Taio Cruz is a 26-year-old British R&B artist making a name for himself on the music scene. He has worked with Jazze Pha and Rich Harrison who wrote for singers such as Usher and was going to become part of Tricky Stewart’s “Red Zone operation” when his solo career started to take off.
Taio’s transatlantic work continued with London writer and producer Esseme, first signing onto Justin Timberlake’s new label. He wrote and produced a single for Island and Def Jam artist Vawn called “Let Me See Dat” along with several other tracks. Cruz also worked with Daniel Merriweather, a protégé of Mark Ronson, on his debut album.
Taio’s debut album, “Departure,” released in 2008, has helped to establish his career. He was born to parents of two different descents and went to school in rural Sussex. He loved music ever since he was a small child and recalls his mother playing soul classics such as Stevie Wonder. One song he enjoyed singing to often was Marvin Gaye’s popular early 1980’s hit “Sexual Healing” when he was around five or six. His mother had told him he was a bit too young for the song, however.
Taio spent as much free time as he could alone in his school’s music room playing the piano. He really liked the eighties style of such artists as Madonna and Michael Jackson and had started thinking big from the beginning.
He would close his eyes and imagine himself wearing a red and black jacket performing in New York’s Madison Square Garden. America is where he wanted to be — with the idols who taught him how to sing the songs he listened to on his headphones every day.
As a teenager, Cruz experimented with recording his own demos and found girls he knew that would ask him for some tapes of his work. He recalls one such friend who was playing one of his songs in her dorm. At the time, she had been dating a person who worked for Def Jam Records. He was chatting with her on the phone one day when he had heard Taio’s music in the background and asked her who it was that was singing. After many meetings, showcases, and hard work, Taio was signed onto a US publishing deal at the age of eighteen.
Five years later, Taio’s very first album puts everything he learned from his US musical role models together with top-notch production and the soulfulness of sixties and seventies soul music, eighties pop, and nineties slow jams, marking a turning point in British R&B. His lead single “I Just Wanna Know” played over 500 times in two months on KISS FM and has introduced Taio to the UK top 30.
Some of his songs had African vocals and strange drum patterns that he did not want to put on his first album because he felt people would be more inclined to listen to the songs regardless just because they already knew him.
Since his debut album, he released his second album “Rokstarr” on October 12th ‘09 through the R.E.D Inc. “Break Your Heart” which is the album’s lead single reached top # 1 in the UK and held that position for three weeks.
On September 1st, 2009, a fashion and accessories brand named after the “Rokstarr” album and closely associated with Cruz was launched. Its primary focus is on sunglasses. Musicians such as Fightstar, Shontelle, Keri Hilson and Kelly Rowland have all been seen wearing them.
With even more surprises planned down the road, Taio Cruz has no plans of stopping. He is indeed living the musical dream and is just getting started.
Taio Cruz is a 26-year-old British R&B artist making a name for himself on the music scene. He has worked with Jazze Pha and Rich Harrison who wrote for singers such as Usher and was going to become part of Tricky Stewart’s “Red Zone operation” when his solo career started to take off.
Taio’s transatlantic work continued with London writer and producer Esseme, first signing onto Justin Timberlake’s new label. He wrote and produced a single for Island and Def Jam artist Vawn called “Let Me See Dat” along with several other tracks. Cruz also worked with Daniel Merriweather, a protégé of Mark Ronson, on his debut album.
Taio’s debut album, “Departure,” released in 2008, has helped to establish his career. He was born to parents of two different descents and went to school in rural Sussex. He loved music ever since he was a small child and recalls his mother playing soul classics such as Stevie Wonder. One song he enjoyed singing to often was Marvin Gaye’s popular early 1980’s hit “Sexual Healing” when he was around five or six. His mother had told him he was a bit too young for the song, however.
Taio spent as much free time as he could alone in his school’s music room playing the piano. He really liked the eighties style of such artists as Madonna and Michael Jackson and had started thinking big from the beginning.
He would close his eyes and imagine himself wearing a red and black jacket performing in New York’s Madison Square Garden. America is where he wanted to be — with the idols who taught him how to sing the songs he listened to on his headphones every day.
As a teenager, Cruz experimented with recording his own demos and found girls he knew that would ask him for some tapes of his work. He recalls one such friend who was playing one of his songs in her dorm. At the time, she had been dating a person who worked for Def Jam Records. He was chatting with her on the phone one day when he had heard Taio’s music in the background and asked her who it was that was singing. After many meetings, showcases, and hard work, Taio was signed onto a US publishing deal at the age of eighteen.
Five years later, Taio’s very first album puts everything he learned from his US musical role models together with top-notch production and the soulfulness of sixties and seventies soul music, eighties pop, and nineties slow jams, marking a turning point in British R&B. His lead single “I Just Wanna Know” played over 500 times in two months on KISS FM and has introduced Taio to the UK top 30.
Some of his songs had African vocals and strange drum patterns that he did not want to put on his first album because he felt people would be more inclined to listen to the songs regardless just because they already knew him.
Since his debut album, he released his second album “Rokstarr” on October 12th ‘09 through the R.E.D Inc. “Break Your Heart” which is the album’s lead single reached top # 1 in the UK and held that position for three weeks.
On September 1st, 2009, a fashion and accessories brand named after the “Rokstarr” album and closely associated with Cruz was launched. Its primary focus is on sunglasses. Musicians such as Fightstar, Shontelle, Keri Hilson and Kelly Rowland have all been seen wearing them.
With even more surprises planned down the road, Taio Cruz has no plans of stopping. He is indeed living the musical dream and is just getting started.
