ALICIA KEYS and KASSEEM DEAN

ALICIA KEYS is a 16-time GRAMMY® Award-winning singer, songwriter, musician, producer, founder of Keys Soulcare, New York Times best-selling author, film/television and Broadway producer, accomplished actress, entrepreneur, and a powerful force in the world of activism. She is one of the original founders of She Is The Music, an initiative to create change for women and build an equal future for music. Since the release of her monumental 2001 debut album, Songs in A Minor, Keys has sold over 65 million records, over 5 billion streams and built an unparalleled repertoire of hits and accomplishments. Alicia has become the #1 RIAA certified Female R&B artist of the millennium with over 37 Million certified track sales (US) and 20 Million Album Sales (US). She released her eighth studio album, Keys (Original and Unlocked) - a double album - in 2021 followed by a Deluxe version in 2022 and a sold out Alicia + Keys World Tour that celebrated the Keys and Alicia albums. 

Keys released her book, More Myself: A Journey via Flatiron Books which debuted and spent multiple weeks on The New York Times Bestseller List. In March 2022, she released her first graphic novel titled, Girl On Fire with HarperCollins. Keys released her first-ever holiday album Santa Baby in November 2022 which includes 4 original songs including the single “December Back 2 June.” In 2023 Keys completed a spectacular, 360 degree show, the Keys to the Summer Tour, which hit 22 cities across North America. Hell’s Kitchen, the 13-time Tony Award-nominated original stage musical Keys diligently worked for 13 years to create opened on Broadway at the Shubert Theater on April 20, 2024.

KASSEEM DEAN, known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American hip hop recording artist, DJ, record producer, art collector, and entrepreneur from New York City. Born and raised in The Bronx, Dean began his musical career as a disc jockey (DJ). At the age of 18, he gained recognition in the hip hop industry through his friendship and work with East Coast rapper DMX and his family's Ruff Ryders Entertainment record label. Dean later found a protégé in Philadelphia-based rapper Cassidy, whose success helped the launch of his own label imprint, Full Surface Records in 1999. He went on to sign multiple artists to the label, including Eve, Mashonda, and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. Dean also released two albums under the label: Swizz Beatz Presents G.H.E.T.T.0. Stories (2022) and One Man Band Man (2007). In November 2018, Dean released his second studio album, Poison, featuring collaborations with multiple hip hop artists. Alongside fellow musician Timbaland, Dean is known for creating the popular webcast series Verzuz in 2020. Dean has produced many hit singles for a number of prominent artists across different music genres, such as hip hop, pop, soul and R&B. With a career spanning two decades, his catalog includes "Ruff Ryders’ Anthem" and "Party Up (Up in Here)" (DMX), "Gotta Man" (Eve), "Girl's Best Friend" (Jay-Z), "Upgrade U", "Check on It" and "Ring the Alarm" (Beyoncé), "Good Times” (Styles P}, "Bring ‘Em Out" and "Swing Ya Rag" (T.I.), "Hotel" and "I'm a Hustla" (Cassidy), "Touch /t" (Busta Rhymes) and "Uftrafight Beam" (Kanye West), among others.

In 2010, Dean was named the first Producer in Residence at New York University. About.com ranked him number 27 on its list of the "Top 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Producers." The Source included him on its list of the 20 Greatest Producers and fellow American rapper and producer Kanye West called Dean "the best rap producer of all time.” Aside from music, Dean has also added multiple entrepreneurial endeavors to his repertoire, including fashion design, art collecting, and board directing. He's been a member of trustees at the Brooklyn Museum since 2015, and a creative director for the companies Monster Cable and Reebok.