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Gordon "Commissioner Gordon" Williams is an American record producer, audio engineer, and mixer. Dubbed the "Commissioner" by rapper KRS-One, his resume includes multiple Grammy Awards and numerous Gold and Platinum albums.[ citation needed ]
Williams' musical roots can be traced back to the Bronx. As a teenager, he experienced the advent of hip hop [ citation needed ] as a breakthrough musical genre and culture. He started out as a DJ,[ citation needed ] and from there delved into song production.[ citation needed ] He left Rutgers University,[ citation needed ] and attended New York's Center for Media Arts.[ citation needed ] After graduating, Williams was signed by an independent record label[ which? ] as a producer[ citation needed ] and member of a group,[ which? ] which scored a top-five dance record.[ citation needed ] He then earned a production deal with Motown Records,[ citation needed ] which led to Williams' emergence as a programmer[ clarification needed ] and re-mixer.
Soon, his credits included projects with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Teddy Riley, Babyface, Stacy Lattisaw, Diana Ross, New Edition, Nile Rodgers and Quincy Jones.[ citation needed ] In 1998, Williams further extended his creative reach and became Senior Director of A&R at Sony Music Entertainment.[ citation needed ] During this time, he worked on Lauryn Hill's solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill [1] and Will Smith's movie and soundtrack Men in Black .[ citation needed ] His label duties involved looking after the likes of[ clarification needed ] Alicia Keys, Wyclef Jean and 50 Cent.[ citation needed ]
On The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Williams tied the vocals, music and effects together to help create one of the biggest-selling albums of 1998–1999.[ citation needed ] The album was critically acclaimed[ by whom? ] and the "Commissioner" won two Grammys for his work on what was hailed as the Album of the Year. During those years, he was also the live sound mixer for Hill's world tour. [2] [3]
In 2000, Williams won another Grammy Award [ citation needed ] for participating in the mixing of Carlos Santana's multi-platinum Supernatural (Arista) which also won for Album of the Year. His credits include Joss Stone's multi-platinum Mind Body & Soul ,[ citation needed ] Damian Marley’s Grammy Award-winning Welcome to Jamrock ,[ citation needed ] as well as Amy Winehouse’s critically acclaimed debut album entitled Frank . [4]
In 2007, Williams received an honorary degree from Gibbs College [ citation needed ] for writing the curriculum for their first audio engineering program. The program was accredited by the state of New Jersey and is currently an accredited associate degree course.
In 2010, Williams was introduced to Bill Strickland of the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild, and agreed to implement his first program at one of Strickland's replication sites, NewBridge Center for Art and Technology in Cleveland. He has since set up programs in Ohio, New York and New Jersey.[ citation needed ] Williams is also a professor at Long Island University.[ citation needed ]
Williams is the founder of the Lalabela Alliance, a multi-faceted collective of companies with various specialties in the development of content, marketing, distribution and education.[ citation needed ] The Alliance strives to appeal to a wide and culturally diverse demographic producing, marketing and distributing music, film, television, gaming and multimedia content. [5]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill | Grammy Award for Best R&B Album | Won | [6] |
| Grammy Award for Album of the Year | Won | |||
| 2000 | Supernatural | Won |
Lauryn Noelle Hill is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She is often credited for breaking barriers for female rappers, popularizing melodic rap, and pioneering neo soul for mainstream audiences. In addition to being named one of the 50 Great Voices by NPR, Hill was listed as one of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone. In 2015, she was named the greatest female rapper by Billboard. Her other accolades include eight Grammy Awards—the most for any female rapper. With over 50 million records sold worldwide, she is one of the best-selling female rappers of all time.
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is the debut solo studio album by American rapper and singer Lauryn Hill. It was released on August 19, 1998, by Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records. Recorded after the Fugees embarked on a hiatus, the album was almost entirely written and produced by Hill. It is a concept album about educating oneself on love, with lyrical themes encompassing relationship complexities, interpersonal conflicts, motherhood, and faith. Predominantly a neo soul and R&B record, it incorporates genres such as hip hop, reggae, and soul, and features guest appearances from Carlos Santana, Mary J. Blige, and D'Angelo.
The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is an award presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales, chart position, or critical reception." Commonly known as "The Big Award", Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammy Awards, and is one of the four general field categories alongside Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year that have been presented annually since the 1st Annual Grammy Awards in 1959.
The 41st Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 24, 1999, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1998. Lauryn Hill received the most nominations with 10, setting a record for the most nominations for female artist in one night. During the ceremony, Hill became the first woman to receive 5 Grammy Awards in a single night, and the first woman rapper to take home Best New Artist. Her album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill became the first hip hop album to win the award for Album of the Year. Hill's Grammys sweep is widely considered as one of the biggest moments in hip hop history.
Albert Anderson is an American-born songwriter and guitarist.
Paul Staveley O'Duffy is a British record producer, composer and mixer. He is best known for producing Swing Out Sister's multi-platinum debut album It's Better to Travel, for his BMI nomination as "Producer of the Year" in 1987, his work with John Barry and his work with Amy Winehouse, which resulted in his co-writing one of the tracks on her multi-platinum album Back to Black.
Julian Ricardo Marley is a British-Jamaican reggae musician, songwriter, producer and humanitarian. He is the son of reggae music icon Bob Marley, and Lucy Pounder. In 2024, he received a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album for his collaboration album with Antaeus, Colors of Royal (2023).
"Doo Wop (That Thing)" is a song by American rapper and singer Lauryn Hill from her debut solo studio album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998). It was written and produced by Hill. The song was released as her solo debut and lead single from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill on August 10, 1998, by Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records. No commercial release was originally intended for the single in the US, but limited-quantity physical formats were issued two months later, on October 27.
"Can't Take My Eyes Off You" is a 1967 song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio, and first recorded and released as a single by Gaudio's Four Seasons bandmate Frankie Valli. The song was among his biggest hits, earning a gold record and reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week, making it Valli's biggest solo hit until he hit No. 1 in 1975 with "My Eyes Adored You".
"Everything Is Everything" is a song recorded by American recording artist Lauryn Hill for her debut solo studio album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998). It was written by Hill and Johari Newton, and produced by Hill. During the recording sessions, Hill wanted to write about injustice and struggles amongst youth communities in inner city areas of the United States. The song contains R&B, 1960s soul, and hip hop influences. It marked the first commercial appearance of singer and pianist John Legend, who was 19 years old when he played the piano on the song. The song was released as the third and final single from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill on May 3, 1999, by Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records.
"To Zion" is a song recorded by American rapper and singer Lauryn Hill for her debut solo studio album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998). It was written and produced by Hill herself, while Che Pope received a co-production credit under his pseudonym Che Guevara. Featuring American guitarist Carlos Santana, "To Zion" is an acoustic Spanish guitar-driven hip hop and gospel track. Lyrically, it is a tribute to Hill's oldest son Zion David Marley, to whom she gave birth in 1997, during her relationship with Rohan Marley.
Richard E. Chertoff is an American record producer and songwriter. He is credited on the singles Joan Osborne's "One of Us", Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and "Time After Time" and Sophie B. Hawkins' "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover". Chertoff has received five Grammy Award nominations—twice for Album of the Year, twice for Record of the Year, and also for Producer of the Year.
American singer and rapper Lauryn Hill has released one studio album, one live album, and 20 singles. She has also written for and performed on several other tracks.
Paul Lancaster Wiltshire is an Australian entrepreneur, record producer and songwriter.
"Nothing Even Matters" is a song recorded by American rapper and singer Lauryn Hill for her debut solo studio album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998). It was written and produced by Hill herself, and features a guest appearance from American singer D'Angelo. The song is an electric piano-driven neo soul, R&B and quiet storm ballad. Lyrically a love song, it discusses falling in love and exploring an idyllic romantic relationship, presumably in reference to Hill's relationship with Rohan Marley.
D. (Derick) Prosper began his career as a poet on the NPS National Poetry Slam circuit. He won several regional competitions and featured on the 1994 Providence Poetry Slam Team. D. Prosper was the youngest poet featured on the tour. He ranked fourth in the nation at the NPS finals in Asheville, North Carolina. Prosper was also featured in respected publication Fast Folk Music Magazine. He eventually earned a coveted spot on the 1994 Lollapalooza Tour D. Prosper's love of spoken word poetry ignited his passion for hip-hop music.
Che Pope is an American record executive, record producer, and songwriter from Boston, Massachusetts, also the former COO of GOOD Music and the founder of Wrkshp Media. He is perhaps best known for producing on the Grammy Award for Album of the Year winning album Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and the Grammy-nominated "Bound 2" by Kanye West, as well as executive producing Cruel Summer and co-executive producing Yeezus.
"Lost Ones" is a diss song by American rapper and singer-songwriter Lauryn Hill. It was released on August 25, 1998, through Ruffhouse and Columbia Records. The song was written by Hill and produced by Hill, alongside Vada Nobles and Che Pope. It features an interpolation of "Bam Bam" by Sister Nancy. Despite not naming him in the song, the song is widely presumed to be about Hill's former Fugees bandmate Wyclef Jean.
Brian Vibberts is an American audio engineer, a native of Portland, Connecticut, who has been active since 1991. He is a 7-time Grammy Award winner and has participated in the making of numerous albums that have resulted in Grammy Award nominations and winners. Also known by the nickname, "Dr Vibb," he has creatively recorded or mixed many multi-platinum artists in many genres, including Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, The Pussycat Dolls, Bon Jovi, Natasha Bedingfield, Green Day, Trace Adkins, Faith Hill, Toby Keith, Ice Cube, Boyz II Men, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Chick Corea, Brad Paisley, Ringo Starr, Mariah Carey and Tony Bennett.
Rudolph Bird is a drummer and percussionist with over thirty years of experience as a stage and studio musician. He has toured throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and Africa with many musicians including Miles Davis, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Lauryn Hill, Kenny Garrett, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and Leela James. Bird is often requested for studio work and is featured on the albums of Amy Winehouse, Joss Stone, Nas, Leela James, Hill's award-winning album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and Michael Jackson's posthumously released album, Michael. Bird has taught drums and percussion in New York and New Jersey at Dance Theatre of Harlem, Harlem School of the Arts, The Institute of Music for Children, and Essex County College for grades six through twelve.
