Artist to Watch: Johnta Austin

Austin is a singer/songwriter who has been working behind the scenes in the music business for the past 10+ years. You may not have heard his name before, but you’ve definitely heard his work. He co-wrote 4 of the hit singles from The Emancipation of Mimi and even won the 2006 Best R&B Song Grammy Award for "We Belong Together".

But now it’s time for Johnta to shine on his own. It all started when he was originally signed to RCA in 1994 at the tender age of 13. Unfortunately, he was dropped from the label 2 years later when Tyrese Gibson was signed. But all was not lost. Just 6 months later, at the age of 16, Johnta wrote the hit song from Tyrese’s debut album, "Sweet Lady".

In May of last year, Austin was signed to So So Def and recorded his debut album Ocean Drive. I recently saw the video for his song "Turn It Up" and loved it from the first down beat. Ironically, before I even found out about his history in the business, I immediately thought his sound was a combination of Tyrese and Craig David. It was a smooth, soulful sound and he even did a little freestyling in there. I definitely look forward to hearing some more of his work.