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Jordan Asher Cruz, better known as Boots (stylized as BOOTS), is an American record producer, singer, rapper, director, animator and songwriter. He first gained recognition in 2013 for his significant contributions to American singer-songwriter
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 critically acclaimed self-titled fifth studio album. He has been nominated for the
Grammy Award for Album of the Year The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regar ...
twice.


Career


Early career and Beyoncé

Jordan Asher Cruz was a member of bands such as Young Circles, Blonds and Stonefox. In June 2013, he was officially signed to rapper
Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...
's entertainment company and
Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...
imprint,
Roc Nation Roc Nation is an entertainment agency founded by Jay-Z in 2008. The company is headquartered in Manhattan and has additional offices in Los Angeles and London. Roc Nation comprises a comprehensive talent agency, sports agency, record label, mana ...
, under the pseudonym Boots, for publishing. In the same month, a fashion film (starring
Chanel Iman Chanel Iman Robinson (formerly Shepard) (born December 1, 1990) is an American model best known for her work as a Victoria's Secret Angel. ''Vogue Paris'' declared her as one of the top 30 models of the 2000s. Early life Iman was born in Atla ...
and Viktoriya Sasonkina) featuring music by Boots was released. With his contributions to
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 self-titled fifth studio album, released in December 2013, Boots came onto the music scene largely unknown. Upon the release of ''Beyoncé'', he updated his Facebook page, saying he had been "working on 'Beyoncé''for most of the past year", and that he had "produced 85% of
he album He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
and adfour original songs on the album". Boots contributed additional production, background vocals and instruments to the album's first R&B/hip hop single, "
Drunk in Love "Drunk in Love" is a song by American singer Beyoncé featuring American rapper Jay-Z. The duo composed the song along with credited production and writing by Future, Detail, Andre Eric Proctor, Rasool Diaz, Brian Soko, Timbaland, J-Roc and ...
", featuring Jay-Z. Beyoncé later referenced Boots' work on the album, saying he is "a new producer that hecompletely respect , that "he is an innovator", and she is "so proud to work with him". In an interview with
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
, Boots would not speak of his previous projects or how Beyoncé found his demo, only confirming he signed a publishing deal with
Roc Nation Roc Nation is an entertainment agency founded by Jay-Z in 2008. The company is headquartered in Manhattan and has additional offices in Los Angeles and London. Roc Nation comprises a comprehensive talent agency, sports agency, record label, mana ...
in June 2013. A last-ditch bout of songwriting yielded “I'm On To You”, a moody minor-key song with layers of eerie background voices and a particular rhythmic undertow. He saw it as a template for a solo album. “That song was my heart,” he said. At his first meeting with Beyoncé, he had already written songs he believed would resonate with her, but she was more enthused by his experimental material. Beyoncé refused to leave the song alone, saying to Boots, "This shit has to knock harder than any rap album out there." The song became "
Haunted Haunted or The Haunted may refer to: Books * ''Haunted'' (Armstrong novel), by Kelley Armstrong, 2005 * ''Haunted'' (Cabot novel), by Meg Cabot, 2004 * ''Haunted'' (Palahniuk novel), by Chuck Palahniuk, 2005 * ''Haunted'' (Angel novel), a 200 ...
", and the previous title "I'm On To You" was instead recorded as a phrase in the song's refrain. Following an infuriating meeting with a record label, Boots wrote the stream of consciousness rap from "Ghost" and played it for Beyoncé in the early stages of recording. She identified with its content as she had similar experiences from signing a recording contract at a young age. Boots made the song in a hypnotic state, saying, "I started with guitars, just building the layers until they resembled
Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic music, electronic styles such as techno, ambient music, ambient, and jun ...
soundscapes. And then I completely contained them within the beat".


Solo releases

On February 13, 2014
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 official Facebook page shared a link to Boots' personal website which contained an original composition titled "Dust" with an accompanying music video. The song was of the first to be released which featured Boots singing lead vocals. On April 11, 2014 Boots uploaded a photo to his Twitter reportedly of a track list. The track list contained all of the songs he had previously released. Prominent features listed were
Shlohmo Henry Laufer (born January 3, 1990), known professionally as Shlohmo, is an American musician and producer from Los Angeles. He is best known for his experimental production style and for founding the record label Wedidit Records. Career Shlo ...
&
Jeremih Jeremy Phillip Felton (born July 17, 1987), known professionally as Jeremih ( ), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. In 2009, he signed a record deal with Def Jam Recordings. Jeremih's commercial debut single, "Birthday Sex", ...
, Kelela as previously mentioned,
Son Lux Son Lux is an American experimental band. Originally the solo project and moniker of founding member Ryan Lott, the band's first three albums, '' At War with Walls & Mazes'', ''We Are Rising'' and ''Lanterns'', shaped the band's unique sound th ...
, Margot and a final feature that is unconfirmed. He later went on to announce that the track list was a mixtape titled "WinterSpringSummerFall" but did not confirm a release date. In July 2014, Boots scored the trailer of 2015 film ''
Fifty Shades of Grey ''Fifty Shades of Grey'' is a 2011 erotic romance novel by British author E. L. James. It became the first instalment in the ''Fifty Shades'' novel series that follows the deepening relationship between a college graduate, Anastasia Steele, ...
'' using a slowed-down version of "
Crazy in Love "Crazy in Love" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé, featuring a rap verse and ad-libs from her future husband Jay-Z from her debut solo studio album '' Dangerously in Love'' (2003). The song was released as her official debut single ...
" by Beyoncé who re-recorded the song and string arrangements by Margot. On September 8, 2014, he released his first single, "Mercy", on his SoundCloud account and on iTunes. On September 11, 2014, he released a video for "Mercy", directed by himself On October 31, 2014, Boots performed "Early" with
Run The Jewels Run the Jewels, also known by the initials RTJ, is an American hip hop super-duo composed of Brooklyn-based rapper and producer El-P and Atlanta-based rapper Killer Mike. They released their critically acclaimed self-titled debut studio album ...
on the
Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...
. On November 6, Boots released the new song "I Run Roulette.".


''Motorcycle Jesus'' and ''AQUΛRIA''

On February 19, 2015
Nowness Nowness (stylized NOWNESS) is a digital video channel that was launched in 2010 by its founder Jefferson Hack as a brand of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE.
premiered a trailer for a post-apocalyptic film titled ''
Motorcycle Jesus ''Motorcycle Jesus'' is the first extended play by Boots. It is the soundtrack to his thirty-minute short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion P ...
'', which was written and directed by Boots, which featured five original songs. In an exclusive feature story with
Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born October 25, 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
it was revealed that Boots would be releasing a solo album "later this year". The interview also revealed that Boots had produced unreleased albums for British singer
FKA Twigs Tahliah Debrett Barnett (born 17 January 1988), known professionally as FKA Twigs (stylized as FKA twigs), is an English singer, songwriter, and dancer. Born and raised in Cheltenham, she became a backup dancer for numerous famous musicians aft ...
and
Autolux Autolux is an American alternative rock band consisting of Eugene Goreshter (vocals, bass), Greg Edwards (vocals, guitar, piano) and Carla Azar (drums, vocals). The trio formed in 2001 and have released three full-length albums, ''Future Perfect' ...
. On March 18, 2015, Boots performed "I Run Roulette" on ''
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...
''. The performance—which featured Boots, two drummers, and a light show—garnered rave reviews from critics. On November 10, 2015,
Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as
dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...
and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...
&
Toonami Toonami ( ) is an American late night television programming block that primarily broadcasts Japanese animation and occasionally American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and produced by Williams Street, a divis ...
premiered the animated video for Boots' single "C.U.R.E.". Boots would go on to perform "C.U.R.E." on
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second it ...
.


''13Lux Films''

In early 2017, Cruz started production on animated series, where he serves as creator, director, writer, animator, and show runner. Cruz would subsequently go on to write and develop more film and television projects with his production company, 13Lux Films. In 2021, Cruz wrote, directed and produced along with
Jennifer Goodridge Jennifer Goodridge Cruz is an Emmy Nominated American film and television producer, writer, director, actor, and musician. She has produced notable works for Netflix, The Disney Channel, and YouTube Red as well as many commercials and music vide ...
, animated short film "No Future Here" which premiered at
HollyShorts Film Festival The HollyShorts Film Festival is an annual Academy Award®-qualifying independent short film festival located in Hollywood, California. History Founded in 2005, the yearly festival programmes feature an eclectic mixture of short films of various ...
on September 24, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA at the
Grauman's Chinese Theatre Grauman's Chinese Theatre (branded as TCL Chinese Theatre for naming rights reasons) is a movie palace on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States. The original Chines ...
. "No Future Here" features voices by
Cleopatra Coleman Cleopatra Coleman (born 29 October 1987) is an Australian actress. She is known for playing Erica on the American comedy series '' The Last Man on Earth'' and Rya in the Netflix original sci-fi thriller '' In the Shadow of the Moon''. Early l ...
of The Last Man on Earth, Frankie Loyal of
Mayans M.C. ''Mayans M.C.'' (also known simply as ''Mayans'') is an American crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter and Elgin James, that premiered on September 4, 2018, on FX. The show takes place in the same fictional universe as '' Sons of ...
and
Justin Warfield Justin Evan Warfield (born April 20, 1973) is an American musician and hip hop MC. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist of the darkwave duo She Wants Revenge, which formed in 2004. In 1993, he released a hip-hop album titled '' M ...
of
She Wants Revenge She Wants Revenge is an American rock band, based in San Fernando Valley, California. Formed in 2004, the band is a duo of singer and guitarist Justin Warfield and multi-instrumentalist Adam Bravin. Their music has been influenced by post-punk, ...
. "No Future Here" was also an official selection at
Sidewalk Film Festival The Sidewalk Film Festival is an annual film festival taking place during the last weekend in August in the Theatre District of Birmingham, Alabama, since 1999. The festival typically screens at seven venues located within downtown Birmingham, fea ...
in Birmingham, Alabama and New York Shorts International Film Festival at
Village East Cinema Village East by Angelika (originally the Louis N. Jaffe Art Theatre, also Village East, and formerly known by several other names) is a movie theater at 189 Second Avenue, on the corner with 12th Street, in the East Village of Manhattan in ...
in New York City. The short would go on to win Best Animation at the 2022 Bowery Film Festival.


Discography


Studio albums


Extended plays


Mixtapes


Guest appearances

*2014: "Early" (with
Run the Jewels Run the Jewels, also known by the initials RTJ, is an American hip hop super-duo composed of Brooklyn-based rapper and producer El-P and Atlanta-based rapper Killer Mike. They released their critically acclaimed self-titled debut studio album ...
) on ''
Run the Jewels 2 ''Run the Jewels 2'' is the second studio album by American hip hop duo Run the Jewels, which consists of Killer Mike and El-P. The album was released early for free on October 24, 2014, and the following day on iTunes. It was made available on CD ...
'' *2017: "2100" (with Run the Jewels) on ''
Run the Jewels 3 ''Run the Jewels 3'' is the third studio album by American hip hop duo Run the Jewels, which consists of rappers El-P and Killer Mike. It was self-released through their Run the Jewels, Inc. imprint via RBC Records digitally on December 24, 2016, ...
''


Songwriting, production, and miscellaneous credits


Awards and nominations


Grammy Awards


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boots Living people Record producers from Florida Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) American male singers Songwriters from Florida American male songwriters