Troy Taylor (producer)

Troy Taylor was born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut, into a family of musicians. He got his start by singing in talent shows at an early age then moved on to playing keyboards. Before reaching the age of 21, Taylor was signed as an artist to Motown Records and later helped produce several tracks for Boyz II Men. It was here that Taylor found his true passion as a producer.

With a discography of platinum hits, Troy Taylor has produced and written for artists such Riff (band), Tony Thompson, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, B2K, Ginuwine, Color Me Badd, The Isley Brothers, Patti LaBelle, Omarion, Brian McKnight, Kevin Lyttle, Glenn Lewis, Tyrese, The O-Jays, Take 6, SWV, 702, Brownstone, Johnny Gill,and Stevie Wonder.

In more recent years Taylor has formed his own production company Songbook Entertainment which has served as a launching pad for young R&B artist Trey Songz. After meeting in 2000,Taylor has served as Songz' mentor and helped write and produce the bulk of Trey Songz' 2005 debut album I Gotta Make It. Taylor continues to develop young stars into big names, with plans on taking in "unnoticed musician" such as Felipe Crespo, J.R.A, Young Grace, and Brian Cryne.

Troy Taylor has surpassed the title of a beat maker and has strategically moved beyond the title of producer. In fact, when Taylor describes his remarkable craft, he states, “I’m best known for my vocal arrangements, that’s really my signature.” It is because of his musical expertise that Taylor has joined the upper echelon of producers and can now be classified as a “super producer.” What separates Taylor from others is his natural ability to not just make a beat and sell it, but to really get to know the artists. He studies their work and in many cases, comes up with the overall concept of the song, the hook, and even coordinates collaborations, which makes this musical guru what some might refer to as “a music director” following in the footsteps of his late grandfather.

Taylor was born and bred in suburban New Haven, Connecticut, into a family of talented musicians, resulting in his exposure to music at a very early age. His grandfather was a gospel music director, and his father was a talented jazz musician. Taylor has a love for music that dates back to his childhood years, but it wasn’t until the age of 14, that he began tapping into the music world. He started by singing in local talent shows and then moved on to playing keyboards and learning how to listen and understand music. Taylor’s ear for music and his natural ability to gain people’s attention enabled him to make great strides in his career.

Taylor graduated from Hartford Conservatory School in 1989, with a degree in classical theory and record production. Shortly after, in 1989, he was blessed with the opportunity to meet Motown Record music executive, Timmy Regisford. Regisford was instrumental in Taylor’s landing a solo artist deal at Motown and continued to offer him guidance along the way. In the midst of working on his album, Taylor had a revelation and decided to change career paths. He took a more behind-the-scenes position; one that he felt would offer greater longevity along with more creative control. Proving himself to be correct, two of Taylor’s debut songs, “Little Things” and “Your Love,” were placed on Boyz II Men’s debut album, “Cooley High Harmony,” which sold over 12 million copies.

Over 10 years ago, while attending a church convention in Florida, Taylor stumbled upon a gentleman who happened to be an aspiring singer. That gentleman later went on to become Bad Boys king of R&B, Mr. Carl Thomas. They developed a friendship that provided Taylor the opportunity to work closely with Thomas, teaching him the fundamentals of recording which gave him the skills that would result in 2 million sold of his debut album. In 2000, Taylor won ASCAP’s R&B and Pop Music Award and a Grammy nomination for the production of Tyrese’s hit single, “Sweet Lady,” which was co-written by successful songwriter and little brother, Johnta, “The Tunesmith” Austin, (also one of Taylor’s protégé’s). Johnta also put his stamp on other hits such as: Toni Braxton’s, “Just Be a Man About It,” and Aaliyah’s, “I Don’t Wanna,” and “Miss You,” and Ginuwine’s “Stingy” in 2002.

As an entrepreneur, Taylor formed his own production company several years ago, Songbook Entertainment. He hopes to bring on more talented producers like, “The Formula” that signed to his production company. Their very first collaboration effort resulted in the song titled “Unashamed” placed on Whitney Houston’s latest album “Just Whitney”. Shortly thereafter “The Formula scored again with “Better To Have Loved” on Ginuwine’s “The Senior” album. He’s also working on new artist and most recent addition to his camp, Trey Songz, who first signed to Songbook and then landed a deal at Atlantic Records in 2003. Currently Taylor’s work can be heard on Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, B2K, and Ginuwine’s latest projects. Troy is now in the studio with Patti Labelle, Omarion, Kevin Lyttle, Glenn Lewis, and The Mighty O-Jay’s.

Taylor has also displayed his expertise on such projects as: Whitney Houston’s, “I’m Every Woman,” remix, Boyz II Men’s, “Jezzebel,” off their sophomore album, and B2K’s, “Why I Love You,” “Bump, Bump, Bump,” and “Girlfriends,” two of which he was actually brought in to vocally produce/arrange the songs as well. He has also worked with such artists as: Take 6, SWV, 702, Brownstone, Johnny Gill, and Stevie Wonder to name a few. With a discography full of platinum hits, it’s no wonder Taylor is getting everyone’s attention. “My objective is to focus on songs and not so much the perception of lifestyle. It’s all about my relationship with Christ. He should always be the cause and the reason for motivation and not the perception of people,” says Taylor, who currently resides in Teaneck, NJ with his wife, Adisha and son Quincy.