Miami born and Houston raised, record producer and songwriter Bryan-Michael Cox has produced a plethora of hits in the R&B, Pop and Hip-hop Music. He’s worked with numerous platinum-selling recording artists, has had 35 number one hits and has won 9 Grammys for his work. His songwriting credits include hit songs performed by Mariah Carey, Usher, Toni Braxton and more. Here’s just a few hits that he has written beginning in 1999.
This infamous wedding ballad was co-written by Cox, Jermaine Dupri and the twins of Jagged Edge, Brian and Brandon Casey. This song set the tone for R&B in the early 2000s and rapidly soared to the top of the charts. This single spent three weeks at number one on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and was #11 on the pop chart. Released in February 2000, this song marked the beginning of a hit-streak for B. Cox and So So Def Recordings.
Lil Bow Wow, now known as Shad Moss, released his first single in 2000, Bounce with Me. This single was off his album, Beware of Dog. The record was featured on the soundtrack of Big Momma’s House and also went number one on Billboard’s Hot Rap Singles Chart. Cox also contributed to nine out of the 11 other tracks on the Beware of Dog album.
Toni Braxton’s 2000 single was co-written and produced by Cox, Braxton, Johnta Austin and Teddy Bishop. The song was a slow ballad, break-up record that featured Dr. Dre as the male on the other side of the line. The song questioned Braxton’s boyfriend’s manhood and was the second single off her third studio album.
Going into 2004, B. Cox continued to roll out the hits with Usher’s single, Burn. Off of one of the best-selling R&B albums,Confessions, this single brought the heat to the album. The song came at a time where Usher and TLC’s Chili was coming to an end. Dupri and Cox said, “You gotta let that burn,” and from then the song’s words were written. Burn was certified platinum by the RIAA and sored the number one on Billboard’s Hot 100. Cox was Grammy nominated for Best R&B song in 2005 for this record. Unfortunately, he did not win, but he won Best Contemporary R&B Album for his entire work on the Confessions album.
Although on the same album as Burn, Confessions Part II deserves its own spotlight. Co-written by J. Dupri, Cox and Usher, this song gave this album life. This single, which was the third single off of the album, quickly went number one on Billboard’s Hot 100. The honest narrative of Usher’s infidelity touched the hearts of fans across the world. The song was in the top 10 in more than eight countries. Confessions was one of the most successful sequence songs with a part I, part II and a part II remix featuring Jermain Dupri, Kanye West, Shyne and Twista.
This record by far is one of B. Cox’s most successful songs. His work on Be Without You and on Mary J. Blige’s The Breakthrough album won him three Grammys! The Grammy awards included Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Album and Best R&B Song. The familiar song lyrics were co-written and produced by Cox, Johnta Austin, Jason Perry and Ron Fair. This hit song spent 15 weeks on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip Hop songs chart and was heard on basically every R&B/Hip-hop station across the country. The song, released in 2005, went double platinum and spent 75 consecutive weeks on the charts.
Be Without You wasn’t the only hit, B. Cox wrote in 2005. Directly after Be Without You blew up, next came Don’t Forget About Us performed by Mariah Carey. This song became Carey’s seventeenth number one and was the fourth single off the album The Emancipation of Mimi. This song scored Cox another Grammy Nomination and went number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 on December 31, 2005.
Say Goodbye was yet another hit released in 2005 written by Mr. Cox. The record was the fourth single off of Chris Brown’s debut, self-titled album. The song’s popularity grew after it was featured in the movie and soundtrack of Step Up. Say Goodbyewas the perfect sing-along break up song and kept Chris Brown’s single streak strong after the release of the album. Co-written by B. Cox, Kendrick Dean and Adonis Shropshire, the record certified Platinum and peaked at number 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-hop Songs.
This slow ballad was released as Danity Kane’s second single off their debut album. The song was featured on Making the Band 3 and was chosen through fan polls to be the next single. Ride for You was co-written by Cox along with writers, Kendrick Deam and Adonis Stropshire. Recorded at the infamous Hit Factory in NYC, this single peaked at number 5 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
Returning back to So So Def with the hits, this next record debut the label’s newest discovered star in '09, Dondria Nicole. This soulful love song put this YouTube star on the map and is one that’s words most will not forget. This timeless record was co-written by Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox.
WERC Presents COLLIDE
Friday October 7th @ 2:00 PM
DJ House (Old 4th Ward)
Placing Your Record
Friday October 7th @ 4:00 PM
Classroom 1 @ SAE (SAE Institute)
Major Keys to Mental Health in Hip-Hop
Wednesday October 5th @ 6:30 PM
Room One (Loudermilk Center)