User:JSFarman/sandbox/Mark Batson Rewrite

Mark Batson is a multi platinum American producer, musician and songwriter. A Grammy Award winner, he has worked on albums by artists including Alicia Keys, Leann Rimes, Dave Matthews Band, Maroon 5, James Blunt, Anthony Hamilton, Skylar Grey, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Seal, Nas, Beyonce, Dr. Dre and Eminem.

He won Grammy Awards in 2010 and 2011 for Best Rap Album For Eminem’s Relapse (2010) and Recovery (2011). He also won the Grammy for Best R&B album in 2004 for Beyonce’s Dangerously in Love. In 2016 he produced albums for Alicia Keys, Skylar Grey, Leann Rimes and Anthony Hamilton. Batson was formally trained classical piano as a child growing up in New York. He performed classical piano pieces at Carnegie Hall and Brooklyn Academy of Music at the age of 12. He later studied jazz piano at Howard University, and was the pianist for the Smithsonian Institution's African American Culture department. He first mixed hip hop sampling and drum programming with live instrumentation as part of the group Get Set V.O.P. This blend is characteristic of much of his later production work.

He has composed music for the feature films Beauty Shop, Miamia Vice, American Hustle. and Triple 9. Batson is also the writer of the graphic novel series Loaded. He is developing the music for the series with Dr. Dre.