Swizz Beatz
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Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American rapper, record producer, and DJ. Born and raised in the Bronx borough of New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ in 1994. At the age of 18, he gained recognition in the music industry through his family's record label Ruff Ryders Entertainment and affiliation with its flagship artist, Yonkers-based rapper DMX. Dean emerged as a high-profile figure in East Coast hip-hop through his tenure as DMX's hype man, DJ and producer. Dean later found a protégé in Philadelphia-based rapper Cassidy, whose success foresaw the launch of Dean's own label imprint, Full Surface Records in 2001. The label has since signed acts including Eve, Mashonda and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. As a recording artist himself, he released his compilation album, Swizz Beatz Presents G.H.E.T.T.O. Stories (2002) and debut studio album, One Man Band Man (2007) through the label; the latter peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200 despite mixed critical reception. He signed with Epic Records to release his second album, Poison (2018). As a producer, Dean has been credited on releases by music industry artists in hip-hop, pop, soul, rock, and R&B. With a career spanning over two decades, his works include "Ruff Ryders' Anthem", "Party Up (Up in Here)" (DMX), "Upgrade U", "Check on It", "Ring the Alarm" (Beyoncé), "Bring 'Em Out" (T.I.), "Hotel" (Cassidy), "Touch It" (Busta Rhymes), "Fancy" (Drake), "Famous" (Kanye West), and "Uproar" (Lil Wayne), among others. Dean has won a Grammy Award from five nominations. He was named the inaugural "Producer in Residence" at New York University in 2010, and The Source magazine included him on their 2008 list of the "20 Greatest Producers" of the last 20 years. Kanye West has referred to Dean as "the best rap producer of all time". Aside from music, Dean has also been involved in fashion design, art collection, and board directing—he has been a member of trustees at the Brooklyn Museum since 2015, and served as a creative director for the companies Monster Cable and Reebok. With his wife Alicia Keys, he jointly won the Producers & Engineers Wing Award by The Recording Academy for "outstanding contributions to music" in 2018, and the couple were featured in their first cover shoot for Cultured Magazine that same year.