Ron Browz

For nearly a decade, Harlem, New York native Ron Browz has made it his business to bring the worlds of street and mainstream music together. From his early work with Big L and Nas to more recent work with Nicki Minaj, Busta Rhymes and Jim Jones, the talented producer-turned-artist has made his mark on Hip Hop and Top 40 music across the board.

On July 20, 2010, Ron Browz will release the Etherlibrium street album exclusively on iTunes, via his own Ether Boy Records. The 16-track project includes cameos from Maino, Red Café and J.R. Writer, with all production handled by the “Ether Boy” himself.

Influenced by the sounds of DJ Premier, Dr. Dre and Havoc, Ron Browz’ first big break came in 2000 when he produced four songs on the late Big L’s album, The Big Picture, including the classic track “Ebonics.” Big L taught Ron about the music business, and exposed him to a new network of contacts.

When he gave some beats to Queensbridge icon Nas during the recording of the 2001 double-platinum album Stillmatic, Ron Browz was not expecting history to be made. Nas used Ron’s track as the foundation for his lyrical battle classic “Ether,” a scathing comeback to Jay-Z’s “The Takeover.”

The credibility of “Ether” sparked a demand for the Ron Browz sound, and garnered him the nickname ‘Ether Boy’. His reputation for crafting impactful records grew with songs like Ludacris’ smash hit “Blow It Out” from the 2003 multi-platinum album Chicken N Beer. Other early career platinum-plus albums with Ron’s magic touch include Lloyd Banks’ Hunger For More (’04), DMX’s Grand Champ LP (’03), Lil Kim’s La Bella Mafia album (’03), and Snoop Dogg’s Rhythm & Gangsta: The Masterpiece (’04).

2005 began as another memorable year for the young producer, with a strong showing on Jae Millz’ street anthem “Who” and accompanying video heavily supported by BET. By November, Ron Browz’ production on “I’ll Whip Ya Head Boy” was presented in the opening scene for 50 Cent’s blockbuster film Get Rich Or Die Tryin’. The track also appeared as a special bonus track on the platinum soundtrack for the movie.

Browz stayed determined for the next few years, landing more tracks with G-Unit, Jim Jones, Busta Rhymes, Lloyd Banks, Joe Budden, Remy Ma and more, although he had a bigger goal in mind for his own work. He released his own single “Pop Champagne” and caught a buzz on New York’s Hot 97 and busy club circuit. Soon after, Jim Jones jumped on the track, and landed at #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on both the Hot R&B/Hip Hop and Hot Rap Tracks.

Riding the wave of success, Ron Browz soon found himself in an official deal with Universal Motown, and released the singles “Jumping Out the Window” and “20 Dollars.” By early 2010, a date was set for Ron’s major label debut album, however progress slowed with the promotion, and Browz opted out of his deal. Despite what some might think, the move was the best thing possible for the young visionary’s ever-growing repertoire.

“I was bumping heads with the label about what I thought was a hit record, and they didn’t think so,” explains Browz. “That made me go independent again, because I felt I made the decisions to even get on a major independently. My original success with “Pop Champagne” was something I put out independently, so obviously I know what I’m doing. But when you get with a major they act like you don’t know what you’re doing creatively. I had to take a step back.”

The decision to release Etherlibrium was a logical step forward in the new year, and it will definitely give listeners a broader spectrum of sound than the auto-tune laden singles put out in 2009.

“I feel like I owe the fans this iTunes release collectively, being that I didn’t get to put out the album as planned,” Ron says. “All the fans got from me was select singles, so this is more street records than radio records. Before Jay-Z’s “D.O.A.” even came out, I already had records without the auto-tune. People who really follow what I’ve been doing know that I was just experimenting and having fun. I made it creative and made it work.”

With the new project, Ron Browz wants to get back to the heart of why he loves music, and why making songs for the fans to enjoy long-term is so important.

“I want people to really get to know me,” he asserts. “I don’t believe in doing just one kind of music, and I’m just doing whatever I feel. I put my heart into this Etherlibrium project – it’s more lyrical than stuff people have really heard from me. It’s well put together, and I don’t think I was meant to be limited to releasing singles… I was meant to put whole projects together.”

For interviews and press information, contact dove@tygereye.net

Ron Browz Discography
Singles
2000 – Big L “Ebonics” b/w “Size ‘Em Up” (Rawkus/Priority)
2001 – Nas “Ether” (Columbia/Sony)
2002 – Fat Joe “We Run This Sh*t” (Atlantic)
2003 – Lil’ Kim “Whatz the Word” (white label)
2003 – Ludacris “Blow It Out” (Def Jam)
2005 – Jae Millz “Who” (Wanna Blow/Universal)
2006 – Lloyd Banks “Help” ft. Keri Hilson (co-prod w/ Sha Money XL – Interscope)
2007 – Remy Ma “Fresh” (SRC/Universal – for 2009 unreleased PunishHER LP)
2008 – Ron Browz “Pop Champagne” (Ether Boy)
2008 – Jim Jones “Pop Champagne” ft. Ron Browz & Juelz Santana (Koch/Columbia/Universal)
2008 – Busta Rhymes “Arab Money” ft. Ron Browz (Flipmode/Universal Motown)
2008 – Fat Joe “Winding On Me” ft. Ron Browz & Lil Wayne (Terror Squad/Imperial)
2008 – Jim Jones “The Good Stuff” (Koch)
2009 – Lloyd Banks “In Love With Ya Boy” ft. Ron Browz (G-Unit)
2009 – Nicki Minaj “I Get Crazy” ft. Lil Wayne (Young Money)
2009 – Ron Browz “Jumping Out the Window” (Universal Motown)
2009 – Ron Browz “20 Dollars” (Universal Motown)
2009 – Slim (of 112) “Heels On” Remix ft. Ron Browz & Deezo
2009 – Capone-N-Noreaga “Rotate” ft. Busta Rhymes & Ron Browz (Thugged Out)
2009 – Ghostface “She’s a Killah” ft. Ron Browz (Def Jam)
2010 – Foxy Brown “Ride Ya Bike” (Ether Boy)

Contributions to Albums
2000 – Big L “Ebonics”; “Size ‘Em Up”; “Casualties of a Dice Game”; “The Heist” Big Picture (Rawkus/Priority)
2001 – Nas “Ether” – Stillmatic (Columbia/Sony)
2002 – Fat Joe “We Run This Sh*t” – Loyalty (Atlantic)
2002 – Nas “Last Real N*gga Alive” –  God’s Son (Columbia/Sony)
2003 – Ludacris “Blow It Out” – Chicken N Beer (Def Jam)
2003 – DMX “F*ck Y’all” – Grand Champ (Def Jam)
2003 – Lil’ Kim “Whatz the Word” – La Bella Mafia (Atlantic)
2004 – Snoop Dogg “Oh No” ft. 50 Cent – R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece (Geffen)
2004 – Lloyd Banks “Playboy” ft. DJ Whoo Kid – The Hunger for More (Interscope)
2005 – Tony Yayo “G-Sh*t” – Thoughts of A Predicate Felon (G-Unit/Interscope)
2005 – 50 Cent “I’ll Whip Ya Head Boy” ft. Young Buck – Get Rich Or Die Trying Soundtrack (G-Unit/Interscope/Paramount Films)
2005 – Jae Millz “Bring It Back” ft. Jadakiss – FunkMaster Flex Car Show (Koch)
2005 – Papoose “New Era” – Menace II Society, Part 2 mixtape
2006 – Lloyd Banks “Playboy Part 2”; “Help” ft. Keri Hilson – Rotten Apple (G-Unit/Interscope)
2006 – Joe Budden “Old School Mouse”; “Young Ni**az” – Mood Muzik 2 mixtape
2006 – Webstar “I Just Came to Dance”; “Get Higher”; “Don’t Stop”; “In My Video” – Webstar Presents: Caught in the Web (Universal Republic)
2007 – Lumidee “You Got Me” ft. NORE – Unexpected (TVT)
2007 – Cashis “Thoughts of Suicide” – The County Hound EP (Shady/Interscope)
2007 – Jae Millz “Horror Movie” ft. Al Doe & Remy Ma – Zone Out Season V.1 mixtape
2008 – Ron Browz – The Wonder Years mixtape (Ether Boy)
2008 – G-Unit “Money Makes the World Go Round”; “Straight Outta Southside” – T.O.S. (G-Unit/Interscope)
2008 – Killer Mike “Choose Me” ft. SL Jones and Scar – Ghetto Extraordinary
2009 – Jim Jones “Pop Champagne” ft. Ron Browz & Juelz Santana; “Rain” ft. Rell, Noe & Starr; “How To Be a Boss” ft. Ludacris & Noe (Busta Rhymes on Deluxe Edition) – Prey IV Reign (Koch/Columbia)
2009 – Busta Rhymes “Arab Money” ft. Ron Browz; “Give Em What They Askin For” – Back on My B.S. (Flipmode/Universal Motown)
2009 – Bow Wow “What They Call Me” ft. Ron Browz & Nelly, co-prod. by Jermaine Dupri – New Jack City II (Columbia)
2009 – R.Kelly “Club to a Bedroom” ft. Ron Browz – The Demo Tape mixtape w/ DJ Drama & DJ Skee
2009 – Fat Joe “Winding On Me” ft. Ron Browz & Lil Wayne – J.O.S.E. 2 (Terror Squad/E1)
2009 – Nicki Minaj “I Get Crazy” ft. Lil Wayne; “Kill Da DJ” – Beam Me Up Scotty mixtape (Young Money)
2009 – Capone-N-Noreaga “Rotate” ft. Busta Rhymes & Ron Browz – Channel 10 (Thugged Out)

Miscellaneous Artist Appearances – non-production
2009 – Ghostface “She’s a Killah” ft. Ron Browz – Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City – prod. by Anthony Acid (Def Jam)
2010 – Nicki Minaj “Stripping in the Club” ft. Ron Browz, DJ Diamond Kuts, Latif