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Ezra Koenig Biography
Ezra Koenig born Ezra Michael Koenig is an American musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, playwright and radio host. He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of indie rock band Vampire Weekend. Additionally, Koenig is the creator of the Netflix animated comedy series Neo Yokio and also hosts the Apple Music radio talk show Time Crisis with Ezra Koenig. Time Crisis is airing its fourth season, in 2019. He also hosts a show on Beats 1 Radio.
Over his career Ezra has received many accolades for his efforts including two Grammy Award nominations and one win for his work with Vampire Weekend, in 2010 and 2013 respectively. He was also nominated in 2016 for his production work on Beyoncé’s album Lemonade. He released the album Harmony Hall in 2019;the first release since the band’s 2013 album ‘Modern Vampires Of The City.’
Age| Birthday| How Old is Ezra Koenig?
The singer was born on April 8, 1984 in New York City, U.S. and is 35 years old in 2019. His birth sign is Aries
Ezra Koenig Family| Parents
Koenig was born in New York City and is the son of Bobby Bass, a psychotherapist, and Robin Koenig, a set dresser on film and TV productions. His parents lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan before moving to Glen Ridge, New Jersey. He is Jewish, and his family came to the U.S. from Europe (including Romania and Hungary). Ezra has a younger sister, Emma Koenig (born 1988), who is the author of the blog and book “FUCK! i’m in my twenties” and wrote on the ABC-TV comedy, Manhattan Love Story. Ezra began writing music around the age of ten, and his first song ever was titled “Bad Birthday Party”.
Education
He grew up in Northern New Jersey and attended Glen Ridge High School. During his schooling and college years, he was involved in numerous musical projects with Wes Miles, a childhood friend and now current frontman of Ra Ra Riot. Koenig and Miles’ formed an experimental band, The Sophisticuffs, which was described as “wildly inventive musical work”. In 2004, Koenig formed the rap band, L’Homme Run, notable for the comedic track, “Pizza Party”, with Andrew Kalaidjian and fellow Vampire Weekend band member Chris Tomson, played saxophone for the indie rock band Dirty Projectors and worked as an intern for The Walkmen.
Teaching Career
After graduating he taught English through Teach for America at Junior High School 258 in Brooklyn, New York. Students recalled Koenig bringing his guitar with him to class, despite trying to hide it and his music career. He was described as a “laid-back” teacher who successfully made bonds with his students. In fall 2007, a deal with XL Recordings cut short Koenig’s teaching career.
Ezra Koenig Vampire Weekend
In 2005, Ezra formed the indie rock band Vampire Weekend. The name of the group was in reference to an unreleased indie film of the same name that Ezra and his friends produced during a vacation. In the film, Ezra portrayed the protagonist, Walcott, a man hell-bent on escaping Cape Cod as he believed vampires were coming. Many songs from the band’s eponymous release made reference to the film.
Neo Yokio | Netflix
Following a hiatus from Vampire Weekend, Koenig wrote and produced an animated comedy-adventure series about a depressive, demon-slaying playboy voiced by rapper and creative artist Jaden Smith. The series, titled Neo Yokio, debuted on Netflix in September 2017. The show was written and produced in 2015, with the final sound mix being completed in January 2016, however, due to issues with , the show was postponed until finally being picked up by Netflix
Ezra Koenig Relationship| Dating| Married
Koenig has been in a relationship with his long-time girlfriend, actress and Quincy Jone’s daughter Miss Rashida Jones. The couple welcomed his first child, son Isaiah Jones Koenig, on August 22, 2018. The couple reside in Los Angeles with their new born.
Beats 1
After the release of Apple Music, Koenig began hosting his own radio show on the Apple Music radio service, Beats 1.
Time Crisis with Ezra Koenig
The show titled Time Crisisdebuted on July 12, 2015. The show mainly features Koenig and a variety of notable guest stars, including regular co-host, L.A. based painter and former Dirty Projectors member, Jake Longstreth. Each episode is two-hours in length, during that time, Koenig and company discuss relevant news topics, respond to obscure listener emails regarding 1970s rock music, explore the current terrain of U.S. politics, as well as frequently analyzing the history of corporate snack foods. Additionally, Koenig compares and contrasts contemporary popular music with music of an era relevant to the discourse of the specific episode
Ezra Koenig Collaborations
In 2009, Koenig provided vocals on the song “Carby” on LP, the debut album from Discovery, a group which features Vampire Weekend keyboardist Rostam Batmanglijand Ra Ra Riot vocalist Wes Miles. Additionally that year, he appeared on “Warm Heart of Africa” by The Very Best, “Pyromiltia” by Theophilus London, “I Could Be Wrong” by Chromeo and “Dynamo” by Abd al Malik.
In 2013, Koenig was featured in the song “Jessica” by Major Lazer. In 2014, he was featured on “Ezra’s Interlude” by Chromeo, as well as “New Dorp, New York” by SBTRKT. Additionally that year, he appeared on the HBO drama series Girls and performed the voice of Ryland on the animated series Major Lazer. At the 86th Academy Awards, Koenig accompanied Karen O on backing vocals and acoustic guitar for her performance of the Oscar-nominated song “The Moon Song” from the film Her.
In 2017, he made an appearance in Charli XCX’s music video for “Boys”.
In 2018, he was credited as a songwriter and producer on the single “I Promise You” by James Corden, from the film Peter Rabbit. His demo of the song was also released
Ezra Koenig & Beyonce
In 2016, the song writer was credited as a writer and producer on the song “Hold Up” by Beyoncé. Due to these contributions, he received a nomination for a Grammy-award for the album Lemonade.
Ezra Koenig Awards & Achievement
Ezra’s band has been nominated for multiple Grammy Awards. In 2011, Contra was nominated for Best Alternative Album, however the band lost to The Black Keys. In 2014, Modern Vampires of the City won the Grammy award for Best Alternative Album.
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