Hidden Beach Recordings

Hidden Beach Recordings is an American independent record label founded in 1998 by Steven McKeever. The label releases music in R&B, soul, contemporary jazz, and inspirational genres and is distributed through Universal Music Group.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Steven McKeever attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign before earning his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. He began his career as an entertainment attorney at Irell & Manella LLP in Los Angeles. After leaving the firm, he joined PolyGram, where he discovered comedian Robin Harris and produced Harris’s first and only album, Be-Be’s Kids.

In 1991, McKeever joined Motown Records as senior vice president of A&R (artists and repertoire), expanding the label's line-up with musicians including Queen Latifah. The following year, he launched the Motown subsidiary MoJazz Records, serving as its founding president and overseeing the label’s early roster, which included artists such as Norman Brown and Wayman Tisdale. In 1993, McKeever was involved in the sale of Motown to PolyGram Records. By 1994, McKeever was promoted to executive vice president of talent and creative affairs.

McKeever left Motown in 1995 to pursue independent ventures. In 1998, he founded Hidden Beach Recordings. He invited Charles Whitfield to join the company to oversee production and artist relations, and Whitfield later introduced McKeever to professional basketball player Michael Jordan, who became an early investor in the label.

In its early years, the label issued recordings by both emerging and established artists. Early commercial visibility came with the signing of Jill Scott, one of the label’s first artists. Her debut album, Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 (2000), received multiple Grammy Award nominations and achieved multi-platinum certification in the United States, helping establish the company during its initial years. Follow-up releases, include Experience: Jill Scott 826+ (2001) and Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds Vol. 2 (2004), which also appeared on Billboard charts.

In 2000, Hidden Beach released Paris Rain, a studio album by Brenda Russell. The album marked Russell’s return to solo recording after a recording hiatus and featured collaborations with artists including Carole King, Dave Koz, and Sheila E..

Additional projects during this period included the acquisition and development of Back to Then (2002), a neo-soul oriented solo album by Darius Rucker. Originally recorded for Atlantic Records following Rucker’s commercial success with Hootie & the Blowfish, the project was later developed by Hidden Beach after being shelved.

The label further expanded its roster with releases by Kindred the Family Soul, whose debut album Surrender to Love (2003) appeared on the Billboard R&B charts.