Static Major

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Static Major, real name Stephen Ellis Garrett Jr., was an American producer, singer and songwriter from Louisville, Kentucky. He was born in 1974 and died in 2008, at the age of thirty-three. Earlier he performed under the name Static. In 1990 he founded the R&B trio Playa. That group belonged to Swing Mob, a musical collective from Virginia led by DeVanté Swing. Playa signed with Def Jam and attracted attention in 1998 with the single Cheers 2 U.

Music and breakthrough

His greatest influence was as a writer. Together with Timbaland, also of Swing Mob, he wrote Pony by Ginuwine from 1996, and Are You That Somebody? by Aaliyah from 1998. After that he became Aaliyah's most important songwriter. He co-wrote Try Again from 2000, her only number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and almost all the songs on her third album Aaliyah from 2001. He also contributed to the debut album Make It Hot by Nicole Wray. Speaking about his inspiration, he said that he looked to the streets: if a song could not be played in the neighbourhood, it did not work for him.

Influence

In 2008 Lil Wayne's Lollipop was released, a song he co-wrote and on which he can be heard. It went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. He died in February of that year as a result of a medical procedure, and the music video is dedicated to his memory. His voice returned later too, including on Aaliyah's Poison, in 2021, where he sings in the background.

Listening