BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRICAN AMERICAN " BERNARD EDWARDS Jr " IS AN ATLANTA BASED RECORD PRODUCER WHO FIRST ROSE TO FAME WHEN HE SIGNED Dr DRED;S : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS "

          BLACK    SOCIAL   HISTORY                                                                                                                  

Focus... (producer)

Focus...
Birth name	Bernard Edwards, Jr.
Origin	Manhattan, New York, US
Genres	R&B, Hip-hop
Occupation(s)	Record producer, rapper,singer
Instruments	bass, keyboards, drum machine
Years active	1999-present
Labels	Aftermath, Interscope, a.Fam Entertainment inc.
Associated acts	Chic, G-Unit, Slum Village,Christina Aguilera

Bernard Edwards, Jr., better known as Focus..., is an Atlanta-based record producer who first rose to fame when signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. Since then he has produced tracks for Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé Knowles, 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, Bishop Lamont, Tony Yayo, Stat Quo, Outlawz, The Game, Jay Rock amongst others.^[1]

Biography

Focus... is the son of the late Bernard Edwards, co-founder of disco and R&B band Chic.^[1] He was born in Manhattan, New York, and raised in the Tri-State Region.^[1] Edwards, Jr credits his father with his love for the production side of music, which he developed from an early age, attending numerous studio sessions with his father.^[1]

Focus...'s production talents were first recognized by Dr. Dre when an artist Edwards, Jr had produced, Daks, greatly impressed the Aftermath label head.^[2] signed Focus... so that the two could then continue working together.^[2]

The beginning of 2009 saw Focus... leave Aftermath after seven years with the label.^[3] In an interview with HitQuarters in 2010 Focus... explained the reasons for the departure:

"I left 'cos I was really working hard and forgetting everything else. I wasn't spending time with my family ... I forgot about life outside of the studio. And we weren't putting out enough music to do that, and so it just made sense for me to just say, 'Dre thanks for everything, you taught me a lot and let me show you what I can do.'"^[2]

In 2014, Focus... returned to Aftermath Entertainment as an official staff producer