Di Genius (real name Stephen McGregor, is a Grammy Award Winning music producer,

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, and songwriter from Kingston,

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. Di Genius comes from a musical family—his father is legendary veteran reggae artist

Freddie McGregor Freddie McGregor (born 27 June 1956, in Clarendon, Jamaica) is a Jamaican singer, musician and record producer. His music career began when he was seven years old. Biography In 1963 he joined with Ernest Wilson and Peter Austin to form The C ...

and his siblings, Daniel "Chino" McGregor and Yeshemabeth "Shema" McGregor, are also singers. While Di Genius was primarily known for producing

riddim Riddim is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm". In the context of reggae and dancehall, it refers to the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use the ...

s out of his "Big Ship" recording studio, he has gone on to produce and write songs for international artists such as Sean Paul,

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

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 ...

Lianne La Havas Lianne Charlotte Barnes (born 23 August 1989), known professionally as Lianne La Havas ( ), is a British singer-songwriter and record producer. Her career began after being introduced to various musicians, including singer Paloma Faith, for wh ...

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is n ...

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...

among others. ''

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'' named him a "Reggae Veteran At The Age of 18." In 2017,

Billboard.com ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

listed Di Genius as one of the producers who brought dancehall back to the mainstream, noting his work on Drake's hit song "Controlla" off the multi-platinum selling album ''Views''. His work is also featured on multiple

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

s nominated albums.

Biography

Stephen McGregor is the son of legendary reggae singer Freddie McGregor. The year before, his father had passed up a record deal from Arista Records, choosing instead to create his own record label, which he named Big Ship after his 1982 hit single from the album of the same name. When he renovated the family home in 1995, Freddie McGregor had a small but high-tech recording studio built to produce music for the label, and Stephen took a shine to the studio at an early age. His father recalls of the period: "If we saw the door was open, we’d know Stephen was in there. He was just so short you couldn’t see him over the mixing desk." His father nurtured his interest in music by bringing him along on tour, and the young McGregor would often watch his father's performances from the side of the stage. Stephen McGregor wrote and recorded his first song at the age of five, a dancehall track titled "School Done Rule" which was featured on the

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

"Reggae For Kids." However, the young McGregor soon gravitated more towards the production end of songwriting, and by the age of seven he had taught himself to play bass, guitar, keyboards, and violin by mimicking the songs he heard on the radio. McGregor began his production career at the age of twelve, contributing to local production studios such as Outlaw. His first hit riddim came in 2004, while still attending

Ardenne High School Ardenne High School is a prominent coeducational, first-to-sixth form secondary school located in St. Andrew, Jamaica. The institution is best known for its high academic standards, among the highest in the Caribbean, and for its achievements i ...

. McGregor and his brother Chino approached dancehall artist

Elephant Man Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), often erroneously called John Merrick, was an English man known for having severe deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "the Elephant Man" and then wen ...

at his nearby Havendale home to ask him to

deejay A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

on the whimsical "Cartoon" riddim, and the artist accepted, the first of fifteen artists to vocalize on the track. In a radio interview, a local DJ gave McGregor the nickname " Di Genius," owing to the fact that his musical talent came at such a young age. What MTV described as Di Genius's "defining moment" came in 2006, when up-and-coming artist Mavado recorded the song "Weh Dem a Do" on his "Red Bull & Guinness" riddim. The riddim was co-produced with

Delly Ranx Delroy Isaac Foster, better known as Delly Ranx, is a Jamaican dancehall deejay and record producer. Biography Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Foster was raised as a Christian, but adopted the Rastafarian faith as a teenager.Jebbinson, André (20 ...

the previous year, when Di Genius was fifteen years old. The single was a huge success in Jamaica and even made a mark internationally, placing on the Billboard

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart in the United States. The same year, he also released the successful "Power Cut" riddim and produced singles for several artists, including

Bounty Killer Rodney Basil Price (born 12 June 1972), known as Bounty Killer, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay. AllMusic describes him as "one of the most aggressive dancehall stars of the '90s, a street-tough rude boy with an unrepentant flair f ...

Da'Ville Orville Thomas, better known by his stage name Da'Ville, is a Jamaican reggae singer. Biography Orville Thomas is the first child of Jah Thomas and Cleopatra Wright.Morgan, Simone (2012)Singer Da’Ville returns with new album, '' Jamaica Obser ...

, and Big Ship labelmates Laden and Chino. He also began a project with Mavado's rival, the controversial deejay

Vybz Kartel Adidja Azim Palmer (born 7 January 1976), better known as Vybz Kartel, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall recording artist, composer, record producer, and entrepreneur. Among his various nicknames, he is referred to as "Worl' Boss". As summarize ...

. The record '' The Teacher's Back'' was released two years later to a primarily Japanese market and featured eighteen original tracks, all produced by Di Genius. In addition to his riddim productions and solo work, Di Genius also produced the entirety of his brother Chino's eponymous album in 2011 and the majority of Sean Paul's 2009 album '' Imperial Blaze'' and Mavado's '' Mr. Brooks...A Better Tomorrow'', also from 2009. He also wrote and produced several songs for international artists, including Hasidic reggae artist

Matisyahu Matthew Paul Miller (born June 30, 1979), known by his stage name Matisyahu (; ), is an American reggae singer, rapper, beatboxer, and alternative rock musician. Known for blending spiritual themes with reggae, rock and hip hop beatboxing soun ...

J-pop J-pop ( ja, ジェイポップ, ''jeipoppu''; often stylized as J-POP; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively also known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the ...

singer

Mika Nakashima is a Japanese singer and actress. Five of her studio albums, one of her mini-albums and one of her compilation albums have reached number one in Japan's Oricon album chart. She also embarked on an acting career, most notably as Nana Osaki in the ...

, R&B singers

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...

and Estelle,

and pop star

, whose Di Genius produced song "Don't Leave Me" appeared on her 2012 album ''

The Spirit Indestructible ''The Spirit Indestructible'' is the fifth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado. The album was released on 14 September 2012. Furtado served as the executive producer for the album as well as a principal writer. Further produ ...

''. In 2017,

Warner Chappell Music Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group. Warner Chappell Music's catalogue consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 65,000 composers, with offices in over 40 countries. ...

announced that they signed a new writing deal with Di Genius. Production Style Di Genius has said in interviews that he admires songwriters such as Stevie Wonder for his arrangements and

instrumentation Instrumentation a collective term for measuring instruments that are used for indicating, measuring and recording physical quantities. The term has its origins in the art and science of scientific instrument-making. Instrumentation can refer to ...

. He also stated that he draws inspiration from producers such as

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 ...

and

The Neptunes The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music videos ...

for their instantly recognizable production styles.

Vivien Goldman Vivien Goldman (born 1952) is a British journalist, writer and musician. Early life and education Goldman was born in London in 1952, the child of two German-Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany. She studied English and American literature at th ...

described his productions in ''

'' as having "a challenging sound that combines playfulness, the spatial drama of a movie soundtrack and orchestral brio" characterized by "sparse, punching jabs of sound and lush snatches of melody." She also wrote that while his tense urban riddims are well suited for American hip hop audiences, he displays a great amount of versatility, with productions ranging from lovers rock to

reggae fusion Reggae fusion is a genre of reggae that mixes reggae and/or dancehall with other genres, such as pop, rock, hip hop, R&B, jazz, funk, soul, disco, electronic and latin. Origin Although artists have been mixing reggae with other genres from as ...

. Equipment-wise, Di Genius stated that he started out producing with a single drum machine MPC, but has since moved on to multiple MPCs, keyboards, and a variety of audio editing programs, including

Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture ( sound design, audio post-produ ...

Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, ...

Logic Pro Logic Pro is a digital audio workstation (DAW) and MIDI sequencer software application for the macOS platform. It was originally created in the early 1990s as Notator Logic, or Logic, by German software developer C-Lab which later went by E ...

, and

REAPER A reaper is a farm implement or person that reaps (cuts and often also gathers) crops at harvest when they are ripe. Usually the crop involved is a cereal grass. The first documented reaping machines were Gallic reapers that were used in Roma ...

Discography

As producer/composer/writer : Mavado – "Weh Dem A Do" (Producer/Writer)

– "Bigger Love" (Producer)

Shenseea Chinsea Lee (born 1 October 1996), known professionally as Shenseea, is a Jamaican dancehall artist. She initially gained attention after appearing on songs by Vybz Kartel, Sean Paul, and Christina Aguilera. In 2019, she signed a recording contr ...

– "Run Run" (Writer/Producer)

Khea Ivo Alfredo Thomas Serue (born 13 April 2000), known by his stage name Khea, is an Argentine trap rapper and singer. He is a member of the Argentinian trap scene along with artists such as Cazzu and Duki. Early years Ivo Alfredo Thomás Seru ...

Julia Michaels Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. (For further details on etymology, see the Wiktionary entry "Julius".) The given name ''Julia'' had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e.g ...

Becky G Rebbeca Marie Gomez (born March 2, 1997), known professionally as Becky G, is an American singer and actress. She first gained recognition in 2011 when she began posting videos of herself covering popular songs online. One of her videos caught t ...

– "Only One" ft Di Genius (Producer/Writer)

- "Don't Walk Away" ft

Koffee Victoria Simpson (born 16 February 2000), better known as Koffee, is a Jamaican reggae singer, songwriter, rapper, and guitarist from Spanish Town, Jamaica. She released her debut single "Burning" in 2017, and in 2019 signed with Columbia Record ...

(Producer/Writer)

- "Rotate" ft

Burna Boy Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu (born 2 July 1991), known professionally as Burna Boy, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. He rose to stardom in 2012 after releasing "Like to Party", the lead single from his debut studio album, ''L.I. ...

(Producer/Writer)

- "My Man" (Producer/Writer)

– "Don't Leave Me (Producer/Writer) French Montana - "Writing On The Wall" ft

Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his variegated vocals, Malone has gained acclaim for blending genres and subgenres of hip ...

Cardi B (Producer/Writer)

Rvssian Tarik Johnston (born 12 April, 1988), commonly known as Rvssian (formerly spelt as Russian), is a Jamaican record producer, singer, songwriter and entrepreneur. Rvssian is the founder of Head Concussion, a music production company situated i ...

- "IDKW" ft

Swae Lee

Young Thug Jeffery Lamar Williams (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is considered to be an influential figure of his generation, with his music impacting the modern sound of hip ...

(Producer/Writer)

Paloma Mami Paloma Rocío Castillo Astorga (born November 11, 1999), known professionally as Paloma Mami, is a Chilean-American singer-songwriter. She began her musical career in 2018, and her first studio album, ''Sueños de Dalí'', was released in Marc ...

- "RDMDA" (Producer/Writer)

– "Controlla" (Producer/Writer)

Will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas. ...

– "it's my birthday" (Writer)

- "Amarillo" (Producer)

- "Blessed" ft.

Tyga Michael Ray Nguyen-StevensonMicheal Ray Stevenson ...

(Producer/Writer)

Neyo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...

- "Major Moves" (from the movie "Sprinter") (Producer/Writer) Teamarrr – "Cool Enough" (HBO Insecure) (Producer/Writer)

Damian Marley Damian Robert Nesta "Jr. Gong" Marley (born 21 July 1978) is a Jamaican DJ, singer, lyricist and rapper. He is the recipient of four Grammy Awards. Early life, education and family Damian Marley is the youngest son of reggae musician Bob Marle ...

- Upholstery (Producer/Writer)

- Slave Mill (Producer/Writer)

– "Midnight" (Producer/Writer)

– "Fairytale" (Writer) Sean Paul " Imperial Blaze" : "So Fine" (Producer/Writer) "Lace it" (Producer/Writer) "Press it up" (Producer/Writer) "Now That i've got your love" (Producer/Writer) "Birthday Suit" (Producer/Writer) "Evening Ride" (Producer/Writer) "Daddy's Home" (Producer/Writer) " Don't Tease Me" (Producer/Writer) "She Wanna Be Down" (Producer/Writer) "Lately" (Producer/Writer) "She Want Me" (Producer/Writer) "Watch Dem Roll" (Producer/Writer)

Michael Franti Michael Franti (born April 21, 1966) is an American rapper, musician, poet, activist, documentarian, and singer-songwriter, known for his participation in many musical projects, most with a political and social emphasis, including the Beatnigs ...

– SoulRocker (Album) (Producer/Writer) FuseODG – "Dangerous Love" (Producer/Writer) Kalash – "Taken" (Producer/Writer) Mali music – "One" (Producer/Writer)

– "Motivate"

– "Smash Lies"

– "Struggla"

Nicky Jam Nick Rivera Caminero (born March 17, 1981), known professionally as Nicky Jam, is an American singer and actor. He is best known for hits such as " X", "Travesuras", "En la Cama", "Te Busco", " El Perdón", " Hasta el Amanecer", and " El Amante ...

– "Me Enamoras" (Writer)

Wretch 32 Jermaine Sinclaire Scott (born 9 March 1985), better known by his stage name Wretch 32, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter from Tottenham, North London. He was a member of the grime collective Combination Chain Gang, before forming The M ...

– "Alright With Me" ft Anne Marie & prgrshn (Producer)

Maverick Sabre Michael Stafford (born 12 July 1990), better known as Maverick Sabre, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and rapper. Early life Sabre was born in Hackney, London. At age four, he moved with his family to New Ross, County Wexford, where he grew u ...

– Emotion (Producer/Writer)

Collie Buddz Colin Patrick Harper (born August 21, 1981), better known by his stage name Collie Buddz, is a Bermudian reggae artist best known for his single "Come Around". Career Although Harper was born in New Dadyal Hospital, AJK. He studied audio enginee ...

- " i got you" (Producer/Writer)

- "Defend your own" (Producer/Writer) Lali Esposito - Sin Querer Queriendo (feat. Mau y Ricky) (Producer/Writer)

- "Destiny" (Writer)

- "RDMDA" (Producer/Writer)

Compilation albums

* ''Labwork Vol. 1'' (2010) * ''Labwork Vol. 2'' (2010) * Lab work Vol. 3

Riddims

2000s

2010s

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Di Genius Jamaican reggae singers Jamaican dancehall musicians Jamaican record producers Jamaican male singers People from Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica Living people Year of birth missing (living people)