Sleepy Brown & Friends

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).