With any colossal force, very often, the one who receives the credit is only the mouthpiece for a foundation that has been laid by a mind before him just as worthy. In the Oct/Nov issue of HYPE, we listed some of the greatest hip hop producers of all time including Jazzy Jeff, RZA, Rick Reuben, J Dilla, 9th Wonder, Pete Rock, Dr Dre, Kanye West, DJ Premier. And shoutouts to all the other great producers of our time: No I.D, Just Blaze, Soundtrakk, J.U.S.T.I.C.E League, Noah ‘40’ Shebib, DJ Quick, J Cole, Hit-Boy, Diplo, Jay-Z, Q-Tip, Large Professor, Jake One, Lex Luger, Scott Storch, Nyambz, Amu, Sean Pages, Anatii, Iv League, Octave Couplet, PH, Hipe, Draztik, Mizi, T-Minus, Boi-1da, Dome, Omen – all of y’all [the list is endless]. You provide the soundtrack to our lives…
Here’s more from that list that you didn’t see in the magazine!
Young Guru
You know when Jay Z randomly shouts out on one of his songs “Guru, raise the sound in my head phones!” Yeah, he’s that guy. Going beyond the role of a scratch DJ and music producer, Guru has been Hov’s go-to guy for ten of his albums. He is more personally responsible for a decade of hits that include joints like ‘Empire State of Mind’, ‘Dirt Off Your Shoulder’ and he laced some heat on all of Jay’s Blueprint series albums and also American Gangster. Outside of Roc-A-fella, he was the set producer T.I’s KING and T.I VS T.I.P albums, and also Little Brother’s The Minstrel Show album. Talk about a repertoire.
The Neptunes
You can hear a Neptunes-produced song without being told who produced it. That’s why it’s no surprise that the likes of Justin Timberlake, Kelis and Clipse members, Pusha-T and Malice, were successfully introduced to the industry on Neptunes-produced music. With their distinct sound of synthesizers, sampling keyboard and modules, Neptunes have damn near created their own sub-genre under the hip hop umbrella that everyone in the business has been winning from since 1994. Just ask Snoop, ODB and Hov.
Timbaland
There was a time where it was mandatory for every album to contain a Timbaland beat. Initially displaying his superior technique in the ‘90s through Aaliyah and Missy Elliot, Timbo released a decade-long rampage of orgasmic instrumentals and production on the industry. Jay Z’s ‘Big Pimpin’, Luda’s ‘Roll Out’ and 50’s ‘Technology’. And that’s just the tip of a very very big iceberg.
Swizz Beats
A man who needs no introduction, this multi-award winning producer has produced at least one song that has had you, your mom and your best friend’s cousin’s babysitter’s brother-in-law bopping your heads in an epileptic frenzy. Swizzy has been the man with the door to knock on for an instant hit in the past decade. Alicia Keys seems to think he’s pretty swervy too.