Phalon Anton Alexander, (born April 15, 1974), professionally known as Jazze Pha ( ), is an American record producer, singer, songwriter and rapper from

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Sho'nuff Records, to which American R&B singer-songwriter

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 ...

was signed.

Early life

Jazze Pha was born and raised in

. His father is James Alexander, bassist for the

Bar-Kays The Bar-Kays are an American funk band formed in 1964. The band had dozens of charting singles from the 1960s to the 1980s, including "Soul Finger" (US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number 17, R&B number 3) in 1967, "Son of Shaft" (R&B number 10) in ...

, an influential group on the Memphis soul scene in the 1960s. His mother, Denise Williams, is an accomplished singer, having worked with everyone from

Earth, Wind, and Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million reco ...

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

. Pha was named after the late

Phalon Jones Phalon R. Jones, Jr. (1948 – December 10, 1967) was an American soul and R&B musician. Jones was a saxophonist for musical group the Bar-Kays, which recorded with and also played backup for Otis Redding. Jones and three other members of the Ba ...

, another member of the Bar-Kays, who died in the December 10, 1967, plane crash that also killed three other Bar-Kays members and

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

Career

Pha is known for announcing "Ladies and gentlemen" or "This is a Jazze Phizzle product-shizzle!", both at the beginning and, occasionally, at the end of songs on which he is featured. In 1990, Pha was signed to Elektra Records.

Discography

Guest appearances

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pha, Jazze African-American record producers African-American male rappers 20th-century African-American people American male singers American double-bassists Male double-bassists American hip hop record producers American hip hop singers American music industry executives American rhythm and blues keyboardists Atlantic Records artists Businesspeople from Atlanta Businesspeople from Tennessee Living people Rappers from Memphis, Tennessee Rappers from Atlanta Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) Songwriters from Tennessee Southern hip hop musicians 21st-century American rappers 21st-century double-bassists 21st-century American male musicians 1974 births African-American songwriters 21st-century African-American musicians American male songwriters