From Inglewood, Ca, 4x Grammy Award winner James Fauntleroy is perhaps best known for co-writing seven of the songs off of Bruno Mars 2017 multi Grammy-winning album 24K Magic, including Song of the Year, That’s What I Like – having become the first [pure] songwriter to ever bring home a Grammy for Album of the Year. Other notable songs/albums Fauntleroy has worked on include 9 Chris Brown songs, 25 Justin Timberlake songs, 12 Rihanna songs, 5 Beyonce songs + “On The Run” with Jay-Z and featuring on songs with Nipsey Hussle, Drake, Big Sean, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Nas, Travis Scott, ASAP Rocky and more.
Oh you wanted to hear the “more”? He’s also co-written and/or produced songs performed by John Legend, Sza, Snoop Dogg, Stevie Wonder, Ty $, Joe Jonas, Jordin Sparks (No Air), Britney Spears, Brandy, Kelly Clarkson, Frank Ocean, Chris Cornell, Vince Staples, David Archuleta, Pet Shop Boys, Timbaland, Jhene Aiko, Mariah Carey, Jay Electronica, John Mayer, Leona Lewis, Diddy, Ashanti, Usher, Teyana Taylor, Anderson .Paak and inexplicably many others.
James Fauntleroy, alongside producer Larrance Dopson and entrepreneur Twila True, have founded the 1500 Sound Academy. Students come from the area (Inglewood, CA), all across the nation and around the globe to learn about engineering, producing, branding, publishing/business, songwriting from expert guest speakers and a curriculum that includes practical information along with the musical and technical lessons.
Alongside music, Fauntleroy has a background in 3d modeling, web design, and coding. In 2022 he collaborated with Disney for their 100th Anniversary to design the Disney 100 Mickey Mouse: Icon of Wonder – expressed as both a 12ft statue and a special edition run of smaller replicas.