Phalon Anton Alexander, known professionally as Jazze Pha ( ), is an American record producer, rapper, singer and songwriter. He founded the record label Sho'nuff Records in 1995, through which he signed R&B singer

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. She was discovered by record producer Jazze Pha in the early 2000s, and rose to prominence with her debut studio album, ''Goodies ...

in 2003. He produced her 2004 single "

1, 2 Step "1, 2 Step" is a song by American singer Ciara featuring American rapper Missy Elliott. Written alongside producer Jazze Pha, it was released on November 1, 2004, as the second single of Ciara's debut studio album, '' Goodies''. It peaked within ...

," which peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and served as executive producer for its parent album, '' Goodies'' (2004). Released in a joint venture with

LaFace Records LaFace Records was an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated as a unit of Sony Music Entertainment from 2008 to 2011 and was historically a part of Bertelsmann Music Group from 1989 to 2004. It was most active and achiev ...

, the album was met with critical and commercial success, although Ciara parted ways with Sho'nuff shortly after. During the remaining decade, Alexander's subsequent productions proved commercially successful. He is credited on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100-top ten singles "

Get Up Get Up may refer to: Film and television * Get Up! (film), ''Get Up!'' (film), a 2003 Japanese film directed by Kazuyuki Izutsu * Get Up (film), ''Get Up'' (film), a 2008 South Korean television film directed by Lee Jae-dong * Get Up! (TV program ...

" also for Ciara and "

So What So What may refer to: Law *Demurrer, colloquially called a "So what?" pleading Music Albums * So What (Anti-Nowhere League album), ''So What'' (Anti-Nowhere League album) or the 1981 title song (see below), 2000 * ''So What?: Early Demos and L ...

" for

Field Mob Field Mob is an American hip hop music, hip hop duo from Albany, Georgia, composed of artists Darion "Smoke" Crawford and Shawn Timothy "Shawn Jay" Johnson. History Formation Darion and Shawn grew up on the outskirts of Albany, Georgia, Albany ...

, the top 20 singles " Let's Get Down" for Bow Wow, "

Let's Get Away "Let's Get Away" is a song by American hip hop recording artist T.I., released as the fourth and final single from his second studio album, ''Trap Muzik'' (2003). The song features vocals and production from American musician Jazze Pha. It peaked ...

" for

T.I. Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and singer raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgi ...

and "

Just Fine "Just Fine" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige. It was written by Blige, Terius "The-Dream" Nash, Jazze Pha and Tricky Stewart for her eighth studio album, ''Growing Pains'' (2007), while production was helmed by Pha and Stewart. It wa ...

" for

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 ...

, as well as the top 40 singles "

Area Codes A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, reach ...

" for

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 " Do That..." for Birdman. Alexander is also known as a

hype man A hype man, typically in hip hop music, is a backing vocalist who supports the primary performer with exclamations, interjections, or ad-libs in an attempt to increase an audience's excitement or engagement. Origins Early hype men included Keef C ...

for many of his productions, for which he may often perform as a credited recording artist or backing vocalist. Apart from Ciara, his Sho'nuff label has signed the musical acts

Ayo & Teo Ayleo Bowles and Mateo Bowles, better known as Ayo & Teo, are an American rap and dance brother duo from Ann Arbor, Michigan, that started in 2011. They are best known for their 2017 viral hit single "Rolex", which peaked at number 20 on the US ...

and Cherish. As a recording artist himself, he signed with

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

to release his debut album in 1990.

Early life

Jazze Pha was born and raised in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, but mainly based in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. His father is James Alexander, bassist for the

Bar-Kays The Bar-Kays is an American funk band formed in 1964. The band had dozens of charting singles from the 1960s to the 1980s, including " Soul Finger" (US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number 17, R&B number 3) in 1967, "Son of Shaft" (R&B number 10) in ...

, an influential group on the Memphis soul scene in the 1960s. His mother, Deniece Williams, is an accomplished singer, having worked with everyone from

Earth, Wind, and Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

. Pha was named after the late Phalon Jones, another member of the Bar-Kays, who died in the December 10, 1967, plane crash that also killed three other Bar-Kays members and

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

Career

Pha is known for announcing "Ladies and gentlemen" or "This is a Jazze Phizzle product-shizzle!", both at the beginning and, occasionally, at the end of songs in which he produced. In 1990, Pha was signed to

Discography

Studio albums * ''Rising To The Top'' (1990)

Guest appearances

References

External links

*
Jazze Pha Artist Management Profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pha, Jazze African-American record producers African-American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers 20th-century African-American people American male singers American double-bassists American male double-bassists American hip-hop record producers American hip-hop singers American music industry executives Atlantic Records artists Businesspeople from Atlanta Businesspeople from Tennessee Living people Rappers from Memphis, Tennessee Rappers from Atlanta Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) Songwriters from Tennessee Southern hip-hop musicians 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American double-bassists 21st-century American male musicians African-American songwriters 21st-century African-American musicians American male songwriters Year of birth missing (living people)