Dallas L. Austin (born December 29, 1970) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and film producer. Biography Early life During a 2019 interview with DJ Vlad, Dallas Austin detailed previously unknown or unconfirmed events involving his life and career. Austin was born in Columbus, Georgia to a single mother who was the proprietor of a restaurant located next door to their home. He did not like living in Columbus because of the family’s living conditions and their struggle with finances. As a child, Austin became interested in music and asked his mother to buy him a keyboard. She was initially reluctant because she thought he would become bored and quickly move on to a different interest. In order to convince his mother to make the purchase, he proposed she initially buy him a small machine. In addition, he successfully negotiated terms for obtaining new instruments: if he continued to make progress with learning how to use the machines she purchased, she would buy him larger, more intricate keyboards on a yearly basis. As young men, Austin’s two brothers were frequently in prison for crimes such as drug trafficking and robbery. When he was a teenager, one of his brothers threw a keyboard across his bedroom. This upset Austin greatly, as he felt music was his way out of the environment in which his family lived, and ended up as a defining moment in Austin’s life. He felt that he could no longer continue living in Columbus and boarded a bus to Atlanta with the intention of living with his aunt. In order to keep their family together, his mother decided to move as well, although it took several months before she and Austin’s brothers could join. After she saved money and began working in an Atlanta restaurant, the family was able to reunite; however, the Ku Klux Klan were a persistent presence in the neighborhoods in which the family lived. Career Austin got his start in the music industry when his manager William "Vybe Chyle" Burke introduced him to his business partner, Klymaxx member Joyce Irby. Joyce was the "way out" Dallas had been looking for. She enlisted as an exclusive producer for her company Diva One Productions. Though Joyce believed in Dallas' ability, the record labels didn't see it the same way. Irby and Burke went from label to label shopping Austin's work but they just couldn't hear