Mo Bee began producing after hearing music by Ced Gee of Ultramagnetic MCs and Marley Marl, producer of early hip-hop hits for the likes of the Juice Crew and LL Cool J. His first production placement came on Big Daddy Kane's breakthrough album, It's a Big Daddy Thing, after which he was approached to work with another Cold Chillin' Records artist, The Genius—an early alias for now-Wu-Tang Clan co-founder GZA. Mo Bee produced the majority of the rapper's debut album, Words From the Genius, as well as produced "Sexcapades", a track that featured on the B-side of fellow future Wu-Tang co-founder RZA's first single, "Ooh I Love You Rakeem", which the rapper/producer released under the alias Prince Rakeem. Around that same time, Mo Bee had a group with neighborhood friends A.B. Money and J.R. called Rappin' Is Fundamental. The trio released only one album on A&M Records in 1991: The Doo-Hop Legacy. Jazz pioneer Miles Davis approached the young producer to help fuse jazz and hip-hop. These sessions would become his last studio album, 1992's Doo-Bop. The project, released posthumously after Davis died during the recording process, leaving the project unfinished, garnered generally mixed reviews.
1990s
Mo Bee first linked up with Sean Combs' Bad Boy Entertainment in 1993, when he produced the first single for Combs' up-and-coming artist, the Notorious B.I.G., "Party and Bullshit". Easy also went on to produce much of the label's two flagship releases: Project: Funk da World by Craig Mack, and Ready to Die by B.I.G. Additionally, Mo Bee produced the "Flava in Ya Ear," a driving single for both projects, featuring Craig Mack, Biggie, Busta Rhymes, Rampage and LL Cool J. In 1994-'95, Mo Bee was also associated with 2Pac, having produced songs for both, including one called "Runnin' From tha Police," featuring both Pac and B.I.G. as well as rapper/producer Stretch and 2Pac's crew Dramacydal. Mo Bee went on to produce two songs for Pac's 1995 album Me Against the World, although the two recorded several other songs that did not make the cut. During this time period, he also crafted moderate radio hits for the Lost Boyz ; Das EFX ; and Busta Rhymes.
