LIFELINE ENTERTAINMENT

Production · Executive Production · Songwriting · Vocals

Music with
lineage.

Lifeline Entertainment is the creative home of J.R. Hutson, a producer, executive producer, songwriter, vocalist and musician whose work connects classic soul craft to records built for right now.

Explore the work Business inquiries
1990,Nowthree decades of records
Producer + EPfrom Motown to Warner and beyond
Chicago rootssoul, R&B, hip-hop, pop
J.R. Hutson in the studio
J.R.
HUTSON
J.R. Hutson Producer / Executive Producer
LIFELINE · MUSIC · PRODUCTION · SONGWRITING ·
JILL SCOTT✦MUSIQ SOULCHILD✦EARTH, WIND & FIRE✦KAYTRANADA✦LALAH HATHAWAY✦KENNY LATTIMORE✦ROBERT GLASPER✦JILL SCOTT✦MUSIQ SOULCHILD✦

What's new

Now playing.
Still resonating.

KAYTRANADA, Ain't No Damn Way album artwork
KAYTRANADA
AIN'T NO DAMN WAY!
Listen

KAYTRANADA · 2025

“DON'T WORRY BABE / I GOT U BABE”

A new-generation record carrying J.R. Hutson's voice and songwriting lineage into KAYTRANADA's AIN'T NO DAMN WAY!

Official digital credits list Lee Hutson Jr. as composer/lyricist. Lifeline Entertainment identifies Hutson's vocal as the soulful refrain heard on the track.

Apple Music Spotify Credits
J.R. Swinga Chocolate City music video
J.R. SWINGA
CHOCOLATE CITY
Watch video

J.R. SWINGA · 1994 · STILL RESONATING

“CHOCOLATE CITY”

Three decades later, “Chocolate City” still feels like a time capsule you can step back into.

Released by J.R. Hutson under his then artist name J.R. Swinga, “Chocolate City” captured the feeling of HBCU life with warmth, humor, style and pride. The video, filmed on the Florida A&M University campus, became part of the memory too, from the Greek life and campus fashion to the sense of community running through every frame.

The recent Instagram response says something bigger than nostalgia. People are not only remembering a song. They are remembering a place, a season of life and a feeling. That is what makes “Chocolate City” special, and why it keeps finding new listeners.

Watch the video Instagram reel HBCU retrospective

Remembering Malcolm-Jamal Warner · 1970-2025

Malcolm, Selfless, and a very special chapter.

Producing and executive producing Malcolm-Jamal Warner's Selfless was more than making an album. It was a special season of creativity, musicianship, trust and real conversation.

Malcolm brought curiosity, intelligence and intention into the room every day. Building the entire record together with Lalah Hathaway, Stokley, Ledisi, Robert Glasper and Rahsaan Patterson remains one of the projects J.R. remembers most personally.

We miss Malcolm, his spirit and his friendship. Lifeline is proud to have been part of a body of work that let another side of his artistry live out loud.

Hear Selfless Malcolm's music

Selected discography

Records that
still move.

A curated selection from J.R. Hutson's work as producer, executive producer, songwriter, arranger, musician and vocalist.

The story

From the mic
to the control room.

J.R. Hutson came up as a singer and musician, signed to Motown as J.R. Swinga, then built a career behind the boards shaping records for artists across soul, R&B, jazz and hip-hop.

His credits span Jill Scott's The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3 and The Light of the Sun, Musiq Soulchild's “sobeautiful,” Earth, Wind & Fire's “Love Is Law,” Kenny Lattimore's Anatomy of a Love Song, work with Maysa, Lalah Hathaway, Robert Glasper, Eric Roberson and more.

Lifeline Entertainment carries that same approach forward: musicianship first, songs that last, and a production process built around the artist.

1994

J.R. Swinga

Motown-era artist work and “Chocolate City.”

2007

Jill Scott

Production on The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3.

2008

Musiq Soulchild

Producer / writer on the enduring ballad “sobeautiful.”

2011

The Light of the Sun

Executive production and production on Jill Scott's #1 album.

2013-15

Legacy artists

Earth, Wind & Fire, Kenny Lattimore, Maysa, Robert Glasper and more.

2025

KAYTRANADA

Writing credit and vocal connection on “DON'T WORRY BABE / I GOT U BABE.”

Lifeline philosophy

“Make the record feel like it was always supposed to exist.”

Craft, musicianship and instinct, without losing the human part.

Lifeline Entertainment

Contact

For catalog administration, rights matters and new creative work involving J.R. Hutson and Lifeline Entertainment.

Catalog & Business Inquiries

Meg Todd

Director, Royalty Administration & Business Affairs
Authorized Representative for J.R. Hutson

Royalty administration, licensing, sampling and interpolation requests, clearances, catalog inquiries, statements, payment follow-up, Letters of Direction and related business affairs.

Lifeline can coordinate requests and route third-party approvals to the appropriate rights holders when required.

Production Inquiries

Creative

New production, songwriting, artist development and creative collaboration inquiries for J.R. Hutson and Lifeline Entertainment.

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