Zaytoven is among the top music producers from Atlanta spearheading the success of various music artists through his beats such as Gucci Mane and Usher. Born in Germany as Xavier Dotson, the origin of Zaytoven’s name comes from his similarities to German composer and pianist Ludwig van Beethoven. Both men were born in Germany and they mastered the piano and organ at a young age.
Since Zaytoven’s father was in the military, his family moved from Germany to San Francisco, California. Zaytoven moved to Atlanta, Georgia after his father retired and began to make noise in the Hip-Hop industry as a music producer.
It was in Atlanta where hit met one of the top rappers representing the South, Gucci Mane. The first encounter between Gucci Mane and Zaytoven was in a casual setting. Zaytoven was attending barber school when a fellow student introduced him to Gucci Mane. He explains that Gucci Mane was more interested in launching his own Nephews’ rap career at the time.
After some convincing, Zaytoven got Gucci Mane to be start writing his own lyrics and rapping. According to his bio, Zaytoven and Gucci Mane worked together to produce “So Icy” in 2005 which peaked at #23 on the Billboards Hot Rap Tracks chart.
In addition to producing beats, Zaytoven is the author of “From A to Zay” and is an actor in the movie Finesse directed by Al Nuke.
For more information on Zaytoven himself, visit his website www.zaytovenbeatz.com, follow him on Twitter @zaytovenbeatz, and follow him on Instagram @zaytovenbeatz.
BY LAURENT OCTOBRE
The Victoria Washington Experience 