Hip-Hop Wouldn't Still Be Around If It Wasn't For These 20 Music Producers
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Hip-Hop has been around since 1973. However, it began increasing in popularity among broader audiences circa the mid-1980s and thereafter.
To most people, the success of the hip-hop genre is because of the actual rappers, aka emcees. Although it takes a dope rapper to give hip-hop life, it takes an awesome music producer to give hip-hop power. Below are 20 hip-hop producers that have helped the hip-hop genre gain its notoriety and global fame.
1.Timbaland
Timbaland practically defined the late '90's and early 2000s hip-hop sound, creating mega hits for rappers like Missy Elliott, Nas, and Jay-Z. The 50-year-old mega-hit maker's music production has shaped hip-hop, and many are able to identify a song that is Timbaland made or inspired as soon as they hear it. Timbaland, born Timothy Mosley, has even left his stamp on pop culture, composing distinctive musical identities for artists like Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado.
2.Just Blaze
You might not have laid eyes upon him, but you have heard his producer tag — “Just Blaze!” — before. Just Blaze, birth-name Justin Smith, is a heavy-hitting hip-hop producer that’s responsible for helping make Jay-Z’s 2001 album The Blueprint such a massive commercial success and exemplary hip-hop album. In addition to producing one of Jay-Z’s best albums, Just Blaze has contributed majorly to the hip-hop sound of the late '90s and 2000s. Some of the notable rappers that Just Blaze has designed hip-hop beats for — aside from Jay-Z — include Kanye West, Erick Sermon, Mase and his rap group Harlem World, and Cam’ron.
3.Pharrell
Where would hip-hop be without the baby-faced 48-year-old super-producer Pharrell Williams? Pharrell has added substantially to the hip-hop genre either solo or under his production group The Neptunes, which includes producer Hugo. Thanks to Pharrell, we have big time hip-hop songs like Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” Busta Rhymes' “Pass the Courvoisier (Part II)” and N.O.R.E.’s “Superthug.”
4.Kanye West — Now known simply as Ye
We all know Ye has produced some of the biggest hits for other hip-hop artists because he’s stated it multiple times, and the latest Ye documentary highlights that fact. Irrespective of what people may think of him as a rapper, as a producer Ye is undeniably outstanding. Throughout the late '90s and 2000s, Ye was one of the official go-to rap producers that hip-hop artists contacted when they wanted a dope hip-hop track to flow on. Ye’s musical ingenuity is why we have Jay-Z’s “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)," Ludacris' “Stand Up,” his most beloved debut album The College Dropout and other hip-hop hits. The 44-year-old rapper slash music producer also was a prominent producer on Jay-Z's legendary The Blueprint album, per his Netflix documentary jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy.
5.Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre pioneered the esteemed California gangster rap slash G-Funk style that every hip-hop fan born after 1980 has grown up on and the entire hip-hop community reveres. The Compton bred mega-producer has manufactured rap superstars like Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent, The Game, and Kendrick Lamar, providing all of them with beats best suited to their individualized hip-hop style. In doing so, Dr. Dre, born Andre Young, transformed the hip-hop genre significantly. His name is a fixture in the mouths of many whenever there is a discussion about the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) music producers in hip-hop.
6.Battlecat
Another producer that has contributed to the Cali slash Los Angeles gangster rap hip-hop genre is Battlecat. Battlecat, born Kevin Gilliam, is a legend within the west coast rap community and hip-hop genre overall just like Dr. Dre is. The beats that Battlecat has produced for Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, The Game, Xzibit, and Tupac are untouchable, and alongside Dr. Dre, Battlecat has spearheaded the G-Funk sound.
7.Trackmasters
The dynamic production duo Trackmasters, Poke (Jean-Claude Olivier) and Tone (Samuel Barnes), are a prime part of hip-hop. Trackmasters' music production is so stylized that any rap fan can detect when they made the beat in a hip-hop song. Heavily utilized by hip-hop megastar slash Def Jam legend LL Cool J for their elite music production, Trackmasters has had a strong effect on LL's mid-'90s music and within hip-hop altogether. Some of their production credits include Will Smith, Jay-Z, Cam'ron, The Notorious B.I.G., and Nas.
8.Metro Boomin
Since 2013, Metro Boomin, birth name Leland Tyler Wayne, has been leaving his mark on hip-hop, producing some of the sickest beats for rapper slash muse Future. Metro Boomin has had an influential hand in globally popularizing the trap music genre, developing hits for rap stars like Drake, Kanye West, Travis Scott, and Young Thug — in addition to Future.
9.Juicy J
Many hip-hop fans have been loving Juicy J, birth name Jordan Houston III, since his rappin’ days with the hip-hop trio Three 6 Mafia. If you ever wondered why Three 6 Mafia's beats go so hard, it’s because they were produced by Juicy J and his groupmate DJ Paul. The music that Juicy J made for Three 6 Mafia laid the foundation for one of the best eras in hip-hop music: the Crunk Era.
10.Daz Dillinger
Daz Dillinger, born Delmar Arnaud, is an unsung hero in hip-hop. Unless you’re a hip-hop head from the west coast, you might not know just how much of a critical figure Dillinger is in hip-hop culture. Dillinger is just as instrumental in the formation of the G-Funk genre as Dr. Dre and Battlecat are. Tupac's most honored studio album All Eyez on Me, Snoop Dogg’s iconic studio album Doggystyle, and his hip-hop group's — Tha Dogg Pound — hit album Dogg Food were all heavily produced by Dillinger. If it wasn’t for Dillinger’s quintessential production contributions, the G-Funk subgenre would've never exploded in hip-hop, nor become an acclaimed hip-hop style.
11.Scott Storch
Scott Storch’s sound is easily recognizable and unduplicatable. Throughout the early and mid-2000s, Storch produced danceable hip-hop beats and great tracks for influential rappers like DMX to rap over. Hip-hop party anthems like Fat Joe’s “Lean Back” was produced by the one-and-only Scott Storch. Additionally, Storch has produced for the neo-soul hip-hop band The Roots — a band that is admired within the hip-hop community. Storch is unequivocally an essential aspect of hip-hop, and has impacted the genre’s voice considerably.
12.RZA
RZA, born Robert Diggs, masterminded the legendary hip-hop supergroup the Wu-Tang Clan and produced all of the group’s biggest hits — many of which can be found on the classic album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Had RZA not used his musical talents to form the hip-hop conglomerate, there would be no Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Ol' Dirty Bastard, or Raekwon — four treasured rappers in hip-hop. RZA’s production for the Wu-Tang Clan made him one of hip-hop’s biggest game-changers.
13.Mannie Fresh
Mannie Fresh, birth name Byron Thomas, got us all lovin’ the Hotboyz (Lil Wayne, B.G., Turk, and Juvenile) and the Big Tymers (Fresh and Birdman) because of how scorching his production was. Fresh is responsible for producing arguably the best twerk anthem of all time, “Back That Azz Up,” and greatly impacting Southern hip-hop through his beats.
14.Sean Combs aka Love, Brother Love, Puff Daddy, Diddy, P. Diddy, etc.
Diddy, born Sean Combs, has worn many hats in the industry over the years, ranging from rapper to fashion designer. His role as a hip-hop producer has to be the best hat that Diddy has worn yet. Unbeknownst to many, Diddy has produced signature hip-hop albums and records that are still acquiring accolades today — like The Notorious B.I.G.’s album Ready to Die. East coast rap and hip-hop culture wouldn’t be the same without Diddy’s music production.
15.Jermaine Dupri
Hip-hop wouldn’t be as mainstream as it is without Jermaine Dupri’s musical input. Dupri’s production has transformed hip-hop, bringing a new edge to the genre that is still extremely appreciated today.
16.DJ Premier
DJ Premier’s, birth name Christopher Martin, production is extremely revered within hip-hop, especially the production he did for his rap group Gang Starr. His beats are the basis of many golden age hip-hop rapper’s songs like Nas, Das EFX, KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, and many others.
17.Swizz Beatz
Swizz Beatz, birthname Kasseem Dean, is another hip-hop producer that can be credited with making the hip-hop genre a cultural and global phenomenon. His production for DMX and Eve is unmatched, not to mention Swizz Beatz' production for other rap artists in the 2000s has incredibly added to hip-hop's popularity.
18.Lil Jon
Lil Jon, born Jonathan Smith, is the King of Crunk! Mr. YEAH! — the "Yeah!" scream is Lil Jon's notable catchphrase — made the niche hip-hop style "crunk" a worldwide sensation in the 2000s. The hard-hitting energetic beats that Lil Jon produced for rap groups and rappers like himself and his group The East Side Boyz, The Ying Yang Twins, E-40, and Petey Pablo have forever changed hip-hop.
19.Organized Noize
The hip-hop production team Organized Noize, aka The Dungeon Family, epitomizes Southern hip-hop culture. Rico Wade, Ray Murray, and Sleepy Brown, members of Organized Noize, orchestrated Outkast's unique sound, enabling the hip-hop duo to cement themselves in hip-hop history without abandoning their Southern roots. Organized Noize's music production helped build Southern hip-hop's reputation, making it more mainstream and highly respected within the hip-hop world.
20.J Dilla
J Dilla, born James Yancey, is inextricable from the hip-hop genre. The 1990s hip-hop golden age can in part be attributed to J Dilla's production. Remarkable rappers and rap groups like The Pharcyde, Busta Rhymes, A Tribe Called Quest, and De La Soul have all had music produced by J Dilla.
