GRAMMY-winning producer/songwriter Bryan-Michael Cox was among the participants at the recent GRAMMY GPS: A Road Map For Today’s Music Pro hosted by The Recording Academy Atlanta Chapter. During the event, Cox participated in an exclusive interview with GRAMMY.com, discussing collaborating with GRAMMY winner Usher, what he learned from mentors Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jermaine Dupri and winning a GRAMMY Award, among other topics.
“To have that kind of intimacy [with Usher] and to talk about what was going on in our lives and [have] it come through in the music, I think that was my first experience really understanding that songs happen through conversation,” said Cox.
Born in Miami and raised in Houston, Cox met Dupri while attending Clark Atlanta University, which subsequently led to collaborations with artists on Dupri’s So So Def Records label, including Janet Jackson, Lil Bow Bow and Monica, among others. Cox has since co-written songs for artists such as Mary J. Blige, Chris Brown, Mariah Carey, Destiny’s Child, Alicia Keys, and Usher. In 2004 he earned his first GRAMMY nomination for Album Of The Year for his work as producer on Usher’sConfessions. He earned a second nomination for Album Of The Year in 2005 for Carey’s The Emancipation Of Mimi. His first GRAMMY Award came in 2006 for Best R&B Song for Blige’s “Be Without You.”
Cox’s other awards include multiple SESAC Songwriter of the Year honors and the organization’s Inspiration Award, and an induction into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.