Darius Scott Dixson, also known as DIXSON, is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, best known for a Season 9 live playoffs appearance on The Voice (with Team Pharrell), and his co-written and co-produced Academy Award-nominated original song "Be Alive" alongside Beyoncé from the 2021 film King Richard.[1][2] Scott has also co-written for Mariah Carey, Chance the Rapper, Kehlani, and Vic Mensa, among others, and is a graduate of the College of Wooster.[3][4]
Scott's late father was a pastor, and Scott quickly learned to play all 11 instruments in their Atlanta church “in case” he had to step in and play.[5] By the age of 5, he had started singing and impressed his parents with a rendition of Fred Hammond’s “When the Spirit of the Lord.” [6] Scott subsequently attended Ohio's The College of Wooster as a recipient of the prestigious Posse Foundation scholarship.[4] While there, he participated in several ensembles including the Wooster Chorus, The Wooster Fragments, the Wooster Jazz Ensemble, and served as the music director of his on-campus band, Freddie Cool.[7] Throughout Scott's studies, he held internship roles at MTV and The National Conference of Black Mayors, and was also a founding team member of the streetwear brand Kith. Scott studied abroad in Paris in 2011, with concentrations in French business and fashion merchandising. He graduated in 2013, with a self-designed major in arts and media management, before moving to Texas to become an executive with Neiman Marcus.[3]
Scott released his self-produced Christian/Gospel debut project Masterpiece in November 2014, which was described by him as “the spiritual journey of a young man, challenged by the normative constructs of what is considered faith-based music" in an early Voice contestant profile. Scott was next a contestant on the Season 9 of The Voice, where he was selected to join Judge Pharrell Williams' team.
Stage | Song | Original Artist | Date | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
Blind Audition | "You Make Me Wanna..." | Usher | September 29, 2015 | Adam Levine, Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams turned Joined Team Pharrell |
Battle Rounds | "Lean on Me" (vs. Daria Jazmin) | Bill Withers | October 20, 2015 | Won |
Knockout Rounds | "On Broadway" (vs. Morgan Frazier) | The Drifters | October 27, 2015 | Won |
Live Playoffs (Top 24) | "Love Lockdown" | Kanye West | November 10, 2015 | Eliminated |
Episode | Performers | Song |
---|---|---|
17.4 | Team Pharrell (Celeste Betton, Darius Scott, Evan McKeel, Madi Davis, Mark Hood, and Riley Biederer) |
"Everybody Hurts" |
Scott maintained a relationship with Voice mentor Williams, and began to collaborate with many of his fellow contestants, before self-releasing his electro-R&B album YOUNG in 2018, described as "a journey through the spiritual hills and valleys of a twenty-something year old, finding one's true voice, and pushing beyond one’s perceived artistic limits."[8][9] He was next contacted to contribute to Chance The Rapper's 2019 album The Big Day, working on a majority of the album in various capacities.[10] In 2020, Scott vocally arranged the acoustic version of the Justin Bieber and Chance the Rapper collaboration "Holy".[11] Scott subsequently signed a record deal with label Roc Nation, and released his debut label project Darling. [12][13][14][15] After sending multiple songs to Beyoncé, he was invited to the studio to craft a song for the King Richard film soundtrack that would become Grammy and Academy Award-nominated 2021 single "Be Alive".[16] He later contributed to her album Renaissance (2022), co-writing "Virgo's Groove" and "Pure/Honey".[17][18][19] Scott released his fourth project 004Daisy in 2022, featuring collaborations with Tinashe, Sevyn Streeter, and Vic Mensa, among others.[20][21] In 2024, Scott contributed "American Requiiem" and "Amen" to Beyoncé's eighth studio Cowboy Carter, before co-writing or co-producing more than 10 songs for Kehlani's projects Crash and While We Wait 2.[22][23][24] Scott also co-wrote "Bending My Rules" and "Soft" with Darhyl Camper from Flo's debut album Access All Areas, and "Boom Bap" from rapper Doechii's mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal.[25][26]
Title | Year | Other performer(s) | Album |
---|---|---|---|
"No Way" | 2017 | Jor'dan Armstrong | Vibes |
"Go" | 2018 | Keyondra Lockett | Non-album single |
"Zanies and Fools" | 2019 | Chance the Rapper & Nicki Minaj | The Big Day |
"Trust" | MavTraxx & Adarian Roberts | Family Ties | |
"Take It Slow" [27] | Danielle Juhre | Non-album single | |
"Young Love Games" (Background Vocals) | Grace Weber | Non-album single | |
"Distance" (Background Vocals) | 2020 | Yebba | Dawn |
"Carousel" | Bosco | Car Therapy | |
"Rebirth" | Vic Mensa, BJ the Chicago Kid & Peter CottonTale | V Tape | |
"Do Your Thing" | Peter CottonTale, Lil Rel Howery & Reeseynem | Catch | |
"Prayer" | Peter CottonTale, Hoko & Jack Red | ||
"Be Alive" | 2021 | Beyoncé | King Richard (soundtrack) |
"Introduction" | Vic Mensa | I Tape | |
"D'usse Tears" | 2022 | Vic Mensa & Malik Yusef | Vino Valentino |
"California Taxi" | INAYAH | Insecure | |
"Sunday Evening Reprise" | 2023 | Vic Mensa & Lekan | Victor |
"Slow Dance" | 2024 | Kehlani | While We Wait 2 |
"Bending My Rules [Unlocked]" | Flo | Access All Areas |
Credits are courtesy of Discogs, Tidal, Apple Music, and AllMusic.
Title | Year | Artist | Album |
---|---|---|---|
"Veins" | 2016 | Madi Davis | Above The Waves |
"All Day Long" (featuring John Legend) | 2019 | Chance the Rapper | The Big Day[28] |
"Eternal" (featuring Smino) | |||
"We Go High" | |||
"The Big Day" (featuring Francis and the Lights) | |||
"Let's Go on the Run" (featuring Knox Fortune) | |||
"Ballin Flossin" (featuring Shawn Mendes) | |||
"5 Year Plan" (featuring Randy Newman) | |||
"Sun Come Down" | |||
"Found a Good One (Single No More)" (featuring SWV & Pretty Vee) | |||
"He's Real P.1" | 2020 | Peter CottonTale | Catch |
"Pray for Real" (Featuring Chance the Rapper & Tobi Lou) | |||
"He's Real P.2" | |||
"The Return" (With Chance the Rapper) | Jeremih | Merry Christmas Lil' Mama: The Gift That Keeps On Giving | |
"Petal" | BOSCO | Some Day This Will All Make Sense | |
"Take Off" | |||
"Millionaires" | 2021 | Vic Mensa | I Tape |
"Always Something" | 2022 | INAYAH | Insecure |
"Pretty Ugly" | |||
"Killa Mode" (Featuring Storm Ford) | Westside Boogie | More Black Superheroes | |
"Nonchalant" (Featuring Mamii) | |||
"Can't Even Lie" (With Soulja Boy) | |||
"Prideful II" | |||
"Can't Get Over You" (With Smino & Teezo Touchdown) | |||
"Windows Down" (Featuring Snoop Dogg) | |||
"Anthony (War)" | |||
"Virgo's Groove" | Beyoncé | Renaissance | |
"Pure/Honey" | |||
"American Requiem" | 2024 | Cowboy Carter | |
"Amen" | |||
"GrooveTheory" | Kehlani | Crash | |
"Next 2 U" | |||
"8" | |||
"Sucia" (featuring Jill Scott and Young Miko) | |||
"Vegas" | |||
"Deep" | |||
"Chapel" | |||
"Lose My Wife" | |||
"Love Like" | While We Wait 2 | ||
"S.I.N.G.L.E" | |||
"Let Me Down" (San Diego Interlude) | |||
"8 Remix" (featuring Flo) | |||
"Boom Bap" | Doechii | Alligator Bites Never Heal | |
"Bending My Rules" | Flo | Access All Areas | |
"Soft" | |||
"Sugar Sweet" (featuring Kehlani and Shenseea) | 2025 | Mariah Carey | Here for It All |
"Folded" | Kehlani | TBA |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | The Voice | Himself | Live Playoffs Contestant | [29][30] |
2022 | 2022 Soul Train Music Awards | Himself | "Cherry Sorbet" Performance | [31] |
Year | Ceremony | Award | Result | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Best Original Song in a Feature Film (Be Alive) | Nominated | [32] |
2022 | Academy Awards | Best Original Song (Be Alive) | Nominated | [33][6] |
Black Reel Awards | Outstanding Original Song (Be Alive) | Nominated | [34] | |
Critics' Choice Awards | Best Song (Be Alive) | Nominated | [35] | |
Golden Globe Awards | Best Original Song (Be Alive) | Nominated | [36] | |
Hollywood Critics Association Awards | Best Original Song (Be Alive) | Won | [37] | |
Satellite Awards | Best Original Song (Be Alive) | Nominated | [38] | |
Soul Train Music Awards | Best New Artist | Nominated | [39] | |
2023 | 65th Annual Grammy Awards | Best Song Written for Visual Media (Be Alive) | Nominated | [40] |
Album of the Year (Renaissance) | Nominated | [41] |