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Tricky Stewart | |
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 Stewart in 2020 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Christopher Alan Stewart |
| Also known as |
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| Born | January 4, 1974 Markham, Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 1992–present |
| Labels | |
Christopher Alan "Tricky" Stewart (born January 4, 1974) is an American record producer, record executive, songwriter, and music publisher. Stewart, a five-time Grammy Award recipient, began producing music in 1992 and has contributed to unit sales of over 50 million for his work on commercially successful releases for hip hop, R&B and pop artists.[1] Often in tandem with production partner and R&B singer The-Dream, he has been credited on the singles "Case of the Ex" (2000) by Mya, "Me Against the Music" (2003) by Britney Spears, "Umbrella" (2007) by Rihanna, "Just Fine" (2007) by Mary J. Blige, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" (2008) by Beyoncé, "Touch My Body" (2008) and "Obsessed" (2009) by Mariah Carey, "One Time" (2009) and "Baby" (2010) by Justin Bieber, and "Ride" (2010) by Ciara, among others.
Stewart co-founded the record company RedZone Entertainment in 1995, which signed R&B singer Frank Ocean prior to his mainstream breakthrough. In 2012, he was included in Billboard's 40 Under 40, a list of music executives "who are propelling our industry with their artistic and business vision."[2] Stewart signed a publishing contract with Spirit Music Group in 2020,[3] a deal which covered his following works as he sold his catalog to Hipgnosis Songs two years prior.[4]
Early life
Stewart was born in Markham, Illinois. Raised in a musical family, he was playing guitar, keyboards, and writing songs by the age of 12. His older brother, record producer Laney Stewart, introduced him to one of his first music business mentors, the late Louis Silas, Jr., who fostered Stewart's musical career by giving him the opportunity to contribute to several projects for major artists. Before graduating high school, Stewart had placements with artists such as Aaron Hall, rhythm and blues trio IMx, and Chanté Moore. He credits working with the latter gave him further opportunities in his burgeoning career.[5]
Career
1994–2005
In 1994, Stewart produced the single "Treat U Right" for Blackgirl. He also met record producer L.A. Reid, who offered him a deal to move his first production company to Atlanta. In 1995, with the support of Reid, he launched the company RedZone Entertainment and recording studio, Triangle Sound. Both were operated in partnership with his brother Mark Stewart and sister-in-law Judi Stewart. RedZone Entertainment is based in Atlanta, but also has a recording studio in Los Angeles.
Stewart saw his first major breakthrough in 1999 when he co-prouced the single "Who Dat" for JT Money. The song peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America and won ASCAP's "Song of the Year".[6] In addition to producing and writing, Stewart executive produced albums for Solé and Blu Cantrell.
In 2000, Tricky co-wrote and produced Interscope Records artist Mýa's breakthrough single "Case of the Ex". It peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 2000, and remained in the chart's top ten for three months.[7] While Mya's song was still on top, Stewart discovered and signed Blu Cantrell, and went on to executive produce her debut album So Blu on Arista Records. It peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200 and spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top two single "Hit 'em Up Style (Oops!)".
In 2002, Stewart co-produced and co-wrote B2K's debut single, "Uh Huh".[8] In 2003, Blu Cantrell's second album, Bittersweet, was released; it features three songs produced by Stewart, "Unhappy", "Holding on to Love" and "Let Her Go". He also co-wrote and produced a number of songs for Britney Spears's fourth album, In the Zone (2003), including two of its singles, "Me Against the Music" and "Outrageous", as well as "Early Mornin'" and "The Hook Up".
2006–present
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2007 was a breakthrough year for Stewart and RedZone Entertainment. Rihanna's single "Umbrella", co-written with The-Dream, garnered two Grammy nominations—for Record of the Year and Song of the Year—and won the award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. In an interview with MTV, Stewart said
"When she recorded the 'ellas' you knew it was about to be the jump-off, and your life was about to change if you had anything to do with that record."
Released in March 2007, "Umbrella" topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart by May, rising 40 spots in one week to spend seven consecutive weeks at number one. The song also broke the iTunes music store's record for biggest debut. Its success brought Rihanna to a mainstream prominence; co-writer and business partner The-Dream ultimately signed with Def Jam Recordings to release his own singles. Stewart was credited on his follow-up singles "Falsetto" and "I Luv Your Girl". In late 2007, Stewart was working with notable artists as Janet Jackson, Celine Dion, and Usher ("Moving Mountains" and "This Ain't Sex" of his album Here I Stand).
"It's crazy, just being a part of that, I've seen a lot of things in my time in the music business, but to see a record take off like that, it's just amazing."
Stewart was also nominated in 2007 for a Grammy for "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" on Mary J. Blige's "Just Fine"; that same year, Stewart also co-wrote and produced on the album Growing Pains, as well as the vocals were produced by his production team. Composed of Tricky, The-Dream, and Kuk Harrell, it proved to be a successful tandem. Stewart won his first Grammy Awardfor his work on Growing Pains in 2009.
The single "Touch My Body" off Mariah Carey's album in 2008 E=MC², produced by Stewart and Carey was described as "...a No. 1 just waiting to pounce the Billboard Hot 100" by Chuck Taylor of Billboard Magazine. On April 2, 2008, it was announced that "Touch My Body" became Carey's 18th No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, pushing her to second place among artists with the most No. 1 singles in the rock era and first place as a solo artist in the same category, surpassing Elvis Presley. The achievement was attributed to a record-breaking digital sales debut, as 286,000 copies were sold in its first week of availability.
Also in 2008, he produced the songs, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" for Beyoncé as well as the ballad "Smash into You". "Single Ladies" would later become a pop culture phenomenon due to its female empowerment lyrics, catchy melody and much parodied music video. The song won multiple Grammy and MTV Video Music Awards, and remains Stewart's best-selling single.
For Ciara's 2009 album, Fantasy Ride, he produced the song "High Price", which features Ludacris. That same year, he also worked with Japanese-American singer-songwriter Utada on her third English studio album This Is The One, on which he produced four songs.
Tricky and The-Dream collaborated with Mariah Carey on her 2009 album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, for which they co-produced each song, and co-wrote all but one of the songs.
Tricky and The-Dream executive-produced Ciara's fourth studio album, Basic Instinct, which was released on December 10, 2010. The lead single from the album, "Ride" was produced by the duo and released in April 2010; it went on to become Ciara's 12th top ten hit on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[9]
Stewart contributed to the Christina Aguilera album Bionic, released in June 2010, and produced the score for her debut film, Burlesque, released in November 2010.
Stewart produced Katy Perry's second studio album, Teenage Dream which was released in 2010.[10] Its second promotional single, "Circle the Drain", was produced by Stewart and released on iTunes in August of that year.
Stewart co-produced three songs and one bonus track from Jennifer Lopez's eighth studio album Love?, which was released in April 2011. The album marked her first release through Island Records after completing her 10-year contract with Epic Records in February 2010.
Stewart and The-Dream teamed up to work on Jessica Simpson's holiday album, Happy Christmas.
In October 2016, he was a producer and songwriter for BTS's song "BTS Cypher 4".
In November 2023, Stewart co-produced P1Harmony's single "Fall in Love Again".