Mateo

Mateo (born August 13, 1986), is an American pop/R&B singer/songwriter from Cincinnati, Ohio. He was formerly signed to MySpace Records, but parted ways with the label in 2010. Mateo is now signed to the Krucial Noise imprint on Interscope Records, label imprint of Alicia Keys producer Kerry "Krucial" Brothers. Early life edit: Mateo was born in Cincinnati, Ohio into a musical family. His grandfather, Freddy Jordan was a jazz and session guitarist at the historic King Records where he played for the likes of James Brown, Freddie King, and Charles Brown. His grandmother was a singer who toured Canada and the northeastern United States. Mateo started singing at an early age and playing classical piano at age 5. Mateo attended Morehouse College, majoring in music and business. After graduation, Mateo moved to New York City where he briefly worked as a strategy consultant. Music career edit: 2008-10: Beginnings in Los Angeles and MySpace Records edit: Mateo eventually moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue a career in the music industry where he met with former MTV VJ, Quddus. Quddus, who was working at MySpace Records quickly took interest and brought Mateo over to the label which signed him nearly on the spot. While on MySpace records, Mateo released a three part mixtape series entitled "Underneath the Sky", which garnered critical acclaim. The mixtape series included features from Kardinal Offishall, Teairra Mari, Fashawn, and Shawn Chrystopher. On August 13, 2009, Mateo recorded a live EP entitled Get To Know Me: Live at Swing House. His video, "Get to Know Me", from the live EP was featured by MTVU, Fuse, and Music Choice. After a year and a half stint at MySpace Records, Mateo decided to part ways with the label in 2010. 2010-2012: Krucial Noise signing, Love & Stadiums and Say It's So edit: In September 2010, Mateo signed to Krucial Noise, the label imprint of Alicia Keys longtime producer and songwriting partner, Kerry "Krucial" Brothers. Brothers met Mateo through Quddus during the MySpace Records days. Mateo released his fourth mixtape Love & Stadiums on March 30, 2011 to critical acclaim. The mixtape serves as his first release under Krucial Noise and includes features from Goapele, Pusha T, Ab-Liva, Gilbere Forte, and Kardinal Offishall. Mateo released his debut single, "Say It's So", on September 21, 2011 off his EP Love & Stadiums II. The single is produced by Kerry Brothers and features additional vocals from Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz. In September 2011, Mateo shot a video for "Say Its So" in New York City, directed by David "Dahveed" Telles. The single charted independently on the Billboard 100, which garnered attention from Larry Jackson and John Ehman at Interscope Records. 2012-present: Interscope Signing and Suite 823 edit: In April 2012, Mateo officially signed to Interscope Records. While working with Kerry "Krucial" Brothers on the upcoming album, they decided to release an all original mixtape project for the summer, entitled Suite 823. The mixtape was released on August 1st, 2012 to rave reviews, featuring an appearance by Motown recording artist, Stacy Barthe. A new single is expected to be released by Interscope Records in the Spring of 2013.

Source: Wikipedia

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