Brian Alexander Morgan is an American record producer from

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

, United States, best known for his work writing and producing with the R&B group SWV.

Career

In his early 20s, Morgan recorded a demo tape with his childhood friend LaChelle Mathenia and a third member as a group called Cachet De Vois. They were discovered by

Club Nouveau Club Nouveau is an American R&B group formed by record producer/performer Jay King in 1986 in Sacramento, California, following the breakup of the Timex Social Club. The group's name (French for "New Club") was changed from its original incar ...

founding member Jay King, who got the group a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records in 1987. Morgan and Mathenia moved to

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

and recorded their first and only album, ''Personal'', released in 1988. When it failed to chart, the group was dropped, but Morgan decided to stay in California and attempt a solo career. Around this time, he met and was mentored by artist and producer

Robert Brookins Robert Brookins (October 7, 1962 – April 15, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, producer and musician. Brookins was a member of the band Earth, Wind & Fire. He also worked with artists such as George Duke, Stephanie Mills, Stanley Clark ...

. After hearing of singer

Martha Wash Martha Elaine Wash (born December 28, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and producer. Known for her distinctive and powerful voice, Wash first achieved fame as half of the Two Tons O' Fun, who sang backing vocals for the disco sin ...

's legal action against

Black Box In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). The te ...

and

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

for commercial appropriation, and knowing she was trying to get a record deal, Morgan wrote several tracks intended for her which were recorded as demos and sent to her through her A&R rep Kenny Ortiz. Upon hearing the songs, Wash called Morgan directly, telling him he had the "spirit of

Patrick Cowley Patrick Joseph Cowley (October 19, 1950 – November 12, 1982) was an American disco and hi-NRG dance music composer and recording artist. Along with Giorgio Moroder, he often is credited as a pioneer of electronic dance music. Early life Pat ...

", the producer best known for working with disco legend Sylvester”. Morgan wrote and produced several songs for Wash's debut self-titled album, which established him as a successful songwriter and producer. Before being dropped from his initial record deal, Morgan was also labelmates with singer Chanté Moore at Warner Bros. At the time, Morgan had a crush on Moore and penned the song " Weak" inspired by his feelings for her. The track, along with another track, " Right Here", were written for

Charlie Wilson Charles, Charlie, Charley, or Chuck Wilson may refer to: Entertainment * Charles Heath Wilson (1809–1882), Anglo-Scottish painter, art teacher and author * Charles C. Wilson (1894–1948), American film actor * Charles Banks Wilson (1918–2013) ...

, one of Morgan's lifelong influences, and circulated for some years in the early 1990s as demo tracks. In 1991, producer Kenny Ortiz heard the tracks on cassette and convinced Morgan to license the tracks for his R&B girl group SWV. Morgan was brought on board to produce and write for the group's 1992 album '' It's About Time'', which earned commercial and critical success. In his later career, Morgan continued to write and produce songs for artists including

Lalah Hathaway Eulaulah Donyll "Lalah" Hathaway (born December 16, 1968) is an American singer. In 1990 Hathaway released her first album titled '' Lalah Hathaway''. After releasing another album, titled ''A Moment'' (1994), it debuted at number 34 on the T ...

Faith Evans Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American singer and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 for a career in the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al ...

Coko Cheryl Elizabeth Gamble (formerly Clemons; born June 13, 1970), better known by her stage name Coko, is an American singer-songwriter best known as the lead singer of the R&B vocal trio Sisters With Voices (SWV). Aside from her R&B career, Gamble ...

, Usher and

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

, among others. Around the early 2010s, he was summoned by

DJ Khalil Khalil Abdul-Rahman Hazzard (born October 16, 1973), professionally known as DJ Khalil, is an American music producer and DJ from Los Angeles. He is the instrumental half of the hip hop duo Self Scientific (along with rapper Chace Infinite) an ...

to work on a few projects with him. Khalil's desire to work with him caused Morgan to relocate from

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

back to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

. Due to the move, Khalil and Morgan worked on

Aloe Blacc Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III (born January 7, 1979), known professionally by his stage name Aloe Blacc (), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known for his singles "I Need a Dollar", " The Man", which topped the charts in th ...

's major label debut '' Lift Your Spirit''. Throughout his career, Morgan has also had a "parallel" career producing house music, with several releases on the label Thick Recordings as BAM.

Selected production credits

''La Rue - There's Love Out There'' (1989) * 2. Tell Me Something Good (produced with La Rue) * 4. There's Love Out There (produced with Diamond Crosley and Donnie Woodruff) * 8. You Should Know (produced with David Agent and Donnie Woodruff) '' SWV - It's About Time'' (1992) * 1. Anything * 2.

I'm So into You "I'm So into You" is a song recorded by American R&B vocal trio SWV for their debut studio album, '' It's About Time'' (1992). Written and produced by Brian Alexander Morgan, the song was released in January 1993 as the second single from t ...

* 3. Right Here * 4. Weak * 5. You're Always On My Mind * 11. Think You're Gonna Like It * 12. That's What I Need * 13. SWV (In the House) ''

'' (1993) * 1. Someone Who Believes in You (Prelude) * 3. Give it to You * 5. Now That You're Gone * 6. Things We Do for Love * 10. Someone Who Believes in You * 13. When It's My Heart ''

- A Moment'' (1994) * 1. Let Me Love You '' Usher - Usher'' (1994) * 5. Crazy ''SWV - New Beginning'' (1996) * 8. Fine Time * 14. What's It Gonna Be * 15. That's What I'm Here For '' Somethin' for the People - Somethin' for the People'' (1996) * 7. Take It Easy ''SWV - Release Some Tension'' (1997) * 6.

Rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water ...

'' Nicole -

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'' (1998) * 7. Prelude (I Can't See) * 8. I Can't See '' Why Do Fools Fall In Love - Music Inspired by the Motion Picture'' (1998) * 8. Mista - About You (co-produced with

) '' Eric Benet - A Day in the Life'' (1999) * 8.

Dust in the Wind "Dust in the Wind" is a song recorded by American progressive rock band Kansas and written by band member Kerry Livgren, first released on their 1977 album '' Point of Know Return''. The song peaked at No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 the w ...

- Hot Coko'' (1999) * 5. Bigger Than We * 9. Everytime ''

Ann Nesby Ann Nesby (born Lula Ann Bennett; July 24, 1955) is an American R&B, gospel and dance music singer and actress. She is the former lead singer of Sounds of Blackness; a songwriter with credits including hits sung by Patti LaBelle and Gladys Knigh ...

- Put it on Paper'' (2002) * 6. Lovin' is Really My Game (produced with Steve "Silk" Hurley) '' JoJo - JoJo'' (2004) * 10. Weak '' Kobe Honeycutt - Ghetto Thrilla'' (2013) * 01. G On It (produced with DJ Khalil) '' KRNDN - Everything's Nothing'' (2013) * 09. Abetterbih ''

- Incomparable'' (2014) * 07. Incomparable ''

Tamar Braxton Tamar Estine Braxton (born March 17, 1977) is an American singer and television personality. Braxton began her career in 1990 as a founding member of The Braxtons, an R&B singing group formed with her sisters. The Braxtons released their debut a ...

- Calling All Lovers'' (2015) * 05. Never ''

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

- Views'' (2016) * 02. "9" (co-producer) '' Khalid - Suncity'' * 08. " OTW feat.

Ty Dolla $ign Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his feature on Ameri ...

and

6lack Ricardo Archibald Valentine Jr. (born June 24, 1992), known professionally as 6lack (stylized as 6LACK, pronounced "black"), is an American singer and rapper. He initially gained notable recognition following the release of his single, " Prblms ...

(co-writer)

Studio album

* ''Personal'' (with Cachet De Vois) (Warner Bros., 1988)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Brian Alexander African-American record producers African-American songwriters American rhythm and blues musicians American house musicians Living people Musicians from Kansas Record producers from Kansas Songwriters from Kansas Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American people