Damion Young (born 1974), also known as Damizza, is an American radio executive,

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

, artist and author.

Biography

Young began his career as a studio assistant at the age of 12, where Young went on to popularize numerous artists while working at Santa Barbara’s KHTY station, including

Fiona Apple Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. She released five albums from 1996 to 2020, all of which reached the top 20 on the U.S. Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200 chart. As of 2021, she has sold over ...

Garbage Garbage, trash (American English), rubbish (British English), or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or ...

and Hootie & the Blowfish, and later served as the head of Los Angeles’ Power 106 and New York’s Hot 97. Young would later go on to produce Crybaby (Mariah Carey song) featuring

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

. Young, has also worked with

Dr. Dre Andre Romell Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and co-founder of ...

Ice Cube O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...

, and

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...

. Young would later go on to produce for artists

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony Bone Thugs-n-Harmony (formerly known as B.O.N.E. Enterpri$e and also referred to as simply Bone Thugs or Bone) is an American hip hop group formed in 1991 in Cleveland, Ohio. Consisting of rappers Bizzy Bone, Wish Bone, Layzie Bone, Krayzie ...

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

and

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...

, and claims a hand in the reunion of

and

and the resulting 2001 (a.k.a. Chronic 2001). Young was named the 4th most powerful person in

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

The Source The Source may refer to: Film and television * ''The Source'' (1918 film), 1918 American drama directed by George Melford * ''The Source'' (1999 film), a 1999 documentary film about the Beat generation * ''The Source'' (2002 film), a 2002 scienc ...

magazine 2 years after being named program director

Power 106 KPWR (105.9 FM) – branded as ''Power 106'' – is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area. KPWR is owned and operated by Alex Meruelo's Meruelo Group, through licensee KPWR Radio Ho ...

, after he helped

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

find an international audience, helped

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

rekindle her career, helped

with advice on 'how to break the white kid from Detroit' and introduced the world to

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

. He completed working with J. Marshall Craig on a book on his life, ''Guilty By Association'', which is scheduled for release sometime late-2011 after two years of delays over legal issues and made some public appearances at various California universities and colleges discussing the book and his life as a radio prodigy-turned hip-hop producer and performer. When Damizza was asked to give a brief insight to his book he said "A kid from a small town with a dream.. That never took no for an answer, made his dreams come true and did it his way. (With a Lil help from his grannie)"."Former Power 106 Programme Director Damizza"
2013. In 2023 Damion "Damizza" Young was included in

Marquis Who's Who Marquis Who's Who, also known as A.N. Marquis Company ( or ), is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in A ...

Awards/chart positions

* ''Damizza Presents... Where I Wanna Be: The Compilation'' no. 28 R&B/Hip-Hop no. 143 ''Billboard'' 200http://www.billboard.com/charts/2000-11-25/billboard-200 Damizza Presents... Where I Wanna Be (Billboard 200 chart)], '' Billboard (magazine), Billboard'', November 25, 2000

References

External links

Damizza on HipHopDX

Damizza Interview on SoPrupRadio.com
Record producers from California 1972 births Musicians from Santa Barbara, California Place of birth missing (living people) Living people {{Record-producer-stub