Roy Davis Jr.

Biography

Davis was born in Van Nuys, California, and grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He became interested in house music at an early age through the work of Lil' Louis, DJ Pierre, Farley Keith (Farley Jackmaster Funk), and Marshall Jefferson. In the late 1980s he started his own production company named Phuture. He later worked as an A&R scout for the New York label Strictly Rhythm while also running his Chicago-founded label Undaground Therapy Muzik.

Davis and singer-songwriter Peven Everett wrote and produced the single 'Gabriel', released on Large Records in 1996 and licensed to XL Recordings in 1997. The track received international airplay and club play, peaking at No. 22 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1997, and sold over 200,000 copies. It appeared on compilation albums including Gilles Peterson's Desert Island Mix. In 2004 his track 'About Love' reached No. 70 in the UK.

Earlier chart successes included 'Who Dares to Believe in Me' under the alias The Believers on Strictly Rhythm, and 'All I Do' on Omar-S' label FXHE. Davis also worked for Thomas Bangalter's Paris-based label Roulé in the early '90s and produced for artists such as Eric Benet, Faith Evans, Mary J. Blige, Seal, Patti LaBelle, Christina Milian, and Morcheeba. Bangalter contributed a remix of Davis's track 'Rock Shock' titled 'Rock Shock (Thomas Bangalter's 'Start-Stop' Mix)'.

Davis's father, Roy Davis, was mentioned on Daft Punk's track 'Teachers', a list of the duo's musical influences. In 2011 Davis produced a record with J. Noize and Kaye Fox called 'Enjoy the Ride'. In April 2016 he announced that he had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and would cancel some planned shows, intending to return to performing and producing as his health allowed.