Look up producer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Producer may refer to

An occupation

• Executive producer, supervises one or more Producers
• Film producer, oversees the making of films
  • Line producer, manages the budget and/or day to day running of a film production
• Hip hop producer, creates hip hop music using electronic instruments
• Impresario, a producer or manager in the theater and music industries
• Producer (agriculture), a farm operator
• Radio producer, oversees the making of a radio show
• Record producer, or musical event producer, in the music industry
• Television producer, oversees the making of television programs
• Theatrical producer, oversees the staging of theatre productions
• Video game producer, produces computer and console games
• Web producer, oversees the management of web sites
  • Online producer, oversees the making of content for web sites

Others

• Autotroph, an organism that synthesizes energy-rich organic compounds
• "The Producer", an episode of Gilligan's Island
• Producer, in economics, an individual or organization that creates goods or services (see Production, costs, and pricing)
• Producers (band), English rock band consisting of renowned record producers and musicians.

See also[link]

• Production (disambiguation)

• The Producers (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

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Rico Love
Background information
Birth name	Richard Preston Butler, Jr.
Born	(1982-12-03) December 3, 1982 (age 29) New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Origin	Miami, Florida, United States
Genres	Hip hop, rap, R&B, pop, dance
Occupations	Record producer, singer-songwriter, rapper
Years active	2003–present
Labels	Division1 (label deal with Universal Motown)
Associated acts	Jim Jonsin, Nelly, Usher, Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland
Website	www.division1.com

Richard Preston Butler, Jr. (born December 3, 1982), better known by his stage name Rico Love, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. Love wrote and produced hit records such as Usher’s "There Goes My Baby" and "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)”, Nelly's "Just a Dream" and "Gone", Beyoncé Knowles' "Sweet Dreams".^[1][2][3] and has contributed to works which have gone on to win Grammys such as Beyoncé's 2009 Best Contemporary R&B album I Am... Sasha Fierce,^[4] Usher’s 2010 Best Contemporary R&B album Raymond v Raymond,^[5] and Usher's 2010 Best Male R&B Vocal Performance "There Goes My Baby".^[5] In addition Love has written and produced records for Kelly Rowland,^[6] Diddy Dirty Money,^[7] Chris Brown,^[8] Alexandra Burke, Keri Hilson,^[9] Fergie,^[10] and Fantasia.^[11] Love is also the CEO of Division1, a record label which partnered with Universal Motown in 2010.^[12] Love has appeared as a featured artist on record with T.I.,^[13] Usher,^[14] Jermaine Dupri,^[15] Jamie Foxx,^[16] Rich Boy,^[17] and Fat Joe.^[18]

Early life[link]

Love was born in New Orleans, LA and his parents divorced at early age.^[19] As a result of the divorce Love spent his childhood growing up in two different cities, in Milwaukee, WI with his Mother and Harlem, NY with his father.^[20] Love’s mother encouraged him as a child to write poetry.^[21] Love wrote his own poems and went on to joining the African American Children’s Theater where he recited Langston Hughes and acted.^[20][21] Love had already been writing his own poems before he was introduced to rap in his early teens.^[22] By the end of high school Love had decided to pursue a career in rap but would go to college simultaneously, ‘I’m [going] to go to school instead of just sitting on the block. If I hadn’t gone to college I would’ve been a drug dealer.’^[21] While in college at Florida A&M University Love stayed involved in his music by winning many rap battles and talent shows.^[21] On the weekends Love would leave for Atlanta, GA for the benefit of its studios and popular music scene.^[21] While visiting Atlanta Love met members of Jagged Edge who were an influence on Love’s songwriting development.^[21] Love eventually left college because of a paper work error made by the college’s administration’s office.^[21] Love went to live with some local Atlanta producers the Corna Boyz.^[21] This relationship provided Love the opportunity to rap on a remix the producers were creating for Usher.^[21] Usher liked Love’s work on the remix and eventually signed him to US Records/J Records. Usher requested Love compose lyrics for a song written by Just Blaze.^[21] This song eventually became “Throwback” and was featured on Usher’s diamond selling (10x platinum) Confessions album.^[21][23] Love next toured with Usher where he met and connected with many music industry players.^[21] Usher encouraged Love to become a songwriter and requests for Love’s compositions began coming from artists Chris Brown, Omarion, and Marques Houston.^[20][21]

Music career[link]

Solo Artist[link]

As an artist Love is both a vocalist and a rapper.^[24] Love was asked by Usher to contribute to the sound track to Usher’s film In The Mix.^[25] Love contributed “Settle Down”, “Sweat” featuring Usher, and “On The Grind” featuring Juelz Santana and Paul Wall.^[26] Love recorded a solo album in 2007 titled The 5th Element but ultimately decided to focus on his songwriting and not release the recordings.^[27] Though Love may not be recording as a solo artist he still contributes his vocals and rhymes to other artists. Love has appeared as a guest artist on songs by Fat Joe,^[18] Juvenile,^[28] Rich Boy,^[17] Jamie Foxx,^[16] T.I.,^[13] and his own artist, Young Chris.^[29]

Production/Songwriting[link]

Love wrote the song “Throwback” at the request of Usher which was a part of the 2004 Triple Grammy winning album Confessions.^[20][30] Love also wrote “Seduction” which was a bonus track on the Confessions Special Edition release.^[31] These were the first of several collaborations between the singer and the writer/producer. In September 2007 Love wrote and produced on the platinum single “Love Like This” by singer Natasha Bedingfield featuring Sean Kingston.^[32][33] This song was popular with mainstream audiences reaching No. 11 on Billboard’s Hot 100.^[33] The song was also a hit in dance clubs reaching number one on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Songs.^[33] In May 2008 “Energy” was released as Keri Hilson’s first single on her Gold album In a Perfect World....^[34][35] The song was co-written and co-produced by Love for the Grammy nominated artist.^[34] The song “Labels Or Love”, co-written and produced by Love and performed by Fergie was released in May 2008.^[36] The song was featured on the deluxe version of her triple Platinum album The Dutchess and also the Gold selling soundtrack to the film Sex and The City.^[10][37] Released in November of 2008, Beyoncé’s double Platinum^[38] and 5x Grammy winning album I Am... Sasha Fierce^[39] included four songs featuring Love’s songwriting and production.^[40] Love wrote and produced on the Platinum single “Sweet Dreams” which reached No. 10 on Billboard’s Hot 100 charts.^[40] Love’s work was also featured on “Scared of Lonely”, “Radio”, and “Save the Hero”.^[40] By the end of 2008 in December another Love co-written and co-produced track was released as a single for the Grammy nominated artist Pleasure P.^[41][42] “Boyfriend#2” reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs.^[43] Love wrote and produced five songs on Mario’s D.N.A. album released in October 2009.^[44] The songs included the single “Thinkin’ About You” and “Hi”, “Ooh Baby”, “Soundtrack To My Broken Heart”, and “Get Out”.^[44] Love wrote and produced on his former mentor Usher’s Raymond v. Raymond album, released in March 2010.^[45] The platinum and Grammy winning album featured four of Love’s compositions including two of the album’s singles.^[5][46] The Love co-produced and co-written single “There Goes My Baby” was a hit and stayed at number one on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for four weeks and earned Usher a Grammy for his performance on the song.^[5][47] The other single featuring Love’s writing and producing was “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home)” which rose to number two on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-hop songs.^[47] Love’s other contributions to the album included the songs “Making Love (Into the Night)” and “So Many Girls”.^[45] At the end of March 2010 Love’s penned the single “Hello Good Morning” by the group Diddy-Dirty Money was released.^[48] Diddy is one of Love’s mentors in the industry and he was honored to write for the performer/producer/mogul.^[20] The song went on to achieve Gold status and was performed by DDM and Rico Love on season nine of American Idol.^[48][49] Nelly’s 5.0 album, released in November 2010 contained eight works featuring Love’s songwriting and production skills.^[50] The first single, “Just A Dream”, co-written and co-produced by Love, went platinum and landed at number three on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.^[51][52] Love also worked on the single “Gone” featuring Kelly Rowland, a follow-up to the 2002 Nelly hit “Dilemma” also featuring Rowland.^[53] Love’s other work on the album were on the tracks "roke", "Making Movies", "Don't It Feel Good", "K.I.S.S.", "Nothing Without Her", and "Move That Body".^[50] Love wrote, produced, and appeared as an artist on Jamie Foxx’s Best Night of My Life album released December 2010.^[54] The album’s first single “Living Better Now” features Rick Ross and was co-written and co-produced by Love.^[55][56] Love wrote “Freak”, which also features his appearance as an artist, and “Sex On the Beach”.^[55][57][58] Love is managed by Made Communication, Miami, FL.^[3]

Division 1[link]

In November 2010 Love launched Division 1, a recording label in conjunction with Universal Motown.^[12] Love’s label venture has signed the artists Young Chris, Phat Rabbit, Cherlise and Teairra Mari to their roster.^[59] Love also has a production company of the same name to which he signed producers, Earl Hood, Eric Goudy, and Pierre Medor.^[20][60][61]

Awards and Nominations[link]

-2009 Grammy nomination Album of the Year – Beyoncé – I Am... Sasha Fierce^[62]

-2010 Billboard No. 9 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songwriter of the Year^[63]

-2010 Billboard No. 6 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Producer of the Year^[64]

-2010 Billboard No. 26 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Publisher of the Year^[63]

-2010 Sesac Song Awards for Beyoncé’s “Sweet Dreams” and Pleasure P’s “Boyfriend #2”^[65]

Songwriter Credits[link]

Discography[link]

• Rico Love discography

Musical Influences/Techniques[link]

Love has cited various artists as influences such as Usher who originally signed Love, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Queen, Smokey Robinson, Elton John, and Miles Davis.^[20][21][66]

Love has explained when composing he does not write lyrics down or even spend many hours working on songs.^[3] He simply listens to a beat and then sings what comes to him.^[21] He was quoted as learning this technique from Jagged Edge.^[20][21] Love claims that his technique gives him the ability to write songs very quickly which affords him the opportunity to place more songs on any single album than what most writers could.^[20]

References[link]

• http://www.grammy.com/nominees
• http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1651341/young-chris-dj-drama-dj-don-cannon-give-philly-reintroduction.jhtml
• http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2010-11-04/music/rico-love-and-usher-at-the-division-1-label-launch-november-5/

External links[link]

Biography portal

• http://division1.com/
• http://twitter.com/iamricolove
• http://www.youtube.com/officialdivision1

Flux Pavilion
Birth name	Joshua Steele
Born	(1989-01-15) January 15, 1989 (age 23) Towcester, UK
Genres	Electronic, Dubstep
Occupations	Producer, DJ
Years active	2008-Present
Labels	Circus
Associated acts	Doctor P, Example, SKisM, Foreign Beggars
Website	facebook.com/fluxpavilion

Joshua Steele, known professionally as Flux Pavilion, is an English dubstep producer and DJ.^[1] He is the co-founder of Circus Records, along with Doctor P, DJ Swan-E and Dyspro.^[2] He is best known for his 2011 single "Bass Cannon", which peaked at number 56 on the UK Singles Chart,^[3] and was placed on the Radio 1 A-List. Along with Doctor P, Flux Pavilion presented the 2011 compilation album Circus One, to which he contributed four tracks. In August 2011 his track "I Can't Stop" was sampled by producer Shama “Sak Pase” Joseph for hip-hop album, Watch the Throne by Jay-Z and Kanye West.^[4] In December 2011, Flux Pavilion was nominated for the BBC's Sound of 2012 poll, as one of only two independent artists on the longlist.^[5] On 5 March 2012, his track "I Can't Stop" was used in the viral Kony 2012 campaign, and was previously featured in SSX.

Discography[link]

Extended plays[link]

Compilations[link]

• Doctor P and Flux Pavilion - Circus One^[8]

Singles[link]

Other releases[link]

Remixes[link]

As producer[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Flux Pavilion on Facebook
• Flux Pavilion on Myspace

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Justin Smith, better known as Just Blaze, is an American hip hop music producer from Paterson, New Jersey.^[1][2][3] Blaze is also the CEO of Fort Knocks Entertainment.^[4] He is most well known for producing Jay-Z songs on the albums The Blueprint, The Blueprint 2, and The Black Album.^[5] He is also known for producing a number of songs on Eminem's most recent album Recovery. Blaze also appears in the video for the third single from Recovery entitled "No Love", which he also produced.

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Just Blaze discography at MusicBrainz

50 Cent
50 Cent in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Curtis James Jackson III
Born	(1975-07-06) July 6, 1975 (age 36)
Origin	South Jamaica, Queens, New York City, New York, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Aftermath, Shady, G-Unit
Associated acts	G-Unit, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Sha Money XL, DJ Whoo Kid
Website	50cent.com

Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003) and The Massacre (2005). His album Get Rich or Die Tryin' has been certified eight times platinum by the RIAA.^[1]

Born in the South Jamaica of Queens, New York City, Jackson began drug dealing at the age of twelve during the 1980s crack epidemic.^[2] After leaving drug dealing to pursue a rap career, he was shot at and struck by nine bullets during an incident in 2000. After releasing his album Guess Who's Back? in 2002, Jackson was discovered by rapper Eminem and signed to Interscope Records. With the help of Eminem and Dr. Dre, who produced his first major commercial successes, Jackson became one of the world's highest selling rappers. In 2003, he founded the record label G-Unit Records, which signed several successful rappers such as Young Buck, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo.

Jackson has engaged in feuds with other rappers including Ja Rule, Nas, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Cam'ron, Puff Daddy, Rick Ross, and former G-Unit members The Game and Young Buck. He has also pursued an acting career, appearing in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin' in 2005, the Iraq War film Home of the Brave in 2006, and Righteous Kill in 2008. 50 Cent was ranked as the sixth-best artist of the 2000s by Billboard magazine. The magazine also ranked him as the fourth top male artist and as the third top rapper behind Eminem and Nelly.^[3] Billboard magazine also ranked him as the sixth best and most successful Hot 100 Artist of the 2000s^[4] and as the number one rap artist of the 2000s.^[5] Billboard ranked his album Get Rich or Die Tryin' as the twelfth best album of the 2000s^[6] and his album The Massacre as the 37th best album of the 2000s.^[7] As of September 2011, 50 Cent is working on his fifth studio album, which is set to be released in 2012.^[8]

Early life[link]

Curtis Jackson III grew up in South Jamaica, a poverty-stricken urban neighborhood in Queens, New York City. He grew up without a father and was raised by his mother, Sabrina, who gave birth to him at the age of fifteen. Sabrina, a cocaine dealer, raised Jackson until the age of eight, when she was killed in 1983. Twenty-seven years old at the time, she became unconscious after someone drugged her drink. She was then left for dead after the gas in her apartment was turned on and the windows shut closed.^[9][10]

After her death, Jackson moved into his grandparents' house with his eight aunts and uncles.^[11][12][13] He recalls, "My grandmother told me, 'Your mother's not coming home. She's not gonna come back to pick you up. You're gonna stay with us now.' That's when I started adjusting to the streets a little bit".^[14]

Jackson began boxing around the age of eleven. At fourteen, a neighbor opened a boxing gym for local kids. "When I wasn't killing time in school, I was sparring in the gym or selling crack on the strip", he recalled.^[15] In the mid 1980s, he competed in the Junior Olympics as an amateur boxer. He recounts, "I was competitive in the ring and hip-hop is competitive too... I think rappers condition themselves like boxers, so they all kind of feel like they're the champ".^[16] At the age of twelve, Jackson began dealing narcotics when his grandparents thought he was at after-school programs.^[17] He also took guns and drug money to school. In the tenth grade, he was caught by metal detectors at Andrew Jackson High School. He later stated, "I was embarrassed that I got arrested like that... After I got arrested I stopped hiding it. I was telling my grandmother [openly], 'I sell drugs.'"^[14]

Following time spent in a correctional boot camp, Jackson adopted the nickname "50 Cent" as a metaphor for "change".^[18] The name was derived from Kelvin Martin, a 1980s Brooklyn robber known as "50 Cent". Jackson chose the name "because it says everything I want it to say. I'm the same kind of person 50 Cent was. I provide for myself by any means".^[19]

Music career[link]

1996–99: Early career[link]

Jackson started rapping in a friend's basement where he used turntables to record over instrumentals.^[20] In 1996, a friend introduced him to Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC who was organizing his label Jam Master Jay Records.

Jay taught him how to count bars, write choruses, structure songs, and how to make a record.^[21][22] Jackson's first official appearance was on a song titled "React" with the group Onyx on their 1998 album Shut 'Em Down. He credited Jam Master Jay as an influence who helped him improve his ability to write hooks.^[16] Jay produced Jackson's first album; however, it was never released.^[9]

In 1999, after leaving Jam Master Jay, the platinum-selling producers Trackmasters took notice of Jackson and signed him to Columbia Records. They sent him to a studio in Upstate New York where he produced thirty-six songs in two weeks.^[10] Eighteen were included on his unofficially released album, Power of the Dollar in 2000.^[23] He also started the now-defunct Hollow Point Entertainment with former G-Unit affiliate Bang 'Em Smurf.^[24][25]

Jackson's popularity started to increase after the successful but controversial underground single, "How to Rob", which he wrote in half an hour while in a car on the way to a studio.^[18][26] The track comically explains how he would rob famous artists. He explained the reasoning behind song's content as, "There's a hundred artists on that label, you gotta separate yourself from that group and make yourself relevant".^[18] Rappers Jay-Z, Kurupt, Sticky Fingaz, Big Pun, DMX, Wyclef Jean and the Wu-Tang Clan replied to the song^[26] and Nas, who received the track positively, invited Jackson to travel on a promotional tour for his Nastradamus album.^[13] The song was intended to be released with "Thug Love" featuring Destiny's Child, but two days before he was scheduled to film the "Thug Love" music video, Jackson was shot and confined to a hospital due to his injuries.^[27]

2000–01: Shooting[link]

On May 24, 2000, Jackson was attacked by a gunman, alleged to be Darryl "Hommo" Baum, outside his grandmother's former home in South Jamaica, Queens. He went into a friend's car, but was asked to return to the house to get jewelry.

His son was in the house, while his grandmother was in the front yard.^[10] Upon returning to the back seat of the car and already seated, another car pulled up nearby. An assailant then walked up to Jackson's left side with a 9mm handgun and fired nine shots at close range. He was shot nine times: in the hand (a round hit his right thumb, to where the bullet passed through and out his little finger), arm, hip, both legs, chest, and his face (his left cheek).^[9][14][28] The face wound resulted in a swollen tongue, the loss of a wisdom tooth, and a small slur in his voice.^[13][14][29] His friend also sustained a gunshot wound to the hand. They were driven to the hospital where Jackson spent thirteen days.

Baum, the alleged shooter, was killed three weeks later.^[30]

Baum was also Mike Tyson's close friend and bodyguard.^[31]

Jackson recalled the incident saying, "It happens so fast that you don't even get a chance to shoot back.... I was scared the whole time.... I was looking in the rear-view mirror like, 'Oh @#!*% , somebody shot me in the face! It burns, burns, burns.'"^[14] In his autobiography, From Pieces to Weight: Once upon a Time in Southside Queens, he wrote, "After I got shot nine times at close range and didn't die, I started to think that I must have a purpose in life... How much more damage could that shell have done? Give me an inch in this direction or that one, and I'm gone".^[11] He used a walker for the first six weeks and fully recovered after five months. When he left the hospital, he stayed in the Poconos with his then-girlfriend and son. His workout regime helped him attain his muscular physique.^[9][14][32]

While in the hospital, Jackson signed a publishing deal with Columbia Records. However, he was dropped from the label and "blacklisted" in the recording industry because of his song "Ghetto Qu'ran".

Unable to find a studio to work with in the U.S, he traveled to Canada.^[33][34] Along with his business partner Sha Money XL, he recorded over thirty songs for mixtapes, with the purpose of building a reputation.

According to Shady Records A&R Marc Labelle in an interview with HitQuarters, Jackson shrewdly used the mixtape circuit to his own advantage saying, "He took all the hottest beats from every artist and flipped them with better hooks. They then got into all the markets on the mixtapes and all the mixtape DJs were messing with them."^[35] Jackson's popularity rose and in 2002, he released material independently on the mixtape, Guess Who's Back?. Beginning to attract interest, and now backed by G-Unit, Jackson continued to release music including 50 Cent Is the Future. The mixtape revisited material by Jay-Z and Raphael Saadiq.^[23]

2002–09: Rise to fame[link]

In 2002, Eminem listened to a copy of Jackson's Guess Who's Back? CD. He received the CD through Jackson's attorney, who was working with Eminem's manager Paul Rosenberg.^[27] Impressed with the album, Eminem invited Jackson to fly to Los Angeles, where he was introduced to Dr. Dre.^[9][21][27] After signing a $1 million record deal,^[21] Jackson released the mixtape, No Mercy, No Fear. It featured one new track, "Wanksta", which was put on Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack.^[23] He was also signed to Chris Lighty's Violator Management and Sha Money XL's Money Management Group.

In February 2003, Jackson released his commercial debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin'. Allmusic described it as "probably the most hyped debut album by a rap artist in about a decade".^[36] Rolling Stone noted the album for its "dark synth grooves, buzzy keyboards and a persistently funky bounce" with Jackson complementing the production in "an unflappable, laid-back flow".^[37]

It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 872,000 copies in the first four days.^[38] The lead single, "In da Club", which The Source noted for its "blaring horns, funky organs, guitar riffs and sparse hand claps",^[39] broke a Billboard record as the most listened-to song in radio history within a week.^[40]

Interscope granted Jackson his own label, G-Unit Records in 2003.^[41] He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo, and Young Buck as the established members of G-Unit. The Game was later signed under a joint venture with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment.

In March 2005, Jackson's second commercial album, The Massacre, sold 1.14 million copies in the first four days-the highest in an abbreviated sales cycle^[38]- and peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 for six weeks.^[42]

He became the first solo artist to have three singles on the Billboard top five in the same week with "Candy Shop", "Disco Inferno", and "How We Do".^[43] Rolling Stone noted that "50's secret weapon is his singing voice - the deceptively amateur-sounding tenor croon that he deploys on almost every chorus".^[44]

From left: With Olivia, Lloyd Banks, and Young Buck in Bangkok, Thailand, February 2006

After The Game's departure, Jackson signed singer Olivia and rap veterans Mobb Deep to G-Unit Records. Spider Loc, M.O.P., 40 Glocc and Young Hot Rod later joined the label.^[45][46] Jackson expressed interest in working with rappers outside of G-Unit, such as Lil' Scrappy of BME, LL Cool J from Def Jam, Mase from Bad Boy, and Freeway of Roc-A-Fella, some of whom he recorded with.^[47] In September 2007, he released his third album Curtis, which was inspired by his life before Get Rich or Die Tryin'.^[48] It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 691,000 units in the first week,^[49] behind Kanye West's Graduation, whom he had a sales competition with, as both albums were released on the same day.