Dallas Blocker (born Nathan Blocker a.k.a. Dallas) is an American singer, producer and songwriter. After signing with Latium Records in 2004, Blocker later formed independent label Blockerboy Music LLC on which he released the EP ''Alone'', the album ''Love and Lust'' (in Japan) and the ''Billboard'' chart hit "Rock Ya Body".

Early life

Blocker was born and reared for a short time in Dallas, Texas by his mother, but later joined his father at age seven in Trinity Gardens – a Northeast Houston, Texas neighborhood. He began singing and performing in church at a young age, and eventually chose the stage name “Dallas” to acknowledge both the city in which he was born and his mother, a long-time Dallas, Texas resident.

Musical beginnings

While acclimating to life in Houston, Blocker busied himself singing, learning to produce music and penning his own lyrics. While attending

Kashmere High School Kashmere High School is a secondary school in Houston, Texas that serves grades 9 through 12; it is a part of the Houston Independent School District. It is located in the Trinity Gardens neighborhood, and its namesake is the nearby Kashmere Garde ...

and during college, Blocker was a member of a male R&B group, which included Brian Angel of

Day26 Day26 is an American male R&B music group formed in August 2007 by Sean "Diddy" Combs in a handpicked selection at the end of MTV's ''Making the Band 4.'' The group consists of Robert Curry, Brian Angel, Willie Taylor, Qwanell Mosley and Michael ...

. The group environment allowed Blocker to use his skills as a songwriter, producer and lead vocalist to amass the interest of new fans and local music industry executives. He also was the choir director at Fallbrook Church

Career: Collaborations

Blocker has collaborated with many noted musical artists throughout his career, including producer

Bryan Michael Cox Bryan-Michael Paul Cox (born December 1, 1977) is an American record producer and songwriter who is notable for his work with artists such as Usher, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, and Toni Braxton. Among his most notable productions are "Be Wit ...

; lead vocalist of R&B group H-Town the late Kevin “Dino” Conner; rappers

Bun B Bernard James Freeman (born March 19, 1973), known professionally as Bun B, is an American rapper. He is best known as one half of the southern rap duo UGK (UnderGround Kingz), a group he formed in 1987 alongside Pimp C. Aside from his work with ...

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Sean Combs, D ...

, J-Dawg,

Z-Ro Joseph Wayne McVey IV (born January 19, 1977), better known by his stage names Z-Ro and the Mo City Don, is an American rapper from Houston, Texas. He was named one of America's most underrated rappers by ''The New York Times'' in 2007. Early li ...

Slim Thug Stayve Jerome Thomas (born September 8, 1980), better known by his stage name Slim Thug, is an American rapper. He initially gained mainstream attention for his contribution to the hit single by rapper Mike Jones, "Still Tippin'". In July 2005, h ...

, Tum Tum,

Lil Flip Wesley Eric Weston Jr. (born March 3, 1981), better known by his stage name Lil' Flip, is an American rapper. He embarked on his musical career as a freestyle and battle rapper before earning a record deal with Suckafree Records in 1999. Lil' F ...

, Mike Jones,

Paul Wall Paul Michael Slayton (born March 11, 1981), better known by his stage name Paul Wall, is an American rapper and DJ. He has spent much of his career affiliated with Swishahouse Records, and has released several albums under the label and collabor ...

, and

Trae Trae is a given name. Notable people with the name "Trae" include *Trae Bell-Haynes (born 1995), Canadian basketball player *Trae Coyle (born 2001), English footballer *Trae Crowder (born 1986), American comedian *Trae Elston (born 1994), Americ ...

; and several

KBXX KBXX (97.9 FM) is a commercial radio station in Houston, Texas. It airs a rhythmic contemporary radio format, mostly made up of hip-hop music and R&B. It is owned by Urban One as part of a three-station cluster with KMJQ and KROI. The stud ...

DJs. His work includes lead vocals, production and writing on "Get It Girl", which is featured on the '' Bring It On: All or Nothing'' music soundtrack, and "After Da Club" with the late rapper

Hawk Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...

. It was this smash hit that allowed Blocker to forge a relationship with Latium Records, which hosts artist

Pitbull Pit bull is a term used in the United States for a type of dog descended from bulldogs and terriers, while in other countries such as the United Kingdom the term is used as an abbreviation of the American Pit Bull Terrier breed. The term was f ...

and formerly hosted artists

Chamillionaire Hakeem Temidayo Seriki (born November 28, 1979), better known by his stage name Chamillionaire (), is an American rapper. He was the founder and an original member of The Color Changin' Click from 2001 until the group split in 2005. He began his ...

, Slim Thug,

Frankie J Francisco Javier Bautista Jr. (born December 7, 1975), better known by his stage name Frankie J, is a Mexican-American singer and former member of the musical group Kumbia Kings. Born in Mexico, he grew up in San Diego and became a freestyle ar ...

Natalie Natalie may refer to: People * Natalie (given name) * Natalie (singer) (born 1979), Mexican-American R&B singer/songwriter * Shahan Natalie (1884–1983), Armenian writer and principal organizer of Operation Nemesis Music Albums * ''Natal ...

and

Baby Bash Ronald Ray Bryant (born October 18, 1969), better known by his stage name Baby Bash (formerly Baby Beesh), is an American rapper. From 1995 until 1998, as part of Dope House Records, after which he changed the last part of his stage name to "Bas ...

Career: Solo Efforts

In 2008, Blocker took control of his music career by establishing his independent label Blockerboy Music LLC following a year under contract, and later, a voluntary release from Latium Records. With the release of ''Alone'' (EP) and the subsequent release of the ''Love & Lust'' album in Japan, Blocker soon headlined Japan's Save R&B tour in September 2009 and opened for R&B star

Babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...

at Houston's Arena Theater in August 2010. In 2010, Blocker's smash hit “Rock Ya Body,” produced by Texas hit-making duo Beanz N Kornbread, debuted on ''Billboard’s'' Top 100 chart at #75 and was heard by more than two million listeners weekly with heavy radio play in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. The single spent 20 weeks on the ''Billboard'' charts. To accompany the single's wave of success, the “Rock Ya Body” video, which was directed by Michael Kimbrew in association with TF Records, was also released in 2010, and featured

Farrah Franklin Farrah Laron Franklin (born May 3, 1981) is an American R&B singer and actress. She is also a former member of the girl group Destiny's Child. Along with Michelle Williams, she replaced the group's original members LaTavia Roberson and LeToya L ...

(formerly of Destiny's Child), Montana Fishburne and Orlando Brown. In 2011, Blocker released the single “Out Da Club” featuring

Diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...

; soon after, the single's video—featuring Z-Ro and directed by JC Visuals in association with Blockerboy Music LLC—followed.

Discography

Albums

*2008: ''Alone'' (EP) *2009: ''Love and Lust''

Singles

*2010: “Rock Ya Body” *2013: “Elevator” *2013: “Heels Up”

Singles (Featured Artist)

*2004: "I've Been Hustlin" by

(featuring Dallas Blocker) – ''

Same Thing Different Day ''Same Thing Different Day'' is the second studio album by American rapper Trae. It was released on July 6, 2004, by Trae's independently-owned record label, called G-Maab Entertainment. The album was re-packaged into four discs with the first dis ...

'' *2004: "Time After Time" by

(featuring Dallas Blocker) – ''

'' *2006: "The Rain" by

(featuring Dallas Blocker & Shyna) – '' Restless'' *2007: “After the Club” by

Mista Madd Benjamin Thompson, professionally known as Madd Hatta and Mista Madd, is an American rapper and record producer from Houston, Texas. He is the owner of Paid in Full Entertainment Paid in Full Entertainment is an American recording label based in ...

(featuring Hawk & Dallas Blocker) *2010: "My City" by

(featuring Dallas Blocker & Yo Gotti) – '' Heart of a Champion'' *2010: "Beat It Up" by

(featuring Dallas Blocker) – ''

Tha Thug Show ''Tha Thug Show'' is the third studio album by Houston recording artist Slim Thug. It was released on November 30, 2010, by his Boss Hogg Outlawz label, distributed by E1 Music. The album was supported by two singles; "Gangsta" featuring Z-Ro, an ...

'' *2011: "Pig Feet" by

(featuring Dallas Blocker) – ''

Meth Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamphe ...

'' *2011: “Hold of Me” by GT Mayne (featuring Dallas Blocker and Z-Ro)

Production

*2004: "Oh No Reloaded" by

(featuring Paul Wall) – ''

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blocker, Dallas 21st-century African-American male singers African-American songwriters American contemporary R&B singers American hip hop singers Living people Musicians from Houston American male pop singers Songwriters from Texas Year of birth missing (living people) American male songwriters