Floyd Nathaniel Hills (born February 22, 1982), professionally known as Danja (), is an American record producer and songwriter from

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Starting off as a co-producer for

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...

, he has since then created an extensive catalog of solo-produced singles. He has produced songs for artists such as

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

, Usher,

Keri Hilson Keri Lynn Hilson (born December 5, 1982) is an American R&B singer, songwriter and actress. She was born and raised in Decatur, Georgia and spent most of her youth working with producer Anthony Dent as a songwriter and background vocalist for ...

, T.I.,

Nelly Furtado Nelly Kim Furtado (; ; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Furtado has sold over 40 million records worldwide making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. She first gained fame with her trip hop-inspired deb ...

Kevin Cossom Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model and entrepreneur. She released her debut studio album, '' Goodies'' in 2004, which spawned four singles: " Goodies" (featuring Petey Pa ...

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

, M.I.A.,

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

, JoJo,

Joe Jonas Joseph Adam Jonas (born August 15, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He rose to fame as a member of the pop rock band the Jonas Brothers, alongside his brothers Kevin Jonas, Kevin and Nick Jonas, Nick. The group released their ...

Simple Plan Simple Plan is a Canadian rock band from Montreal, Quebec, formed in 1999. The band's lineup consists of Pierre Bouvier (lead vocals, studio bass guitar), Chuck Comeau (drums), Jeff Stinco (lead guitar), and Sébastien Lefebvre (rhythm guita ...

The Clutch The Clutch was an American collective of songwriters and record producers based in Atlanta, consisted oCandice Clotiel "Gg" Nelson Ezekiel "Zeke" Lewis, Patrick Michael "J. Que" Smith, Balewa Muhammad and Keri Hilson. They are responsible for ...

Pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

, T-Pain, Diddy,

Meek Mill Robert Rihmeek Williams (born May 6, 1987), known professionally as Meek Mill, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he embarked on his music career as a battle rapper, and later formed a short-lived rap group, ...

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...

and

AGNEZ MO Agnes Monica Muljoto (born 1 July 1986), known professionally as Agnez Mo (stylized as all caps), is an Indonesian singer and actress. She was professionally known as Agnes Monica before amending her stage name. As a bilingual singer who reco ...

Early life

Hills, born in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

, took up the drums and piano in his early teens. He got his start by playing in his church when he was growing up. In 2000, Hills worked with producer and singer

Teddy Riley Edward Theodore Riley (born October 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer credited with the creation of the New Jack Swing genre. Riley credits Barry Michael Cooper with giving the genre its name.Hogan, Paul. " Tedd ...

Blackstreet Blackstreet (often stylized as BLACKstreet) is an American R&B group founded in 1991 by record producers Chauncey "Black" Hannibal, and Teddy "Street" Riley. The group has released four albums with Interscope Records until 2003. They achieved ...

's fourth album, '' Level II''. In 2001, a chance encounter with

turned into an opportunity to play some music for him. Two years later, Timbaland brought Danja to Miami to work in his studio.

Career

With Timbaland, Hills produced a wide catalog of songs in 2006 with an ongoing string of hits throughout the year until present, including " Put You On The Game" by rapper The Game, "

Promiscuous Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different Sexual partner, partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as pro ...

" and "

Say It Right "Say It Right" is a song recorded by Canadian singer Nelly Furtado for her third studio album ''Loose'' (2006). It was written by Furtado, Tim "Timbaland" Mosley, and Nate "Danja" Hills, with Furtado crediting the Eurythmics' song "Here Com ...

" by

, "

SexyBack "SexyBack" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake for his second studio album, ''FutureSex/LoveSounds'' (2006). It was released on July 18, 2006, to US mainstream and rhythmic radio stationsRadio single releases . FMQ ...

", " What Goes Around...Comes Around" and " My Love" by

among others, such as " Love Story" by

Katharine McPhee Katharine Hope McPhee (born March 25, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. In May 2006, she rose to fame as the runner-up on the fifth season of ''American Idol.'' Her eponymous debut album was released on RCA Records on Janua ...

, "

Innocence Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. In other contexts, it is a lack of experience. In relation ...

" and "

Earth Intruders "Earth Intruders" is a song written and recorded by Icelandic singer Björk. The song was released as the first single from her 2007 full-length studio album, '' Volta''. The single was released digitally in the US on 9 April and 21 April 2007 a ...

" by

, and " Give It to Me" and "

The Way I Are "The Way I Are" is a song by American producer Timbaland, released as the second single from his second studio album ''Shock Value'' (2007). The song features vocals by singer Keri Hilson, and is included on international editions on her debut a ...

" off Timbaland's second solo album. In 2007, Danja produced "

Gimme More "Gimme More" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her fifth studio album, '' Blackout'' (2007). It was released on August 31, 2007, by Jive Records, as the lead single from the album. "Gimme More" was recorded in 2006 during Spears' ...

" for

, as well as " Break the Ice" and five other tracks for her '' Blackout'' album. The following year, he produced " Kill the Lights" and five other songs for Britney Spears' album ''

Circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...

'', but only three songs appeared on the

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

. Around this time, Danja was reported to be charging $50,000 - $100,000 per track. His works in recent years include,

, " 4 Minutes", he also produced with Timbaland and

other tracks from her 2008 album

Hard Candy A hard candy (American English), or boiled sweet (British English), is a sugar candy prepared from one or more sugar-based syrups that is heated to a temperature of 160 °C (320 °F) to make candy. Among the many hard candy varietie ...

on her song "Migrate" from '' E=MC²'',

on her song "

Knock You Down "Knock You Down" is a song by American singer and songwriter Keri Hilson, recorded for her debut album, '' In a Perfect World...''. The song features guest vocals from Ne-Yo and Kanye West. All three artists co-wrote the song with its produc ...

" from '' In a Perfect World...'',

P!nk Alecia Beth Moore Hart (born September 8, 1979), known professionally as Pink (stylized as P!nk), is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She was originally a member of the girl group Choice. In 1995, LaFace Records saw potential ...

on her song "

Sober In cryptography, SOBER is a family of stream ciphers initially designed by Greg Rose of QUALCOMM Australia starting in 1997. The name is a contrived acronym for ''S''eventeen ''O''ctet ''B''yte ''E''nabled ''R''egister. Initially the cipher wa ...

" from ''

Funhouse A funhouse or fun house is an amusement facility found on amusement park and funfair midways and is where patrons encounter and interact with various devices designed to surprise, challenge, and amuse them. Unlike thrill rides or dark rides, f ...

''. Danja produced the song, Toy Soldier on the

album '' No Boys Allowed'', "Freak" by

Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He became widely known for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the 2004 biographical film '' Ray'', for which he won the ...

, "The Writer" by

Jesse McCartney Jesse McCartney (born April 9, 1987) is an American actor and singer. He achieved fame in the late 1990s on the daytime drama ''All My Children'' as JR Chandler. He later joined boy band Dream Street, and eventually branched out into a solo mus ...

, "Sleep When I'm Gone" by

DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ, record executive, record producer and rapper. Khaled first gained recognition as a radio host in the 1990s on the radio station WEDR, 99 Ja ...

for his upcoming album "We The Best Forever". Danja has also been in studio with rapper

J. Cole Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...

working on his debut album Cole World. Danja also produced 3 songs on

Diddy - Dirty Money Diddy may refer to: *Sean Combs (born 1969), American rap mogul also known as Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Diddy, Puff, Puffy, and Sean John **Diddy (song), "Diddy" (song), a 2001 song by P. Diddy **Diddy – Dirty Money, an American hip hop group featuri ...

's Last Train To Paris. According to Danja's

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account, He was in studio with

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

and

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 ...

. Danja is working with his artist

for his debut, L.O.V.E. He produced the first single, "Baby I Like It" which features Fabolous and Diddy. He produced the single "Believe", as well as two leaks "Don't Leave Me Rose" and "Killer" by

Travis Garland Travis Garland (born July 26, 1989) is an American singer and dancer. He is best known as the former lead singer of the boy band NLT which consisted of Kevin McHale, Justin Joseph "JJ" Thorne and V Sevani. They were discovered by Chris Stokes ...

. He recently produced the song "Everything On Me" on T.I's latest album "No Mercy". Danja has also produced "

Sexy to Me "Sexy to Me" is a song recorded by American singer JoJo (singer), JoJo. It was written by JoJo, Jim Beanz, James Washington, Marcella Araica, Kenna and Danja (record producer), Nathaniel "Danja" Hills, who also produced the song. Background and c ...

" by singer/songwriter Joanna Levesque, which is also featured on the singer's commercial for

Clearasil Clearasil is a brand of skin care and acne medication, whose products contain chiefly benzoyl peroxide, sulfur and resorcinol, triclosan, or salicylic acid as active ingredients. Clearasil has a wide range of products both for rapid and sometimes ...

. Danja co-wrote and co-produced " Shining" by

featuring

and

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 ...

which immediately hit number one on ''Billboards Trending 140. The release is off DJ Khaled's upcoming project on Epic Records. Danja has upcoming cuts on

Andy Grammer Andrew Charles Grammer (born December 3, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is signed to S-Curve Records. His debut album, ''Andy Grammer'', was released in 2011 and spawned the singles " Keep Your Head Up" and " Fi ...

Keyshia Cole Keyshia Myeshia Cole Johnson; born October 15, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Born and raised in Oakland, California, Cole began her career as a backing vocalist for MC Hammer. After signing with A&M Records ...

Jordan Fisher Jordan William Fisher (born April 24, 1994) is an American actor, singer, and dancer. He began his career with recurring roles on several television series, including ''The Secret Life of the American Teenager'' in 2012 and ''Liv and Maddie'' fr ...

, Stanaj and more.

Production discography

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Danja 1982 births Living people African-American record producers American hip hop record producers Grammy Award winners Musicians from Virginia Beach, Virginia Southern hip hop musicians African-American songwriters Songwriters from Virginia 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people