Damion Young (born 1974), also known as Damizza, is an American radio executive, record producer, artist and author.[4]
Biography
Young began his career as a studio assistant at the age of 12, where Young went on to popularize numerous artists while working at Santa Barbara’s KHTY station, including Fiona Apple, Garbage and Hootie & the Blowfish, and later served as the head of Los Angeles’ Power 106 and New York’s Hot 97.[5]
Young was named the 4th most powerful person in hip-hop by The Source magazine 2 years after being named program director Power 106, after he helped Jay-Z find an international audience, helped Janet Jackson rekindle her career, helped Dr. Dre with advice on 'how to break the white kid from Detroit' and introduced the world to Eminem.[9]
He completed working with J. Marshall Craig on a book on his life, Guilty By Association, which is scheduled for release sometime late-2011 after two years of delays over legal issues and made some public appearances at various California universities and colleges discussing the book and his life as a radio prodigy-turned hip-hop producer and performer. When Damizza was asked to give a brief insight to his book he said "A kid from a small town with a dream.. That never took no for an answer, made his dreams come true and did it his way. (With a Lil help from his grannie)".[10]