TL Cross comes from a musical background that spans back to when his grandfather hosted his own radio show and further extends to his father, aunts and uncles, most of whom were major-label gospel artists and musicians.

Nowadays, the 25-year-old singer/songwriter/producer has successes of his own. His writing credits include "I'll Make It Right" (Usher), "Whereareyougoing" (Musiq Soulchild), "I'll Be Right There" (112) and "Get It On Tonite" (Montell Jordan), which hit No. 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in 2000. He's produced for such artists as Ghostface Killah ("Never B the Same Again," featuring Carl Thomas) and DMX ("Goodbye") while Yolanda Adams, Donnell Jones and Case are among those who have tapped him as a backing singer.

Today, Cross is co-CEO of Da Gutta Fam production/record company, an entity he and his partners hope will be picked up by a major label en bloc. They're currently working on projects with Nas, LeToya Luckett and Jamie Foxx.

"Da Gutta Fam is the umbrella and TL Cross is the trailblazer," Cross says. "We have solid producers and hitmakers. We've had A-list artists choose us to make music for them."

Cross has further dealt with majors as part of the quartet Morrison Slick, a group whose previous incarnations have released records via Island and Motown. Morrison Slick later signed a songwriting deal with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis before becoming part of Da Gutta Fam.