Brandon Howard, also known as B. Howard, is an American singer, record producer and songwriter. His album Genesis was released in 2010. Howard was credited as songwriter and producer on the song "I Ain't Gotta Tell You" from Ne-Yo's album In My Own Words, which topped the Billboard 200 chart in 2006. Howard was also credited as a songwriter on "Can't Get Tired of Me" from the album Face Off, a collaborative album by Omarion and Bow Wow, which debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200 in 2007. In 2016, Howard's single, Don't Say You Love Me, hit number 11 on Billboard's Top Dance charts.
Early life
B. Howard was born Brandon Howard in Los Angeles. He was raised between Los Angeles and Chicago. Howard's mother, Miki Howard is also a successful singer-songwriter. Joe Jackson, the patriarch of the Jackson family, was Miki's manager in the '80s. His grandmother was Josephine Howard of The Caravans, the first group to have a gospel song played on secular radio. B. Howard said he first considered working in finance. He was inspired by MTV videos of A-ha and Tears for Fears, instead choosing a career in music. He adopted the artist name "Sonik" and first worked with Gerald Levert in Cleveland, Ohio.
Music career
Howard has been working as a record producer since 2003. In the 2000s, Howard worked with multi-platinum producers Teddy Riley, Jordan "Infinity" Suecof, Mario Winans, Jerry "Wonda" & Wyclef Jean, Mateo "The Auracle" Laboriel, and Ciara. He also worked with composers and performing artists Lupe Fiasco, Emily King, Jason Derulo, Ne-Yo, Vanessa Hudgens, Miguel, Akon, Marques Houston, Stomy Bugsy, Chief Keef, Luke Christopher, Rich White Ladies, Daniel Skye, and Koda Kumi. In an interview with Huffington Post, Howard explained the turning point in his career: "I was at Quad Studios in New York mixing a song for the LSG project, my first platinum," he mentioned casually of his work with Rufus Blaq and the Grammy Award-winning Prince Charles Alexander. "I met up with these guys who were working with Puff Daddy and Jennifer Lopez, and they were like, 'Who did this?' Kanye West was in the room having a meeting. He said he was inspired and invited me to be in his photograph of all the hot producers and writers in New York." B. Howard embarked on a solo career in 2010 following the success of his single, "Dancefloor." In 2010, B Howard emerged as an artist when he collaborated with Wyclef Jean and Jazmine Sullivan to revamp the song "Ke Nako" as a tribute to Nelson Mandela. Howard has produced songs for Wyclef Jean, Ne-Yo, Chris Brown, Ciara, Trey Songz, Omarion, Ginuwine, Marques Houston and others. In 2010, Howard released his album Genesis in Japan through Universal Music International under the 6 Point Entertainment label. The first single from Genesis, "Super Model" was released via iTunes on February 8, 2011. The second single, "Dancefloor" made its US premiere on Wednesday, June 8 on iTunes and across all digital platforms. Howard performed in Japan to support this release. Howard's single "Dancefloor" featured contributions by James Poyser, Benjamin Wright and Questlove. Howard is currently working on his upcoming American EP, Official. His single "I Do It" was co-produced by Remo the Hitmaker and release in 2013.
Songwriting and Production
Howard was the songwriter for Ginuwine's 2003 single "Love You More," which reached number 78 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 23 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. In 2003, he also co-wrote "Good Luck" from the album MH by Marques Houston. In 2004, Howard was a songwriter of "Ya Kiss" on Kevin Lyttle’s eponymous debut album. "Ya Kiss" entered the Billboard 200 at number 8. Howard produced "Cover Girl" And "Taste of Dis" on Brooke Valentine’s 2005 album Chain Letter. Later that year, Howard served as the songwriter and producer for "Marriage" and "Cheat" on Marques Houston’s album Naked. In 2006, Howard was a songwriter and producer for Ne-Yo’s "I Ain’t Gotta Tell You" from the album In My Own Words which topped the Billboard 200. He also was the songwriter and producer for the songs "Kick Push II" and "What It Do" for Lupe Fiasco's Food and Liquor, which debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200 in 2006. Howard worked on vocal arrangement for Emily King's "Never be Lonely" from East Side Story released in 2006. Omarion and Bow Wow released a collaborative album, Face Off, in 2007 which debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200 and included Howard as a songwriter for the song "Can’t Get Tired of Me." Howard worked with Marques Houston again in 2007 as producer for the song "Favorite Girl" on Houston's album Veteran. Vanessa Hudgens released the album Identified in 2008 which included the song "Gone With The Wind," which Howard co-wrote. In 2011, Howard was a vocalist, producer and songwriter for Koda Kumi's song "Passing By" on the album Dejavu. La Toya Jackson released single "Feels Like Love" in 2014 with Howard as producer. In 2015, Howard released his debut North American album, "Nothing To Prove". Howard's single, Don't Say You Love Me, hit number 11 on Billboard's Top Dance charts in January 2016. In 2018, Howard joined China's virtual star festival in Beijing.
Howard's similarities to the late pop icon Michael Jackson have been a source of speculation, and in 2014 FilmOn.com claimed to have evidence that proved paternity. However, Howard released his own video via Facebook saying that he:
"did not put out a story"
"has never self-proclaimed to be Michael Jackson’s son"
"makes his own cash"
"is not suing the Michael Jackson estate" and
"had a DNA test which had nothing to do with 'the media craze.'"
The tests have subsequently proven to be inconclusive. In March 2014, singer Akon gave an interview with Larry King in which he, as a recording artist who has worked with both Howard and Jackson, claimed to believe Howard was Michael Jackson's son. In January 2018, Howard Portrayed Michael Jackson in the Lifetime Biopic A Tale of Two Coreys.
