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 These days, it is extremely difficult to envision today's urban music landscape without the immense contribution of Atlanta-based recording artists such as Usher, Lil' Jon, Ludacris, OutKast, and producer Jermaine Dupri. But that's not all -- Atlanta also contributed TLC, 112, Jagged Edge, and Goodie Mob throughout the 1990s and beyond, and the creativity does not show any signs of slowing down any time soon. Perhaps we can thank the arrival of New Jack Era hitmakers L.A. Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds to the Peach state in late 1989 for setting things off in the ATL. And of course, there's the "crunk" movement. However, we can also thank Joyce "Fenderella" Irby (pictured at left) who had just left her 80s group Klymaxx to embark on a solo career and form her own production company. It was Irby who took a gave Dallas Austin his first crack at major label production circa 1988.
 Dallas Austin was
born on December 29, 1972 in
Columbus GA. Dallas' mother owned
a local nightclub where a young
Austin would see countless acts
playing on an almost nighltly
basis. Dallas' stepdad was a
guitarist for James
Brown, and Dallas was
able to travel on the road with
his stepdad and the band whenever
the opportunity presented itself.
Dallas Austin was constantly
surrounded by music throughout
his early days in Columbus, and
soon found himself playing in a
number of bands, including
drumming for his high school
marching band. It was around this
time period that Austin had
relocated to Atlanta GA, where
he'd found that his name had
preceded him. It would only
be a matter of time before Dallas
found himself being immersed
in the emerging Atlanta
music scene.
Dallas Austin soon found himself working for Joyce Irby (Diva One Productions) and scored among his first accomplishments production credits on Troop's Attitude album -- in particular the songs "My Music," "My Love," and the now classic "I Will Always Love You." Dallas also notched production work on his mentor's own Maximum Thrust album, featuring her hit "Hey Mr. DJ!" (with guest star Doug E. Fresh) from her 1989 Motown release. Notably, nearly everything Dallas touched seemed to do well, so it was a virtual no-brainer for Dallas to be given full reign on one of Motown's newest acts at the time, Another Bad Creation (A.B.C).
Atlanta was quickly becoming a hotbed for R&B celebrities -- Bobby Brown had just bought a home in the tony Buckhead section of the city. Michael Bivins of New Edition/Bell Biv Devoe had scored a label deal with Motown records thanks to the legendary head of the 80s incarnation of the company, Jheryl Busby. Naturally, Bivins was drawn to Atlanta because of Austin's status as "hot and upcoming" at Motown. It was in early 1991 that "Iesha," A.B.C's first dropped - and the song was an instant smash. Featuring a hyper-adrenalized version of the drum patterns that made Bell Biv Devoe's "Poison" so unforgettable less than a year earlier, "Iesha" also featured memorably cute lyrics, cool cameos by both Bivens and Austin, and subtle yet utterly needed background vocals by a then unknown group named Boyz II Men. The full length album Coolin At The Playground, Ya Know! featuring their second hit, "Playground."
By the spring of 1991, Michael Bivins was fast becoming one of the coolest names in urban music. Not only was he a member of one of the hottest acts of the time, but he also was the leader of Biv 10 Records, which had Dallas Austin as its secret weapon - at least in the beginning. It was that spring when Boyz II Men dropped their Dallas Austin-produced "Motownphilly" which skyrocketed to the top of both the pop and R&B charts, and deservedly so. Like a burst of ice water on a warm summer day, the "Motownphilly" video featured four talented dudes from Philadelphia effortlessly harmonizing over one of the best beats to come from the era. It is important to note how "larger than life" all of this was because it was in large part thanks to the production skills of Dallas Austin that all of this came together so nicely. By the fall of 1991 however, Dallas seemed to have severed ties with Motown and the Biv 10 label.
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The probable reason behind Dallas' departure from Motown was the savvy business sense of a certain Mr. L.A. Reid. LaFace likely signed Dallas to an exclusive production deal, along with his band Highland Place Mobsters (HPM) who would release their self-titled sole release in the summer of 1992. But before that experience, Dallas would be paired up with three highly energetic young performers signed to the LaFace label nicknamed T-Boz, Left Eye, and Chilli: TLC. This pairing (much like Janet Jackson's musical relationship with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis) would prove extremely successful. Dallas seemed to really find his new sound - a clean yet rambunctious vibe that would also define much of Boomerang Soundtrack less than a year later. With the singles "Ain't To Proud To Beg" and "What About Your Friends," Dallas Austin had become arguably the new leader of innovative production near the end of the New Jack Era. Even production heavyweights LA & Babyface seemed to take cues from the Dallas sound on tracks like "Something You Wanna Know" and "Baby, Baby, Baby."
By the end of 1992, TLC had managed to shake the comparisons to Bell Biv Devoe and blaze their own trail with a memorable holiday song and hot remix of "Hat 2 Da Back," their final single from their first album. Dallas continued to score hit singles with 1992's White Men Can't Jump Soundtrack thanks to the title track (giving performers Riff much needed edge - with additional background vocals by HPM) and a remix of Boyz II Men's "Sympin" remixed by Rico Anderson who seemed to have replaced Austin at Biv 10 after he was signed to LaFace.
That summer, HPM was unveiled in all its glory with a debut single, "Let's Get Naked." Made up of Derrick "Boo Boo" Culbreath, Melvin "Elocc" Davis, "Chip" Theophilus "Maniac" Glass, and Dallas Austin himelf, HPM could be likened to Jodeci in that it featured two lead singers ("Boo Boo" as Jojo Hailey, "Maniac" as K-Ci, "Elocc" the rapper as Mr. Dalvin and Dallas as Devante - both were relatively silent and mysterious producers). Their style was rugged, laced with profanity, irreverent lyrics and perhaps most of all -- a defiance against convention. While their album failed to reach commercial success, the effort should be noted for living up to it's banner: revolutionary street music. Each member of the Highland Place Mobsters went on to other things: Melvin Lee Davis is now a session bass player and both Derrick Culbreath and Theophilus Glass are session singers affiliated with producers such as Tim & Bob, and Timbaland.
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