Bryan-Michael Cox

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Bryan-Michael Cox
Birth nameBryan-Michael Paul Cox
Born (1977-12-01) December 1, 1977 (age 46)
Miami, Florida, U.S.
OriginHouston, Texas, U.S.
GenresR&B, hip hop
Occupation(s)Record producer, songwriter
Years active1998–present
LabelsTeam Idris, So So Def, Warner Chappell
Member ofOcean's 7

Bryan-Michael Paul Cox (born December 1, 1977)[1] is an American record producer and songwriter who is notable for his work with artists such as Usher, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, and Toni Braxton.[2] Among his most notable productions are "Be Without You" for Mary J. Blige, "Burn", "Confessions Part II" and "U Got It Bad" for Usher, and "Shake It Off", "I Stay In Love" and "You Don't Know What To Do" for Mariah Carey.

While attending High School in Texas, Cox was acquainted with singer Beyoncé, leading to him producing records for members of Destiny's Child prior to their signing with Columbia Records. Cox relocated to Atlanta to pursue his professional music career, and soon established a close affiliation with Jermaine Dupri c. 2000, who would become his production partner in the following years. Cox attained a Guinness World Records for the longest consecutive period of chart success by spending over 5 consecutive years there, breaking the record that was previously held by The Beatles.

In 2009, Cox was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame for his contribution to music.[3]

Early life

Cox has said that his mother played the flute: "My mom would buy music instead of food when I was little. We would spend her entire paycheck at the record store." He expressed his musical ambitions to her when he was seven years old, having written his first song when he was just six years old.[4] Later, he enrolled in Houston's Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.[5]

In high school, Cox met Beyoncé when he was a senior and she was a freshman. He recorded his first-ever demo tape with her. Although the two wouldn't reconnect until nearly seven years later when Bryan produced a track on Destiny's Child's Destiny Fulfilled, it was the early confirmation from Mathew Knowles that prompted Bryan to go into the music industry.

"Back then there was three choices if you wanted to be in the music industry, live in New York, LA, or Atlanta. I enrolled in Clark Atlanta University because although my Mom supported my dreams one hundred percent I had to go to college, so I chose Clark because I was just trying to get to Atlanta."[6]

Career

1994–1999: Early career

Cox began his career as an intern at Noontime Records in Atlanta, Georgia. He was discovered by his manager Chris Hicks, who was a partner in Noontime. Cox's first two hit singles as a producer were "Get Gone" & "Creep Inn" for the short-lived R&B group Ideal.[7]

2000–2005: Confessions, The Emancipation of Mimi, The Breakthrough

Cox contributed to Lil Bow Wow's debut album, Beware of Dog, writing the single "Puppy Love" and the Big Momma's House soundtrack. He worked with Jagged Edge's second studio album J.E. Heartbreak, contributing to songs "He Can't Love U" and "Let's Get Married". He contributed to Tamar Braxton's debut album, Tamar co-writing and producing "Get None" with musical partner Jermaine Dupri. He wrote and co-produced the second single "Just Be a Man About It" from Toni Braxton's third studio album, The Heat.[7]

Cox worked with Usher, contributing to Confessions, co-writing and co-producing Billboard Hot 100 number-one songs "Burn" and "Confessions Part II". Confessions won Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 2005 Grammys. Confessions has been certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)[8] and, as of 2012, has sold 10.3 million copies in the United States.[9] It has sold over 20 million copies worldwide. He worked with Mariah Carey again on 2005's The Emancipation of Mimi with hits "Shake It Off" and "Don't Forget About Us". "Don't Forget About Us" was nominated for two Grammy Awards. [10] He wrote the fourth single from Chris Brown's self-titled debut album "Say Goodbye". He co-wrote "Be Without You" the lead single from Mary J. Blige seventh studio album The Breakthrough. The single was certified double-platinum in the United States,[11] was nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year and won the Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance categories at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards.[12]

2006–2009

Cox co-wrote "Shortie Like Mine" the first single for Bow Wow's fifth studio album, The Price of Fame, in 2006. Again working with Austin together the duo co-wrote "Stay Down" for Mary J. Blige's eighth studio album, Growing Pains in 2007. Cox co-wrote "Last Time" for Trey Songz's second studio album Trey Day. Cox produced and co-wrote "Circles", the third single from Marques Houston's Veteran album. In 2008, he wrote five songs for the group Day26's self-tiled debut album, including the second single, "Since You've Been Gone".[7]

2010–present

In 2010, he co-wrote and produced "Never Let You Go", the single for My World 2.0, the debut studio album by Justin Bieber. For Mariah Carey he co-wrote and co-produced "Oh Santa!", alongside Jermaine Dupri and Carey, for her second Christmas/thirteenth studio album, Merry Christmas II You. He added songwriting and production on Usher's Grammy award-winning album Raymond vs Raymond. In the same year, Cox co-produced the single "Love All Over Me", the single from Monica's sixth studio album, Still Standing. He worked on Love and War for Tamar Braxton in 2013. He worked with Johtna Austin co-writing for R. Kelly's thirteenth studio album The Buffet, and on Views for Drake. Cox co-wrote on Free TC for Ty Dolla Sign.

Legacy

Cox went on to co-produce alongside his musical mentor Jermaine Dupri.[7] He has had 35 number-one hits, 12 Grammy Award nominations, including nine wins, 20 top-ten hits, and eclipsing the record previously held by the Beatles for Billboard's most consecutive number-one hits. Cox has been named one of Billboard's "Top 10 Producers of the Decade" and sits on Billboard's "Hot R&B Song of the Decade List", "Hot 100 Songs of the Decade List", "Top 200 Albums of the Decade List" and is a 2009 Georgia Music Hall of Fame inductee.[3] He has been awarded the Billboard Songwriter of the Year Award and the SESAC Songwriter of the Year Award six consecutive years.[13][14]

Songwriting and producing credits

Artist Year Song Role Album
3LW 2006 "Feelin' You" Writer & producer Point of No Return
"The Way I Feel About You"
Aaliyah 2002 "Come Over" Writer & producer I Care 4 U
Ari Lennox 2021 "Pressure" Writer & producer Age/Sex/Location
Avant 2006 "Director" Writer & producer Director
B5 2007 "Erika Kane" Writer & producer Don't Talk, Just Listen
"Right To Left"
Bobby V 2007 "How 'Bout It" Writer & producer Special Occasion
2011 "Are You the Right One" Fly on the Wall
Bow Wow 2000 "Bounce with Me" Writer Beware of Dog
"Bow Wow (That's My Name)"
"Ghetto Girls"
"Puppy Love"
"The Dog in Me"
"This Playboy"
"You Know Me"
2001 "All I Know" Writer & producer Doggy Bag
"Crazy"
"Get Up"
"Off the Glass"
"Pick of the Litter"
"Thank You"
"Take Ya Home" Writer
"Up in Here" Writer & producer
2005 "Go" Writer & producer Wanted
"Like You" Producer
2006 "Shortie Like Mine" Writer The Price of Fame
2009 "You Can Get It All" Producer New Jack City II
Bryson Tiller 2015 "Don't" (samples "Shake It Off") Writer Trapsoul
Carl Thomas 2007 "If You Ever" Writer & producer So Much Better
Chris Brown 2005 "Say Goodbye" Writer & producer Chris Brown
"Winner"
2007 "Fallen Angel" Producer Exclusive
"Throwed" Producer
Ciara 2006 "So Hard" Writer & producer Ciara: The Evolution
Danity Kane 2006 "Back Up" Writer & producer Danity Kane
"One Shot"
"Ride for You"
2008 "2 of You" Writer & producer Welcome to the Dollhouse
"Sucka for Love"
Day26 2008 "Are We in This Together" Writer & producer Day26
"Don't Fight the Feeling"
"Exclusive (No Excuses)"
"Since You've Been Gone"
2009 "Babymaker" Forever in a Day
"Need That"
"So Good"
"Stadium Music"
Destiny's Child 2004 "Bad Habit" Writer & producer Destiny Fulfilled
Dru Hill 2002 "If I Could" Writer & producer Dru World Order
dvsn 2020 "For Us" Writer & producer A Muse in Her Feelings
"No Crying"
Ella Mai 2018 "Dangerous" Writer & producer Ella Mai
Fantasia 2004 "Got Me Waiting" Writer & producer Free Yourself
2006 "Only One U" Fantasia
Ginuwine 2002 "Stingy" Writer & producer The Senior
2009 "Last Chance" Writer & producer A Man's Thoughts
"One Time for Love" Writer & producer
2011 "Busy" Producer Elgin
"Drink of Choice" Writer & producer
"Frozen" Producer
Jagged Edge 1999 "Did She Say" Writer & producer J.E. Heartbreak
"Healing"
"Heartbreak"
"He Can't Love U"
"Keys to the Range"
"Let's Get Married"
"Promise"
"What You Tryin' to Do"
2001 "Best Man" Writer & producer Jagged Little Thrill
"Cut Somethin'"
"Goodbye"
"I Got It"
"Remedy"
"Respect"
"This Goes Out" Producer
"Where the Party At" Writer & producer
2003 "I Don't Wanna" Writer & producer Hard
"Shady Girl"
"Tryna Be Your Man"
"Visions"
"Walked Outta Heaven"
2014 "Familiar" Writer & producer J.E. Heartbreak 2
"Future"
"Getting Over You"
"Hope"
"It's Been You" Producer
"Love Come Down" Writer & producer
"Make It Clear"
"Ready"
"Things I Do For You"
"Wanna Be (Romeo)" Producer
Joe 2007 "Feel for You" Writer & producer Ain't Nothin' Like Me
"Go Hard"
"My Love"
"Run It Back"
"You Should Know Me" Producer
2008 "By Any Means" Writer & producer Joe Thomas, New Man
"Man In Your Life"
"I Won't Let Him Hurt You"
"We Need to Roll"
Justin Bieber 2010 "Never Let You Go" Writer & producer My World 2.0
Kehlani 2017 "Personal" (sample "Come Over") Writer SweetSexySavage
2020 "Can I" (sample "Come Over") Writer It Was Good Until It Wasn't
Keyshia Cole 2007 "Was It Worth It?" Writer & producer Just like You
Lil' Mo 2003 "4Ever" Writer & producer Meet the Girl Next Door
2007 "Heartbeat" Pain & Paper
Mariah Carey 1999 "How Much" Writer & producer Rainbow
2002 "Miss You" Writer & producer Charmbracelet
"The One"
"You Had Your Chance"
2005 "Get Your Number" Writer & producer The Emancipation of Mimi
"Shake It Off" Writer
"Don't Forget About Us" Writer & producer The Emancipation of Mimi (Deluxe Edition)
"Makin' It Last All Night (What It Do)" Writer
2008 "For the Record" Writer & producer E=MC²
"I Stay In Love"
"4real4real" (featuring Da Brat)
2010 "Oh Santa!" Writer & producer Merry Christmas II You
2014 "Heavenly (No Ways Tired / Can't Give Up Now)" Producer Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse
"Make It Look Good" Writer & producer
"One More Try" Producer
"Supernatural" Writer & producer
"You Don't Know What To Do" Writer & producer
Marques Houston 2007 "Circle" Writer & producer Veteran
"Exclusively"
Mary J. Blige 2005 "Ain't Really Love" Writer & producer The Breakthrough
"Be Without You"
2006 "Reflections (I Remember)" Reflections (A Retrospective)
"We Ride (I See the Future)"
2007 "If You Love Me?" Growing Pains
"Stay Down"
2009 "We Got Hood Love" Stronger with Each Tear
Monica 2002 "I'm Back" Writer & producer All Eyez on Me
"If U Were the Girl" Writer & producer
"Searchin" Producer
"Too Hood" Writer & producer
"U Should've Known Better" Writer & producer
2006 "Hell No (Leave Home)" Writer & producer The Makings of Me
2010 "Lesson Learned" Writer & producer Still Standing
"Love All Over Me"
"Still Standing"
"Superman"
2012 "Amazing" New Life
Nivea 2001 "Don't Mess with My Man" Writer & producer Nivea
2005 "Parking Lot" Complicated
Omarion 2006 "Just Can't Let You Go" Writer & producer 21
"Made For TV"
Tamar Braxton 2000 "Get None" Writer & producer Tamar
2013 "Pieces" Love and War
"Where It Hurts"
Tamia 2004 "Still" Writer & producer More
Toni Braxton 2000 "Just Be a Man About It" Writer & producer The Heat
2005 "Trippin' (That's the Way Love Works)" Libra
"What's Good"
Trey Songz 2007 "Last Time" Writer & producer Trey Day
2009 "One Love" Ready
Tyrese 2001 "Off the Heezy" Writer & producer 2000 Watts
2002 "Somebody Special" I Wanna Go There
2006 "Gotta Get You" Alter Ego
Usher 2001 "Good Ol' Ghetto" Writer & producer 8701
"If I Want To"
"I Can't Let U Go"
"T.T.P."
"U Got It Bad"
"U-Turn"
2004 "Burn" Writer & producer Confessions
"Confessions Part I"
"Confessions Part II"
"Do It to Me"
2008 "Before I Met You" Writer & producer Here I Stand
2010 "Foolin' Around" Writer & producer Raymond v. Raymond
2019 "Don't Waste My Time" Writer & producer Confession 2

References

  1. ^ ASCAP.
  2. ^ Chadbourne, Eugene. "Bryan-Michael Cox – Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Georgia Music Hall Of Fame Inductees". Georgia Music Channel. Archived from the original on November 9, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  4. ^ Turner, Kimberly (September 1, 2009). "In Tune: Bryan-Michael Cox". Atlanta Magazine. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  5. ^ Widran, Jonathan (January 16, 2007). "Bryan-Michael Cox Writes/Produces Hits With Mary J. Blige and Mariah Carey; Wins Best R&B Song Grammy". Songwriter Universe. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  6. ^ "Bio". Blazetrak. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d "Songs written by Bryan-Michael Cox". MusicVF. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  8. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  9. ^ Caulfield, Keith (February 7, 2016). "Adele's '25' Sales Surpass 8 Million in the U.S." Billboard. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  10. ^ "Grammy – Mariah Carey nominations". Grammy. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  11. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  12. ^ "GRAMMY Award – Mary J. Blige". Grammy. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  13. ^ "Making Hits With Bryan-Michael Cox". Grammy. December 2, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  14. ^ Butler, Susan (October 28, 2006). "SESAC Goes South". Billboard. Retrieved November 2, 2018.

External links