Dinavon Bythwood
Dinavon Bythwood (born May 23, 1967 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and also known by his music industry moniker “X1”,[1] is an American Music Executive, Pop Music record producer and songwriter. Bythwood is also a former American professional football player who was an NFL free agent acquisition by the Cleveland Browns.[2][3] A 6”4, 255 lb Defensive End, Bythwood played at the University of Miami[4] where he received his Bachelors in Business Administration and was also a NCAA Collegiate Football National Champion in 1991 as was determined by the AP Poll.[5] From 1991 to 1994 Bythwood played alongside notable teammates Actor Dwayne Johnson,[6] 2013 Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee Warren Sapp[7][8] and future NFL Hall of Famer, Super Bowl Champion Ray Lewis.[9][10] Bythwood currently resides in Miami, Florida and has a son Brandin Mikel, born April 8, 1995.
Dinavon Bythwood | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Dinavon Bythwood |
| Also known as | X1 |
| Born | May 23, 1967 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Origin | Belle Glade, Florida, U.S. |
| Genres | Pop, pop rock, dance-pop, R&B, electropop, hip pop |
| Occupation(s) | Executive Producer, Music Executive, Musician, Record producer, Songwriter |
| Instruments | Piano, Synth, Hammond Organ, vocals, electronic keyboard, DAW |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Labels | EMI Music Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing |
| Associated acts | Jason Derulo, Charice Pempengco, Belinda Peregrin, Leona Lewis, Alexandra Burke, Ginuwine, Kalenna Harper, Keyshia Cole, Joselyn Rivera (The Voice), Tamia, Monica, Chingy, Kierra Sheard, Cristyle, Danja (record producer), Timbaland |
Music career
2009: Grammy Nomination
As a record producer, Bythwood and then production partner Alex Francis made up the American music production team known as The Ghostwriters.[1] In 2008 they produced Keyshia Cole's hit single "Heaven Sent", from her multi-platinum-selling album Just like You. According to Billboard, "Heaven Sent" peaked at #1 on U.S. Hot R&B/Rap Songs chart for nine consecutive weeks and also reached #28 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100,[11] making "Heaven Sent" Cole's most successful single release to date. The duo subsequently received two Grammy nominations in the categories Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Performance.[12]
Charice Pempengco
In 2011 Bythwood /“The Ghostwriters” collaborated with former American Idol Judge / Grammy Nominated Songwriter Kara DioGuardi and Pop Music Recording Artist Jason Derulo to produce the critically acclaimed song “Lessons for Life” which featured on Warner Bros. Records International Pop star Charice Pempengco’s album Infinity.[13] Charice Pempengco is a Philippine International Superstar recording artist and Actor for the hit television series “Glee”. She first rose to prominence as a YouTube singing sensation and was initially discovered by popular songwriter Haras Fyre (pka Patrick Grant). Charice was dubbed by media icon Oprah Winfrey as “the most talented girl in the world”, which subsequently prompted Winfrey to introduce her to legendary songwriter and 16x Grammy Award-winning music producer David Foster; renowned for his work with Celine Dion, Christina Aguilera, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Chaka Khan, Beyoncé Knowles, Nsync, Prince among many other notable music icons.
Musik~Hause Produktionen Internationale
Through a co-publishing venture with EMI/Sony ATV, “Musik~Hause Produktionen Internationale,” music production company, enlists a vast network of a number award-winning, multi-platinum diverse and creatively gifted songwriters and producers. This very close knit network of talent enables Musik~Hause to produce commercially viable music and develop young, new, emerging artist(s) within the music industry for distribution.
Corporately based in Miami and Los Angeles, Musik~Hause has strategic partnerships and joint ventures with some of the music industry's top recording studios. These studios and their environment have yielded over 100 Grammy Awards for a number of Multi-Platinum recording artist(s). Bythwood explains: “As Chief Creative Consultant and A&R, I'm extremely excited about the opportunity to forge great relationships with some of the industry's finest facilities." It is paramount that our Producer(s), Artist(s), Writer(s), and Engineer(s) have an environment conducive to creativity”… and why these joint venture(s) and collabratives keep Musik~Hause on the fore front and cutting edge of music technology and cultivates an environment that fosters great music.
Currently Musik Hause, through a joint collaborative with Sony Music, Fox, and NBC, has begun cultivating the projects of and are in production with several "Stand Out Top Tier" performers from NBC's "The Voice", FOX's "American Idol" and "X Factor" respectfully. Through this venture Musik Hause/Sony ATV concentrations will be the artist development and production of those standout performers that were eliminated from competition. Roster collaborations have included NBC’s “The Voice (U.S. season 3)" Contestant Joselyn Rivera. In addition to Joselyn Rivera, Bythwood has worked with American Idol (season 11) Finalist/Runner-up Jessica Sanchez, NBC “The Voice (U.S. season 4) standout performer Monique Abaddie, and American Idol (season 11) Contestant Deneco Pittman (Neco Starr) and last season's contestant Tion Phipps among others.
An ardent believer in “Reality TV” talent based shows; Bythwood’s work with Simone Cowell’s “SYCO/Sony Music Entertainment” recording artists and UK “X Factor” Winners, Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke helped to further solidify Musik Hause’s artist developmental philosophy. Bythwood explains: “Talented artist become Superstar icons because of phenomenal songs and a great team around them.” All talented singers are not ALWAYS great songwriters which is why our approach at Musik Hause is to operate outside of status quo and the traditional norm of songwriting.
In times past, artist would write most if not all of their material and then enlist the aid of a producer to build the music around it…. However given the change over the years in the global dynamic of how labels and distributors operate, it is highly important that Producers deliver commercially viable product in line with label(s) needs while simultaneously and seamlessly maintaining artist integrity and creativity. All of this is done in pursuit of the primary goal of ultimately producing records that fans and music lovers will love and long appreciate while allowing labels to see a return on investment.
References
- http://www.ascap.com/playback/2008/fall/action/francis_bythwood.aspx
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-12-04. Retrieved 2010-01-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-04-10. Retrieved 2013-03-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-01-07. Retrieved 2010-01-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season
- Dwayne Johnson
- http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000134272/article/warren-sapp-among-seven-voted-into-hall-of-fame
- https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/sports/nfl/2013/02/02/2013-nfl-hall-of-fame-inductees/1886797/
- http://www.profootballhof.com/history/2013/2/28/ray-lewis-final-game-worn-uniform-sent-to-the-hall-of-fame/
- http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/01/06/end-of-an-era-for-future-hall-of-famer-ray-lewis/
- Heaven Sent (Keyshia Cole song)
- http://www.today.com/id/28050911/site/todayshow/ns/today-entertainment/t/grammy-nominations-top-categories/#.UTvS81dKayc
- Infinity (Charice album)