STEPHEN McGregor feels his latest accolade speak volumes about his growth as a music producer. He bears production credits on two songs from John Legend’s Bigger Love, which won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album on Sunday.

He was on cloud nine when the Jamaica Observer spoke with him yesterday.

“It’s a good feeling. The Grammys are the most coveted thing for musicians. Just to get recognised on the project to begin with, is a good feeling. But for it to be nominated for the Grammys and go on to win is a great accomplishment because we put in the work,” he said.

“I think this [Grammy] is number four. This is the first one for R&B. All my others were like urban contemporary, Latin, and one for reggae… It shows the growth is there and it shows expansion, not only for me, more importantly our culture. I just want to be an example; I just wanna grow and expand from where I started,” he continued.

Released on June 19 2020 by Columbia Records, the 16-song Bigger Love is the seventh studio album for John Legend. McGregor worked on the title track, as well as Don’t Walk Away which features Koffee.

The Florida-based McGregor said he met Legend through then Sony A&R (Artiste and Repertoire) Shawn Holiday in 2019, who felt the two should work together.

“John and I did one session together [in Los Angeles]. The first session we did was for the song with Koffee, Don’t Walk Away… After that, I worked on the title track Bigger Love. He sent that track to me after, to produce that. This was about when the quarantine just started, so I had to finish it at home,” he said.

He shared his approach to music production.

“For me, I pretty much approach every project the same way. I observe what the lay of the land for the project is. ‘Cause when I worked with him (John), for example, I asked him to play me what he had before, so I could figure out now sonically how I would approach it and what I needed for the project,” he said. “So, I make my sound fit into what they’re already doing and make it cohesive, still authentic to what I do.”

McGregor is son of singer Freddie McGregor and brother of singjay Chino McGregor.

Among the Grammy-winning albums he has worked on are Stony Hill by Damian Marley and El Dorado by Latin superstar Shakira. El Dorado was certified diamond (Latin certification).

McGregor also produced Controlla by Drake, he co-produced Writing on the Wall on the album Montana by French Montana, and Latin star Nicky Jam’s Fenix, which have earned either gold or diamond (Latin) certifications.