Tricky Stewart
Stewart in 2020
Background information
Also known as	Tricky Trixter
Born	Christopher Alan Stewart (1974-01-04)January 4, 1974 (age 51) Markham, Illinois, U.S.
Genres	R&B hip hop
Occupations	Record producer record executive music publisher songwriter entrepreneur
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Spirit Music Epic Island Def Jam RedZone MCA

Christopher Alan "Tricky"Stewart (born January 4, 1974) is an Americanrecord producer, record executive,songwriter, andmusic publisher. Stewart, a five-timeGrammy Award recipient, began producing music in 1992 and has contributed to unit sales of over 50 million for his work onhip hop,R&B andpop releases.^[1] Often in tandem with production partner and R&B singerThe-Dream, he has been credited on the singles "Case of the Ex" (2000) byMýa, "Me Against the Music" (2003) byBritney Spears, "Umbrella" (2007) byRihanna, "Just Fine" (2007) byMary J. Blige, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" (2008) byBeyoncé, "Touch My Body" (2008) and "Obsessed" (2009) byMariah Carey, "One Time" (2009) and "Baby" (2010) byJustin Bieber, "Ride" (2010) byCiara, and "Water" (2023) byTyla, among others.^[2]

Stewart co-founded the record companyRedZone Entertainment in 1995, which signed R&B singerFrank Ocean prior to his mainstream breakthrough. In 2012, he was included inBillboard's 40 Under 40, a list of music executives "who are propelling our industry with their artistic and business vision."^[3] Stewart signed a publishing contract with Spirit Music Group in 2020, a deal which covered his following works as he sold his catalog to Hipgnosis Songs two years prior.^[4]

Stewart was born inMarkham, Illinois. Raised in a musical family, he was playing guitar, keyboards, and writing songs by the age of 12. His older brother, record producerLaney Stewart, introduced him to one of his first music business mentors, the lateLouis Silas, Jr., who fostered Stewart's musical career by giving him the opportunity to contribute to several projects for major artists. Before graduating high school, Stewart had placements with artists such asAaron Hall, rhythm and blues trioIMx, andChanté Moore. He credits working with the latter gave him further opportunities in his burgeoning career.^[5]

In 1994, Stewart produced the single "Treat U Right" forBlackgirl. He also met record producerL.A. Reid, who offered him a deal to move his first production company to Atlanta. In 1995, with the support of Reid, he launched the companyRedZone Entertainment and recording studio, Triangle Sound. Both were operated in partnership with his brother Mark Stewart and sister-in-law Judi Stewart. RedZone Entertainment is based in Atlanta, but also has a recording studio in Los Angeles.

Stewart saw his first major breakthrough in 1999 when he co-produced the single "Who Dat" forJT Money. The song peaked at number five on theBillboard Hot 100, receivedplatinum certification by theRecording Industry Association of America and wonASCAP's "Song of the Year".^[6] In addition to producing and writing, Stewart executive produced albums forSolé andBlu Cantrell.

In 2000, Tricky co-wrote and producedInterscope Records artistMýa's breakthrough single "Case of the Ex". It peaked at number two on theBillboard Hot 100 in December 2000, and remained in the chart's top ten for three months.^[6] While Mya's song was still on top, Stewart discovered and signedBlu Cantrell, and went on to executive produce her debut albumSo Blu onArista Records. It peaked at number eight on theBillboard 200 and spawned theBillboard Hot 100-top two single "Hit 'em Up Style (Oops!)".

In 2002, Stewart co-produced and co-wroteB2K's debut single, "Uh Huh".^[7] In 2003, Blu Cantrell's second album,Bittersweet, was released; it features three songs produced by Stewart, "Unhappy", "Holding on to Love" and "Let Her Go". He also co-wrote and produced a number of songs forBritney Spears's fourth album,In the Zone (2003), including two of its singles, "Me Against the Music" and "Outrageous", as well as "Early Mornin'" and "The Hook Up".

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2007 was a breakthrough year for Stewart and RedZone Entertainment. Rihanna's single "Umbrella", co-written withThe-Dream, garnered two Grammy nominations—forRecord of the Year andSong of the Year—and won the award forBest Rap/Sung Collaboration. In an interview with MTV, Stewart said

"When she recorded the 'ellas' you knew it was about to be the jump-off, and your life was about to change if you had anything to do with that record."

Released in March 2007, "Umbrella" topped theBillboard Hot 100 chart by May, rising 40 spots in one week to spend seven consecutive weeks at number one. The song also broke the iTunes music store's record for biggest debut. Its success brought Rihanna to a mainstream prominence; co-writer and business partner The-Dream ultimately signed withDef Jam Recordings to release his own singles. Stewart was credited on his follow-up singles "Falsetto" and "I Luv Your Girl". In late 2007, Stewart was working with notable artists asJanet Jackson,Celine Dion, andUsher ("Moving Mountains" and "This Ain't Sex" of his albumHere I Stand).

"It's crazy, just being a part of that, I've seen a lot of things in my time in the music business, but to see a record take off like that, it's just amazing."

Stewart was also nominated in 2007 for a Grammy for "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" on Mary J. Blige's "Just Fine"; that same year, Stewart also co-wrote and produced on the albumGrowing Pains, as well as the vocals were produced by his production team. Composed of Tricky, The-Dream, and Kuk Harrell, it proved to be a successful tandem. Stewart won his first Grammy Awardfor his work onGrowing Pains in 2009.

The single "Touch My Body" off Mariah Carey's album in 2008E=MC², produced by Stewart and Carey was described as "...a No. 1 just waiting to pounce the Billboard Hot 100" by Chuck Taylor of Billboard Magazine. On April 2, 2008, it was announced that "Touch My Body" became Carey's 18th No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, pushing her to second place among artists with the most No. 1 singles in the rock era and first place as a solo artist in the same category, surpassing Elvis Presley. The achievement was attributed to a record-breaking digital sales debut, as 286,000 copies were sold in its first week of availability.

Also in 2008, he produced the songs, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" forBeyoncé as well as the ballad "Smash into You". "Single Ladies" would later become a pop culture phenomenon due to its female empowerment lyrics, catchy melody and much parodied music video. The song won multiple Grammy and MTV Video Music Awards, and remains Stewart's best-selling single.

ForCiara's 2009 album,Fantasy Ride, he produced the song "High Price", which featuresLudacris. That same year, he also worked with Japanese-American singer-songwriterUtada on her third English studio albumThis Is The One, on which he produced four songs.

Tricky and The-Dream collaborated with Mariah Carey on her 2009 album,Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, for which they co-produced each song, and co-wrote all but one of the songs.

Tricky and The-Dream executive-producedCiara's fourth studio album,Basic Instinct, which was released on December 10, 2010. The lead single from the album, "Ride" was produced by the duo and released in April 2010; it went on to become Ciara's 12th top ten hit on theBillboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.^[8]

Stewart contributed to theChristina Aguilera albumBionic, released in June 2010, and produced the score for her debut film,Burlesque, released in November 2010.

Stewart producedKaty Perry's second studio album,Teenage Dream which was released in 2010.^[9] Its second promotional single, "Circle the Drain", was produced by Stewart and released on iTunes in August of that year.

Stewart co-produced three songs and one bonus track fromJennifer Lopez's eighth studio albumLove?, which was released in April 2011. The album marked her first release throughIsland Records after completing her 10-year contract withEpic Records in February 2010.

Stewart also contributed toBig Time Rush's song "No Idea" from their sophomore albumElevate, released in November 2011.

In October 2016, he was a producer and songwriter forBTS's song "BTS Cypher 4".

In July of 2023, Stewart wroteTyla's singleWater

In November 2023, Stewart co-producedP1Harmony's single "Fall in Love Again".

• 1974 births
• Living people
• Musicians from Chicago
• People from Markham, Illinois
• Record producers from Illinois
• Grammy Award winners

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