SWIZZ BEATZ IS THE PRODUCER-IN-RESIDENCE AT NYU! HELPS INSPIRE STUDENTS IN THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT!

Swizz Beatz is a jack-of-all-trades: colorful rapper, producer for the likes of Kanye West and Jay-Z, designer for brands such as Aston Martin and Christian Louboutin. He's also Mr. Alicia Keys.
But to NYU students, he's a dreammaker.

The 32-year-old hip-hop veteran — who was just nominated for three Grammys last week — was recently named a producer-in-residence at the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music. Since his tenure kicked off last month, the Bronx native has been holding schoolwide lectures while also offering 30-minute critique sessions to individual students.

"I feel superblessed to be able to give them back certain things I learned throughout my life," he says. "A lot of these programs in all of these schools, sometimes they can be a little outdated. That's why I feel I play such an important role because I represent the now, and these kids, they need to know what's going on now."

Last Friday, the adjunct professor met with six new students, one nervous fan among them: Daniel Bazan Jr., 21. Bazan sat down with Beatz, notebook and pen in hand, and fielded a flurry of questions: What was his business plan? Marketing plan? What about his goals? Was he getting credit for the music he produced?

"Business is business," a stern Beatz told him. "Set your business plan to win; raise the bar or you're not going to be prepared. You need to think that what you're doing will make you $100 million." That's the kind of industry savvy more often learned outside the classroom.

Beatz's association with the school began last May when he was asked to advise seniors on their thesis presentations. Moved by the students and their struggles, Beatz asked if he could come back.

"His time with the school is completely his donation and comes from pure desire to help," says Nick Sansano, associate arts professor and former producer for Public Enemy. "He really is serving the needs of the students. He really can stay as long as he likes!"

Beatz just might take his offer. He has a plan to implement new concepts in the next year or two to help students be both creative and money-smart. "I'm dedicated to [the school]," he says. "It's not a publicity thing for me. Once I started here, I realized these students needed a lot more help. They need contacts. They need guidance. They need a lot of different things. I want to provide that service."

At the end of his critique with Beatz, Bazan hooked up his MacBook Pro to speakers to play a sampling of his music — ballads, hip-hop and futuristic jams. Beatz bumped his head up and down and listened for a solid 15 minutes.

"Let me get your email," he finally said. "I'm going to personally email you, and let me see if I can get you some work."

Bazan, unsure of what to say, thanks him and smiles.

Later, he says: "This is a dream for me."

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