Bryan-Michael Cox

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Bryan-Michael Cox

Background information
Born December 1, 1977 (1977-12-01) (age 30)
Origin United States
Genre(s) Contemporary R&B, Hip hop, Pop, Hip pop
Occupation(s) Songwriter, record producer
Years active 1998–present
Label(s) So So Def Recordings, Beat Factory

Bryan-Michael Cox (born December 1, 1977)[1] is an award winning American songwriter and record producer.

He is a songwriter and producer. He has co-written and co-produced singles including: Mariah Carey's "Shake It Off"; Tamia's "Still", Fantasia's "Only One U"; Danity Kane's "Ride For You"; LeToya's "Obvious"; Mary J. Blige's "Be Without You"; Toni Braxton's "Trippin' (That's the Way Love Works)"; and Usher's "Confessions, Pt. 2". Cox has been professionally producing since 1998, receiving his first formal credit on 1999's "Get Gone" by the R&B Houston-based group Ideal.

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[edit] History

Cox was born in Miami and grew up in Houston, Texas, where he attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. While in the eleventh grade he met and was mentored by Greg Curtis (who produced and co-wrote Keyshia Cole’s 2006 hit, "Love"). From Curtis, who had a studio in Houston, Cox learned the basic foundation of creating songs, including production, using audio equipment, recording, as well as structuring and writing songs.

During his senior year, he was joined at the school by singer Beyoncé Knowles and her former Destiny's Child group member LeToya Luckett. His friendship with Beyoncé and her belief in his talent resulted in his first “real” recording session, which consisted of doing three demo songs for the group then known only as “Destiny.” Although the songs were never officially released, Cox expressed that the session led him to truly know he wanted to be a professional music producer.

In 1997, he moved to Atlanta to attend Clark Atlanta University (CAU), where he majored in music. However, his ultimate reason for the move was to break into the music industry. He pursued opportunities within the music industry. Based on information from a campus flyer, he sought out and obtained an unpaid internship with the Noontime production company, in order to obtain experience and opportunities.[2] His hard work paid off as his affiliation with Noontime led to him working with Jagged Edge, which resulted in him meeting Jermaine Dupri. Cox’s relationship with Dupri soon had him producing and writing for Nivea, Monica, Da Brat and Lil' Bow Wow. Although Cox has since co-written and co-produced an extensive body of work (including Hot 100 #1 hits such as Carey’s “Don’t Forget About Us” in addition to Usher’s “Burn,” “Confessions, Pt. 2” and “U Got It Bad”) and won two Grammy awards (for work on albums by Carey and Usher), Mary J. Blige’s “Be Without You” marked his first Hot 100 Top 5 hit without Dupri.

Cox has teamed with Christopher Hicks of Noontime to establish the imprint Beatfactory, LLC. In addition to LeToya, its list of artists includes male singer Q. Amey, Bella (a trio of females), and Dirty Rose (a male quartet). Cox also produces for his own Black Baby, Inc. Stating that he's a "vocalist by nature", he is considering recording his own solo project. In the meanwhile, he’s worked on or is working on projects for artists such as Monica, Whitney Houston, Fantasia, Omarion, Ciara, Mýa, Avant, Amerie, Musiq, Claudette Ortiz (formerly of City High), Tamia, Johnta Austin, Fergie of The Black Eyed Peas, Jessica Simpson, Cassie, Marques Houston, Toni Braxton, Nicole Scherzinger (of the Pussycat Dolls) and Atlantic's Erica Rivera.[3]

He has also worked with Olivia, Frankie J, Faith Evans and Eric West. He has begun working on forthcoming projects by Monica, Brandy, Mariah Carey, Teairra Mari, Keyshia Cole, Kelly Rowland, Trey Songz, Amerie, Mario, Tevin Campbell, Joe, Whitney Houston, Ashanti, Antonella Barba,Chris Brown, Celine Dion, Sureshot, Bryan Abrams of Color Me Badd and Britney Spears.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Awards and nominations

Year Award
2007 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album -- The Breakthrough (producer award)
2007 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song -- Be Without You (songwriter award)
2005 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album -- The Emancipation of Mimi (producer award)
2004 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album -- Confessions (producer award)
2004 Year End Billboard Hot 100 producers
2004 Year End Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Producers
2003 SESAC Songwriter of the Year 2000-2003
2001 Billboard #5 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Producer of 2001

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bryan-Michael Cox. Accessed January 11, 2008.
  2. ^ T. Murray (October 13, 2004). Confessions of CAU Grad. AUCAlumni. Accessed January 11, 2008.
  3. ^ Aurelio Mitjans. SESAC - Ambassador of Song Bre Magazine. Accessed January 11, 2008.

[edit] External links

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