Wayne Williams

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 Senior Vice President of A&R at RCA Records.

A true Music Industry Mogul and Icon Pioneer D.J. 

 Over 35 years go, a young man started on a journey of sound. Brought to life by house and dance music, Wayne took a chance and stepped into uncharted territory. Noted for bringing disco into the South side of Chicago, Wayne quickly became a local celebrity.

The new sound echoed through backyard summer barbecues and Wayne found himself Deejing a different party every night. The young entrepreneur quickly built an electric empire. Wanting to capitalize on his new business, Wayne began bringing in more Deejay’s to support the craze he had created. What had started with one was now “A Chosen Few”. The group of Deejay’s lead by Wayne became the top booked company in the area. Throughout his teen years, Wayne and the rest of his company worked together to build a following. As Wayne grew with the music he decided to reach deeper into the industry and began working for Trax Records.

The Dance label gave Wayne the opportunity he needed to further develop his talents, and it was not long before he recorded his first track, “Undercover”. Using the alias Dr. Derelict, Wayne was able to gain a multitude of experience. Allowing himself to be absorbed into the European club scene, Wayne chose the hits that infiltrated through the speakers of every major club in the area. Songs like “Move Your Body” and “No Way Back” were brought mainstream due to Wayne’s natural ability to recognize hits. It did not take long before he caught the attention of a London label, Jive Records. After meeting with the label, Wayne was offered an A&R position with the company and was given the opportunity to run their Chicago studio. From day one, Wayne began selecting chart toppers. Early on he worked with Mr. Lee and also put together remixes for Samantha Fox, but Wayne’s first major success was in his transformation of the Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff. Songs like “Summer Time”, “Boom! Shake The Room” and “Ring My Bell” became more than just popular radio plays.

They became songs that signified a decade. Fueled by his accomplishments, Wayne embarked on a mission to find an icon. Always keeping his ears open, Wayne was taken a back one summer afternoon when he heard an amazing male vocalist in a friend’s backyard. Enraptured by the harmonic tones, Wayne instantly became an advocate of R. Kelly. Knowing the potential of the young artist, Wayne would stop at nothing to get him signed. After a year of convincing, Jive Records agreed to give the R&B performer a chance. With Wayne’s guidance and musical know how, R. Kelly became a major player in the R&B world and it would not be long before the singer/songwriter went platinum. The Grammy award winning artist released singles such as “I Believe I Can Fly”, “Step In The Name of Love”, “Flirt” and countless other chart toppers.

Since Wayne and R. Kelly have been collaborating, R. Kelly has released 10 consecutive platinum albums. All of would not have been possible with out the influence of Wayne Williams. While working with R. Kelly, Wayne continued to search for more artists. Wayne brought Mystical, Aaliyah and Rob to Jive. In addition to selecting hits for these artists Wayne also helped further the careers of artists that were already signed to Jive. Joe’s hit single, “Stutter” which Wayne worked on went triple platinum. More recently Wayne has reached a higher level of success. His artist Raheem DeVaughn received two Grammy nominations for singles “Customer” and “Woman”. Wayne has also achieved what most would consider impossible and enabled Charlie Wilson, a man in his 50’s, to produce a gold album featuring the hit single “Charlie Last Name Wilson”. Wayne is off to a great start on Charlie Wilson’s current album with the popular single “There Goes My Baby”. The song has reached number one on the contemporary charts for 10 straight weeks, and his current single “Can’t Live Without You” is currently climbing and holds the #2 spot on the UAC charts. Wayne’s most current singles include R. Kelly featuring Keri Hilson “#1 Sex” and Raheem DeVaughn featuring Ludacris “Bullet Proof”. Wayne is very excited about R. Kelly’s new album titled “Untitled” and Raheem DeVaughn’s new album titled “Love and War,” projects that he’s currently working on.

Aside from these accomplishments, Wayne’s talents far surpass his ability to select talented artists. Due to his Deejaying experience Wayne also has the ability to create powerful remixes and he even worked on the popular Justin Timberlake remix of “Sexy Back”. Aside from this Wayne has also used his ear and background to select debut singles for popular artists. He is credited for choosing “Toxic” as the first released single off of Britney Spear’s album In The Zone. In addition to working with Jive Records, Wayne continues to inspire people through his Deejaying. Annually Wayne, along with the rest of the Deejays that make up A Chosen Few, gather together to celebrate music and all they have accomplished. The talented group of Deejays in combination with guest Deejays put on a concert for all to enjoy. The free concert started with about 150 people and has grown to over 30,000. The entire concert is put together year after year by Wayne, and is his pleasure to give back to the community that has given so much to him.

Currently Wayne deejays his “Two Nations” event once a month in New York with his partner Kenny Dope. In the future Wayne hopes to continue to grow and mature his talents. His latest music productions getting major play from underground DJs to mainstream dance floors include; “You the Feeling”, “There Was A Place”, “There Is A Place”, Acid House”, Music Saved My Life feat. Joi Cardwell”, and countless other productions and collaborations that are in the making. He desires to reach out into every facet of music and create hits in all different genres. After achieving so much success with Dance and R&B Wayne foresees his next venture to be pop. The challenge of the industry is what drives him and as long as it exists so will the excitement. His mark has already been left on the industry, but his career has barley just begun. Whether he is turning tables, selecting hits, or developing artists, Wayne Williams will always be finding his way to the top of the charts.