Mr. DJ (born David Sheats) is an American hip-hop producer and DJ from

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. He and Outkast members

Big Boi Antwan André Patton (born February 1, 1975), better known by his stage name Big Boi, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is best known for being a member of the southern hip hop duo Outkast alongside André 300 ...

and

André 3000 André Lauren Benjamin (born May 27, 1975), better known as André 3000, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is best known for being a part of southern hip hop duo Outkast alongside fellow rapper Big Boi. ...

make up the record production company Earthtone III.

Biography

Raised on the southside of

College Park, Georgia College Park is a city in Fulton and Clayton counties, Georgia, United States, adjacent to the southern boundary of the city of Atlanta. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,930. Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport is part ...

, Mr. DJ attended

Banneker High School Benjamin Banneker Academic High School is a magnet school, magnet high school located in Washington, D.C., that was originally built to serve as a neighborhood Junior High School. The school's name commemorates Benjamin Banneker, an African-America ...

. He entered the music industry as a DJ for Atlanta-based hip-hop group Outkast. According to Sheats, After touring with the group for a year, he began to focus more on

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

rather than deejaying. By sharpening his beat making skills, Mr. DJ got the opportunity to help produce Outkast's 1996 second album ''

ATLiens ''ATLiens'' is the second studio album by American hip hop duo Outkast. It was released on August 27, 1996, by Arista Records and LaFace Records. From 1995 to 1996, Outkast recorded ''ATLiens'' in sessions at several Atlanta studios—Bosstown R ...

''. Following his work on OutKast's “

Elevators (Me & You) "Elevators (Me & You)" is a song by American hip hop duo Outkast, released as the lead single from their second studio album, ''ATLiens''. It peaked at number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, Outkast's highest-peaking song on the chart until th ...

” and several songs from their album ''

Aquemini ''Aquemini'' is the third studio album by American hip hop duo Outkast. It was released on September 29, 1998, by LaFace Records. The title is a portmanteau of the two performers' Zodiac signs: Aquarius (Big Boi) and Gemini (André 3000), whic ...

'', Mr. DJ formed Earthtone III production group with Andre 3000 &

. Collectively, the trio produced roughly 80% of tracks from ''

Stankonia ''Stankonia'' is the fourth studio album by American hip hop duo Outkast. It was released on October 31, 2000, by LaFace Records. The album was recorded in the duo's recently purchased Atlanta recording facility Stankonia Studios, which allowed ...

'' to their latest album, '' Idlewild''. In addition, Mr. DJ continued to DJ on every OutKast album, except ''

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below ''Speakerboxxx/The Love Below'' is the fifth studio album by American hip hop duo Outkast. It was released on September 23, 2003, by Arista Records. Issued as a double album, its length of over two hours is spread across solo albums from both ...

'', which he mostly produced. To date, his most notable hits include " Da Art of Storytellin'", "

B.O.B. Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. (born November 15, 1988), known professionally as B.o.B, is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Decatur, Georgia, Simmons was signed to Jim Jonsin's Rebel Rock Entertainment imprint in 2006. Two years later ...

", "

Ms. Jackson "Ms. Jackson" is a song by American alternative hip hop duo Outkast, consisting of André 3000 and Big Boi. It was released on October 24, 2000, as the second single from Outkast's fourth album, ''Stankonia''. It topped the US ''Billboard (magaz ...

", and "

The Whole World "The Whole World" is the first single released from American hip hop duo Outkast's first compilation album, '' Big Boi and Dre Present... Outkast'' (2001). The song was written by Outkast, produced by Earthtone III, and features Killer Mike and ...

". He is also a part of the Atlanta-based hip hop/ R&B/

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

musical collective The Dungeon Family. Mr. DJ has won two Grammy Awards, one in 2002 for

Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group was awarded between 1991 and 2011, alongside the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. Previously a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance. The award was discontin ...

for "

", and another in 2004 for Rap Album of the Year for his work on Outkast's ''

''. In 2008, he started his own

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

, Camp David Records, with several new artists including Jeff B., Chinkie Brown, and

Shawty Redd Demetrius Lee Stewart (born June 21, 1981), better known by his stage name Shawty Redd, is an American record producer and rapper. He is cited as one of the pioneers of the production style which would become synonymous with the trap subgenre. ...

. Public Relations Associate Keith Kemp was quoted as saying: Mr. DJ recently worked with

Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...

on his album '' The Ecstatic'', producing four tracks on Common's

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

album, ''

Universal Mind Control ''Universal Mind Control'' is the eighth studio album by American rapper Common. Originally scheduled to be released on June 24, 2008 under the name ''Invincible Summer'', the release date was pushed back to September 30, 2008 due to Common's ac ...

''. In addition to Outkast, Mr. DJ has worked with Lenny Kravitz,

Bubba Sparxxx Warren Anderson Mathis (born March 6, 1977), better known by his stage name Bubba Sparxxx, is an American rapper from Georgia. His singles include "Deliverance", " Ugly" (both featuring Timbaland), and " Ms. New Booty" (featuring Ying Yang Twins ...

Goodie Mob Goodie Mob is an American hip hop group based in Atlanta, Georgia, consisting of CeeLo Green, Khujo, T-Mo, and Big Gipp. History The group was formed in 1991 by Cameron " Big Gipp" Gipp, Willie "Khujo" Knighton Jr., CeeLo Green (born Tho ...

Killer Mike Michael Santiago Render (born April 20, 1975), better known by his stage name Killer Mike, is an American rapper, actor, and activist. Mike made his debut on Outkast's 2000 LP '' Stankonia'', and later appeared on their Grammy-winning single "T ...

Field Mob Field Mob is an American hip hop duo from Albany, Georgia, composed of artists Shawn Timothy "Shawn Jay" Johnson and Darion "Smoke" Crawford. Field Mob is currently signed to T-Pain's label Nappy Boy Entertainment and managed by La' Roc Managem ...

Rich Boy Marece Benjamin Richards (born September 2, 1983), better known by his stage name Rich Boy, is an American rapper from Mobile, Alabama. He is best known for the hit single "Throw Some D's" (featuring Polow da Don) released in August 2006. It was ...

, and

8Ball & MJG 8Ball & MJG is an American hip hop duo from Memphis, Tennessee. They met at Ridgeway Middle School (Memphis, Tennessee) in 1984. In 1993, the duo released their debut album ''Comin' Out Hard''. They went on to release ''On the Outside Looking I ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mr. Dj Musicians from Atlanta Dungeon Family members American hip hop DJs African-American musicians Grammy Award winners for rap music American hip hop record producers Living people LaFace Records artists Year of birth missing (living people)