In his early work, he generally chose not to sample, instead using the Korg Trinity and Triton keyboards and seeking to accentuate the performance aspect of his music. Truman High School, he started to work for his uncles, Joaquin (Waah) and Darrin (Dee) Dean, who were co-CEOs of the Ruff Ryders record label.

After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, due to his repeated involvement in violent behavior at Harry S. After obtaining the necessary equipment from his stepfather and uncles, he began DJing as a teenager and enjoyed a modicum of success. He spent much of his childhood raised by his mother in the North East Bronx, where he first encountered hip hop. Life and career 1978–2006: Early life and career beginnings The two were featured in their first cover shoot in 2018 for Cultured Magazine. Dean is married to American musician Alicia Keys, with whom he has two children. He has been a member of trustees at the Brooklyn Museum since 2015, and a creative director for the companies Monster Cable and Reebok. Aside from music, Dean has also added multiple entrepreneurial endeavors to his repertoire, including fashion design, art collecting, and board directing. Fellow American rapper and producer Kanye West called Dean 'the best rap producer of all time'. ranked him number 27 on its list of the 'Top 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Producers', and The Source included him on its list of the '20 greatest producers' in the magazine's 20-year history. With a career spanning over two decades, his catalog includes ' Ruff Ryders' Anthem', ' Party Up (Up in Here)' (DMX), ' Gotta Man' (Eve), ' Jigga My Nigga', ' Girl's Best Friend' ( Jay-Z), ' Upgrade U', ' Check on It', ' Ring the Alarm' ( Beyoncé), ' Good Times' ( Styles P), ' Bring 'Em Out', ' Swing Ya Rag' ( T.I.), ' Hotel', ' I'm a Hustla' (Cassidy), ' Touch It' ( Busta Rhymes), ' Ultralight Beam' ( Kanye West), and more.ĭean was named the first 'Producer in Residence' at New York University (NYU), for the 2010–11 academic year.

Alongside fellow musician Timbaland, Dean is known for creating the popular webcast series Verzuz in 2020.ĭean has produced several hit singles for a number of prominent artists across different music genres, such as hip hop, pop, soul, rock and R&B.

In November 2018, Dean released his second album, Poison. Stories, released in 2002, and later his debut studio album, One Man Band Man in 2007. Dean went on to release two albums under the label the first was a compilation, titled Swizz Beatz Presents G.H.E.T.T.O. He went on to sign multiple artists to the label, including Eve, Mashonda and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, among others. Working with DMX as his producer, DJ and hype man, helped Dean gain prominence as a high-profile personality in hip hop.ĭean later found a protégé in Philadelphia-based rapper Cassidy, whose success helped the launch of his own label imprint, Full Surface, in 2001. At the age of 18, he started to gain recognition in the hip hop industry through his family's record label, Ruff Ryders, as well as his friendship and work with Yonkers-based rapper DMX. Born and raised in the Bronx borough of New York City, Dean initially embarked on his musical career as a DJ. Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, rapper, disc jockey (DJ) and songwriter.

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