Dallas Austin
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| Dallas Austin | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 29, 1970 Columbus, Georgia, United States |
| Genre(s) | Pop, R&B, Hip Hop, Pop-Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter, Record Producer, Guitarist, and Keyboardist |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, keyboards, drums, Harmonica |
| Years active | 1992 - Present |
| Label(s) | Rowdy Records |
| Associated acts | Monica, TLC, Joi, Sugababes |
Dallas Austin (born December 29, 1970) is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician, based in Atlanta, Georgia. Some of his most notable clients include Michael Jackson ,TLC, Boyz II Men, Pink, Monica, Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Stacie Orrico, Another Bad Creation, Fishbone, Sugababes, Anastacia, Japanese singer Namie Amuro and Kim from the Real Housewives of Atlanta.
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[edit] Career
Austin was a member of Highland Place Mobsters on the influential Hip Hop label LaFace in the early 1990s before embarking on a career as a full-time producer. Highland Place Mobsters contributed to the soundtracks for the movies White Men Can't Jump and Boomerang.
As a producer and songwriter, Austin was first noticed and signed to Diva One Music by Joyce Irby ('80s all-girl band Klymaxx) and has crafted hits for LaFace and TLC (with which he won two Grammys for co-producing CrazySexyCool and FanMail), including the hit singles "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg", "What about Your Friends", "Creep", "Silly Ho" and "Unpretty". As a teenager, Irby took Austin to Sylvia Rhone, Motown head Jheryl Busby, L.A. Reid, and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, asking them to give him a shot as a producer. Other credits of Austin's include the number-two single "Hit 'em Up Style (Oops!)" recorded by Blu Cantrell, "Don't Let Me Get Me" and "Just like a Pill" by Pink, and the hit "Secret" by Madonna. In more recent times, Austin's work has returned him to the charts, writing and producing the successful "Trick Me" for Kelis as well as "Left Outside Alone" and "Sick and Tired" for Anastacia.
Austin has tried his hand at remixing for other artists, most notably "They Don't Care About Us" for Michael Jackson and "The Power of Good-Bye" for Madonna.
In addition to American artists, Austin has produced songs for international artists. In 1999 Austin and Japanese pop singer Namie Amuro began a professional relationship in which he produced many of her songs until present.
Austin is also known for socially conscious productions such as TLC's "Unpretty" and "Damaged" and more recently "Ugly" for UK act Sugababes. For the Sugababes, Austin produced several other tracks on their number-one album Taller in More Ways, including the single "Push the Button", which spent three weeks at the top of the UK charts. He also produced the Girls Aloud' Comic Relief collaboration with Sugababes on "Walk This Way". He is also responsible for producing Gwen Stefani's single "Cool" from her Love.Angel. Music.Baby. album.
In 1992, Austin formed Rowdy Records with fellow producer L.A. Reid, though Reid left the following year. Austin branched out into cinema as well, becoming the executive producer of Drumline (2002) for 20th Century Fox. He also served as the film's musical director. Austin is currently working with Warner Bros. studios on another music-driven film set in Atlanta.
Drumline cast member Orlando Jones also chose Austin to be the music director, alongside DJ Rukus, for his short-lived The Orlando Jones Show, a live talk show that aired on F/X.
EMI biography of Dallas Austin.
On August 5, 2007, his unique 10,000-plus-square-foot circular Georgia mansion appeared on an episode of MTV Cribs.
[edit] Drug conviction
On Sunday, July 2, 2006, Austin pleaded guilty to drug charges in Dubai, where Dubai Airport authorities found slightly more than a gram of cocaine in his luggage when he arrived in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to attend Naomi Campbell's three-day birthday party at the Burj Al Arab hotel [1] [2].
However, in a surprise turn of events, a few hours after a Dubai court sentenced Austin to a four-year prison term, according to U.A.E.-based newspaper Gulfnews.com, he received a royal pardon from Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and was deported soon after, [3] even though the United Arab Emirates has a very strict zero tolerance drug enforcement policy and drug traffickers get the death penalty. A number of high-profile figures, including Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, Lionel Richie, and Quincy Jones, joined the effort to gain the pardon. Upon return to the States, Austin's first public appearance was with his lawyer at the Sunday service at Dale Bronner's Word of Faith Family Worship Center in Atlanta, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was reported to have reported. [4] [5] [6] [7] The lawyer at the service was Joel Katz of the firm Greenberg Traurig of Atlanta. Joe Reeder, in the firm's Washington office, and a senior lawyer in the same office, Nancy Taylor, who worked for many years on Mr. Hatch's staff in the Senate, worked with Mr. Katz on the case. [8]
[edit] Discography
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[edit] References
- ^ MTV News- Hitmaker Dallas Austin Pleads Guilty To Drug Charges in Dubai
- ^ MTV News- Hitmaker Dallas Austin Imprisoned In Dubai On Drug Charges
- ^ Gulfnews.com - Hip-hop producer heads to New York
- ^ MTV News- Hitmaker Dallas Austin Released From Dubai Jail
- ^ MTV News- Dallas Austin Sprung From Dubai Jail With Help From Songwriting Senator, Lionel Richie
- ^ Yahoo! Music - Dallas Austin Bids Dubai Goodbye
- ^ Billboard.com - Austin Leaves Dubai After Pardon On Drug Charges
- ^ "That's What Friends in High Places Are For" by Jeff Leeds and Sharon Waxman, The New York Times, July 8, 2006. Retrieved 4/19/09.
[edit] External links
- Dallas Austin on music.com
- Dallas Austin's myspace
- Dallas Austin's beatbuggy
- Dallas Austin biography on VH1.com
- Rowdy.tv is a social networking site for Rowdy Records
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