RedZone Entertainment

Infobox_company
company_name = RedZone Entertainment
company_
company_type = Corporation
foundation=1995 [Business Wire, June 7, 2008]
founders = Christopher "Tricky" Stewart
Mark "E" Stewart
location = Atlanta, Georgia
area_served = Worldwide
key_people=Christopher "Tricky" Stewart
Owner/Founder
Mark E. Stewart
Owner/Founder
Judi Stewart
Artist Management
Terius "The-Dream" Nash
Writer/Producer
Kuk Harrell
Writer/Producer
industry = Music
services = Music Production
Music Composition
Artist Management
num_employees = 9 ("2008") [redzoneententertainment.com]
homepage = [http://www.RedZoneEntertainment.com/ RedZoneEntertainment.com]

RedZone Entertainment is an Atlanta based music production entity. Redzone's discography includes collaborations with many artists, producers, and composers of note, and is responsible for over 25 million records sold. [Business Wire, June 7, 2008] RedZone Entertainment has produced acts such as Pink, Britney Spears, Celine Dion, Mary J. Blige, Usher, Ciara, Sting, and Rihanna. [Business Wire, Tuesday, June 3 2008]

Founded in 1995 by music producer Christopher “Tricky” Stewart and artist manager Mark E. Stewart, RedZone Entertainment serves as both the parent company and production arm of the Stewart brothers’ music business. This includes two publishing companies, an Atlanta recording studio, and an artist management company. [Business Wire, June 24, 2008 ]

Origins and History

Family beginnings

The Stewart brothers grew up in a family heavily involved in the business of making music. Their mother and her two sisters were background singers for such artists as Aretha Franklin and Curtis Mayfield, and the trio were also jingle singers featured on many national ad campaigns. Their father and his brother operated a jingle company in Chicago whose clients included Ford Motor Company, McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Bud Light, and many others. [redzoneentertainment.com]

In 1989, Big brother Laney opened his own jingle company, Minute Men Music. This was the company that gave Mark, Tricky and Judi (Tricky's sister-in-law) their start as professionals in the music business, Tricky in the area of recording and music production, Mark and Judi in the area of business. In 1989 when Laney Stewart signed an exclusive publishing agreement with Famous Music, and the family left jingles and began writing and producing records full time for major artists.

Record Production

In 1990, at the age of 16, Tricky got his first major label placement when he produced a song entitled "Hold Me Tight" for MCA recording artist, Troy Hinton. In the next two years Tricky went on to produce records for Aaron Hall, Damion Hall, Immature and others.

Company Moves

In the fall of 1992 Mark and Tricky moved the RedZone base of operations from Chicago to Los Angeles.

In 1994, the Stewarts met record producer and songwriter L.A. Reid of LaFace records. Reid offered them a deal to move their production company to Atlanta, and the brothers accepted.

RedZone Established in Atlanta

In 1995, with the support of Reid, his brother Mark Stewart, and his sister-in-law Judi Stewart, Tricky established RedZone Entertainment and Triangle Sound studios in West Buckhead, Atlanta, GA.

Early Years 1998-2003

Early Years

1998 was a pivotal year for RedZone Entertainment. Christopher "Tricky" Stewart wrote and produced JT Money's single "Who Dat", which featured female rapper Solé. "Who Dat" reached #1 on the Billboard Rap chart and #5 on Billboards "Hot 100" in 1999. In 1998 Stewart and his writers penned Mýa's "Case of the Ex". The single debuted at #12 on the Hot Singles Sales and peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It remains Mýa's highest-charting solo single on the Hot 100 to date. [AMG: Billboard Singles". All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-04-30.]

Solé went on to sign with RedZone, who produced her album "Skin Deep" released in September of 1999. "Skin Deep" peaked at #127 on the Billboard 200, and #27 on the top hip-hop albums chart. ["The Billboard 200 - Skin Deep". Billboard.com. Retrieved on 2008-07-14.] The single off the album "4,5,6" was Ascap's "Female Rap Song of the Year." [Solé on NNDB". Soylent Communications. Retrieved on 2008-08-14.] 1998 was also the year RedZone discovered producer Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, who produced TLC’s “No Scrubs” & Destiny’s Child’s “Bills, Bills, Bills”. During this time, Redzone signed R&B singer Sam Salter, and R&B singer/songwriter Blu Cantrell.

Blu Cantrell

In 2000, Tricky Stewart and producer/writer Tab started working with Blu Cantrell on a demo recording and helped her break into the business singing back up for such artists as Diddy, Gerald Levert, Aaron Hall and Faith Evans. [Sonya Shelton, Musicianguide.com/biographies] Once the demo was complete L.A. Reid was invited to hear Blu Cantrell, and he signed her immiediatly to Arista Records. [Sonya Shelton, Musicianguide.com/biographies] Reid was quoted as sayingcquote|"Her voice seemed to satisfy that yearning in my soul, not only for a great singer, but for a sound that I felt was missing in today's music."|10px
Cantrell's first album, "So Blu", was released on July 31, 2001. The album went to number 8 on the soundscan charts in it's first week. [Sonya Shelton, Musicianguide.com/biographies] In 2001, Blu Cantrell received nominations for Best New Artist from both the Grammys and the American Music Awards as well as a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance and the song “Hit Em Up Style”. The song was written and produced by Dallas Austin, and spent weeks on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart. [Sonya Shelton, musicianguide.com/biographies] In 2002, Cantrell was nominated for a Grammy Award and an American Music Award. She collaborated with RedZone on her follow-up album "Bittersweet". [Sonya Shelton, Musicianguide.com/biographies]

A Creative Community

In 2003, RedZone expanded from just a producer driven company to a creative community, fostering and collaborating with many writers and producers. The list over the years includes, but is not limited too, The-Dream, P. Magnet, Traci Hale, Tab, B. Cox, Kuk Harrell, Jazze Pha, Dallas Austen, Battery Five, Jermaine Dupri, Dean, J "Q" of The Clutch, Todd Herfindel, J.B. of "the Movement", Zeke and Ciara. RedZone has served as the springboard for many influential writers, artists, producers, and music industry professionals.

Britney Spears

-produced "Outrageous" and wrote and produced "The Hook Up", which had a reggae feel. [Oct. 15, 2003, MTV.com]

Tricky described the Britney Spears project as "the tip of the iceberg" of RedZone's new style. [Oct. 15, 2003, MTV.com]

2004-Present

Kuk Harrell, Vocal Producer, Songwriter, and Engineer

In 2004 vocal producer, songwriter and engineer Kuk Harrell joined and became a key player on the RedZone team. He would go on to co-write RedZone's production Rihanna's "Umbrella", as well as produce the now iconic vocal. He is considered on of the most sought after Vocal Producers in the industry [Myiah Hughes, theindustrycosign.com, June 1, 2007] , with a client list that includes Chris Brown, Mary J. Blige, Lionel Richie, Karina, Usher, Sting, and Celine Dion.

Rihanna "Umbrella"

's 2007 Video Music Awards, including the win for "Smash Single Of The Year". The song had an impressive chart run around the world and a received and over-all positive reception from music critics.

Entertainment Weekly magazine placed "Umbrella" at the top of their list of the Ten Best Singles of 2007 [The 10 best songs of 2007 (December 23, 2007). "The 10 best songs of 2007" Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2007-] , and Rolling Stone magazine declared it number three of the 100 Best Songs of the year [No byline (December 11, 2007). "The 100 Best Songs of 2007" Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-12-21] ; it was also named Song of the Year in Blender magazine's Readers' Poll 2007. [Jody Rosen (December 25, 2007). "Readers' Poll 2007" Blender. Retrieved 2007-12-28] In 2008 "Umbrella" won a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration in addition to receiving nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

The RedZone team suddenly found themselves in great demand. Stewart, Nash, and Harrell finished out the year working with such notable artists as Janet Jackson (Greatest X off "Discipline"), Jesse McCartney ("Leavin'" off the record "Departure"), Celine Dion (Skies of L.A. off her new album "Taking Chances"), and Usher ("Moving Mountains" and "This Ain't Sex" of his new album "Here I Stand").

J. Holiday "Bed"

2007 saw another successful release for RedZone with the single "Bed". Released June 19, 2007, written by Terius "The-Dream" Nash and covered by J. Holiday on his album "Back of my 'Lac". [ ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: J. HOLIDAY TAKES YOU TO BED!] "Bed" debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in the issue week of July 4, 2007 at number 89 and peaked at number 5. [ ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: J. HOLIDAY TAKES YOU TO BED!] It was number 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for five weeks in a row. The single also debuted on BET's 106 & Park countdown at number 9 on Tuesday July 31, 2007. On Wednesday, August 15, 2007, "Bed" hit number one on its 11th day on the countdown. The song was #70 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. [No byline (December 11, 2007). "The 100 Best Songs of 2007" Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-12-21] The video for "Bed" was ranked the #11 video of 2007 on BET's notorized.

Tricky Stewart co-wrote and produced the follow up single "Suffocate", released on October 2, 2007. [HipHop News » Check out the new Video for J. Holiday's new single 'Suffocate'] The song peaked at #2 on Billboards "Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs", #5 on U.S. Billboards Rhythmic Top 40, and #55 on the U.S. Billboard Pop 100. J. Holiday was subsequently nominated for BET's "Best Male R&B Singer 2008".

Chris Brown, "Exclusive"

The RedZone team contributed to two songs off Chris Brown's album "Exclusive" which was released on Oct 30, 2007. Terius "The-Dream" Nash wrote on "You" and "Gimme Watcha Got" featuring Lil' Wayne.

The Dream-"Love Hate"

After the success of "Umbrella", and J. Holiday's "Bed", RedZone writer/producer "The-Dream" went on to artistic success with his own certified gold record "Love Hate". The album, executive produced by Tricky Stewart, was released on December 11, 2007 on the Def Jam label. "Love Hate" spawned three singles, "Shawty Is a 10", "Falsetto", and "I Luv Your Girl". The singles peaked on the Billboard hot R&B/Hip Hop song charts at #6 [Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Shawty Is a 10. Billboard. Accessed November 8, 2007] , #3 [Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Falsetto. Billboard. Accessed March 14, 2008] , and #3 [Bubbling Under Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – I Luv Your Girl. Billboard. Accessed March 27, 2008] respectively. "The-Dream" is currently featured on Plies single "Please Excuse My Hands", which also features Jamie Foxx, as well as L.L. Cool J's "Baby", and Gym Class Heroes "Cookie Jar".

Mary J. Blige, "Growing Pains"

", Terius "The-Dream" Nash wrote on 6 of the album's tracks, and the vocals on all of the tracks but one were produced by Kuk Harrell.

The album, released on Dec 17, 2007, debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart ["Mary J. Blige - Growing Pains worldwide chart positions and trajectories". aCharts. Accessed January 3, 2008] and number one on the R&B chart. In its second week the album climbed to number one on the Billboard 200 with 204,000 copies sold. ["Mary J. Blige - Growing Pains worldwide chart positions and trajectories". aCharts. Accessed January 3, 2008] In the UK, the album entered the charts at Number 6, making it her highest charting album there since "No More Drama" in 2001 with first week sales of 21,755.

Mariah Carey, "Touch My Body"

Released February 4, 2008, "Touch My Body" is a song co-written by American singer Mariah Carey, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Crystal "Cri$tyle" Johnson and Terius "The-Dream" Nash for Carey's eleventh studio album, E=MC². Produced by Carey, Stewart and Nash, it was released as the lead single off the album. The song is Carey's eighteenth number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 [a b Billboard. Mariah, Madonna Make Billboard Chart History. April 2, 2008. Retrieved April 2, 2008] and nominated for a 2008 MTV Video Music Awards.

A review in Billboard Magazine stated that "this sensual jam is 100% Mariah, packed with satisfying harmonic layers and hooky background 'oh's,' supersonic verses and a chorus as catchy as a winter sniffle", [Chuck Taylor. Single Reviews: Touch My Body. Billboard. Retrieved February 26, 2008.] and Blender stated that it was a "pop genius making genius pop". [Blender. Listen: Mariah's New Sex Tape-Themed Smash. Retrieved February 13, 2008.] Bill Lamb from About.com also gave "Touch My Body" a positive review, giving it 4 out of 5 stars, stating that the single "is simple, sexy elegance from one of the most enduring of pop stars". [Bill Lamb. About.com Reviews "Touch My Body". About.com. Retrieved February 19, 2008.] Newsday also named it as the "Song of the Week", commenting that it was "the best opening single she's had since "Heartbreaker". [ Glenn Gamboa. Reviews: Bell X1's 'Flock,' Moorer's 'Mockingbird'. February 19, 2008. Retrieved February 19, 2008.] Digital Spy was also positive, saying "its cooing, sensual charms soon take hold, suggesting the wind's still very much behind the Carey comeback bandwagon". [Nick Levine. Digital Spy. "Mariah Carey, Touch My Body" Sept. 15,2008 Retrieved March 4.]

Jesse McCartney, "Leavin'"

On March 10, 2008, Tricky Stewart, Terius "The-Dream" Nash, and Kuk Harrell co-created the single entitled "Leavin'" for Jesse McCartney's album "Departure" which was subsequently released on May 20, 2008. "Leavin'" peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, [Artist Chart History: Jesse McCartney. Billboard.com. Retrieved June 24, 2008.] #2 on the Billboard Pop 100 chart, [Artist Chart History: Jesse McCartney. Billboard.com. Retrieved June 24, 2008.] #1 on Billboard Hot Dance Club Play, [Artist Chart History: Jesse McCartney. Billboard.com. Retrieved June 24, 2008.] and #1 on Billboard Mainstream Top 40 singles chart. [Artist Chart History: Jesse McCartney. Billboard.com. Retrieved June 24, 2008.]

Leavin' stayed in the the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 20 weeks. [Artist Chart History: Jesse McCartney. Billboard.com. Retrieved June 24, 2008.]

See also

* Tricky Stewart
* Kuk Harrell
* Terius "The-Dream" Nash

References