As a recording artist, Austin signed with the label prior to his guest appearance on Dupri's 2005 single "Gotta Getcha", which entered the Billboard Hot 100.

The following year, his guest performance alongside Chris Brown on labelmate Bow Wow's 2006 single "Shortie Like Mine" peaked within the top ten of the chart; the following year, his appearance alongside T-Pain on Bow Wow's single, "Outta My System" peaked within the top 40.

[3] Austin's first professional credit as a songwriter was the 1996 single "Can't Be Wasting My Time" for singer Mona Lisa.

However, following the singer’s untimely death in August of 2001, the track was ultimately included on the posthumously released compilation album, I Care 4 U (2002) alongside other Austin-penned songs "All I Need", "Come Over", and "Don't Worry".

Austin co-wrote Mariah Carey's hit 2005 singles, "We Belong Together", "Don't Forget About Us", "It's Like That", and "Shake It Off" from her album The Emancipation of Mimi.

Austin produced and was featured on the songs "Shortie Like Mine" and "Outta My System", both singles by rapper Bow Wow off his album The Price of Fame.

He executive produced and sang background vocal on Passion, Pain & Pleasure, the fourth studio album of Trey Songz.

On June 25, 2010, in Los Angeles, California, at the ASCAP 23rd annual Rhythm & Soul music awards, Austin received the prestigious “Song of the Decade” award for his work on "We Belong Together" by Mariah Carey, alongside fellow producer Jermaine Dupri and songwriter Manuel Seal.

He is currently a recurring character on the Fox show Star (2016) alongside hip hop legend Queen Latifah.

[7] After achieving success writing for other artists, Austin began work on his full-length debut album Ocean Drive on So So Def/Virgin Records.