Beat production is a major part of hip-hop music as the songs mostly depend on the beat progression. The way in which a rapper maneuvers his/her lyrics mostly depends on the beat. While other genres depend on vocal progression to guide the song, hip-hop is guided by the beat. Record Producers in hip-hop have risen to prominence through the years, and they have become rather notable than in other genres. Here are 5 of the many other great producers that stood out in their careers.
Kanye West
Kanye West is not only a great producer, but he also went on to become a successful rapper, fashion designer, and music mogul. Starting his career as Jay-Z’s producer, he went on to release seven studio albums, all produced by him.
Through his career, he’s won 21 Grammy awards making the rapper with the most Grammy wins. He is undeniably the greatest record producer of all time. Kanye is known for pioneering "chipmunk soul,” a style of production that used pitched vocal samples. He is also known for his trademark soul samples.
Mike Dean
Mike Dean is a close associate of Kanye West and “Good Music Records,” Kanye’s record label. Mike is one of the few veterans in hip-hop still producing. Mike started producing in the early 1980s and has since worked with artists such as Nate Dogg, Scarface, The Dogg Pound, Tech N9ne, UGK, Outlawz, and 2Pac. He became known in the mainstream for working with Kanye West. Recently, he’s been working tightly with Travis Scott, Desiigner, Pusha T, Frank Ocean, Jay-Z, and 2Chainz.
Dean is known for pioneering the “Dirty south sound” which was widely known in the 90s.
Justice League
Justice League has worked with almost every hip-hop artist. The group, consisting of Erik Ortiz and Kevin Crowe have an extensive catalog dating back to 2004 They have worked with major artists including Mary J. Blige, Lil Wayne, Drake, Jeezy, Rick Ross, Dj Khaled, and Tech N9ne.
Their style of producing is very thought-out, and sampling plays a major role. They replay most of their samples from scratch and add a few their signatures to make it sound fresh and original. In hip-hop where sampling is the traditional way of making a beat, Justice League are masters of this craft.
StreetRunner
If you are a die hard Lil Wayne fan, then you’ve probably come around StreetRunner’s name.
He worked alongside Lil Wayne during his legendary run in the rap game. StreetRunner is another rare sampling genius in the game today, an element that has since nearly gone extinct in recent years. He started his great run by producing Terror Squads smash hit “Take me home.” Years later, he would have the best years of his career beside the Best Rapper Alive, Lil Wayne. He produced a lot of music for Wayne, some that leaked in the infamous leakage of Wayne’s catalog of his then-upcoming album “Tha Carter 3”.
When Lil Wayne was crowned the Best Rapper Alive, most of the songs that propelled him to that stature was produced by none other than StreetRunner himself. He once said that Lil Wayne understood his beats.
He’s notably known for his hard-hitting chopped samples. He is a Grammy-nominated producer. Today, he is closely associated with Lil Wayne and has produced on every single album Wayne has put out ever since. He is truly the Best Rapper Alive sidekick.
T Minus
T Minus is arguably one of the most underrated hitmakers in the game. He probably produced your favorite rap song of this decade. T began producing in 2006 and has since worked with Drake, Nicki Minaj, Beyonce, Lil Wayne, T. I., Justin Bieber, Ludacris, Ciara, ASAP Rocky, Wale, and Birdman. In 2013, he took a long hiatus from music only to return in 2017. Despite him still being young in the industry as a producer. His production is famous for its unique drums sequence, percussive sounds, and innovative melodies.
He is the probably the most wanted producer in the industry. With hits like “She Will, HYFR, I’m on one, RAF, Swimming Pools, and the Motto” under his belt; no one can stop this guy.
Whether I mentioned your favorite producer or not, these are a few of those that stood out for me as the most significant producers of hip-hop. Honourable mentions; Detail, Kromatik, 40, DVLP, Just Blaze, Infamous, Ben Billions, Boi-1-da, Frank Dukes and Nineteen85.
