| Dave Tozer | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Genres | Hip-Hop, R&B, Rock, Pop |
| Occupations | Musician, Songwriter, Producer |
| Labels | Sony/ATV, Famous Music |
| Associated acts | John Legend Kanye West Jay-Z Musiq Soulchild Jazmine Sullivan Elliott Yamin |
| Website | davetozer@myspace.com |
Dave Tozer is a producer, songwriter and musician. He has worked with several R&B, Hip-Hop, Rock and Pop artists including John Legend, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Justin Timberlake, John Mayer, Natasha Bedingfield, Musiq Soulchild, Estelle, Jazmine Sullivan and Elliott Yamin.
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Hailing from Bridgeton, New Jersey, Tozer taught himself guitar, bass and keyboard. After moving to Philadelphia in the late 1990s, Tozer honed his production skills at various Philadelphia-area studios and began working as a freelance musician playing everything from Hip-Hop and Rock to R&B and Pop. Through Max Blumenthal, a mutual friend, Tozer met University of Pennsylvania student John Stephens [1] (later Grammy award-winning R&B star John Legend) and began a fruitful, professional relationship. In addition to developing creatively with Legend, Tozer produced his three independently released albums: John Stephens (2000), Live at Jimmy‘s Uptown (2001) and Live at SOB’s [2](2003).
In 2004, Tozer contributed to eight tracks on Legend‘s Grammy Award-winning major label debut Get Lifted and his writing skills garnered him a publishing deal with Viacom-owned Famous Music Publishing. 2005 proved to be an important year for Tozer with the massive success of Get Lifted, which earned eight Grammy nominations and reached multi-platinum status. Legend won three awards including Best New Artist and Best R&B Album. Tozer was a producer on Get Lifted and the track “Stay With You,” which Tozer co-wrote and produced,[3] was also nominated for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance.
In 2005, soon after the success of Get Lifted, Tozer was crafting songs for artists such as Heather Headley and Natasha Bedingfield. He has also lent his instrumental abilities to Kanye West‘s Grammy-winning single “Diamonds From Sierra Leone,” and produced another Legend track for the Luther Vandross tribute album So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross. For Tozer, the year culminated in a deal with Sony Music as an in-house producer and a renewal of his Famous Music Publishing contract.
In 2006, Tozer worked on the track “Do U Wanna Ride” from Jay-Z's comeback album Kingdom Come. Tozer also reunited with his old friend Legend and produced three songs from his acclaimed second album Once Again,[4] including the iTunes single “On Top Of The World."
In 2007, Tozer continued to work with several different artists, including Mercury Records recording artist George Stanford. Along with contributing to the development of the Philadelphia-based artist, Tozer worked to get Stanford signed to Epic Records before he subsequently moved to Mercury Records. In addition to this, Tozer has also worked with Jazmine Sullivan (J Records), Free Sol (upcoming artist on Justin Timberlake's label Tennman Records) as well as Ashley Hartman from the hit television show The O.C.
In 2008, Tozer reunited with long time collaborator, John Legend to co-write and produce “This Time” on John Legend’s third album, Evolver. In 2009, Tozer worked with American Idol's Elliott Yamin to co-write and produce the record "Someday" on Yamin's second album, Fight for Love.[5]
In 2010, Tozer wrote and produced “Find Me” with Musiq Soulchild and Jazmine Sullivan for Musiq’s upcoming album. He also went on to co-write and produce three songs from Free Sol’s forthcoming debut album to be released by Justin Timberlake’s imprint Tennman Records & Interscope Records.
| Year | Artist | Song Title | Album | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Musiq Soulchild | "Find Me" feat. Jazmine Sullivan | TBD | Producer/Songwriter/Musician |
| 2010 | Free Sol | "Panic Attack" | TBD | Producer/Songwriter/Musician |
| 2010 | Free Sol | "The Coolest" | TBD | Producer/Songwriter/Musician |
| 2010 | Free Sol | "Restraining Order" | TBD | Producer/Songwriter/Musician |
| 2009 | Elliott Yamin | "Someday" | Fight for Love | Producer/Songwriter/Musician |
| 2008 | John Legend | "This Time" | Evolver | Producer/Songwriter/Musician |
| 2008 | George Stanford | "Heartbeat" | Big Drop | Producer/Songwriter/Mixer |
| 2008 | Lizz Wright | "Speak Your Heart" | The Orchard | Songwriter |
| 2006 | Jay-Z | "Do U Wanna Ride" | Kingdom Come | Instrumentalist |
| 2006 | John Legend | "Maxine’s Interlude" | Once Again | Producer/Songwriter/Musician |
| 2006 | John Legend | "On Top Of The World" | Once Again (iTunes Single) | Producer/Songwriter/Musician |
| 2006 | John Legend | "Closer To You" | Once Again (Bonus Track) | Producer/Songwriter/Musician |
| 2005 | Kanye West | "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" | Late Registration | Instrumentalist |
| 2005 | John Legend | "Love Won’t Let Me Wait" | So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross | Producer/Musician/Mixer |
| 2004 | John Legend | "Stay With You" | Get Lifted | Producer/Songwriter |
| 2004 | John Legend | "I Can Change" feat. Snoop Dogg | Get Lifted | Producer/Songwriter |
| 2004 | John Legend | "Let’s Get Lifted Again" | Get Lifted | Producer/Songwriter/Musician/Mixer |
| 2004 | John Legend | "It Don’t Have To Change" feat. The Stephens Family | Get Lifted | Songwriter |
| 2004 | John Legend | "Let’s Get Lifted" | Get Lifted | Instrumentalist |
| 2004 | John Legend | "Live It Up" | Get Lifted | Instrumentalist |
| 2004 | John Legend | "So High" | Get Lifted | Instrumentalist |
| 2004 | John Legend | "Refuge (When It’s Cold Outside)" | Get Lifted | Instrumentalist |
| 2004 | John Legend | "Johnny’s Gotta Go" | Get Lifted (International Release) | Producer/Songwriter/Musician/Mixer |
| 2004 | John Legend | "Money Blown" | Get Lifted (International Release) | Producer/Songwriter |
| 2003 | John Legend | Full Album | Live At SOB’s | Producer/Songwriter/Musician/Mixer |
| 2001 | John Legend | Full Album | Live At Jimmy’s Uptown | Producer/Songwriter/Musician/Mixer |
| 2000 | John Legend | Full Album | John Stephens | Producer/Songwriter/Musician/Mixer |