Dixson: R&B's New Sensation in 2023

R&B singer songwriter, and producer Dixson seemingly came out of nowhere to become a star in his own right.

But for years, Dixson was working behind the scenes for some of the greatest R&B singers on the planet.

Dixson’s star started to shine when he was a contestant on NBC’s The Voice on Season 9. Even though he was eliminated during the Live Playoffs round, Dixson roared back to be a consummate music visionary.

A few nominations later — including an Oscar nomination for his song “Be Alive,” Dixson’s star is shining brighter than ever.

Dixson was born Darius Scott on July 30, 1993. Dixson got his musical start in his late father’s church. Not only were his parents impressed with his version of gospel great Fred Hammond’s “When the Spirit of the Lord,” Dixson’s parents encouraged him to dive deep into his musical interests.

Dixson even went as far as learning all 11 of his church’s instruments “just in case [he] had to fill in at the last moment,” per the LA Times.

He eventually went to the College of Wooster with what’s known as the “Posse Scholarship.” It was during his college years that he was truly invested in the musical life of the College of Wooster. Dixson participated in the “The Wooster Fragments”, the Wooster Chorus, the Wooster Jazz Ensemble, and was the musical director for a school band called “Freddie Cool.”

Before Dixson graduated from college, he garnered several internships, including positions at the National Conference of Black Mayors, as well as a prestigious placement at MTV.

Dixson even studied abroad in France, studying fashion merchandising and French business.

Soon after he graduated from college in 2013, he released an independent gospel album called “Masterpiece.” Then he got the chance of a lifetime. Darius Scott was tapped to be a contestant on NBC’s The Voice in 2015. At his first blind audition where he sang “You Make Me Wanna...” by R&B icon Usher, he selected Pharrell Williams as his mentor.

Dixson didn’t let his elimination from The Voice get him down. He collaborated with a few former Voice contestants before releasing his second album, “YOUNG” in 2018. That’s when Dixson got the chance to collaborate with Chance the Rapper on the album “The Big Day.”

Catching the eye of music luminaries such as Beyoncé and Justin Bieber, Dixson soon found himself receiving accolades from the Grammys in the form of several nominations.

An unforgettable career moment was receiving an Oscar nomination alongside Beyoncé, for a song from the movie King Richard called “Be Alive.”

“I think that’s what the nomination tells me,” he said of the Oscar nomination. “It’s the echo of that same voice in the car driving in cold Chicago, saying that we’re not done yet, we have so much to accomplish. I have to see this through, for those people who are thinking the same thoughts of ‘Am I enough?’”

The collaborations with Beyoncé have continued as Dixson contributed to a lot of the tracks on her latest album, “Renaissance”, including co-writing credits on “Pure/Honey” and “Virgo’s Groove.” Dixson has always used his collaborative nature to attain big-name stars in music for different projects. But he is also a talented solo artist in his own right.

Dixson never lost touch with Pharrell Williams after his elimination from The Voice. While Pharrell helped him along, Dixson is a talented writer and producer by himself. It is his multiple musical talents, love for collaborative projects, and prodigious producing skills that make Dixson the artist that he is to R&B-loving fans.