River Tiber (musician)
Canadian musician (born 1991)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tommy Paxton-Beesley (born 1991), also known as River Tiber, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer.[2] His Grammy award-winning contributions include Kendrick Lamar’s "Savior" and Kaytranada’s "Freefall", plus Grammy nominations for songwriting and production of global hits by Drake ("No Tellin’"), SZA ("Broken Clocks"), Travis Scott ("Astrothunder"), James Blake ("I Keep Calling"), Giveon ("Like I Want You"), Kendrick Lamar ("Savior"), Charlotte Day Wilson ("Cyan Blue"), and Kaytranada ("Hold On").
River Tiber | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Tommy Paxton-Beesley |
| Born | Thomas Rohan Paxton-Beesley[1] 1991 (age 34–35) |
| Origin | Toronto |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2013–present |
| Website | rivertiber |
Tommy Paxton-Beesley launched River Tiber in 2011. He is embedded in a circle of Canadian musicians including Daniel Caesar, Kaytranada, BADBADNOTGOOD, Charlotte Day Wilson, Frank Dukes, Jazz Cartier, Justin Nozuka, and Sean Leon. Shared compositions and musical conversations including samples, beats, backing vocals and textures have been interwoven and shared between these artists. River Tiber’s voice and instrumentation have formed the cores of work by artists including Travis Scott, James Blake, Giveon, Post Malone, PARTYNEXTDOOR, Freddie Gibbs, Ghostface Killah, Camila Cabello, Kodak Black, Jhene Aiko, Ty Dolla $ign, and Usher.
Background
Paxton-Beesley was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. He also spent a year in Italy as a child, where he lived near the Tiber River.[3] Growing up, he took part in community music programs and attended the Claude Watson School for the Arts.[4] He attended McGill University before graduating from the Berklee School of Music.[5][6]
He released his debut EP The Star Falls in 2013,[2] and followed up in 2015 with When the Time Is Right.[7] A track from the latter EP, "No Talk", was sampled by producer Boi-1da for "No Tellin'", from the 2015 album If You're Reading This It's Too Late.[4] Paxton-Beesley has also collaborated with BADBADNOTGOOD on their 2015 album Sour Soul,[2] with Kaytranada on his Polaris Music Prize-winning 99.9%,[2] and with Jazz Cartier on a track for Hotel Paranoia.[2]
He released his debut full-length album Indigo in 2016.[8] In 2017, he won a MuchMusic Video Award for "Acid Test",[9] and the song was a shortlisted finalist for the SOCAN Songwriting Prize in 2017.[10] During the end of the decade, he worked with Toronto artists Charlotte Day Wilson and Daniel Caesar.
On December 9, 2022, he released his sophomore record "Dreaming Eyes".[11] The album release was accompanied by a music video for the track "Hypnotized" which was conceptualized and directed by Leo Aguirre.[12] “Hypnotized” was also sampled on Kendrick Lamar’s "Savior" from his 2023 Grammy Award-winning album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.[13]
Personal life
He is the brother of actress Alex Paxton-Beesley.[14] He is the son of visual artist Philip Beesley.[15]
Discography
Studio albums
- From Now On (2011)
- Synapses (2013)
- Indigo (2016)
- Dreaming Eyes (2022)
- Dreaming Eyes (Instrumentals) (2023)
Extended plays
- The Star Falls (2013)
- When the Time Is Right (2015)
- Spirals (2025)
Singles
- "Prophets" (2014)
- "West" with Daniel Caesar from Indigo (2016)
- "Illusions" (feat. Pusha T) / "Gravity" (2016)
- "Acid Test" from Indigo (2016)
- "Patience" (2017)
- "Deep End" (2018)
- "Taurus" (2019)
- "Nevada" (2019)
- "Rainbow Road" / "Hypnotized" (2020)
- "Sent from Above" (2021)
- "Peace" / "Here or There" (2023)
- "Tell Her" / "Stranger" [with Justin Nozuka] (2024)
As featured artist
- Kaytranada – "Bus Ride" and "Vivid Dreams" (feat. River Tiber) – from 99.9% (2015)
- Selena Gomez – "Kill Em With Kindness - River Tiber Remix" single (2016)
- Jazz Cartier – "Tell Me" (feat. River Tiber) from Hotel Paranoia (2016); also producer
- Junia-T – "Tommy's Intro" (feat. River Tiber & Sean Leon) from Studio Monk (2020)
- Sean Leon - "Memories (Reprise)" (feat. River Tiber) from In Loving Memory (2023)
Songwriting credits
indicates a featured artist contribution.
indicates an additional/co-producer contribution.
indicates a background vocal contribution.
| Year | Artist | Album | Song | Co-written with |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Justin Nozuka | Ulysees | "Right By You" | Nozuka |
| "Sweet Lover" | ||||
| BadBadNotGood | III | "CS60" | Matthew Tavares, Chester Hansen, Alex Sowinski, Frank Dukes | |
| 2015 | Drake | If You're Reading This It's Too Late | "No Tellin'" | Frank Dukes, et al. |
| BadBadNotGood & Ghostface Killah | Sour Soul | "Ray Gun" (feat. MF Doom) | Tavares, Hansen, Sowinski, Frank Dukes, MF Doom | |
| "Experience" | Tavares, Hansen, Sowinski, Frank Dukes | |||
| PartyNextDoor | N/A (later released on 2020's Partypack) | "Things & Such" (fka. "Kehlani's Freestyle" | Frank Dukes, et al. | |
| Travis Scott | Rodeo | "Oh My Dis Side" | Frank Dukes, et al. | |
| Mac Miller | GO:OD AM | "ROS" | Frank Dukes, et al. | |
| Mac Miller | GO:OD AM | "Perfect Circle/Godspeed" | Frank Dukes, et al. | |
| 2016 | Kaytranada | 99.9% | "Bus Ride" | Kaytranada |
| "Vivid Dreams" | Kaytranada | |||
| Jahkoy | Foreign Water | "Selfish" | Frank Dukes, et al. | |
| Usher | Hard II Love | "Make U a Believer" | Frank Dukes, et al. | |
| 2017 | SZA | Ctrl | "Broken Clocks" | Frank Dukes, Daniel Caesar, et al. |
| Jhené Aiko | Trip | "Never Call Me" | Frank Dukes, et al. | |
| 2018 | Travis Scott | Astroworld | "Astrothunder" | Frank Dukes, Matthew Tavares, et al. |
| Charlotte Day Wilson | Stone Woman | "Falling Apart" | Charlotte Day Wilson, Matthew Tavares | |
| Camila Cabello | Romance | "Feel It Twice" | Frank Dukes, Matthew Tavares, et al. | |
| 2019 | Kaytranada | Bubba | "Freefall" (feat. Durand Bernarr) | Durand Bernarr, Louis Kevin Celestin |
| 2019 | Daniel Caesar | Case Study 01 | "Entropy" | Daniel Caesar, et al. |
| "Cyanide" | Daniel Caesar, Matthew Burnett, Jordan Evans, et al. | |||
| "Open Up" | ||||
| "Superposition" (feat. John Mayer) | ||||
| "Too Deep to Turn Back" | ||||
| "Are You OK?" | ||||
| Giveon | Take Time | "Like I Want You" | Jahaan Sweet, et al. | |
| 2020 | James Blake | Before | "I Keep Calling" | James Blake, Charlotte Day Wilson, Matthew Tavares, et al. |
| 2023 | Kendrick Lamar | Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers | "Savior" | Kendrick Lamar, Mario Luciano Dragoi, Mark Spears, Ronald LaTour, Daniel Tannenbaum, Tobais Breuer, J. Pounds, Sam Dew |
| 2024 | Kaytranada | Timeless | "Hold On" (feat. Dawn Richard) | Louis Kevin Celestin, Dawn Richard |
| 2024 | Charlotte Day Wilson | Cyan Blue | "Money" | Charlotte Day WIlson, Jack Rochon, Jason Robinson, Jonah Yano |
| 2024 | Smiley | Don't Box Me In | "Spill The Tea" | Alexandre Morand, Jacier Pearson, Ryan Golden, Kaleb "KK McFly" Harper |
| 2025 | Drake & PARTYNEXTDOOR | $ome $exy $ongs For You | "SMALL TOWN FAME" | Aubrey Drake Graham |
Other credits
Albums
- Justin Nozuka – Ulysees (2014); musician
- BadBadNotGood – III (2014); guitar, violin, cello
- BadBadNotGood & Ghostface Killah – Sour Soul (2015); cello, violin, trombone, guitar, organ
- Tess Parks – Blood Hot (2015); co-producer, drums, guitar, bass, tambourine, cello
- Kingsway Music Library – Colors (2015); musician
Tracks
- Daniel Caesar – "Death & Taxes" from Pilgrim's Paradise (2015); music
- Sean Leon – "This Ain't 2012" single (2015); additional vocals[16]
- Freddie Gibbs – "Insecurities" from Shadow of a Doubt (2015); additional vocals
- Daniel Caesar – "Won't Live Here" single (2016); music
- Charlotte Day Wilson – "Where Do You Go" from CDW (2016); producer, bass, cello, violin, synth
- Post Malone – "Cold" from Stoney (2016); background vocals
- Charlotte Day Wilson – "Let You Down" & "Falling Apart" from Stone Woman (2018); strings, synth, vocals, drums
- Kaytranda – "Freefall" from Bubba (2019); synth
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Grammy Awards | Best Rap Album | If You're Reading This It's Too Late (Drake) (as songwriter) | Nominated | |
| 2017 | iHeartRadio MMVAs | Best MuchFACT Video | "Acid Test" | Won | |
| SOCAN Songwriting Prize | Best Song – Anglophone | Shortlisted | [17] | ||
| Best Song – Anglophone | "Won't Live Here" (Daniel Caesar) (as songwriter) | Shortlisted | |||
| 2018 | Soul Train Music Awards | The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award | "Broken Clocks" (SZA) (as songwriter) | Nominated | |
| 2019 | Grammy Awards | Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album | CTRL (SZA) (as songwriter) | Nominated | |
| 2019 | ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Awards | Award Winning R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | "Broken Clocks" (SZA) (as songwriter) | Won | [18] |
| 2019 | Grammy Awards | Best Rap Album | Astroworld (Travis Scott) (as songwriter) | Nominated | |
| 2023 | Grammy Awards | Best Rap Album | Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers (Kendrick Lamar) (as songwriter) | Won |
Touring Ensemble/Instrumentation
2024-25
River Tiber (Tommy Paxton-Beesley) vocals, guitar, bass, trombone, keys, drums [19]
John Mavro (John Mavrogiannis) — guitar, piano, drums, backing vocals [20]
Dan Only — keys, synths, bass, backing vocals [21]
Guest performer: Justin Nozuka — keys, background vocals [22]
Projections: Maritza Campos, Leo Aguirre