Phalon Anton Alexander, known professionally as Jazze Pha was born in Memphis, Tennessee. His father is James Alexander, a founder and bassist for the Memphis-based and world-renowned BarKays and his mother is Denise Williams, who also nurtured his love for music. Pha was named after the late Phalon Jones, an original member of the BarKays and one of his father’s best friends.
In an interview with Michelle Manning of the Situation Website, Pha recalls that if he came home from school with good grades he would be rewarded with special babysitters, which may have included members of the Parliament-Funkadelic funk musical collective, or others. As a young child he moved to Los Angeles with his mother. He was surrounded by many of those in the music industry and these early influences no doubt helped to shape his future as a Super Producer.
In a Freegame Podcast, Jazze talks about moving to Los Angeles with his Mom, and spending summers in Memphis with his father. His love for music grew as he experienced being at parties with the likes of music greats including Rick James, Cameo, Al Green, The Temptations, Eddie Lavert and Morris Day. Every party was like a concert and every musical influence brought Jazze full circle, igniting his passion for achieving the best as he emulated those artists around him.
In a Memphis Flyer interview, Jazze Pha shared his love and deep connection to Memphis. He referenced growing up being inspired by “the old-school stuff… Al Green, Beale Street, going to church… all those things have influenced me.” He named Al Green’s “I’m Still in Love With You” as his favorite album. In his 2004 pairing on Lil Wayne’s “Earthquake” single from his “Tha Carter” LP, Pha sampled Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together.” That was one example of what had become a frequent aspect of rap and hip-hop’s history, the sampling of famous Memphis hits originally created by artists like Big Mama Thornton, Isaac Hayes, Ann Peebles and others.
HipHopDX shared, “Jazze Pha and his brother used to operate as a unit, with one particular move that won them all the competitions during Memphis’ early rap days.” Chris “D” Superman McNeil along with Al Kapone discussed the city’s rap history culture on an episode of Memphis Rap History. Al Kapone said, “ Before it was a Memphis Rap Scene it was a small culture of us. It would be these talent shows that would happen, and we’d basically kind of battle each other. I remember Jazze Pha and his brother – they went by the name Coast to Coast – and they used to win all the city wide rap battles cause Jazze Pha did this move that would win the battle every time. He would stand on his head and beatbox. It was unheard of, so it was like this move that he did while both he and his brother were rapping.”
In 1990, he signed with Elecktra Records. His work on his debut album “Rising to the Top,” released on the Elecktra label under his real name, Phalon Alexander, prompted Ron Wynn of the All Music Guide to offer this description. “A positive lyric thrust with an up-to-date setting.” He characterized it as a “merger of West Coast hip-hop and a southern funk vocal approach.”
After relocating to Atlanta in 1995, he was mentored by the late MC Breed, who recognized Pha’s extraordinary talents. MC Breed introduced Pha throughout Atlanta’s rich and prosperous music scene. Atlanta’s music community, large roster of successful musicians, and growing musical opportunities helped Jazze Pha all assisted in launching his music production career. Meeting MC Breed in Atlanta was a turning point. From carrying around floppy discs in a Nike Box with little to no money in his pocket, to actually accepting an invitation to move into MC Breed’s basement with access to his studio, Pha saw a rapid turnaround of his prolific musical career. His talent for remixing, his tenacity to make the best music, and his skill for building positive relationships with those in the industry catapulted his career to incredible heights.
Jazze has been credited with the success of dozens of Hip Hop artists in the Atlanta area in the early 2000s, and throughout the U.S. He utilized his stellar production skills to contribute to dozens of albums for these rising stars. According to Jazze Pha’s biography on Musician Guide.com, “With a production style rooted in the classic soul music of his native Memphis, Pha crafted relaxed, absorbing Southern rap and R&B tracks that increased pop and urban sales and hit the airplay charts again and again”
He founded the Sho’Nuff record label in 1995 and signed R&B singer Ciara in 2003, propelling her rise to a Platinum recording artist. He produced her hit single “One, Two Step” which featured Missy Elliot which rose to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. His additional credits on The Billboard Hot 100 include “Get Up” for Ciara and “So What” for Field Mob. Top twenty singles include, “Let’s Get Down” for Bow Wow, “Let’s Get Away” for T.I., and “Just Fine” for the great Mary J. Blige. Additional bragging rights for Top 40 singles include “Area Codes” for Ludacris and “Do That” for Birdman (featuring P. Diddy). In addition to Ciara, his Sho’Nuff label has signed Ayo and Theo as well as Cherish. Jazze was a producer on T.I.’s debut studio album, “I’m Serious.” He has also worked with such rap and hip hop legends as Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac.
He is the first music producer to sign a fifty-song deal with Cash Money Records, working with Mannie Fresh, Lil Wayne, Birdman and Slim. Because of his multi-layered musical background, mixed brilliantly with his production talents, he was able to coordinate unique musical productions ranging from “Sho’Nuff” with Tela, 8Ball, and MJG to gospel tunes with Snoop Dogg.
The roster of artists he’s produced or recorded continues, and reads like a Who’s Who of the industry, including OutlawZ, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopez, Nappy Roots, Big Tymers, OutKast, Boo & Gotti, Young BloodZ, Twista, Nelly, Guerilla Black, Lil’ John, Slim Thug, David Banner, Yo Gotti, 8Ball & MJG, Bone Thugs, and many others.
Adding to his well-rounded approach to different musical genres, Jazze Pha also worked with American Idol winner, Ruben Studdard, in 2003 on Studdard’s debut “Soulful” album. “We had a personal relationship before we started working together,” Pha told Sonia Murray of the Atlantic Journal Constitution. “From the start we recognized that we were just some southern boys who love this music. We talk about something like the (Atlanta) Falcons as much as we talk about a song.” Billboard Magazine, in discussing the teaming and collaboration of CeeLo Green and Jazze Pha on the album “The Happy Hour” in 2023 quoted Pha, “Working with CeeLo is like working with my favorite brother. We shared so many of the same interests already that once it got to the music it was like second nature. You’re looking at a perfect match.”
Despite rap and hip-hop being his most prominent musical genre, Jazze Pha career boasts a well-rounded resume of different musical genres, with his own self-exploration of which different types of music offer the most impact. Perhaps one of his most notable quotes appeared in the Memphis Flyer in 2013. “It’s all about keeping your finger on the pulse. If you put your finger on the pulse of a body, and there is no pulse, there’s no life in that body.” He continues to count his life in the rhythms of his music.
Flat broke to multi-platinum music producer. Never shying away from hard work, Pha was once employed as a roofer in California. “Hard Labor,” he once said in an interview with The Memphis Flyer. “Whatever you’re trying to do, you have to take it to the 10th power to be successful. I just do stuff every day.” When speaking of the late Tupac Shakur, Pha says “He did three or four songs every day. That’s why his music still feeds his family. That should be a lesson to everybody. We should be as prolific as possible.”
Jazze Pha continues to be a prominent figure in the music industry, known for his innovative production techniques and his ability to create chart-topping hits. His legacy as a Memphian music maestro remains influential, inspiring new generations of artists and producers… and Memphis is proud to have played a small yet vital role in his prolific musical path. According to Pha, and based on his strategy for success, “A good production is when everyone walks in and says ‘Aye, that’s hot.’ But a great production is when you take that record that’s hot to a whole new level, and you walk in the next day and people say, ‘That other record is hot, but this is a whole other animal.’ Being good isn’t good enough.”
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