Underrated: The Producer Is Just As Much A Star As The Artist

This post was inspired by conversations with Leeza and Xander.

I want to start this post off by asking a question. How many of you have had a conversation about the quality of music today, with an elder? I am going to assume most of you have and most of that conversation usually revolves around the elder criticizing the lyrical quality of a song or questioning how we are able to listen to such garbage. To be honest, yes, the songs that currently occupy the top spots in Top 40 music charts hold much less substance compared to songs of decades past. If that is the case then why do we love this music? A lot of it has to do with one simple factor: the producer…

Before we dive into this topic can we agree that Hip-Hop is the Pop music of today; it is the mainstream sound of most of today’s youth. From that, one can say that many songs sound the same and the reason for that is the music producer. Unless you are an established rapper such as Jay-Z, Nas, Kanye West, Eminem, etcetera, the Hip-Hop producer can transform you from an anonymity into a popular performer. These producers have adopted the use of the tag, which is the sonic equivalent of a visual watermark, to identify one of their songs within its first few seconds of being played. Still not grasping this concept, then take a look below at a handful of today’s top music producers that are shaping the sounds of mainstream music.

Tag(s): “If Young Metro don't trust you, I’m gon' shoot you,” “Metro Boomin want some more, nigga,” “This beat is so, so Metro”

Born Leland Tyler Wayne on September 16, 1993, American producer Metro Boomin is a prime example of a hitmaker who is just as much in the spotlight as he is behind-the-scenes. Also known as Young Metro, Lil Metro and just Metro, the producer has had a helping hand in the success of many of today’s top rappers such as Future, Migos, 21 Savage, Gucci Mane, Big Sean and more. Some of his most recognized work are his collaborations with Future. I’m sure you heard a little song by the name of “Mask Off.”

Tag(s): “Murda on the beat so it's not nice,” “M-M-M-Murda,” “I ain't really finna tell y'all how to get away with murder and shit”

Born Shane Lee Lindstrom on February 11, 1994, Canadian producer Murda Beatz also known as Young Murda or simply Murda is responsible for some of the best bass-heavy instrumentals you can find in a song. His production credits date back to 2014 and a large number of those collaborations are with Migos. Most recently, he help scorch the charts with “FEFE,” performed by 6ix9ine alongside Nicki Minaj.

Tag(s): “Oh my God, Ronny,” “Ronny J, listen up,” “Ronny J on the beat, bitch!,” “Ronny J produced it”

Born Ronald Oneil Spence Jr. on September 14, 1992, American triple threat (producer, rapper and songwriter) Ronny J has made his fame by working with some of the new generation of Hip-Hop. These artists include the late XXXtentacion, Lil Pump, Lil Xan amongst others… He has also worked with Hip-Hop royalty Eminem on his latest album, ‘Kamikaze.’ I can say that I personally am in love with “Banded Up” performed by XXXtentacion as well as the lyrically problematic “I Love It,” performed by Lil Pump featuring Kanye West.

Tag: “We got London on Da Track”

Born London Holmes on March 27, 1991, American songwriter and producer, London On Da Track has worked with many of the big names in Hip-Hop from Young Thug to Post Malone to Drake. Did we mention Young Thug because a large portion of his craft has been done with Jeffery. One of his well known tracks is “Lifestyle,” performed by Rich Gang & Co. but his most recent song that caught my attention is “Up Now,” performed alongside Saweetie.

Tag(s): “Ear Drummers,” “Mike WiLL, fuck with me!,” “Mike-WiLL-Made-It”

Born Michael Len Williams II on March 23, 1989, Mike-WiLL-Made-It is one of the handful of producers who has transcended his title into an all around talent. Not only is he a “superproducer” but he is also a rapper, singer and songwriter. He is what this article is all about when I mentioned the producer being just as big a star as the artist. He released his debut studio album, ‘Ransom 2,’ in 2017 and has crossed over into the Pop world working along with Miley Cyrus and Carly Rae Jepsen. He is responsible for Kendrick Lamar’s “HUMBLE.” and is partly responsible for Beyoncé’s “Formation.”

Tag: N/A

Born Noah James Shebib on March 31, 1983, music producer 40 is one of the few producers that does not have a signature tag on his songs. The reason being is he is much less a freelancer and is the co-founder of the OVO Sound record label. That’s right, what Timbaland was to the late Aaliyah, 40 is to Drake. With Drake being the definition of Hip-Pop, yes Hip-Pop and the #1 artist in mainstream music right now, as far as chart numbers state, 40 deserves the spotlight. Although Drake has released music produced by other talent, 40 remains the executive producer of Drake’s LP’s. I cannot say Drake would be no one without 40 but it is safe to say a huge reason why the majority of the public admires Drake is because of his 40-produced music.

Honorable Mentions

There are so many producers out there making magic and also too much of a task to spotlight them all so let us not forget the legends and veterans who came before this current crop of producers but who are still relevant. We have Timbaland, No I.D., Zaytoven and DJ Khaled. Then there are more of the younger generation out there as well: Southside, CashMoneyAP, OG Parker and Big Head.

Side Thought: I wanted to include Pharrell Williams above and he has produced so much of what we have heard in “urban” music over the past 18 years but he was an artist first.

The Other Genres

I mentioned Hip-Hop being the new Pop but Pop is still Pop. The following of Pop and Electronic music is still tremendous and there are producers out there, young and old, who have helped shaped the sounds of the genres over time. There is Diplo, The Stereotypes, The Chainsmokers, Calvin Harris, Dave Cobb, Jack Antonoff, Steven Mac, Andres Torres & Mauricio Rengifo and Marshmello who all helped build an artist’s discography. I will like to single out Greg Kurstin for constructing the beautiful sound of Maggie Rogers. I cannot get enough of “Give a Little.”

Since the introduction of blogs and social media, the time limit to jump through an even smaller window of opportunity has decreased for today’s up-and-coming artists. The sad fact is artists are becoming more and more disposable and because of this we will continue to see the personalities behind-the-artist continue to come to the forefront.