Vincent Le'Carl Berry II
Born (1985-08-01) August 1, 1985
Detroit, Michigan, United States
Alma materMorehouse College
Musical career
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Songwriter
  • producer
LabelsASCAP

Vincent Berry is an American songwriter and producer, best known for writing "Sandcastles" from Beyoncé's 2016 album Lemonade, as well as various songs for Mary J. Blige and Tamar Braxton, among others. [1]

Berry, a Morehouse College student who dropped out in his senior year to pursue songwriting, was homeless at the time he penned what was initially titled "We Built Sandcastles That Washed Away", a song about the end of a decade-long relationship. [2] After several re-writes with the help of additional co-writers Midian Mathers, Malik Yusef, and Beyoncé Knowles, as well as a "tear-filled" pitching session with Parkwood Entertainment A&R executive Teresa LaBarbera Whites, the song was placed onto Knowles' Grammy-winning album with a "more hopeful" ending than was originally created. [3] Berry avoided signing a traditional co-publishing deal for the song, and consequently shares ownership. [4] He has since co-written "Blind", a Tamar Braxton single from her 2017 album Bluebird of Happiness that reached the Billboard Adult R&B Airplay charts. [5]

Songwriting, guitar and production credits

Credits are courtesy of Discogs, Tidal, Spotify, and AllMusic.

Title Year Artist Album
"Kill The Dragon" 2014 Kierra Sheard Graceland
"Our Love" 2015 Nico & Vinz Cornerstone
"Sandcastles" 2016 Beyoncé Lemonade
"Blind" 2017 Tamar Braxton Bluebird of Happiness
"How I Feel"
"Empty Boxes"
"Find the Love" Mary J. Blige Strength of a Woman
"Body" (Featuring Migos) Sean Paul Mad Love the Prequel
"Don't Let Go" (Featuring Rico Love) Bone Thugs New Waves
"Simple Song" (With Jussie Smollett & Rumer Willis) Empire Cast Non-album single
"All to Myself" 2019 Baby Rose To Myself
"Lolita" Take 3 Star: Original Soundtrack From Season 3
"Mehr Als Mich" 2020 Gentleman Blaue Stunde

Awards and nominations

Year Ceremony Award Result Ref
2017 59th Annual Grammy Awards Grammy Award for Album of the Year (Lemonade) Nominated [6]

References

  1. ↑ Gibbs, Adrienne (March 31, 2017). "Secrets of Sandcastles: Beyoncé's Producer on the Politics of Music". Forbes. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  2. ↑ D. Kennedy, Gerrick (June 15, 2016). "How a homeless songwriter's story of heartbreak made it into Beyonce's album". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 27, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  3. ↑ "From homeless to Beyonce collaborator: Vincent Berry on ASCAP Expo's role in aiding songwriters". americansongwriter.com. February 24, 2017. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  4. ↑ Weinkauf, Gregory (April 25, 2017). "Speaking with Songwriter Vincent Berry: Rising Force at the ASCAP EXPO". HuffPost. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Tamar Braxton". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Vincent Berry II". Grammy Awards. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
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