Fresh off of collaborating on new DJ Khaled single “Sorry Not Sorry” with hip-hop rivals-turned-friends Jay-Z and Nas, singer-songwriter and general music multi-hyphenate James Fauntleroy has a lot to celebrate. “It was an early birthday present, it’s awesome to have an opportunity to do anything that gets heard by anyone,” he says. “It’s such a miracle to be a part of something that so many people can be impacted by or enjoy — it’s mindblowing.”

Fauntleroy’s humility is sincere, but alongside producer and multi-instrumentalist Larrance “Rance” Dopson, his song credits for Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars, Kendrick Lamar and other luminaries has made his resumé the sort that producers and songwriters in the R&B and hip-hop lanes have long aspired to. Just last week, J. Cole dropped his latest album The Off-Season, where Fauntleroy was featured alongside Dreamville rapper Bas on final track “hunger.on.hillside,” Meanwhile, Dopson’s production was instrumental on Grammy-nominated albums from Nipsey Hussle (Victory Lap), Jay Electronica (A Written Testimony) and D Smoke (Black Habits) — and at the 2018 Grammys, he nabbed a best R&B song trophy for his songwriting on Ella Mai’s “Boo’d Up.”