Austin Garrick, also known as Watts, is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

record producer, songwriter, musician and composer from

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. He has produced for artists such as

Ghostface Killah Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 C ...

, Redman,

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of t ...

Ryuichi Sakamoto is a Japanese composer, pianist, singer, record producer and actor who has pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto inf ...

and

Gesaffelstein Mike Lévy (; born 24 June 1987), known professionally as Gesaffelstein (), is a French music programmer, DJ, songwriter and record producer from Lyon. He has worked alongside artists such as The Weeknd, Daft Punk, Kanye West, A$AP Rocky, Elec ...

. He is one half of synth-pop duo Electric Youth (alongside childhood girlfriend Bronwyn Griffin), who first rose to prominence upon the release of their song "

A Real Hero "A Real Hero" is a song by French electronica artist College in collaboration with Electric Youth, released in 2010. The song was included as the eleventh track on Electric Youth's debut studio album '' Innerworld''. The track was used as a main ...

", from the acclaimed

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

of the motion picture ''

Drive Drive or The Drive may refer to: Motoring * Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle * Road trip, a journey on roads Roadways Roadways called "drives" may include: * Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive" ...

''.

Early life and career

Watts grew up in the

Oakwood-Vaughan Oakwood Village, formerly known as Oakwood–Vaughan, is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located in the former suburb of York, the neighbourhood is a Business Improvement Area (BIA); it has an annual arts festival and a public librar ...

neighbourhood of Toronto. He was born to a Vincentian musician father and a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

-born mother (of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

descent), a doctor. His father, who was a drummer in the

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

band

Messenjah Messenjah is a Canadian-based reggae group that flourished to become one of the most successful and popular reggae groups in the history of Canadian music. History Messenjah was formed in 1980 in Kitchener, Ontario and released their first album ...

, taught him how to play drums when he was two years old, and professionally by the age of five. Nicknamed "Stixs", he would perform around Toronto regularly, opening for reggae band

Third World The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...

at the age of seven and in front of a crowd of over 50,000 at the

Rogers Centre Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a multi-purpose retractable roof stadium in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it ...

alongside

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

, at the age of 12. After his parents got divorced, he started making beats as an alternative to performing. When Watts became serious about a career as a record producer, he made several trips to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He dropped out of high school in Grade 11 after a meeting with producer

K-Cut Kevin McKenzie (born July 25, 1971), professionally known as K-Cut, is a Canadian record producer and DJ, most notably as a member of East Coast hip hop group Main Source. Early life and family Born in Toronto to a Jamaican father and an Afro-Gu ...

(of the legendary group

Main Source Main Source was an East Coast hip hop group based in New York City/Toronto, composed of Toronto-born DJs and producers, K-Cut and Sir Scratch, and Queens MC and producer Large Professor. Later, another Queens MC, Mikey D (Michael Deering), re ...

). In New York, K-Cut took Watts under his wing and taught him about making great records, and the music business in the U.S. He later worked with Rashad Smith under the Tumblin' Dice Productions label.

Selected discography

*”Memory Emotion” (entire album) - Electric Youth ( Last Gang/

eOne Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television s ...

) *”Forever” -

feat. Electric Youth ( Columbia) *"

(From the Motion Picture

)" -

College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

& Electric Youth (Lakeshore) *”andata (Electric Youth Remix)“ -

(

Milan Records Milan Records is a record label located in Los Angeles, California specializing in film scores and soundtrack albums. In addition, Milan boasts an extensive electronic catalog which features down-tempo, chillout, and eclectic electronic releases ...

) *'' Innerworld'' (entire album) - Electric Youth (

Secretly Canadian Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Secretly Canadian is a label included in Secretly Group, which ...

/ Last Gang) *"Baby" -

feat. Raheem DeVaughn (

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

) (Produced with Rashad Smith) *"Do My Thing" -

Kid Cudi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor and fashion designer. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Cudi would move to New Yo ...

feat.

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

(

Universal Motown Universal Motown Records was an American record label that operated as a division of Universal Motown Republic Group. It was the contemporary incarnation of the legendary Motown Records label, and the "urban" half of UMG, although there were some ...

) (Produced with Rashad Smith) *"Exclusive" – Foxy Brown feat. Stacey (Black Roses) *"Blow Treez" – Redman feat.

& Ready Roc (Def Jam) *"Jingle Baby" –

Joe Budden Joseph Anthony Budden II (born August 31, 1980) is an American media personality and former rapper. He first gained recognition as a rapper with his 2003 top 40 single " Pump It Up" and as a member of the hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse. In ...

(Def Jam) *"Jingling Baby" (Remix) – Joe Budden feat. Coke (Def Jam) *"Jingling Baby" – Coke (Def Jam) *"Something About You" –

In Essence In Essence (occasionally referred to as I.E.) was a five-member Canadian R&B group based in Toronto, Ontario. Their music has been played both in Canada and the United States. The band was active between 1993 and 2006, and their album ''The Maste ...

( Sony BMG Canada) *"All Night" – In Essence (Sony BMG Canada) *"Getting It On" – Jacksoul (Sony BMG Canada)

References

External links

Watts
on Myspace Canadian hip hop record producers People from York, Toronto Black Canadian musicians Canadian people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines descent Canadian people of Polish descent Canadian people of Greek descent Canadian people of Russian descent Living people Musicians from Toronto Year of birth missing (living people) {{music-producer-stub