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The innately funky
Sleepy Brown has been a vital part of the Atlanta music scene, and R&B and hip-hop at large, since the early 1990s. As one-third of renowned production team
Organized Noize,
Brown -- a singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist -- surfaced just after the new jack swing era with
OutKast's "Player's Ball,"
TLC's Grammy-nominated "Waterfalls," and
En Vogue's "Don't Let Go (Love)" among the first hits he helped create. It was on "Player's Ball" that
Brown first wielded his effortless vocal style, a smooth falsetto evoking a mix of soul legends
Curtis Mayfield and
Eddie Kendricks; concurrent with his continued success behind the scenes,
Brown further emphasized his singing talent later in the decade with the groups
Society of Soul and
Sleepy's Theme. Within a few years of topping the pop chart with
OutKast's "The Way You Move" and hitting the Top 40 with his own "I Can't Wait," he released his solo debut,
Mr. Brown (2006). Since then, he has continued to work primarily with the extended
Organized Noize network and Atlantans ranging from
OutKast's
Big Boi to
Janelle Monáe and
Future, the latter of whom shrewdly tapped him to open the soundtrack to Superfly (2018).
Brown and
Big Boi have continued to work together with a slew of singles and a full-length project entitled
The Big Sleepover (2021).
The '70s influence evident throughout the discography of Patrick "Sleepy" Brown likely has something to do with
Brown's father, Jimmy Brown, the lead vocalist and saxophonist of funk band
Brick. Due to his father's vocation, the Savannah-born and Atlanta-raised
Sleepy Brown grew up behind the stage and bumped shoulders with the likes of
Barry White,
Cameo,
Commodores, and
Parliament. Early on, he was fascinated with music and often carried around an old four-track machine and small keyboard everywhere he went. That earnestness appealed to fledgling musicians
Rico Wade and
Ray Murray when they met
Brown around 1990.
Brown's funk upbringing added an integral element to the sound the trio -- known as
Organized Noize -- honed in their makeshift studio in the basement of
Wade's mother's house. Dubbed the Dungeon, the space birthed
the Dungeon Family, featuring
Organized Noize,
OutKast, and
Goodie Mob, among others.
Brown, a talented keyboardist and advocate for live instrumentation, developed into a savvy multi-instrumentalist and mastered various synthesizers and electric pianos, while his inclination for using samplers and drum machines kept him rooted in hip-hop. At the same time, he became an asset as a vocalist, heard on the hook of
OutKast's 1993 debut single "Player's Ball," a number 37 pop hit.
After
Organized Noize became reliable hitmakers,
Brown occasionally indulged his funk fixation by leading retro-funk/hip-hop-themed side projects.
Society of Soul, a group that also featured
Rico Wade and
Ray Murray among its membership, issued
Brainchild on LaFace in 1995 and touched the R&B/hip-hop singles chart with "E.M.B.R.A.C.E (Da Da Dah Dah)." Three years later,
Brown was leading
Sleepy's Theme, who released a self-titled album and charted with the
Organized Noize production "Still Smokin'." During this period,
Brown earned his first Grammy nomination as co-writer and co-producer of
TLC's number one pop hit "Waterfalls," which was up for Record of the Year. He was also partly responsible for
En Vogue's number two hit "Don't Let Go (Love)" and got the opportunity to work on
Curtis Mayfield's final album,
New World Order.
Brown and
Organized Noize racked up more accolades in the early 2000s. Still closely affiliated with
OutKast, they earned their second Grammy nomination when
Stankonia was up for Album of the Year in 2001.
Brown himself was increasingly visible, singing on the Top 40
Stankonia single "So Fresh, So Clean,"
Ludacris' number 22 pop hit "Saturday (Oooh! Ooooh!)," and "The Way You Move," a chart-topper off
OutKast's 2003 double album
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.
OutKast returned the favor with a featured appearance on
Brown's own "I Can't Wait," a Top 40 hit recorded for the
Barbershop 2 soundtrack.
The stage was set for
Brown to release his solo debut album, For the Grown and Sexy, when DreamWorks, the label to which he was signed, was absorbed into Interscope.
Brown and Interscope did not see eye to eye on the direction of the album, prompting
Brown to leave the label and sign with
Big Boi's Purple Ribbon Records in 2005. He put together some new songs for
Mr. Brown, an LP that arrived in October 2006 and entered the Billboard 200 at number 53 (number six R&B/hip-hop).
Brown's
Organized Noize partners contributed heavily, while
the Neptunes chipped in for the single "Margarita." All along, and throughout the next decade,
Brown continued to write and produce for numerous artists, including
OutKast,
Janelle Monáe,
Big K.R.I.T., and especially
Big Boi. Shortly after
Brown led off the
Future-presented Superfly soundtrack, he and
Big Boi started releasing collaborative singles leading to the 2021 release of
The Big Sleepover. ~ Andy Kellman & Cyril Cordor