Born and raised in the Bronx borough of New York City, Dean initially embarked on his musical career as a DJ.

At the age of 18, he gained recognition in the music industry through his family's record label Ruff Ryders Entertainment and his affiliation with its flagship artist, Yonkers-based rapper DMX.

Working with DMX as his producer, DJ, and hype man helped Dean gain prominence as a high-profile figure in hip-hop in the following years.

As a producer, Dean has been credited on releases by prominent music industry artists in hip-hop, pop, soul, rock, and R&B.

With a career spanning over two decades, his works include "Ruff Ryders' Anthem", "Party Up (Up in Here)" (DMX), "Upgrade U", "Check on It", "Ring the Alarm" (Beyoncé), "Bring 'Em Out" (T.I.

[8] Aside from music, Dean has also been involved in fashion design, art collection, and board directing—he has been a member of trustees at the Brooklyn Museum since 2015, and served as a creative director for the companies Monster Cable and Reebok.

[9][10] With his wife Alicia Keys, he jointly won the Producers & Engineers Wing Award by The Recording Academy for "outstanding contributions to music" in 2018,[11] and the couple were featured in their first cover shoot for Cultured Magazine that same year.

After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, due to his repeated involvement in violent behavior at Harry S. Truman High School, he started to work for his uncles, Joaquin (Waah) and Darrin (Dee) Dean, who were co-CEOs of the Ruff Ryders record label.

In his early work, he generally chose not to sample, instead using the Korg Trinity and Triton keyboards and seeking to accentuate the performance aspect of his music.

Stories, in 2002, he began to get noticed for his production style and interesting ideas, as well as his protege and artist, Cassidy, who also started to gain recognition for his ability as well.

[13] Along with often being associated with Ruff Ryders and Roc-A-Fella Records, Dean began to expand his scope to include production of artists from more mainstream labels such as Elektra, Atlantic, Epic, Def Jam and Bad Boy Entertainment.

Over the next years, Swizz produced for the hottest rap artists such as Nas, Jay-Z, Memphis Bleek, Drag-On which landed him production credits on several albums, including Cuban Link's album Chain Reaction where he produced the tracks "Comin' Home With Me" featuring Avant, "Shakedown", and "Talk About It" featuring Jadakiss.

[14] In February 2007, design duo Heatherette staged their Fall 2007 New York Fashion Week runway show, and Dean was asked to mix the music.

[15] In June 2007, Swizz Beatz produced and was featured on his Full Surface artist Cassidy's comeback single, "My Drink n My 2 Step", following a murder trial and a car accident.

[16] The album, preceded by the lead singles "It's Me Bitches" and "Money in the Bank", debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200 and sold 45,000 copies in its first week.

[18] Later that same year, Dean signed former Ruff Ryders cohorts and longtime friends, Drag-On[19] and Eve, to Full Surface Records.

[20] He also signed legendary Cleveland-based hip-hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, where they later released their seventh studio album Strength & Loyalty in May, which Dean executive produced.

[21] In a December 2007 interview with Format Magazine, Dean stated that he was already working on his second studio album, at the time under the title Life After the Party.

[26] On February 12, 2010, he and 81 other artists including Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Jamie Foxx, Will.i.am, and Usher, debuted "We Are the World 25 for Haiti" during the Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

[30][31] In November 2010, Dean previewed the album and confirmed guest appearances from Bono, Travis Barker, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, Lenny Kravitz, Mary J. Blige and John Legend, as well as his wife Alicia Keys.

The first promotional single from Haute Living was titled "Everyday (Coolin')", features a verse from Eve, was produced by Joe Lindsay, and was released through monstermondays.com on March 28, 2011.

"[36] In May 2011, during an interview with BBC Radio 1Xtra's DJ Semtex, Swizz Beatz announced that his upcoming third solo album Haute Living, would be released on his birthday, September 13, 2011.

Protégé Musicman Ty and Naki "Snagz" Levy were the first acts to sign with Monster Music Publishing,[40] and on May 21, 2011, he further confirmed that Dr. Dre was working on the album with him.

[43] In October 2012, at the 2012-2013 New York Knicks Season Tip-Off event at the Beacon Theatre on 73rd Street and Broadway, special guest Swizz Beatz performed a 10-minute medley of his hits, alongside the New York Knicks' City Dancers and premiered the starting line-up theme song for the upcoming season, which he produced.

[46][47] On August 23, 2013, Dean released "Hands Up", a new single featuring Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross, and 2 Chainz.

[51][52] In June 2017, Dean and One Man Kru appeared as the only two American talents on the sixth season of the South Korean hip-hop competition television series Show Me the Money.

[72] Dean currently sits as the Vice President - Sports Style Marketing, Design, and Brand Music Development for global footwear and apparel giant Reebok.

[73] On August 9, 2019, it was announced that Dean and his wife, singer Alicia Keys, are planning to transform a large piece of property in Macedon, New York into a music paradise of sorts.

[78] Dean's first son, Prince Nasir Dior (born 2000),[79] is a model and rapper—who performs under the name Note Marcato—and was conceived from a previous relationship with Nicole Levy.

[90] In October 2017, Dean shared a video on social media, celebrating the final days leading up to his graduation: "It's been a blessing coming from the Bronx, going to Harvard.