Devo Harris

DeVon "Devo" Harris (born December 9, 1977), also known as Devo Springsteen, is an American producer and songwriter.[1] Harris launched the career of EGOT winner John Legend by signing him to Kanye West’s GOOD Music in 2003. Harris produced and co-wrote many songs from Legend's first albums, as well as songs for Nas, Britney Spears, Aretha Franklin, Ol' Dirty Bastard, The Last Poets, and more in addition to DJing around the world. Devo won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Song in 2006 for his production of "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" by Kanye West. After earning his MBA from Columbia Business School in 2011, Devo turned to technology where he became a media entrepreneur and inventor.

Devo Harris
Birth nameDeVon Harris
Born (1977-12-09) December 9, 1977
OriginColumbus, Georgia, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Record producer
  • songwriter
Years active1994–present
Labels

Biography

Harris grew up in the U.S. and Germany. Both of his parents were in the U.S. Army. He graduated high school from The Pembroke Hill School in Kansas City, Missouri, and then attended the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. At Penn, he wrestled, played football, and DJed at local radio stations WPPR and WQHS FM. After graduating with degrees in Economics and Strategic Management, he moved to New York City in 2000 with college roommate John Legend. While working in venture capital, he began working part-time assisting and serving as A&R at the production company G.O.O.D. Music (then called Konman Productions). Devo eventually signed Legend to the label in 2003 and managed his project. Devo then earned an MBA degree from Columbia Business School.

Music

Devo's influences include Stevie Wonder, The Doors, Michael Jackson, Rick Rubin, Timbaland, and Dr. Dre. Harris has appeared on MTV Base, BET Style, and VH1 and was a featured guest DJ on BET's Rap City.

Harris also co-wrote the tracks "Lullaby" and "Let's Go" with Britney Spears and Tom Craskey. The song appeared on the demo version of Britney's album Blackout.

In 2008, Harris collaborated with John Legend on "If You're Out There" which appears in John Legend's third studio album Evolver. The song was used Barack Obama's campaign theme song and was performed at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Technology

In 2010, Harris created an interactive music video, "Attack of the 5 foot Hipster",[2] by U.S. band Riot In Paris, which debuted on UniverseCity blog and was noted as the first interactive choose-your-own-adventure music video in the U.S. After graduating from Columbia Business School in 2011, Harris started his career in technology by teaching himself to code and launched Red Ochre Inc. in 2014. Soon after, he would become a Senior Product Manager at Vimeo.

In 2020, Harris launched Adventr, an interactive streaming platform.[3] In September 2021, Adventr became a finalist in the 2021 TechCrunch Disrupt Conference and announced its patent on voice-controlled interactive media.[4]

Discography

Singles
Year Title (Album) Artist/Project Label Released
2008 "If You're Out There" John Legend GOOD/Sony/Columbia
2008 "Association" Nas The N Mixtape
2008 "The Promise" Deborah Cox Deco Recording Group
2008 "You Know Where My Heart Is" Deborah Cox Deco Recording Group
2007 "What Y'all Came To Do" Aretha Franklin J Records
2007 "Misunderstood" (Finding Forever) Common GOOD/Geffen
2007 "Always Lovin' You" Kreesha Turner Virgin
2007 "Celebrate" Cassidy J Records
2007 "Let Go"[5] Britney Spears Jive Records
2007 "Sweeter" Estelle Homeschool/Atlantic
2007 "Come Together" Estelle Homeschool/Atlantic
2007 "Blowin' My Phone Up" Consequence GOOD/Sony/Columbia
2006 "Let There Be Light" (Hip Hop Is Dead) Nas IDJ/Sony/Def Jam
2006 "Stereo" (Once Again) John Legend GOOD/Sony/Columbia
2006 "My Love, My Life" GLC GOOD Music
2006 "When I Was..." Rhymefest J Records
2006 "Back In The Day" The Last Poets Jambetta
2005 "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" (Late Registration) Kanye West Roc-A-Fella/IDJ
2004 "Refuge (When It's Cold Outside)" (Get Lifted) John Legend GOOD/Sony/Columbia
2004 "So High" (Get Lifted) John Legend GOOD/Sony/Columbia
2004 "Live It Up" (Get Lifted) John Legend GOOD/Sony/Columbia
2004 "Sunkist Sunlab Radio" Sunkist Soda
2004 "And You Say" Consequence SureShot Records
2003 "Summer Beach House Direct Effect Theme" MTV

Mixtapes
  • 2006, "Bacardi Big Apple & Devo Springsteen Present: The Good Life"

Grammy Award history
Year Category Song/Album Artist Result
2006 Best Rap Song "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" Kanye West Won
2006 Best Rap Album Late Registration Kanye West Won
2006 Best R&B Album Get Lifted John Legend Won
2006 Best Album Late Registration Kanye West Nominated

References
  1. "Interactive Video". Ochre. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
  2. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Riot !n Paris - Attack of the 5 Foot Hipster. YouTube.
  3. Braiden, Sue. "Celebrating Big on Small: The Official Small Business Podcast Launch!". www.inspirehub.com. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  4. "Here are the 5 Startup Battlefield finalists at Disrupt 2021". 23 September 2021.
  5. BMI Repertoire @ BMIRepertoire
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