- published: 16 Jun 2009
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Kasseem Dean (born September 13, 1978), better known by his stage name, Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, DJ, rapper and painter. At the age of 17, he gained attention in the hip-hop world through his friendship with rapper DMX. Grady Spivey and rapper Cassidy helped launch his label Full Surface Records. He is married to R&B superstar Alicia Keys and has one child with her, as well as three other children.
Dean did not see much of his father, a postal worker, due to his parents' separation in his early life. Dean is of Puerto Rican and African American decent.[citation needed] He was raised by his mother in the South Bronx, where he spent most of his childhood. This was where he first encountered Hip hop and began deejaying. He began deejaying after he got some equipment from his stepfather and his uncles. He later relocated to Atlanta as a teenager due to having too many fights at Harry S. Truman High School; there he started to work for his uncles, Joaquin and Darrin Dean, who were co-CEOs of the Ruff Ryders label. Forgoing the practice of using samples, he mostly used the Korg Trinity and Triton Keyboards and tried to accentuate the performance aspect of his music.