Byron Otto Thomas (born March 20, 1969), better known by his stage name Mannie Fresh, is an American record producer, DJ and rapper from

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. He is best known for his production work for

Cash Money Records Cash Money Records is an American record label founded in 1991 by brothers Ronald "Slim" Williams and Birdman (rapper), Bryan "Baby" Williams. The label gained prominence in the late 1990s for having signed and released albums for New Orleans– ...

releases, as well being half of the hip hop duo

Big Tymers Big Tymers (also stylized as Big Tymer$) is an American hip hop duo composed of Cash Money Records co-founder Birdman (rapper), Baby (later known as Birdman) and the label's in-house producer Mannie Fresh, both of whom originate from New Orlean ...

with the label's co-founder, Birdman. Beginning as the label's sole in-house producer in 1991, he received credits on the near-entirety of the label's output from 1998 until his departure in 2004. This resulted in 17 songs receiving gold, platinum, or multi-platinum certifications by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) and 19 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 entries—which includes his 2004 debut single as a recording artist, " Real Big".

Life and career

Thomas was born and raised in the

7th Ward of New Orleans The 7th Ward (Seventh Ward) is a legally defined voting ward and a neighborhoods in New Orleans, neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A sub-district of the Mid-City District Area, its boundaries as defined by the New Orleans City Plannin ...

. Influenced by his father DJ Sabu, Thomas became a DJ for New Orleans hip hop crew New York Incorporated in 1984 at age 15. In the late 1980s, he began a partnership with New Orleans rapper MC Gregory D. They released their first album together ''Throwdown'' in 1987, with Mannie Fresh producing and MC Gregory D rapping. They would release two more records together in the late 1980s and early 1990s. After their last album together, in 1993, Thomas met Bryan "Baby" Williams, who gave him an opportunity to become the in-house producer of his record label

. With Williams' help, Thomas made chart-topping albums for the

Hot Boys The Hot Boys (often styled as Hot Boy$) are an American hip hop group from New Orleans, Louisiana, formed in 1997 and composed of rappers B.G., Lil Wayne, Juvenile and Turk. The group signed with then-independent record label Cash Money R ...

, which was composed of

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 ...

, B.G., Juvenile, and Turk, producing all of the group's albums. He also produced all tracks on the members' solo works as well. Later, Thomas formed the

along with Williams, as Mannie Fresh and Birdman respectively, bringing him fame, and released five albums. In 2004, he released his own debut solo album '' The Mind of Mannie Fresh'', which consisted of 30 tracks and featured the single " Real Big", which peaked at #79 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 2005, he split from Cash Money for financial reasons, and later joined

Def Jam South Def Jam South was a music division of Def Jam Recordings. The label focused primarily on southern acts. It was best known for launching the career of its first artist signed, Ludacris and his own imprint, Disturbing tha Peace. In 2004, following ...

. On October 27, 2009, Mannie Fresh released his second solo album, ''

Return of the Ballin' Return may refer to: In business, economics, and finance * Return on investment (ROI), the financial gain after an expense. * Rate of return, the financial term for the profit or loss derived from an investment * Tax return, a blank document or t ...

''. The album was entirely produced by Fresh himself and featured prominent guests

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...

and

Lil Jon Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971), better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, DJ, and record producer. Regarded as a progenitor of the club-oriented hip-hop subgenre crunk, his production and voice presence were inst ...

Awards and honors

''OffBeat'''s Best of The Beat Awards

Discography

Studio albums * '' The Mind of Mannie Fresh'' (2004) * ''Return of the Ballin (2009) Collaborative albums * ''

How You Luv That ''How You Luv That'' is the debut studio album by New Orleans hip-hop duo Big Tymer$, released independently in 1997 on Cash Money Records. The album sold over 100,000 copies without the benefit of major radio or video airplay. Cash Money re-re ...

'' (with

) (1997) * '' How You Luv That Vol. 2'' (with Big Tymers) (1998) * ''

I Got That Work ''I Got That Work'' is the third studio album by American hip hop duo Big Tymers. Originally scheduled for a February 8, 2000 release, it was ultimately released May 16, 2000, by Universal Records and Bryan "Baby" Williams' Cash Money Records. ...

'' (with Big Tymers) (2000) * ''

Baller Blockin' ''Baller Blockin'' is a 2000 Drama (genre), drama film set in New Orleans, Louisiana, New Orleans' Magnolia Projects. It stars Birdman (rapper), Bryan “Birdman” Williams, Ronald "Slim" Williams, Juvenile (rapper), Juvenile, Manuel Vazquez, B. ...

'' (with

Cash Money Millionaires The Cash Money Millionaires (also known as the Millionaires) is an American Southern hip hop supergroup, composed of recording artists who were signed to Cash Money Records. It was formed in 1996 by the Big Tymers ( Birdman and Mannie Fresh) ...

) (2000) * ''

Hood Rich ''Hood Rich'' is the fourth studio album by American hip hop duo Big Tymers. The album was released on April 30, 2002, by Cash Money Records and Universal Records. It features the single "Still Fly". It marks the first Big Tymers' album that doe ...

'' (with Big Tymers) (2002) * '' Big Money Heavyweight'' (with Big Tymers) (2003)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fresh, Mannie 1969 births Living people Cash Money Records artists African-American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers African-American record producers People from Destrehan, Louisiana Rappers from New Orleans Def Jam Recordings artists American hip-hop record producers Southern hip-hop musicians American trap musicians Musicians from New Orleans African-American songwriters Songwriters from Louisiana 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians American male songwriters Cash Money Millionaires members