N.U.G.
ILLIEN
ill o.g.
holla!
Jazze Pha
Talent can be defined in a myriad of ways. It can be an innate gift or a learned proficiency but occasionally, it’s a potent mixture of both, which happens to be the case with Phalon Alexander, the visionary southern-reared producer who goes by the pseudonym Jazze Pha. (pronounced Jazz-ee fay)
Although born into an R&B dynasty as the son of James Alexander, one of the original members of the revolutionary 70’s funk-soul band The Barkay’s, and Denece Williams, a diva who was known to perform back in the day with acts, such as the Gap Band, Stevie Wonder and Barbara Streisand. Jazze Pha never caught the train to fame by way of his parent’s celebrity. “I always wanted to do music,“ he explains. “It was life for me. The Gap Band are like my uncles. Parliament Funkadelic are like my cousins. You can hear that in all my music. It’s been reincarnated into some real futuristic macking. I feel as if music chose me.” VH-1 Music agrees that “Being around such family friends as Womack helped shape Pha's future sounds, which are typically more melodic and feature more texture than the work of other hip-hop and R&B producers.” One look at his diverse, multi-platinum catalog and you’ll be enlightened as to why everyone in the industry has a jones for a Jazze-laced track.
His musicianship is incredible, having the ability to pour passion and conviction into whatever he does, be it producing, rapping or singing. His combination of talent is one of many factors that separate him from the mainstream. Jazze’s soul is soaked in the eccentricity of vintage Rhythm and Blues and P-Funk, but when he adds his intoxicatingly rambunctious and jovial wit into the mix, the result is a guaranteed prodigious hit. He plays with this dichotomy of yesteryear classics and current trends to concoct sophisticated arrangements that fuse the arrogance of hip-hop with the slickness of R&B. In other words, his style is like that of a Frankie Beverly & Maze rolled into an OutKast.
If you haven’t witnessed his flamboyant style, which consists of clean gear, fresh kicks and frozen baubles, in music videos for the Cash Money Millionaire Empire, you’ve definitely heard him. “Jazze Pha, that’s like my new inspiration. I felt like I’ve done everything as far as rap, but just to listen to the stuff that he does, that just makes you have a whole other love and appreciate going to work everyday. He always comes up with something tight that makes you want to do something better.” says Cash Money member Mannie Fresh. Little did Jazze know, he accomplished a major feat by becoming the first and only outside producer to ink a 50-song deal with the Cash Money Millionaires, a clique that is known to remain impermeable. In fact, Jazze Pha is the first producer in music history to secure such a lucrative and extended contract. MTV Networks explains that “After producing a song for the Big Tymers last year for a compilation by Atlanta super DJ Greg Street, Pha's skills forced Cash Money's co-CEO Brian "Baby" Williams to do the unheard of - welcome a producer other than longtime CMR in-house production mainstay Mannie Fresh to make tracks for his flossing family.” XXL Magazine jokes that, “He’s the first producer from outside N’awlins to get checks from the Williams brothers.” After accomplishing this monumental coup, Jazze went on to produce numerous Hip-Hop masterpieces for Cash Money members Baby da #1 stunna, Big Tymers and Lil Wayne, which were placed on their Platinum and Gold selling albums .
Over the past five years, Jazze Pha has woven his instantly recognizable and compelling voice through his clever creations, as well as supplied edgy beats, charming, country adlibs and brilliantly inventive and emotive hooks that resonate his deep-seeded Gospel roots for an assortment of artists. His saucy recipe of psychedelic, Blues-infused Pop with cosmic soul melodies, garnered him an incendiary reputation that has afforded him the opportunity to collaborate with Billboard mainstays including Trick Daddy, Ludacris, Jagged Edge, Aaliyah, Nappy Roots, Cee-Lo, Usher, Dave Hollister, Foxy Brown, Snoop Dogg, Mya, The Neptunes, Tupac, Angie Stone, Outkast and most recently Nelly and sidekick, Murphy Lee, to name a few. It was Jazze’s work behind the scenes on the late Aaliyah’s “Don’t Worry” and the current hit single, “Come Over” that assisted in taking her album I Care for You to platinum certified status. He remains modest after seeing an article mentioning him in conjunction with Toni Braxton 2x multi-platinum album, The Heat, which maintains that Jazze has assisted with the sultry artist’s continuous ascension. But it is on songs such as Nappy Root’s “Aw Naw” that demonstrate and reflect Jazze’s Southern ancestry, a style that is completely his own. “Jazze teamed up with Nappy Roots to birth “Aw Naw,” a mud caked square dance celebrating Southern hospitality. The record buoyed by a sanctified organ lick that sounds suspiciously like something out of a southern fried house of worship down on Beale Street in Memphis,” says XXL Magazine. His solid understanding of urban music allowed him to breathe life into the archived recordings of the late great Tupac Shakur. This triumph crowns him as a millennium mainstay in the ever-changing music game. “People have thrown bows to the heavy bass plucks and murmuring wah-wahs in Ludacris’ “Area Codes,” and bobbed their heads to the acoustic guitar strums and 808 drum kicks in Trick Daddy’s “In da Wind,” both of which are the offspring of Jazze Pha’s funky finger work,” explains The Source.
Listeners can hear Jazze’s southern gospel tinged vocals on a countless number of hits including Ludacris’, “Keep it on the Hush” off his 3x multi-platinum album Word of Mouf, Tupac’s “Changed Man” off the 2x multi-platinum Better Dayz, Blu Cantrell's "Hit 'Em Up Style" (remix), the Grammy and American Music Award nominated, Nappy Root’s “Aw Naw” which was also nominated for an MTV2 Music Award as well as Left Eye’s “Jenny” and Foxy Brown’s “Dope Boyz, Dope Girls” off her highly anticipated upcoming album Ill Na Na 2: The Fever. Jazze’s latest donation to this ever growing group of followers is a featured rap presented to Angie Stone on a collaboration entitled “Your Love is,” slated to appear on the follow up to her Black Diamond and Mahogany Soul albums. Jazze has also contributed to several tracks on the upcoming Bad Boy debut from 8Ball and MJG. The Atlanta Journal Constitution says, “Be it his work with the Nappy Roots ("Awnaw"), Big Tymers ("Hood Rich"), Trick Daddy ("In da Wind") or Baby ("Do That Sh#$") this producer-singer-rapper had the whole country bouncing to unabashedly Southern twang.” It seems as if everything Jazze lays his hands on transforms into gold, if not platinum.
Currently based in Atlanta, Jazze Pha (who received his moniker in high school for being jazzy at the mouth), is blazing a musical trail of his own via Noontime Music, an entity that houses a record label, management team as well as a Production and Publishing company and arguably one of the most recognized black entertainment conglomerates in the southeastern region, who many have heralded as the new LaFace. They are one of the industry’s best-kept secrets and have played a crucial role in Jazze’s success. “Having Jazze on our roster has helped us maintain a position on the charts for the past five years. Signing him was one of our greatest accomplishments” say Henry “Noonie” Lee of Noontime. Noontime is home to Jazze’s brethren, producers Teddy Bishop (Toni Braxton, Ginuwine, Nivea, Aaliyah, Toni Braxton, Usher, Whitney Houston), Donnie Scantz (Jay-Z, Jagged Edge), Bryan-Michael Cox (Mariah Carey, Usher, Lil Bow Wow, Alicia Keys), and Kevin Hicks (Jagged Edge, Aaliyah, Toni Braxton). One of the projects Jazze is currently excited about is his recent work with Noontime/Epic’s banging new heartthrob group, A-T-L. He teamed up with his fellow Noontime comrade, Johnta’ Austin (Aaliyah, Tyrese, Toni Braxton, Joe); to deliver two bonified hits for their much anticipated project.
Jazze Pha leaves no question that he’s a multi-faceted artist being that every Saturday evening from 6-10pm, he holds down the radio dial on Atlanta’s Hot 107.9FM along side of the tenacious Mami Chula, hosting his extra large “macking” sessions on “Jazze’s Penthouse.” “The Penthouse is lavishly coordinated, with curtains and furniture. Oh boy, we do it up,” Jazze exclaims, “ I have a lot of different guests come in. Everybody has to pass through A-T-L so they come holler at me in the Penthouse.” It’s an unparalleled radio show because there is such a great deal of mutual respect. Artists know that Jazze has provided many of them with the platinum hit tracks that have put them where they are today in the industry. Creative Loafing explains that ”Most of his listeners know, after all, that Jazze Pha the radio host, is also one of the hottest hip-hop/R&B producers in the country, the man behind songs by artists like Too Short, Snoop Dogg, Nappy Roots, Jim Crow, Mystikal and Toni Braxton.”
He pimp struts with genuine delight on every track, showcasing his adoration for 70’s and 80’s classics, while synthesizing dirty south bass and Jimmie Hendrix-esque guitar licks. Jazze Pha expands the definition of talent, in addition to the genre known as Hip-Hop. He is bringing originality and complexity back to music. “I’m an all-around artist, just like Missy, but I’m the macked out version of her on the male tip. What’s missing from the music today is what I’m doing. And not just what I’m doing but what I’m about to do. I do what other artists are scared to do. I create sounds that are funked out, something soulful, cause that’s my background. That’s what I do so naturally.” By doing what’s organic, Jazze Pha is manufacturing an empire, which will consist of a state-of-the-art recording facility in Atlanta appropriately named Sho’Nuff Recording Studios as well as continuing to maintain his own Label, Futuristic Recordings. One of the label’s pearls will be the ground-breaking singing sensation Ciara, a multi-talented 17 year-old beauty who was heavily courted by the illustrious L.A. Reid of LaFace and Arista fame and who is currently signed to Arista Records through Futuristic Recordings. “She sings, she dances, she’s got a gang of personality. Listen when I say she’s going to be big,” Jazze gushes. As if he doesn’t have enough on his plate, Jazze and Mannie Fresh are working on an album, which will primarily feature the duo, called Big Luv, however due to the success of the last Big Tymers album, they are in full throttle to finish another installment just in time for summer.
The virtuoso writer, crooner, rhymester and businessman, has always had a super sized appetite for success. But who could blame him, being that he was born into the business of music. Dividing his time between his mother’s home in Los Angeles, California and his father’s residence in Memphis, Tennessee Jazze explains, “There’s a connection with people from down South and out on the West Coast. We’re kind of connected at the hip and this link definitely carries into music.” This connection is exemplified with the similar sound Jazze can bring out of artists from Snoop Dogg and Too Short to Outkast and Trick Daddy. Jazze Pha’s earliest influences covered the musical gamut including Bobby Womack, Al Green (“It was his emotions. He’s just so emotional and his voice is soothing. He’s a smooth, fly dude”), Parliament Funkadelic (“Their music is abstract. You never know where they’re going with it and that’s what’s fun about them”) Bobby Brown, Babyface and of course, The Barkays. “During the summer, I would tour with my father’s band. It was exciting because you never knew where you were going to be. I liked going to various cities and staying in a different place every night. But when I would watch my father record in the studio, I knew that’s what I really wanted to do. I liked being in the studio.” Having parents as musicians, Jazze Pha was encouraged to pursue his own destiny in the industry, in addition to exploring and honing his craft. He became adept at playing the keyboard, penning lyrics and with his mother’s direction, began singing in the church choir at age 5, which is where he discovered his extraordinary vocal abilities. By watching, listening and studying other producers in the studio, Jazze immediately caught on and the soulful flavor we hear today was birthed.
Jazze Pha literally brings every nation under one groove. He’s arguably one of the greatest producers to ever lay a beat. And with his teddy bear physique, bubbly personality and humble spirit, Jazze Pha has irresistibly established his importance to the game. By incorporating rap, throwback funk, textured singing and plush signature rhythms that he describes as his special blend of “southern sauce,” no one can contend with this futuristic funkster, who continuously proves that music is the magical feel-good fuel for the soul. “I’m passionate about music and put my heart into it. I know where to accent everything. I know where not to do too much and know where to do more because I’ve been doing this for a long time. I do good stuff, so it’s not just making a track and collecting a check. I have to see a project all the way through until the end. That’s what makes a good producer.” And Jazze Pha should know.
Jazze Pha
Talent can be defined in a myriad of ways. It can be an innate gift or a learned proficiency but occasionally, it’s a potent mixture of both, which happens to be the case with Phalon Alexander, the visionary southern-reared producer who goes by the pseudonym Jazze Pha. (pronounced Jazz-ee fay)
Although born into an R&B dynasty as the son of James Alexander, one of the original members of the revolutionary 70’s funk-soul band The Barkay’s, and Denece Williams, a diva who was known to perform back in the day with acts, such as the Gap Band, Stevie Wonder and Barbara Streisand. Jazze Pha never caught the train to fame by way of his parent’s celebrity. “I always wanted to do music,“ he explains. “It was life for me. The Gap Band are like my uncles. Parliament Funkadelic are like my cousins. You can hear that in all my music. It’s been reincarnated into some real futuristic macking. I feel as if music chose me.” VH-1 Music agrees that “Being around such family friends as Womack helped shape Pha's future sounds, which are typically more melodic and feature more texture than the work of other hip-hop and R&B producers.” One look at his diverse, multi-platinum catalog and you’ll be enlightened as to why everyone in the industry has a jones for a Jazze-laced track.
His musicianship is incredible, having the ability to pour passion and conviction into whatever he does, be it producing, rapping or singing. His combination of talent is one of many factors that separate him from the mainstream. Jazze’s soul is soaked in the eccentricity of vintage Rhythm and Blues and P-Funk, but when he adds his intoxicatingly rambunctious and jovial wit into the mix, the result is a guaranteed prodigious hit. He plays with this dichotomy of yesteryear classics and current trends to concoct sophisticated arrangements that fuse the arrogance of hip-hop with the slickness of R&B. In other words, his style is like that of a Frankie Beverly & Maze rolled into an OutKast.
If you haven’t witnessed his flamboyant style, which consists of clean gear, fresh kicks and frozen baubles, in music videos for the Cash Money Millionaire Empire, you’ve definitely heard him. “Jazze Pha, that’s like my new inspiration. I felt like I’ve done everything as far as rap, but just to listen to the stuff that he does, that just makes you have a whole other love and appreciate going to work everyday. He always comes up with something tight that makes you want to do something better.” says Cash Money member Mannie Fresh. Little did Jazze know, he accomplished a major feat by becoming the first and only outside producer to ink a 50-song deal with the Cash Money Millionaires, a clique that is known to remain impermeable. In fact, Jazze Pha is the first producer in music history to secure such a lucrative and extended contract. MTV Networks explains that “After producing a song for the Big Tymers last year for a compilation by Atlanta super DJ Greg Street, Pha's skills forced Cash Money's co-CEO Brian "Baby" Williams to do the unheard of - welcome a producer other than longtime CMR in-house production mainstay Mannie Fresh to make tracks for his flossing family.” XXL Magazine jokes that, “He’s the first producer from outside N’awlins to get checks from the Williams brothers.” After accomplishing this monumental coup, Jazze went on to produce numerous Hip-Hop masterpieces for Cash Money members Baby da #1 stunna, Big Tymers and Lil Wayne, which were placed on their Platinum and Gold selling albums .
Over the past five years, Jazze Pha has woven his instantly recognizable and compelling voice through his clever creations, as well as supplied edgy beats, charming, country adlibs and brilliantly inventive and emotive hooks that resonate his deep-seeded Gospel roots for an assortment of artists. His saucy recipe of psychedelic, Blues-infused Pop with cosmic soul melodies, garnered him an incendiary reputation that has afforded him the opportunity to collaborate with Billboard mainstays including Trick Daddy, Ludacris, Jagged Edge, Aaliyah, Nappy Roots, Cee-Lo, Usher, Dave Hollister, Foxy Brown, Snoop Dogg, Mya, The Neptunes, Tupac, Angie Stone, Outkast and most recently Nelly and sidekick, Murphy Lee, to name a few. It was Jazze’s work behind the scenes on the late Aaliyah’s “Don’t Worry” and the current hit single, “Come Over” that assisted in taking her album I Care for You to platinum certified status. He remains modest after seeing an article mentioning him in conjunction with Toni Braxton 2x multi-platinum album, The Heat, which maintains that Jazze has assisted with the sultry artist’s continuous ascension. But it is on songs such as Nappy Root’s “Aw Naw” that demonstrate and reflect Jazze’s Southern ancestry, a style that is completely his own. “Jazze teamed up with Nappy Roots to birth “Aw Naw,” a mud caked square dance celebrating Southern hospitality. The record buoyed by a sanctified organ lick that sounds suspiciously like something out of a southern fried house of worship down on Beale Street in Memphis,” says XXL Magazine. His solid understanding of urban music allowed him to breathe life into the archived recordings of the late great Tupac Shakur. This triumph crowns him as a millennium mainstay in the ever-changing music game. “People have thrown bows to the heavy bass plucks and murmuring wah-wahs in Ludacris’ “Area Codes,” and bobbed their heads to the acoustic guitar strums and 808 drum kicks in Trick Daddy’s “In da Wind,” both of which are the offspring of Jazze Pha’s funky finger work,” explains The Source.
Listeners can hear Jazze’s southern gospel tinged vocals on a countless number of hits including Ludacris’, “Keep it on the Hush” off his 3x multi-platinum album Word of Mouf, Tupac’s “Changed Man” off the 2x multi-platinum Better Dayz, Blu Cantrell's "Hit 'Em Up Style" (remix), the Grammy and American Music Award nominated, Nappy Root’s “Aw Naw” which was also nominated for an MTV2 Music Award as well as Left Eye’s “Jenny” and Foxy Brown’s “Dope Boyz, Dope Girls” off her highly anticipated upcoming album Ill Na Na 2: The Fever. Jazze’s latest donation to this ever growing group of followers is a featured rap presented to Angie Stone on a collaboration entitled “Your Love is,” slated to appear on the follow up to her Black Diamond and Mahogany Soul albums. Jazze has also contributed to several tracks on the upcoming Bad Boy debut from 8Ball and MJG. The Atlanta Journal Constitution says, “Be it his work with the Nappy Roots ("Awnaw"), Big Tymers ("Hood Rich"), Trick Daddy ("In da Wind") or Baby ("Do That Sh#$") this producer-singer-rapper had the whole country bouncing to unabashedly Southern twang.” It seems as if everything Jazze lays his hands on transforms into gold, if not platinum.
Currently based in Atlanta, Jazze Pha (who received his moniker in high school for being jazzy at the mouth), is blazing a musical trail of his own via Noontime Music, an entity that houses a record label, management team as well as a Production and Publishing company and arguably one of the most recognized black entertainment conglomerates in the southeastern region, who many have heralded as the new LaFace. They are one of the industry’s best-kept secrets and have played a crucial role in Jazze’s success. “Having Jazze on our roster has helped us maintain a position on the charts for the past five years. Signing him was one of our greatest accomplishments” say Henry “Noonie” Lee of Noontime. Noontime is home to Jazze’s brethren, producers Teddy Bishop (Toni Braxton, Ginuwine, Nivea, Aaliyah, Toni Braxton, Usher, Whitney Houston), Donnie Scantz (Jay-Z, Jagged Edge), Bryan-Michael Cox (Mariah Carey, Usher, Lil Bow Wow, Alicia Keys), and Kevin Hicks (Jagged Edge, Aaliyah, Toni Braxton). One of the projects Jazze is currently excited about is his recent work with Noontime/Epic’s banging new heartthrob group, A-T-L. He teamed up with his fellow Noontime comrade, Johnta’ Austin (Aaliyah, Tyrese, Toni Braxton, Joe); to deliver two bonified hits for their much anticipated project.
Jazze Pha leaves no question that he’s a multi-faceted artist being that every Saturday evening from 6-10pm, he holds down the radio dial on Atlanta’s Hot 107.9FM along side of the tenacious Mami Chula, hosting his extra large “macking” sessions on “Jazze’s Penthouse.” “The Penthouse is lavishly coordinated, with curtains and furniture. Oh boy, we do it up,” Jazze exclaims, “ I have a lot of different guests come in. Everybody has to pass through A-T-L so they come holler at me in the Penthouse.” It’s an unparalleled radio show because there is such a great deal of mutual respect. Artists know that Jazze has provided many of them with the platinum hit tracks that have put them where they are today in the industry. Creative Loafing explains that ”Most of his listeners know, after all, that Jazze Pha the radio host, is also one of the hottest hip-hop/R&B producers in the country, the man behind songs by artists like Too Short, Snoop Dogg, Nappy Roots, Jim Crow, Mystikal and Toni Braxton.”
He pimp struts with genuine delight on every track, showcasing his adoration for 70’s and 80’s classics, while synthesizing dirty south bass and Jimmie Hendrix-esque guitar licks. Jazze Pha expands the definition of talent, in addition to the genre known as Hip-Hop. He is bringing originality and complexity back to music. “I’m an all-around artist, just like Missy, but I’m the macked out version of her on the male tip. What’s missing from the music today is what I’m doing. And not just what I’m doing but what I’m about to do. I do what other artists are scared to do. I create sounds that are funked out, something soulful, cause that’s my background. That’s what I do so naturally.” By doing what’s organic, Jazze Pha is manufacturing an empire, which will consist of a state-of-the-art recording facility in Atlanta appropriately named Sho’Nuff Recording Studios as well as continuing to maintain his own Label, Futuristic Recordings. One of the label’s pearls will be the ground-breaking singing sensation Ciara, a multi-talented 17 year-old beauty who was heavily courted by the illustrious L.A. Reid of LaFace and Arista fame and who is currently signed to Arista Records through Futuristic Recordings. “She sings, she dances, she’s got a gang of personality. Listen when I say she’s going to be big,” Jazze gushes. As if he doesn’t have enough on his plate, Jazze and Mannie Fresh are working on an album, which will primarily feature the duo, called Big Luv, however due to the success of the last Big Tymers album, they are in full throttle to finish another installment just in time for summer.
The virtuoso writer, crooner, rhymester and businessman, has always had a super sized appetite for success. But who could blame him, being that he was born into the business of music. Dividing his time between his mother’s home in Los Angeles, California and his father’s residence in Memphis, Tennessee Jazze explains, “There’s a connection with people from down South and out on the West Coast. We’re kind of connected at the hip and this link definitely carries into music.” This connection is exemplified with the similar sound Jazze can bring out of artists from Snoop Dogg and Too Short to Outkast and Trick Daddy. Jazze Pha’s earliest influences covered the musical gamut including Bobby Womack, Al Green (“It was his emotions. He’s just so emotional and his voice is soothing. He’s a smooth, fly dude”), Parliament Funkadelic (“Their music is abstract. You never know where they’re going with it and that’s what’s fun about them”) Bobby Brown, Babyface and of course, The Barkays. “During the summer, I would tour with my father’s band. It was exciting because you never knew where you were going to be. I liked going to various cities and staying in a different place every night. But when I would watch my father record in the studio, I knew that’s what I really wanted to do. I liked being in the studio.” Having parents as musicians, Jazze Pha was encouraged to pursue his own destiny in the industry, in addition to exploring and honing his craft. He became adept at playing the keyboard, penning lyrics and with his mother’s direction, began singing in the church choir at age 5, which is where he discovered his extraordinary vocal abilities. By watching, listening and studying other producers in the studio, Jazze immediately caught on and the soulful flavor we hear today was birthed.
Jazze Pha literally brings every nation under one groove. He’s arguably one of the greatest producers to ever lay a beat. And with his teddy bear physique, bubbly personality and humble spirit, Jazze Pha has irresistibly established his importance to the game. By incorporating rap, throwback funk, textured singing and plush signature rhythms that he describes as his special blend of “southern sauce,” no one can contend with this futuristic funkster, who continuously proves that music is the magical feel-good fuel for the soul. “I’m passionate about music and put my heart into it. I know where to accent everything. I know where not to do too much and know where to do more because I’ve been doing this for a long time. I do good stuff, so it’s not just making a track and collecting a check. I have to see a project all the way through until the end. That’s what makes a good producer.” And Jazze Pha should know.
