Guide Note

Swizz Beatz is a hip-hop producer, rapper, record executive and shoe designer. His first solo album came out in 2007, entitled One Man Band Man. In a disappointing first week, it only sold 45,000 albums. He has released four singles over the course of his career, "Big Business," "It's Me Snitches," "Money in the Bank" and "Top Down."

Swizz Beatz is the founder of Full Service Records. Before opening his own company he worked for Ruff Ryders, Roc-A-Fella Records, Elektra Records, Epic Records, Def Jam Recordings and Bad Boy Entertainment.

Has worked with many artists like Ashanti, Mariah Carey, 2 Much, 50 Cent, Lil Mama, Drag-On, G-Unit, Madonna, Usher, Papoose, The Game, Ja Rule, Busta Rhymes, Solange Knowles, Ruff Ryders, Beyonce, Eve and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.

Fast Facts

1. Birth name: Kasseem Mike Dean
2. Born: September 13, 1978
3. Label: Full Surface Records
4. Has one son, Kasseem Jr.
5. Was married to Mashonda

• 2007: One Man Band Man

In the summer of 2008, rumors spread that Swizz Beatz was cheating on his wife, Mashonda, with his friend, R&B singer Alicia Keys. Some reports indicate that Mashonda may have decided to file for divorce, hiring famed lawyer Bernard Clair, after finding an e-mail from Keys on Swizz's BlackBerry. Furthermore, Keys allegedly hosted a birthday party for Swizz at a New York Louis Vuitton store, referring to the producer as "my boo."¹ Swizz denied the rumors to US Magazine on September 14, stating "I am disappointed that some have chosen to try and tarnish Alicia's reputation by irresponsibly implicating her in a situation that she has absolutely nothing to do with."²

Alicia Keys | Mims | Juelz Santana | Jadakiss | Fabolous | Nas | Jay-Z | Mobb Deep | Busta Rhymes | Notorious B.I.G. | Fat Joe | Clipse | N.O.R.E. | T-Pain | G-Unit | Diddy | Ja Rule | Beanie Sigel | Lloyd Banks | Jim Jones | Tony Yayo