Roy Davis Jr. is an American

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

ian from

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, specialising in

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

Biography

Davis was born in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and grew up in

, United States, and became interested in house music at an early age by the likes of Lil' Louis, DJ Pierre, Farley Keith (Farley Jackmaster Funk) and Marshall Jefferson. Davis began his own production company named Phuture in the late 1980s and went on to become an A&R scout for record label Strictly Rhythm in NYC whilst also running his Chicago founded record label Undaground Therapy Muzik. A few years later, Davis and singer-songwriter Peven Everett wrote and produced the single "

Gabriel In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...

" which was released on Large Records in 1996 and later licensed and released on

XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been run and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. It releases an average of six albums a year. T ...

in 1997. The track garnered international airplay, and was played in nightclubs around the world. It peaked at No. 22 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1997. The single sold over 200,000 copies and has appeared on numerous of compilation albums including ''Desert Island Mix'' from

Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a broadcaster, DJ, record label and festival owner. He is renowned for his genre-defying approach to music with jazz at its core. From this base he ...

. In 2004, Davis' track "About Love" reached No. 70 in the UK, adding to the list of previous chart success with records such as "Who Dares to Believe in Me" under alias The Believers which was released on New York label Strictly Rhythm and "All I Do" released on

Omar-S Alexander Omar Smith, known professionally as Omar-S, is an electronic music producer from Detroit, Michigan, with a substantial discography that spans the past twenty years. In more recent years, Smith, the owner/operator of FXHE Records since i ...

' artist-run label FXHE. Roy Davis Jr. has also been known for his work for

Thomas Bangalter Thomas Bangalter (; born 3 January 1975) is a French musician. He is best known as one half of the former French house music duo Daft Punk, alongside Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. He has recorded and released music as a member of the trio Music S ...

's label Roulé which operated out of Paris in the early '90s and his production work for artists such as Eric Benet,

Faith Evans Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 in pursuit of a recording career. Evans initially performed as ...

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...

Christina Milian Christina Milian ( , Flores; born September 26, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Following a number of minor television and film roles in the late nineties, Milian made her recording debut on American rapper Ja Rule's 20 ...

and Morcheeba. In 2011, he produced a record with J. Noize and Kaye Fox called "Enjoy the Ride". In April 2016, Davis announced that he had been diagnosed with

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

, and was to cancel some planned shows but planned to return to performing live and producing music as his health would allow him.

Discography

Albums

*''The Secret Mission'' *''Traxx from the Nile'' *''Chicago Forever'' *''Water for Thirsty Children'' *''God Life Music'' *''Destroy & Rebuild''

Compilations

*''Midnight Passion / Looking for Excitement'' *''Soul Electra''

Singles

*"Rock Shock" *"I Got the Music" *"Galactic Disco" *"

" (feat. Peven Everett) - UK #22 *"About Love" - UK #70 *All I D

References

External links

Roy Davis Jr. at Ubiquity Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Roy Jr. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American dance musicians African-American DJs American club DJs House DJs American remixers Musicians from Chicago DJs from Chicago Ubiquity Records artists XL Recordings artists People with multiple sclerosis 21st-century African-American musicians American electronic dance music DJs Peacefrog Records artists