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Harvey Mason Jr. | |
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Birth name | Harvey Jay Mason Jr. |
Born | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | June 3, 1968
Origin | Los Angeles, California |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Record producer, songwriter, movie producer CEO of The Recording Academy |
Years active | 1976–present |
Website | harveymasonmedia |
Harvey Jay Mason Jr. (born June 3, 1968) is an American record producer, songwriter, film producer, and current CEO of The Recording Academy. He is known for having written and produced songs for artists including Aretha Franklin, Justin Bieber, Michael Jackson, Ariana Grande, Elton John, Britney Spears, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Justin Timberlake, Whitney Houston, and Chris Brown. In addition, he has produced music for television and films, including Dreamgirls (with Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson), Sparkle (with Whitney Houston), Pitch Perfect (with Hailee Steinfeld and Anna Kendrick), Sing (with Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson and Tori Kelly), Straight Outta Compton (with Dr. Dre and Ice Cube), and The Wiz Live! (with Mary J. Blige and Neyo). He was elected as the chairman of The Recording Academy in June 2019, became its interim president and CEO on January 16, 2020, and then assumed the permanent role of CEO on May 13, 2021. [1] [2] He also played college basketball with several post season appearances, including appearing with the 1987–88 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team in the 1988 Men's Final Four.
Mason was born in June 3,1968 in Boston, Massachusetts to Harvey Mason Sr., a jazz drummer and Sally Mason, who both attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston. [3] As a child, Harvey moved with his family to Los Angeles and followed his father to many recording sessions with such greats as Quincy Jones, the Brothers Johnson and Herbie Hancock. Mason Jr. penned his first song at the age of eight for Grover Washington Jr. titled "Love Makes It Better". [4] [5]
After attending the University of Arizona on a basketball scholarship from 1986 to 1990 and playing in the 1988 Final Four, he began working as a songwriter/record producer. Some early work included tracks for British pop artist Michelle Gayle's album "Sensational" in 1997 and the jazz/soul duo Imprompt2. He co-produced the jazz album "Ratamacue" with his father in 1997. He also worked with Mason Sr.'s group Fourplay, In 1998 he produced the track called "Sexual Healing" featuring El DeBarge in 1998. [6]
In 1997, Mason Jr. also penned the track "Truthfully" which caught the attention of record producer Rodney Jerkins. The track was produced for Brandy's 1998 album "Never Say Never". [7] Mason Jr. then worked with Jerkins over the next three years on projects including "Say My Name" by Destiny's Child, "It's Not Right, But It's Okay" by Whitney Houston, and "He Wasn't Man Enough" by Toni Braxton. He also worked on the album Invincible by Michael Jackson. [8]
In 2000, Mason Jr. co-wrote the track "I Like Them Girls" with Damon Thomas for Tyrese's album "2000 Watts". [9] The success of the song led to a partnership and the formation of Underdog Entertainment. The Underdogs produced R&B and pop hits like "How You Gonna Act Like That" by Tyrese, "Gots Ta Be" by B2K, "O" by Omarion, "More To Life" by Stacie Orrico, "Sorry 2004" by Ruben Studdard, and "No Air" by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown. [10] In 2001, he collaborated with British designer and former member of the Spice Girls Victoria Beckham on her debut album including tracks like "Girlfriend" and some B-sides. [11] In 2004, The Underdogs signed a label deal through BMG under Clive Davis [12] and created Underdog Music Publishing, a joint venture with Rondor/ Universal Music. [13] In 2006, The Underdogs produced the soundtrack to the motion picture "Dreamgirls" which won the Critic's Choice Award in 2007 for best movie soundtrack. [14] After a three-year hiatus, The Underdogs reunited in 2011 to produce "Up 2 You" for Chris Brown's album "F.A.M.E.". The Underdogs wrote and produced the song "The Living Proof" performed by Mary J. Blige for the movie "The Help". The Underdogs wrote and produced the second single from Chris Brown's album Fortune titled "Turn Up the Music". In 2012 The Underdogs produced the vocals for the film Pitch Perfect , starring Anna Kendrick and Brittany Snow. [15] In 2014, they produced South Korean girl group Girls' Generation's hit "Mr. Mr." & its labelmate Exo's "Overdose", [16] as well as the music for biopic "Get on Up" about the life of James Brown. In 2015, The Underdogs produced the music for the sequel to the moderately successful "Pitch Perfect" movie, "Pitch Perfect 2" and the highly acclaimed film "Straight Outta Compton" about the rap group N.W.A.
Mason Jr. formed his independent company Harvey Mason Media in 2008. It encompasses his film and record productions, music publishing, and website ventures. Record productions include the 2008 releases of Chris Brown, "Superhuman" from the album Exclusive, Britney Spears', "Mannequin" from the album Circus [17] and Jennifer Hudson's, "You Pulled Me Through" from her self-titled debut album. He produced the title track "I Look To You" along with Tricky Stewart and the cover of "Song for You" along with Stargate for Whitney Houston's 2009 album "I Look To You". [18] In 2010, Mason Jr. produced the updated version of "One Shining Moment" featuring Jennifer Hudson for CBS Sports to be featured during the Final Four. [19] Mason Jr. produced and worked as A&R on Toni Braxton's Pulse. In 2011, Mason Jr. produced the first single "Where You At" along with R. Kelly for Jennifer Hudson's album "I Remember Me"
Harvey Mason Media produced the feature film More than a Game in 2008. [20] [21] [22] The movie documents the rise of LeBron James and his high school teammates from their early AAU basketball days to the high school national championship stage. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2008, where it won first runner up to best film, "Slumdog Millionaire". [23] Lions Gate Films distributed the film, which was released during the fall of 2009. [24] Harvey Mason Media and Interscope Records distributed the soundtrack album titled "Music Inspired by More Than a Game". More than a Game was nominated for best documentary at the 2010 NAACP Image Awards and the Independent Spirit Awards. [25]
Mason Jr. appeared on the 2011 season of American Idol as a mentor/producer, working with Pia Toscano and Jacob Lusk and worked as a mentor/producer on the 2013 season of The X Factor USA . He has also made numerous appearances on the reality series Braxton Family Values on the We TV network starring Toni Braxton and Tamar Braxton.
In 2012, Mason Jr. was the last producer to work with Whitney Houston when he produced the songs "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" and "Celebrate" for the movie Sparkle.
Following the success of Pitch Perfect 2, Get On Up, and Straight Outta Compton, Harvey served as music producer for the NBC broadcast of The Wiz Live! which aired on December 3, 2015, and he produced over 50 songs for the animated musical SING from Universal/Illumination Entertainment which was released on December 3, 2016. Sing received two Golden Globe Awards nominations for Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Song for the song "Faith". [26]
In 2017, Mason Jr. served as executive music producer for Pitch Perfect 3 – the final installment of the blockbuster Universal Pictures franchise, as well as the musical reworking of the 1980s classic Valley Girl (film) for MGM and USA Network's Unsolved, a scripted true crime series based on the murder investigations of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. He also served as composer and executive music producer on director Anthony Mandler's feature debut Monster which was nominated for the 2018 Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. [27]
In March 2018, Billboard announced that Mason Jr. joined the advisory board of Tunedly, an online recording studio for songwriters. [28]
Mason Jr. produced the music for NBC's Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert! which aired on April 1, 2018, [29] and Bad Times at the El Royale for 20th Century Fox directed by Drew Goddard. [30] Most recently, Mason Jr. produced MGM biopic "Respect", starring Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin. At the time, he had six more projects in development at studios slated for 2023.[ citation needed ]
Harvey Mason Jr. is currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer of The Recording Academy, having assumed the role on May 13, 2021. [31] [32]
Mason Jr. was elected to the board of the directors for the Los Angeles chapter of The Recording Academy (National Academy of Record Arts and Sciences) in 2007 and the National Board of Trustees in 2009. He has participated in Grammy Foundation events including Grammy in the Schools, Grammy Camp [33] and the MusiCares Foundation. Mason Jr. is the Chairperson of the National Advocacy Committee and Executive Co-chair of the Producers and Engineers Wing.
Mason married his wife, Britt Burton, in a private ceremony in 2020. Burton is known for her songwriting, and serves as creative director for Harvey Mason Media.
Mason has two children, his son Trey and his daughter Mia, who both live and work in Scottsdale, Arizona. Trey is a corporate counsel for Troon, and Mia is an associate marketing manager at QuidelOrtho.
Mason Jr. played basketball throughout high school and college. As a guard on the Crescenta Valley High School team in La Crescenta, California he was selected to the All-CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) team in 1984, 1985 and 1986. He received a full-scholarship to the University of Arizona and played for Hall of Fame coach, Lute Olson. Mason Jr.'s teams won the Pac-10 title in 1988, 1989 and 1990 and played in the Final Four in 1988. [34] Notable teammates include Steve Kerr (Chicago Bulls), Jud Buechler (Chicago Bulls), Bison Dele (Chicago Bulls), Sean Elliott (San Antonio Spurs) and Kenny Lofton (Major League Baseball six time all-star). [35] Multiple knee surgeries sidelined Mason Jr.'s hope of a continuing basketball career. Mason Jr. serves on the National Leadership Council and the Board of Trustees for the University of Arizona.
Whitney Elizabeth Houston was an American singer, actress, film producer, and philanthropist. Known as "the Voice", she was ranked second on Rolling Stone's list of the greatest singers of all time and is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with over 220 million records sold worldwide. Houston influenced many singers in the recording industry and was known for her powerful, soulful vocals, vocal improvisation skills, as well as popularizing the use of gospel singing techniques in pop music, and live performances. She had 11 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and is the only artist to have seven consecutive number-one singles on the chart. Houston also enhanced her popularity by entering the film industry. Her accolades include eight Grammy Awards, 22 American Music Awards, two Emmy Awards, and 30 Guinness World Records. Houston's inductions include the Grammy Hall of Fame (twice), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame, the BET Walk of Fame, the Soul Train Hall of Fame, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, the New Jersey Hall of Fame, and the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.
Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the "Queen of Soul", Rolling Stone twice named her as the greatest singer of all time.
Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Throughout his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA-certified platinum albums and sold over 40 million records worldwide. Known as the "Velvet Voice", Vandross has been recognized as one of the 200 greatest singers of all time (2023) by Rolling Stone, as well as one of the greatest R&B artists by Billboard. In addition, NPR named him one of the 50 Great Voices. He was the recipient of eight Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year in 2004 for a track recorded not long before his death, "Dance with My Father". In 2021, he was posthumously inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.
The 36th Annual Grammy Awards were held on March 1, 1994. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Whitney Houston was the Big Winner winning 3 awards including Record of the Year and Album of the Year while opening the show with "I Will Always Love You".
The 39th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 26, 1997, at Madison Square Garden, New York City. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Babyface was the night's biggest winner, with 3 awards. Celine Dion, Toni Braxton, Sheryl Crow, and The Fugees won two awards. Celine Dion for "Best Pop Album" and "Album of the Year" and Toni Braxton for "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" and "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance". The show was hosted by Ellen Degeneres who also performed the opening with Shawn Colvin, Bonnie Rait, and Chaka Khan.
David Walter Foster is a Canadian record producer, film composer, and music executive. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. Foster's career began as a keyboardist for the pop group Skylark in the early 1970s before focusing largely on composing and production. Often in tandem with songwriter Diane Warren, Foster has contributed to material for prominent music industry artists in various genres since then, and is credited with production on over 40 pop hits on the Billboard Hot 100. He has also chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016.
Kenneth Brian Edmonds, better known by his stage name Babyface, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has written and produced over 26 number-one R&B hits throughout his career and has won 13 Grammy Awards. He was ranked number 20 on NME's 50 of The Greatest Producers Ever list.
James Edward Cleveland was an American gospel singer, musician, and composer. Known as the "King of Gospel," Cleveland was a driving force behind the creation of the modern gospel sound by incorporating traditional black gospel, soul, pop, and jazz in arrangements for mass choirs.
Narada Michael Walden is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He acquired the nickname Narada from Sri Chinmoy.
Rodney Roy Jerkins, also known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists.
Delia Juanita Warrick, known professionally as Dee Dee Warwick, was an American soul singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she was the sister of singer Dionne Warwick, the niece of Cissy Houston, and a first cousin of singers Whitney Houston and Leontyne Price.
Tamar Estine Braxton is an American singer and television personality.
Kim Lamont Owens, better known by his stage name Kem, is an American R&B/soul singer-songwriter and producer. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Kem was raised in Pontiac, Michigan.
The Underdogs are an American R&B/pop production duo composed of Harvey Mason Jr. and Damon Thomas.
Simon Climie is an English songwriter, musician and record producer. He is best known as the former lead singer of the UK duo Climie Fisher.
Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture is a soundtrack album for the 2006 film Dreamgirls. The album was released by Music World Entertainment and Columbia Records on December 5, 2006 in two versions: a single-disc standard release, and a two-disc deluxe edition. The one-disc version includes highlights from the film's songs, including "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", "One Night Only", and "Listen", while the two disc version includes all songs present in the film alongside several bonus tracks.
Music Inspired by More than a Game is the official soundtrack album name for music taken from and inspired by the documentary film More than a Game. The film is centered on the life of LeBron James and was released in October 2009. The soundtrack and film were both executive produced by Harvey Mason Jr. on behalf of Interscope Records and Lionsgate. The soundtrack album was released on September 28, 2009 in the United Kingdom and September 29, 2009 in the United States by Zone 4 and Interscope Records.
Calling All Lovers is the fourth studio album by American R&B singer Tamar Braxton. It was released on October 2, 2015, by Epic Records and Streamline Records. The album was preceded by the release of two singles — "Let Me Know" and "If I Don't Have You".
Paul Boutin is a French-born American music mixer, audio engineer and a long-time collaborator with producer/songwriter/artist Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.
Antonio "Tony" Dixon is an American songwriter, singer and record producer, also known for his work with production duo The Underdogs and Eric Dawkins under the production moniker The Pentagon.
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