Tony DeNiro

Tony DeNiro (b. Tony Smith in Indianapolis, October 2, 1969 - ) – Business executive, producer, singer, and songwriter. Raised in Gary, Tony DeNiro (formerly Tony Smith) was a star athlete at Gary Roosevelt High School, winning state championships in track and earning all-American honors in football. After an illustrious college career as a wide receiver at Notre Dame (including All-American accolades in his last two years), he was picked up in the sixth round of the 1992 draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. After an injury-shortened career, Tony Smith transformed himself in Tony DeNiro around the time that he signed on as a producer with Priority Records in 1995. In the following year, he became the first minority executive at Priority when he accepted the position of Senior Vice President of A & R. Soon thereafter, he signed production deals with Capital and later on with Universal. He has also launched his own record labels and currently owns and operates the Royal T’s, Inc., which works in music production, management, and consulting. Over the years, DeNiro has had a hand in the discovery, management, consulting and production of numerous R & B and raps sensations such as Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, Fonzworth Bentley, Mark Whalberg, Snoop Dogg, Chris Brown, Kanye West, Macy Gray, Brandy, Usher, and Ice Cube. He has also worked with pop singers such as Ashlee Simpson and Skylar Grey.