Featured Ghostwriters from the 2000s
Jermaine Dupri
Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972), known professionally as Jermaine Dupri or JD, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, record executive, actor, DJ and television producer. He was born in Asheville, North Carolina and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He has written with and produced for Kris Kross, Mariah Carey, Usher, Jay-Z, Nelly, Monica, Migos, Da Brat, Xscape, Janet Jackson, TLC, Aretha Franklin, Ludacris, Alicia Keys, and Bow Wow. Dupri got his start as a dancer for the hip hop group Whodini when he was only twelve. He was instrumental in the creation of the group Kriss Kross In 1997, Dupri co-wrote and produced several tracks on Usher's second album, My Way. The lead single, "You Make Me Wanna", reached number-one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart. All three singles from that album have been RIAA certified platinum. In 2015, he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Chad Hugo
Charles Edward "Chad" Hugo (born February 24, 1974) is an American multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He is best known as one-half of the music production and writing duo The Neptunes and as a member of N.E.R.D. He is a saxophonist, pianist and guitarist. Along with his production partner Pharrell Williams, he has produced numerous number-one hit tracks. Hugo was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, to Filipino parents. He grew up in Virginia Beach. After several years of occasional productions for artists often associated with founder Teddy Riley, such as BLACKstreet and SWV, they scored songwriting and production assignments with artists such as N.O.R.E. and Mystikal, which became hits, allowing them to produce with their own distinctive sound for megastars such as Jay-Z. Hugo signed a global music publishing deal with BMG Music Publishing. The Neptunes are estimated to have a net worth of $160 million and are considered one of the most successful producers in music history, noted by twenty-four Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits during the late 1990s and 2000s. In 2009, Billboard ranked The Neptunes number one on their list of the top 10 producers of the decade.
Stargate
Stargate is a Norwegian record producing and songwriting team composed of Tor Erik Hermansen (born 14 October 1972) and Mikkel Storleer Eriksen (born 10 December 1972), based in Los Angeles. The team's genres include R&B, pop and hip hop. Stargate was established in Trondheim, Norway. They have produced and written or only produced for Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Samantha Mumba, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Mary J. Blige, Ne-Yo, Katy Perry, Coldplay, P!nk, Sia, Kylie Minogue, Lionel Richie and others. Hermansen described his anonymity as "great". "We have the number 1 record in the country for 10 weeks," he said, of producing Beyoncé's anthem "Irreplaceable", "but when we walk down the street no one knows who we are."
Scott Storch
Scott Storch (born December 16, 1973) is an American record producer and songwriter. He started off as a keyboardist for the group The Roots. Storch began his professional music career in 1991, when he became one of the first members of the hip hop group The Roots as a keyboard player. Storch's first two commercial hits were from the production and writing on the track "You Got Me" by The Roots ft. Erykah Badu and Eve and his collaboration with Dr. Dre for the song "Still D.R.E." including the characteristic piano. Storch's most successful solo production hit was "Lean Back", a 2004 single by Terror Squad. He was one of the top producers in the business, having written and produced hits for 50 Cent, The Game, T.I., Chris Brown, Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, Dr. Dre, Nas, Snoop Dogg, Pink, Lil' Kim and many others." Storch was also awarded ASCAP's Songwriter of the Year award in 2006.