William Wiik Larsen

William Wiik Larsen
Born (1986-09-15) September 15, 1986
Oslo, Norway
Genres Pop, Hip hop, R&B
Occupation(s) Record producer, songwriter
Years active 2005–present
Labels IDAP, BMG
Associated acts Nico & Vinz, Method Man & Redman, Tish Hyman, Jessie J, Sean Kingston, DJ Mustard, Stargate

William Wiik Larsen (born 15 September 1986) is a Norwegian record producer and songwriter. After crafting many multi-platinum songs in his home country, he produced and co-wrote the worldwide hit "Am I Wrong" for Nico & Vinz. He currently resides in Los Angeles.

Early life

Larsen was born in Oslo, Norway. His father was a professional musician in the 80’s, and his mother a singer. Having an substantial musical influence as a child got him pursuing the same path, and at an early age he started experimenting with instruments, drum machines, keyboards and turntables.[1] At the age of 6 he started playing the drums in the school band. He later moved on to study drums and percussion at the Norwegian Academy of Music (Norges Musikkhøyskole) at the age of 10. At age 14, Larsen started to enter Scandinavian DJ competitions, among them the DMC National DJ Championships which he won 2005 and 2006, to go on to represent Norway in the World finals (DMC World DJ Championships[2]).

Musical career

2004

In 2004, Larsen joined the music-collective and record label Pass It Records, where he released the official mixtape Homework the same year. During his time at Pass It Records he was a tour DJ for several of the countries hip hop acts. In 2005 he stopped DJ’ing and went on to solely focus on music production under the name Nasty Kutt.

2007-2008

In 2007, his longtime collaborator, manager and Pass It owner/founder/managing director, Julian Alexander, decided to close down Pass It Records. The pair then decided to work together on launching their own production and publishing company IDAP Music in 2008.

In the years to come, Larsen worked in the Norwegian music industry as a hip hop/pop producer with 21 IFPI[3] (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) Certifications, 5 of them being multi-platinum.

2009-2012

In 2009, he had his first major U.S placement with the song City Lights featuring Bun B from Method Man and Redman's album Blackout 2. The Def Jam/Universal release debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 album chart.[4] The same year Larsen started his collaboration with Envy (now known as Nico & Vinz).

In 2010, IDAP Music released its first album as a label, Gatekunst. The annual project, in conjunction with Forente Minoriteter, was held specifically to help youth build their musical talent. The Norwegian government endorsed workshop project focused on young talent being mentored and given the chance to work with already established artists.

In 2011, IDAP Music in collaboration with Universal Music, launched the company’s second label project, the single Min Ting, at VG-lista Topp 20. The single featured rappers like Norwegian Vinni from Paperboys, Yosef from Madcon, Lars Vaular og OnklP, and Swedish rappers Timbuktu & Promoe.[5]

2013

He made the permanent move to the US November 2013. In April he also signed a worldwide Joint Venture deal with IDAP Music & BMG Chrysalis. The same year he changed his moniker to Will IDAP.

Nico & Vinz

The collaboration between Larsen and Nico & Vinz started in 2009. Their first single One Song, produced by Larsen, became their breakthrough in Norway,[6] and charted at #19 on the Norwegian billboard and received massive airplay. The music video for the song also won a Norwegian Grammy for video of the year. While this was the only song he produced for their debut album, he had a much bigger part in their follow up album which got a worldwide release through Warner Music. Larsen and Nico & Vinz reconnected in 2011, and together with Larsen they created the sound for the follow up album Black Star Elephant. The first song they recorded was Am I Wrong, which did well[7] and topped the iTunes charts in over 40 countries. The album was recorded in Oslo, Botswana and Los Angeles. Larsen produced 10 songs on their international album Blackstar Elephant.

International discography and credits

Year Artist Album Song Credit
2015 Nano Single "Day I'm Gone" Producer
2016 Kevin Hart Single "Give It Back" feat Akon Producer & Writer
2016 Train Single "Play That Song" Producer & Writer
2016 Tish Hyman "Dedicated to" "Lesbehonest" Producer
2016 Tish Hyman "Dedicated to" "Absolutely" Producer
2016 Tish Hyman "Dedicated to" "Dreams" Feat Ty Dolla Sign & Fabolous Producer
2016 Tish Hyman "Dedicated to" "4 Letter Word" Producer
2016 Broiler Single "Daydream" Producer
2016 Florida Georgia Line Single "H.O.L.Y." Writer
2016 Broiler Single "Money" Feat Bekuh BOOM" Producer
2015 Tish Hyman "Dedicated to" "Home For Christmas" Producer
2015 Kygo Single "Stay" Feat Maty Noyes" Producer
2015 Nano Single "Perfect Melody" Producer
2015 Broiler Single "Fly By Night" Feat Tish Hyman" Producer
2015 Nano Single "Lion" Producer
2015 Tish Hyman "Dedicated to" "Subway Art" Producer
2014 Nico & Vinz "The Good Lie" Movie Soundtrack "Find A Way" feat. Emmanuel Jal Producer
2014 Jessie J Sweet Talker "Personal" Producer/co-writer
2014 Nico & Vinz Black Star Elephant "Am I Wrong" Producer/co-writer[8]
2014 Nico & Vinz Black Star Elephant "Know What I'm Not" Producer/co-writer
2014 Nico & Vinz Black Star Elephant "Miracles" Producer/co-writer
2014 Nico & Vinz Black Star Elephant "My Melody" Feat Ntirelang Berman Producer/co-writer
2014 Nico & Vinz Black Star Elephant "Another Day" Producer/co-writer
2014 Nico & Vinz Black Star Elephant "People" Producer/co-writer
2014 Nico & Vinz Black Star Elephant "Imagine" Producer/co-writer
2014 Nico & Vinz Black Star Elephant "Homeless" Feat Ntirelang Berman Producer/co-writer
2014 Nico & Vinz Black Star Elephant "When The Day Comes" Producer/co-writer
2013 Dirt Nasty Palatial "Bang Her" feat. Too $hort Producer
2013 Dirt Nasty Palatial "Threesome" Producer/co-writer
2012 Angel Haze Reservation "CHI (Need To Know)" Producer
2012 Three Loco Three Loco EP "Beer" Producer
2012 Three Loco Three Loco EP "Make Em Wait" Producer
2010 Madcon Contraband "Walk Out The Door" Producer/co-writer
2010 Madcon Contraband "City Lights" feat. Bun B Producer/co-writer
2009 Method Man & Redman Blackout! 2 "City Lights" feat. Bun B Producer

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Song/Album Artist
2012 NRJ Radio Awards Most Played Song of the Year “Kjører på” Madcon
2011 MTV Europe Music Awards Norwegian Album of the Year “Back to business” Erik & Kriss
2011 Swedish Grammy Awards Best Hip Hop/Soul Album of the Year[9] “Sagolandet” Timbuktu
2011 Norwegian Grammy Awards Video of the Year[10] “One Song” Envy
2010 Norwegian Grammy Awards Best Hip Hop album “Helt om natten, helt om dagen” Lars Vaular
2010 MTV Europe Music Awards Norwegian Album of the Year “Aldri solgt en løgn” Karpe Diem
2008 Norwegian Grammy Awards Best Hip Hop album “Fire Vegger” Karpe Diem
2006 MTV Europe Music Awards Norwegian Album of the Year “It is what it is” el Axel

References

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