Chris Godbey is an American songwriter, vocal engineer, producer, and mixer, best known for his frequent work with gospel artist Kirk Franklin (before working alongside producer Timbaland), including Grammy-winning albums Hero, The 20/20 Experience, BEYONCE, The Blueprint 3, Everything Is Love, and The Fight of My Life, among others.[1][2] Godbey also co-wrote "Take It Easy On Me" from Robin Thicke's 2013 album Blurred Lines, "Walk It Out" from Jennifer Hudson's 2014 album JHUD, and "Yeah, I Said It" from Rihanna's 2016 album Anti.[3]

Christopher L. Godbey
Born
Houston, Texas, United States
Alma materBaylor University
Musical career
Genres
Occupations
  • Songwriter
  • Vocal engineer
  • vocal mixer
  • vocal mastering
  • producer
LabelsEarflower Inc.
Websiteearflower.net

Career

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Godbey, originally from Houston, began his music career as an instrumentalist in various Texas-area rock bands prior to attending Baylor University in 1993 to study telecommunications.[1] While attending school, Godbey worked at a small studio in Waco, TX, before beginning employment with recording studio Dallas Sound Lab upon graduation.[1] He began working with Kirk Franklin and several other gospel acts in Dallas, winning two Grammy Awards for Franklin's albums Hero in 2005 and The Fight of My Life in 2007 respectively, both in the Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album category.[1] In 2007, Godbey met producer Timbaland through mutual friends, subsequently mixing, engineering, or mastering records, as well as playing bass guitar or programming.[1]

Selected songwriting, programming and production credits

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Credits are courtesy of Tidal and Spotify.

Title Year Artist Album
"Could've Been Me" 2000 Kirk Franklin Kirk Franklin Presents 1NC
"Throw Yo Hands Up" 2002 The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin
"Bukowski" (Congleton/Godbey Remix) 2004 Modest Mouse Float On (AUS/UK CD Single, EUR Maxi-Single)
"Incredible" Anthony Evans Even More
"Unity (We Stand)" (Featuring Kirk Franklin)
"Imagine Me" 2005 Kirk Franklin Hero
"Fascinated" (Featuring Justin Timberlake & Timbaland) 2011 FreeSol Non-album single
"Hands In The Air" (Featuring Ne-Yo) 2012 Timbaland Step Up Revolution: Music from the Motion Picture
"Break Ya Back" (Featuring Dev) Non-album single
"Take It Easy On Me" 2013 Robin Thicke Blurred Lines
"I Don't Have to Sleep to Dream" Cher Closer to the Truth
"Grown Woman" Beyoncé Non-album single
"Walk It Out" (Featuring Timbaland) 2014 Jennifer Hudson JHUD
"Movin’ Bass" (Featuring Jay-Z) Rick Ross Hood Billionaire
"If They Knew" (Featuring K. Michelle)
"Yeah, I Said It" 2016 Rihanna Anti
"Smile" (Featuring Timbaland) Yo Gotti The Art of Hustle
"Too Much" (Featuring Timbaland) 2018 Zayn Malik Icarus Falls
"Bow Down (Homecoming Live)" 2019 Beyoncé Homecoming: The Live Album
"Keep Going Up" (With Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake) 2023 Timbaland Textbook Timbo

Full Mix, engineered and/or mastered projects

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Albums with more than 80% Chris Godbey mixing/mastering/engineering credits, showing year released and album name
Album Artist Year Label
Kirk Franklin Presents 1NC Kirk Franklin 2000 Interscope Records / MCA Records
Tha Absolute Truth Big Tuck 2006 DSR / T-Town / Universal Music Group
Thirsty Marvin Sapp 2007 Zomba / Verity Records
Shock Value II Timbaland 2009 Mosley Music Group / Blackground Records
The 20/20 Experience Justin Timberlake 2013 RCA Records
The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 2013
Man of the Woods 2018
Iconology (EP) Missy Elliott 2019 The Goldmind Inc. / Atlantic Records
In Pieces Chlöe 2023 Parkwood / Columbia Records
Everything I Thought It Was Justin Timberlake 2024 RCA Records

Awards and nominations

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Year Ceremony Award Result Ref
2006 37th Annual GMA Dove Awards Dove Award for Urban Album of the Year (Hero) Won [4]
2007 49th Annual Grammy Awards Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album (Hero) Won [5]
2009 51st Annual Grammy Awards Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album (The Fight of My Life) Won [5]
2015 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards Most Performed R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ("Tom Ford") Won [6]
57th Annual Grammy Awards Grammy Award for Album of the Year (Beyoncé) Nominated [5][7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Inside Track: Justin Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience". www.soundonsound.com. Archived from the original on July 3, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  2. ^ "BMI Congratulates its GRAMMY Nominees". BMI.com. December 23, 2014. Archived from the original on July 5, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  3. ^ Frydenlund, Zach. "A Look at Who's Who on Rihanna's 'ANTI' Album". Complex. Archived from the original on July 5, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  4. ^ "GMA Music Awards | GMAMusicAwards.com". www.gmamusicawards.com. Archived from the original on July 3, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 3, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ "UMPG wins BMI R&B/hip-hop Publisher Of The Year". Music Business Worldwide. August 31, 2015. Archived from the original on July 3, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  7. ^ Billboard Staff (December 19, 2014). "The 57th Annual Grammy Awards: The Full Nominee & Credits List". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 5, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023.