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THE ROWDY COLLECTION

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Dallas Austin is a Grammy award-winning Producer and Founder of Rowdy Records, was born in Columbus, Georgia, where he began playing guitar and keyboards at the age of seven. Austin has produced more than 60 hit singles that debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 list with over 20 songs spending numerous weeks in the Top 10 list most notably Boyz II Men, TLC and Madonna.

An original Atlanta music and film pioneer, Austin has had multiple Billboard number one hits, including “The Boy is Mine” from Brandy and Monica, and TLC’s “Creep.” Additionally, Austin’s work with TLC on the group’s critically acclaimed “Fanmail” album resulted Grammy for best R&B album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1999.

Austin is the Founder of the Dallas Austin Music Foundation which has put recording studios in more than ten Atlanta Public Schools and launched his artist in residency program at Georgia State University’s Center for Creative Industries in downtown Atlanta where he has supported community programming for youth with the Boys and Girls Club and the Urban League of Atlanta during the Summer of 2018.

In August 2018, Austin was the recipient of the prestigious Music Innovator Icon Award at the 3rd Annual Black Music Honors Awards in Nashville.

His first production assignment was former Klymaxx (“I Miss You”) member Joyce “Fenderella” Irby’s Motown single “Mr. DJ,” which had a rap by Doug E. Fresh. It went to number two R&B on Billboard’s charts in spring 1989. Other hits followed: Troop’s “I Will Always Love You,” Boyz II Men’s nine-million-selling Motown LP Cooleyhighharmony (number three pop,summer 1991), TLC’s four-million-selling OOOOOOOOh…On the TLC Tip (number 14 pop, summer 1992) and their double platinum album CrazySexy Cool (number eight pop, late 1994), Another Badd Creation’s gold Motown singles “Iesha” (number six R&B, number nine pop, fall 1990) and “Playground” (number four R&B, number ten pop, spring 1991), both from their platinum LP Coolin’ at the Playground Ya Know, to just name a few. Austin was also a member of Highland Place Mobsters.

Dallas Austin-related releases are Brandy’s “Never Say Neve”r, Monica’s “The Boy Is Mine” and “Miss Thang”, Michael Jackson’s” HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book 1″, For Real’s “Free”, TLC’s “Fanmail” and the import single “Unpretty (Remixes).” Madonna’s “Bedtime Stories”, A Few Good Men’s “Take a Dip”, Indigo Girls “‘Shaming of the Sun”, Aretha Franklin’s” A Rose Is Still a Rose”, Carnival: Rainforest Foundation Concert, Deborah Cox’s “Deborah Cox”, Lenny Kravitz’s “I Belong to You,” N’Dea Davenport’s N’Dea Davenport, Troop’s Attitude, After 7’s Takin’ My Time, Hi-Five’s Faithful, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince’s Code Red, Fishbone’s “Chim Chim’s Bad Ass Revenge”, Paula Abdul’s” Head Over Heels”, and the movie soundtracks to Boomerang, Small Soldiers, Nutty Professor (Eddie Murphy), Poetic Justice, and White Men Can’t Jump. ~ Ed Hogan, Rovi

With his thriving independent production career, Austin opened his own recording studio, DARP (Dallas Austin Recording Projects), in Atlanta. He also opened his own label, Rowdy Records (QT’s “My Baby Mama” and “For Real”), which was distributed by Arista/BMG. Later, he began the Volcano Records-associated label, Freeworld.

In 1992 Austin launched Rowdy Clothing and a decade later began his foray into film and TV when he produced his first motion picture project Drumline in 2002, followed by his cult classic, the film ATL. The films have grossed a combined $70M to date. Austin has also produced numerous soundtracks.

Austin was a contributing writer on the #1 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Song Four Five Seconds f/Paul McCartney, Rihanna and Kanye West.

In 2017 – 2018, Austin produced several new recordings including Cedric Gervais’ “Touch the Sky” f/Digital Farmclub, Dallas Austin presents “Leave With You” f/Novel, a debut EP featuring “Cool Enough” by X Factor Denmark 2017 winner Morten, Remy Ma f/Chris Brown “Brown Eyes” which reached #17 on the urban radio chart and most recently Hitco’s Klondike Blonde “No Smoke” who’s video has hit over 1M views in just three short weeks.

Austin is currently an Ambassador for the global Gumball race, and also the Global Citizen Forum along side Robert Deniro and the First Lady of Rwanda to name a few. He is a founding member of Tape London nightclub where he has welcomed Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Drake and The Weeknd, Cardi B and more.

Austin has received the highest honors most recently as a 2018 Black Music Honors “Music Innovator Icon Award” recipient, and a 2018 “Man of Vision” Urban League of Atlanta award recipient, and a 2019 National Black Arts Festival “Trailblazer in the Arts” award recipient.

A 2019 Songwriter Hall of Fame Inductee, Austin enjoys using his platform and success to travel the world public speaking on issues that help gain creative support for the under-privileged and youth through his Dallas Austin Foundation for Music Education program in the Atlanta Public School system. 

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