Maejor

In 2005 Southfield, Michigan native Brandon Green, operating first under Bei Maejor, then Maejor Ali, and finally Maejor, entered the music business as a contemporary R&B and pop producer, songwriter, and vocalist. While enrolled at the University of Michigan, he contributed to Trey Songz's "Ur Behind" and UGK's Bun B track "Hold You Down." Throughout the ensuing years he sustained a tight partnership with Trey Songz and supplied productions or songwriting for LeToya, Chrisette Michele, Ginuwine, Ghostface Killah, and Monica. Peak achievements from this period include co-writing Plies' "She Got It Made," Soulja Boy's "Speakers Going Hammer," and Lloyd's "Cupid."

Green joined the Sony-affiliated Jive roster as a solo act and began releasing mixtapes in 2010. The self-produced, self-written "Trouble," which included a J. Cole verse, appeared on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop chart the following August and climbed to number 34. In 2011 he handled sessions for Justin Bieber, Iggy Azalea, and Big Time Rush, and his own RCA single "Lights Down Low," featuring Waka Flocka Flame, reached number 68. Re-emerging in 2013 as Maejor Ali on the Universal-distributed Island imprint, he issued "Lolly," a collaboration with Bieber and Juicy J that entered the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100.

Throughout the second half of the 2010s Green logged further studio time with Bieber, R. Kelly, and Austin Mahone while issuing independent singles under the Maejor name, among them the Jeremih duet "Get You Alone." Nearly a dozen additional singles appeared before the decade ended, such as "Vai Malandra" with Anitta and "OMG" with Ludmilla. He also teamed with Dutch producer Martin Garrix in the duo AREA21, which released tracks including "We Did It" and "Help."