Fatz Belvedere

FATZ BELVEDERE
Birth name	Michael Brew
Also known as	Johnny Elektro
Born	(1981-12-22)December 22, 1981 Howard Beach, Queens, New York, U.S.
Origin	Howard Beach, Queens, New York, NEW YORK, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop Alternative rock, Rock
Occupation(s)	Guitarist, Vocalist, producer, songwriter
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Interscope, G Unit, Iinterscope Digital, Beluga Heights
Associated acts	THE DRUM ADDIKTS, SONS OF 84
Website

Michael Brew (born December 22, 1981, Howard Beach, Queens, New York), better known by his production and remixing name, Fatz Belvedere is an American record producer, writer and session guitarist. He has lent his guitar and piano skills on numerous major label projects and remixed countless artists including Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Britney Spears, Keyshia Cole, Katy Perry and more. He is a skilled musician self-taught in piano, guitar, drums and bass incorporating tribal percussion with a heavy rock and alternative feel in a majority of his work.

Early life

Born Michael Brew in a notorious suburb of Queens called Howard Beach, an area synonymous with John Gotti & the Mafia, Fatz began learning and playing musical instruments at a young age. Playing along with his father's old records of Traffic, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and other Progressive rock bands as well as Heavy Metal acts like Black Sabbath and Deep Purple he mastered the guitar & bass very young, going on to master the piano later on. In school, he excelled in the music programs and studied music theory & composition, learning to sight read and write music before high school. Unfortunately, the neighborhood he grew up in had gotten the best of him after high school, when he was jailed in federal prison alongside members of the Gambino Crime Family in conjunction with Stock Fraud. Upon his release, Fatz was introduced to some music industry executives and taking notice of his talents, quickly put him to work in the studio in hopes of steering him away from illegal activities. Fatz started his career working alongside top dance producers, Eddie Baez, Johnny Vicious and Ernie Lake. His first major label remix was a remix of Bit-R-Swt's "All I want is this" on Neutone recordings that charted in the top ten of dance singles for that year. Fatz was then spotlighted on MTV's "True Life series: I'm a clubber" and labels began to take notice. Attention to Fatz' production work came in late 2003 when music mogul Suge Knight took an interest in his music and he began work on the underrated "Tupac: Remixed & Revisited." After his work at Death Row, he went on to remixing artist's for labels such as The Gorillaz "Feel good inc.", Keyshia Coles "Love." and T-Pain's "I'm in love with a stripper" as well as prominent artists such as Seal, Johnny Cash and more earning him awards and accolades as prestigious as both, international and American, 2004 remix artist of the year.

The turning point in his career was a chance meeting in New York's Diamond District with superproducer, Timbaland and executives of his Mosley music group. Fatz would go on to develop a strong relationship with the company and began working extensively with Mosley Music Group artist, D.O.E which in turn, opened doors to work with Queens rapper, Stack Bundles, before he was murdered as well as Joell Ortiz, Joe Budden, Maino, Fabolous and many more.

Masta Ace and A Long Hot Summer

Fatz would go on to gain international attention when he signed on to work alongside hip hop legend, Masta Ace and his now classic album, "A Long Hot Summer." The album received four stars and was hailed as Masta Ace's greatest work.

The Birth of The Drum Addikts

After numerous personal & financial setbacks from 2007–2009, Fatz would soon find himself back in the studio. Relentlessly working on new material, In October 2010, Fatz and his Drum Addikt crew released a single through Interscope Digital entitled "Broken" feat. Glen Hansard. The single garnered huge acclaimation receiving over 150,000 downloads since its November 2, 2010 release. Unfortunately, an album never surfaced due to internal conflicts within the company.

Move to Los Angeles, Sons of 84 and The Drum Addikt imprint

Upon moving to Los Angeles on February 18, 2011 on the success of "Broken" and his guitar skill in demand, Fatz began session guitar and keyboard work on countless major label projects as well as remixing rock group Paramore & being summoned by Jive Records to lend his touch to Britney,Spears' new single Hold it against me. He also had been commissioned by London artist, Adele to remix her hit single "Rolling in the deep." He also has provided instrumentals for the Jonathan Rotem label Beluga Heights, G Unit artist Lea Sunshine and began working on prominent Hollywood movies providing musical backdrops for Hollywood elite. In 2012, Fatz signed alternative hip hop group, Sons of 84, to his production company, The Drum Addikts and are set to release their debut album in the spring of 2013.

Notable instruments