Introduced to the music business through Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, this multifaceted Mount Vernon, NY native went on to compose and produce a plethora of chart-topping songs and remixes alongside the Bad Boy Entertainment founder since the early 90s. Dofat composed and produced hit tracks and remixes for some of the top recording artists in the industry [to name a few] Heavy D, Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah, Will Smith, Ja Rule, Black Rob, Method Man, Jodeci, Tina Turner, Notorious BIG and MTV’s “Making the Band”. Dofat has been credited on “AllMusic.com” as producer, composer, and engineer on almost 100 major label releases. Other highlights include several Grammy nominations, over 15 Billboard top ten albums and singles, and 42 gold and platinum certification awards by RIAA. He is without a doubt a powerhouse in his own right, as his contributions to commercial music span almost 3 decades and exceeds 40 million records sold.
After years behind-the-scenes in the lab, this visionary connected his persona to his respected reputation when he was appointed by Diddy to join the most popular and groundbreaking reality show by MTV “Making the Band 2” cast as the primary music producer, co-executive producer, composer, and recording/mix engineer. Dofat created “Da Band’s” album “Too hot for TV” which debuted at #1 and sustained 23 weeks on the Billboard charts. This Bad Boy Records/ Universal Music Group album sold over 586,000 physical units within the first week and was certified Gold by RIAA.
In 2004, Tony Dofat’s musical vision, along with his eminent Pro tools editing and sound design skills were frequently called upon by the industry greats to craft some of the most elaborate live performances for television and touring. Credited as musical director, sound editor, and Pro tools operator, Dofat has toured and worked with some of the biggest names in the industry such as Jay-Z, Usher, Jagged Edge, Danity Kane, Day 26, Timbaland, Jamie Foxx, and more. One of his most notable works was the benefit concert in 2007, held at the newly built Wembley Stadium in London, the United Kingdom in honor of Diana, the Princess of Wales. The “Concert for Diana” broadcasted live throughout 140 countries worldwide with an estimated audience of 500 million live viewers (5 times the 2019 Super Bowl audience). Dofat is credited on “IMDB” as musical director for his role in this live performance.
In 2014, Dofat Authored and self-published several music reference books and began guest lecturing and delivering recurring Masterclasses at institutions around the world. Some cities include; Zagreb, Amsterdam, Paris, London, Oxford, Liverpool, Glasgow, Milan, Ljubljana, Boston, Miami, and New York City.
In 2015, Dofat joined the faculty at Long Island University’s Brooklyn campus as an adjunct professor in both Media Arts and Music Technology Departments. Tony Dofat has also been featured in top publications such as Billboard Magazine, Forbes, TechCrunch, Melodics, and many more.
Articles
• Barrow, J. L. (2019, May 28). Nuttin but Love: Tony Dofat and Pete Rock Remember Heavy D [exclusive]. The Urban Daily. https://theurbandaily.com/1923907/heavy-d-birthday-tony-dofat-pete-rock/.
• Brown, P. (2019, December 3). How Mary J. Blige's 'my life' album crowned her as the queen of hip-hop soul. VIBE.com. https://www.vibe.com/news/entertainment/how-mary-j-bliges-my-life-album-crowned-her-as-the-queen-of-hip-hop-soul-670444/.
• Carter, B. (2017, April 12). What happened to Queen Latifah - what is she up to now?Gazette Review. https://gazettereview.com/2017/04/happened-queen-latifah-news-updates/.
• Coleman, L. deL. (2018, April 30). Veteran artists discuss Stark Downside of Tech on today's music. Forbes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurencoleman/2018/04/30/veteran-artists-discuss-stark-downside-of-tech-on-todays-music/?sh=62ac564a5959.
• Daniels, K. F. (2017, September 6). 'reminisce': 25 years later, Mary J. Blige, queen of hip-hop soul reigns supreme. NBCNews.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/ode-mary-j-blige-n798066.
• Debrafilcman. (2018, July 28). July 28 hip-hop history: Mary J. Blige, EPMD, Soulja Boy and more. The Boombox. https://theboombox.com/july-28-hip-hop-history/.
• Echi, P. (2015, February 10). Black Westchester Magazine.
http://www.blackwestchester.com/tony-dofat/.
• Emmanuel. (2015, January 12). Heavy D & The boyz drop 'blue funk' album - today in hip-hop - XXL. XXL Mag. https://www.xxlmag.com/today-in-hip-hop-heavy-d-the-boyz-release-blue-funk/.
• (@GrouchyGreg), B. G. G. W. (2020, August 4). Homepage. AllHipHop.
https://allhiphop.com/page/4513/?p=nbaxvkkcwsrgns.
• Hu, C. (2018, September 24). Anatomy of a sample: The legal complexities behind hip-hop's creative backbone. Billboard.
https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8474562/samples-legal-complexities-behind-hip-hop-creative-backbone.
• Library, C. U. (n.d.). Queen Latifah working on new single, "Bring the flavor" - cornell university library digital collections. Queen Latifah working on new single, "Bring the Flavor" - Cornell University Library Digital Collections: Adler Hip Hop Archive.
https://digital.library.cornell.edu/catalog/ss:9468392.
• Lunden, I. (2015, April 27). Engineering director Lars RASMUSSEN leaving Facebook to co-found a music startup. TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2015/04/27/rasmussen-facebook/.
• Melodics. (2019). Hip-hop production 101: Hip-hop & R&B super producer Tony DOFAT takes us to school. Melodics. https://melodics.com/blog/index.php/2019/09/02/hip-hop-production-101-hip-hop-rb-super-producer-tony-dofat-takes-us-to-school/.
• University, L. I. (2020). “Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment” Fall 2020 Liu Magazine. Pp. 27 Issuu. https://issuu.com/liumagazine/docs/a061-20__fall-2020-liu-magazine_final.