Mario Winans
| Mario Winans | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Mario Mendell Brown |
| Born | August 29, 1974 |
| Origin | Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States |
| Genres | R&B, hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, producer, actor, rapper |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Labels | Bad Boy, Queen Bee, Undeas, Worldwide, Atlantic, Universal |
| Associated acts | Tim & Bob, Diddy, The Hitmen, Timati, Kay One, Lil' Flip, Ashanti, Lil' Kim, Guerilla Black, Ginuwine, Tamia, Faith Evans, Rick Ross, Kelis, Brisco |
Mario Mendell Winans (born August 29, 1974) is an R&B producer, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist best known for his 2004 song "I Don't Wanna Know", which reached number 2 in the United States and number 1 in the United Kingdom. Winans also won a Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance for co-writing CeCe Winans's song "Pray".
Born Mario Brown, he is the son of gospel recording artist Vickie Winans (née Bowman) and her first husband, Bishop Ronald Brown. He is also the stepson of his mother's second husband, gospel singer, Pastor Marvin Winans whom she married in 1978. Marvin and Vickie Winans had twos sons, Josiah Winans, and Marvin Winans Jr. Vickie and Marvin Winans divorced in 1995 and she has since remarried.
Mario Winans began learning piano, keyboards, and drums while still in grade school in Detroit and learned how to work in a recording studio at an early age. He began producing gospel music professionally after graduating high school, eventually working with gospel music artists Fred Hammond, The Clark Sisters and various members of the Winans gospel music family. But unlike the rest of his family who stuck with gospel, Mario also delved into secular music.
In the mid-1990s, Mario was signed to a production deal with Dallas Austin's Rowdy Records thru producers Tim & Bob. He lived with the duo at their house studio until his breakthrough came as a Christian songwriter, musician and co-producer on R. Kelly's "I Can't Sleep Baby" and "You Remind Me of Something" (plus three more songs) from the R. Kelly album in 1995. He also worked with Pebbles and 98 Degrees.
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