Tony Mercedes
Sr. Vice President of Music and Talent
Tony Mercedes is a 30-year veteran of the entertainment industry with over 60 million career records sold, seven top-five Billboard records, and publishing credit on three Grammy Award-winning songs, including “No Scrubs” (TLC) and “Shape of You” (Ed Sheeran). Having worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, such as Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, Ceelo Green, Pink, Usher, and Antonio “L.A.” Reid, Mercedes first made his mark in the music business with the 1992 debut club anthem “Dazzey Duks,” released on his eponymous independent record label. “Dazzey Duks” skyrocketed to the Billboards Top 100 charts for 56 consecutive weeks and sold over 4.5 million records worldwide, gaining recognition in the L.A. Times for coming only three weeks shy of breaking the standing record set in 1982. Known as one of the hardest working men in the business, Tony Mercedes is a behind-the-scenes visionary largely responsible for introducing America to the 1990s-originating “bass” subgenre through some of the hottest singles of that era, including the iconic “Whoomp! (There It Is),” which 27 years later also remains a pop-culture catchphrase. A former director of A&R at legendary boutique label LaFace Records, Mercedes hand-delivered the multi-platinum, multi-Grammy Award-winning hit “No Scrubs,” TLC’s third No. 1 single and their eighth Top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100. Mercedes proudly boasts having the number one pop single (“No Scrubs”), the number one rap single (“Who Dat,” JT Money), and the number one R&B single (“No Scrubs”) on the Billboard charts all in the same week.
Transplanted from Atlanta, Mercedes is now a resident of Los Angeles, where he has made the transition from radio and records to film and television. In 1999 Mercedes was credited for placing Beyoncé Knowles and Destiny Child in their first feature film. Mercedes also managed the early career of film and comedy superstar Tiffany Haddish and is recognized for playing a pivotal role in her explosive success. Mercedes is also the CEO and founder of Urban Digital Filmworks, a film production company specializing in hi-quality entertainment for teens in the form of short films, motion pictures, documentaries, and videos for network television, mainstream, and cable television markets.