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Sid 'Uncle Jamz' Johnson is an American songwriter, producer and personal manager.
He co-wrote Midnight Star's early 1980s ballad "Slow Jam", and The Deele's "Two Occasions" (for which he received a BMI award) with Babyface. He received another BMI award for Field Mob's "Sick of Being Lonely". He was also credited as a co-writer of Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together," which took elements from "Two Occasions." He has co-written, produced or executive produced, Billboard charting singles for Manchild, The Boys, Shalamar, The Mac Band, Dynasty, Renaizzance, Next, Field Mob and Suthern Klick, plus album tracks for Babyface, Midnight Star, Ron Banks of The Dramatics, Usher and Monica, The Whispers and Field Mob, plus the Soul Food (soundtrack) . His works have appeared on seven RIAA gold albums, five platinum albums and four multi-platinum albums. He was inducted into the Soul Music Hall of Fame in 2019. Additionally he has two Grammy participation awards for Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together".
On August 30, 2006, at the BMI Urban Music Awards in the Roseland Ballroom, New York City, Johnson received four awards as a writer and publisher on Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together".
Johnson now heads M.E.C.A.P., an entertainment company that handles songwriting, record production, entertainment consultation and management consultation. He manages: hip-hop acts: Twelve (of Indianapolis) and Starz Of Da Bizzare (of Portland, Oregon); R&B songstress Sasé (Florida); and singer/acoustic guitarist Damon Karl (Indianapolis); singers Kelsi Marie (Indianapolis); singer T.Hill (Sacramento); guitarist/singer Starm (Los Angeles); and r&b vocal group 4Cast (Indianapolis). Plus actor/models Greg Lismon, Jr. (Arizona) and Da'Rell (Indianapolis).
He also does entertainment consultation for various acts and is aided by his assistant Charles Suttice. Additionally he partners with music producers DJGuyWes, E-Bo and Nut Bush. He has a YouTube Channel for his acts called MECAP Music.
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 Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Steven Lewis are an American R&B/pop songwriting and record production team. Their productions have received commercial success since the 1980s with various artists, most extensively Janet Jackson. They have written 31 top ten hits in the UK and 41 in the US. In 2022, the duo were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Excellence category.
Mariah Carey is the debut studio album by American R&B singer Mariah Carey, released on June 12, 1990, by Columbia Records. Its music incorporates a range of contemporary genres with a mix of slow ballads and up-tempo tracks. Originally, Carey wrote four songs with Ben Margulies, which solely constituted her demo tape. After Carey was signed to Columbia, all four songs, after being altered and partially re-recorded, made the final cut for the album. Aside from Margulies, Carey worked with a range of professional writers and producers, all of whom were hired by Columbia CEO, Tommy Mottola. Mariah Carey featured production and writing from Rhett Lawrence, Ric Wake and Narada Michael Walden, all of whom were top record producers at the time. Together with Carey, they conceived the album and reconstructed her original demo tape.
The Emancipation of Mimi is the tenth studio album by American R&B singer Mariah Carey, released through Island Records on March 30, 2005. The album was considered Carey's "comeback album" by critics and became her highest-selling release in the US in a decade. In composing the album, Carey collaborated with many songwriters and producers throughout 2004, including Jermaine Dupri, Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Twista, Nelly, Pharrell Williams, and James "Big Jim" Wright, many of whom appeared as featured guests on select tracks.
"We Belong Together" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from her tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi (2005). The song was released on March 15, 2005, through Island Records, as the second single from the album. "We Belong Together" was written by Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Manuel Seal, and Johntá Austin and produced by the former three. Since the song interpolates lyrics from Bobby Womack's "If You Think You're Lonely Now" (1981) and the Deele's "Two Occasions" (1987), the songwriters of those respective songs are credited. "We Belong Together" is built on a simple piano arrangement with an understated backbeat. The lyrics chronicle a woman's desperation for her former lover to return.
Daydream is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released on September 26, 1995, by Columbia Records. The follow-up to her internationally successful studio album Music Box (1993), and the holiday album Merry Christmas (1994), Daydream differed from her previous releases by leaning increasingly towards urban music. Throughout the project, Carey collaborated with Walter Afanasieff, with whom she wrote and produced most of her previous albums. With Daydream, Carey took more control over the musical direction as well as the album's composition. Carey considered the album to be the beginning of her musical and vocal transition, a change that would become more evident in her sixth studio album Butterfly (1997). During the album's production, Carey endured many creative differences with her label and then-husband Tommy Mottola. On Daydream, Carey collaborated with Jermaine Dupri, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and R&B group Boyz II Men. With Afanasieff's assistance and the addition of a few contemporary producers, she was able to make a subtle transition into the contemporary R&B market, after previously only pursuing pop, adult contemporary and traditional R&B music.
Antonio Marquis "L.A." Reid is an American record executive, A&R representative, and record producer. He has served as the chairman and CEO of Epic Records and The Island Def Jam Music Group, as well as the president and CEO of Arista Records. He co-founded the record label Hitco Entertainment in 2017, which was sold to Concord in 2022.
"When You Believe" is a song made for the 1998 DreamWorks musical animated feature The Prince of Egypt, music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. A pop single version of "When You Believe" performed by American singers Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, with additional music and lyrics by writer-producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, was also recorded for the film's end credits and its soundtrack album by DreamWorks Records. Additionally, the song was released as a single on November 2, 1998, serving as the lead single for the soundtrack and for both Houston's fourth studio album, My Love Is Your Love by Arista Records, and the second single and first commercial single for Carey's first compilation album, #1's by Columbia Records. The original version of the song, featured in the narrative portion of the film, is performed by Sally Dworsky, Michelle Pfeiffer, and a children's choir soloist Andrew Bryan. "When You Believe" is described as a big ballad, with meaningful and inspirational lyrics, describing the ability each person has to achieve miracles when they reach out to God and believe.
"Love Takes Time" is a song recorded by American singer Mariah Carey for her eponymous debut studio album (1990). Written by Carey and Ben Margulies, while produced by Walter Afanasieff, the song was released as the second single from the album on August 22, 1990, by Columbia Records. An adult contemporary-influenced ballad, the song follows its protagonist lamenting the loss of a lover and confesses that "love takes time" to heal and that her feelings for her ex-lover remain.
#1's is the first greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released by Columbia Records on November 16, 1998. The album contained Carey's then thirteen number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as four new songs. In Japan, the album also included her popular single, "All I Want for Christmas Is You", which was Carey's biggest selling single there.
"My All" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from her sixth studio album, Butterfly (1997). It was released as the album's fifth single overall and second commercial single on April 21, 1998, by Columbia Records. The song was written and produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff. "My All" is built around Latin guitar chord melodies, and makes subtle use of Latin percussion throughout the first chorus, before taking on a more conventional R&B-style beat. Carey was inspired to write the song and use Latin inspired melodies after a trip to Puerto Rico, where she was influenced by the culture. The song's lyrics tell of a lonely woman declaring she would give "her all" to have just one more night with her estranged lover. It is the first song Carey wrote for the Butterfly album.
"Hero" is a song by American singer-songwriter, and record producer Mariah Carey released on October 18, 1993, via Columbia Records as the second single from her third studio album, Music Box (1993). The song was written and produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff. While writing the song, Carey did not connect to its style or sound, therefore forfeiting it to Gloria Estefan, who was intended to sing it for the soundtrack of the film of the same name (1992). However, after being convinced by Sony executive Tommy Mottola to keep it for herself, she changed some of the lyrics to more precisely fit her personality. Lyrically, the song is regarded as one of Carey's most inspirational and personal ballads, with its protagonist declaring that even though people may feel discouraged or down at times, in reality, they are "heroes" if they look inside themselves and see their own inner strength; in time, it will help them "find the way".
Ben Margulies is an American songwriter and record producer as well as a drummer, guitarist, pianist, and singer. He is best known for co-writing seven of the eleven songs on Mariah Carey's self-titled debut album with her, including the number-one hits "Vision of Love", "Love Takes Time", and "Someday." The album was nominated for multiple Grammys and has sold over twenty million records worldwide. "Love Takes Time" also won Song of the Year at the 1992 BMI Pop Awards.
Emotions is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released on September 17, 1991, by Columbia Records. The album deviated from the formula of Carey's 1990 self-titled debut album, as she had more creative control over the material she produced and recorded. Additionally, Emotions features influences from a range of different genres, as well as 1950s, 1960s and 1970s balladry infusion. On the record, Carey worked with a variety of producers and writers, including Walter Afanasieff, the only holdover from her previous effort. Additionally, Carey wrote and produced the album's material with Robert Clivillés and David Cole from C+C Music Factory and Carole King, with whom she wrote one song.
The Deele is an American band from Cincinnati, Ohio who achieved success in the 1980s with such hit singles as "Body Talk" and "Two Occasions". When the group began recording in the early 1980s, the lineup consisted of Indianapolis native Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds along with Cincinnati musicians Antonio "L.A." Reid, Carlos "Satin" Greene, Darnell "Dee" Bristol, Stanley "Stick" Burke, and Kevin "Kayo" Roberson. In 2007, Bristol, Greene, Roberson & Burke reformed the group with several new members.
Tender Lover is the second studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter Babyface. The album was released on July 7, 1989. It is the follow-up to his debut Lovers (1986). It was his first album with SOLAR after the label entered into a distribution deal with Epic Records. In some regions of Europe, Tender Lover was released with a different cover picture and simply titled Babyface.
"Two Occasions" is an R&B song written by Babyface, Darnell Bristol and Sid Johnson. It was produced by Babyface and L.A. Reid for the Deele's third studio album Eyes of a Stranger (1987). The ballad was released as the album's second single in December 1987. It is the only song on the album that features Babyface on lead vocals, which alternate between himself, Bristol, and Carlos "Satin" Greene throughout the course of the song. It has since been remade into a live version with added vocals from Babyface with all original vocals from the Deele intact; this version appeared on the 12-inch maxi single and also three years later on his album, A Closer Look.
"Side Effects" is a song by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey from her eleventh studio album, E=MC² (2008). It was written by Carey, Scott Storch, Crystal Johnson and the song's featured artist, Young Jeezy. It was inspired by Carey's marriage to record executive Tommy Mottola and his controlling nature over her and her career. Carey discusses how she still deals with the side effects of the experiences that she encountered during the relationship. Critical response to the song was positive, with many critics highlighting it as an album standout, praising its candid lyrics and honesty. It charted at number 93 on the US Billboard Pop 100 chart.
Paul Boutin is a French-born American music mixer, audio engineer and a long-time collaborator with producer/songwriter/artist Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.