Antonio "Tony" Dixon is an American songwriter, singer and record producer, also known for his work with production duo The Underdogs and Eric Dawkins under the production moniker The Pentagon.

Career

Dixon began his songwriting and production career as an associate member of production duo The Underdogs. Along with

Harvey Mason Jr. Harvey Jay Mason Jr. (born June 3, 1968) is an American record producer, songwriter, movie producer and current CEO of The Recording Academy. He has written and produced songs for artists including Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Deniece Wil ...

and Damon Thomas and a wider collective, also consisting of

Tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...

, Eric Dawkins and Steve Russell, he co-crafted several singles, including

Omarion Omari Ishmael Grandberry (born November 12, 1984), better known by his stage name Omarion, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, actor and dancer. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the boy band B2K. The group achieved success in the e ...

's " O" (2004), "

Naked Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...

" (2005), and

Monica Monica may refer to: People *Monica (actress) (born 1987), Indian film actress *Monica (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Monica (singer) (born 1980), American R&B singer, songwriter, producer, ...

's "

Sideline Ho "Sideline Ho" is a song by American singer Monica (singer), Monica. It was written by Harvey Mason, Jr., The Underdogs (duo), Damon Thomas, Antonio Dixon (songwriter), Antonio Dixon, Eric Dawkins, Steve Russell, and Tank (American singer), Durrel ...

" (2007), predominantly serving as an instrumentalist and arranger on the tracks. In the late 2000s, Dixon and Dawkins formed the production team The Pentagon. A departure from the R&B sounds of his previous works, the duo worked with a wider range of artists and sounds, particularly in the pop and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

genres, including

Kristinia DeBarge Kristinia Jamie DeBarge (; born March 8, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. DeBarge first appeared on national television in 2003 as a contestant on the ''American Idol'' spin-off, ''American Juniors''. In 2009, DeBarge ...

and

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

. Following their collaboration on

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 ...

's 2005 album '' Grown & Sexy'' along with The Underdogs, Babyface asked Dixon to work with him on

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

's 2011 album '' 4'' on which they co-produced the single "

Best Thing I Never Had "Best Thing I Never Had" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé for her fourth studio album, '' 4'' (2011). It was released by Columbia Records on June 1, 2011, as the second single from the album. "Best Thing I Never Had" was co ...

". In 2018, Dixon produced on

Toni Braxton Toni Michele Braxton (born October 7, 1967) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female artists in history. ...

's ninth studio album ''

Sex & Cigarettes ''Sex & Cigarettes'' is the ninth studio album by American singer Toni Braxton. It was released on March 23, 2018, by Def Jam Recordings. Her first solo album in eight years, it served as her debut for the label after signing a new record deal. Br ...

'' (2018). Its leading single " Long as I Live," produced by Dixon, became her eight on the ''Billboard'' Adult R&B Songs and earned two nominations for

Best R&B Performance The Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guide it is designed for s ...

and

Best R&B Song The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song (sometimes known as the R&B Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1969. From 1969 to 2000, it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song. Beyoncé has won it a record four times, while Bab ...

at the

61st Annual Grammy Awards The 61st Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 10, 2019, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys hosted. During her opening monologue, Keys brought out Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez, and fo ...

Selected production credits

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, Antonio Living people African-American record producers African-American male singer-songwriters Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American male singers