Are These The Top 5 Producers In the Game Today?
Hip hop is transitioning into an era where the artists behind the scenes — the engineers, producers and videographers of the world — are starting to receive recognition and celebrity.
We’ve seen it with Pi'erre Bourne, who took off after his Jamie Foxx tag stood out on Playboi Carti’s “Die Lit”. The Belizean-American record producer has since transitioned into stepping in front of the mic and has become his own entity without the need of a rapper.
Likewise, Kaytranada, who is basically an electronic musician, Kenny Beats, Metro Boomin and so many other producers, all have legitimate profiles and fandom, whereas before they were footnotes on rappers’ catalogs.
With the BET Hip Hop Awards 2021 around the corner, here’s a look at who’s been killing it this year.
Kenny Beats
By now, if you’ve never heard of Kenny Beats, you’ve at least caught wind of his patented “Whoa, Kenny!” tagline.
Born Kenneth Blume III, the Connecticut-bred producer has been a fixture in some of the hottest songs and worked with some of the most talented artists since he emerged on the scene in 2018.
There is no box you can fit Kenny in. Once a student at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, he tailors his beats to artists’ requests, providing vocal production, mixing, mastering and whatever else they may need.
That’s him on Rico Nasty’s Nasty (2018), andalso on Vince Staples’ Vince Staples (2021), to get a sense of his range. Other artists he’s worked with include Freddie Gibbs, KEY!, 03 Greedo and 10k Caash just to name a few.
Alchemist
It’s criminal how much Alchemist is slept on.
We’re talking Return of the Mac (2007) with Prodigy and Masterpiece Theatre EP (2013) with Willie the Kid.
It wasn’t until his Grammy nomination alongside Freddie Gibbs on their 2020 masterpiece Alfredo, however, that that the general public decided to wake up.
This year he followed up his Grammy nom with the collaborative project This Thing of Ours (2021) that featured the likes of Earl Sweatshirt and others as well as production credits on Haram (2021) with Armand Hammer and Bo Jackson (2021) with Boldy James.
Let’s see if people are paying attention now.
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Beatz & P2J
Wiz Kid’s and Tems’ “Essence” has been dominating the airwaves for the past year-plus since it’s dropped.
The song, which arrived on Wiz Kid’s second album, Made in Lagos, last October, has since broken into Billboard’s Top 100 (peaking at 16) and has become emblematic of being back outside.
As infectious and captivating as the lyrics are, however, it’s the production of the song that is really magical. And for that, you have to credit Nigerian music producers Legendury Beatz & P2J
The duo has recently been unveiled by Billboard as part of its top R&B producers from Africa and is responsible for other smash hits, like Brymo’s, “Ara”, Mo'Cheddah’s “Ko Ma Roll”, and Chidinma 'Emini’s “Baller”
Don’t be surprised if you hear their names called in any producer of the year category.
Jetsonmade
Hailing from South Carolina, Jetsonmade is a producer who has had the golden touch of late.
It all started for the 25-year old in 2019, when he placed a string of hits on the charts including "Suge" and "Bop" with DaBaby.
Proving he’s not a one-hit-wonder, he took the success on with him in 2020, co-producing the beats for Jack Harlow’s “Whats Poppin” (and the remix), Playboi Carti's "@ Meh" and J. Cole's "Lion King on Ice" among others.
"Oh Lord! Jetson made another one!" is a tag that is here to stay and should be on each and every list that mentions the best producers in the game.
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Wondagurl
There’s no way a ‘best producers’ list gets made without a woman in 2021. Not only did she win Toronto's Jack Richardson Producer Of The Year Award for her work with Quavo, Pop Smoke and more this past year, but her music is literally inescapable.
Her multi-platinum hits “Antidote” and “Bitch Better Have My Money” may ring a bell.
Born Ebony Oshunrinde, the 24-year-old Canadian producer’s first major placement was on Jay-Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail when she was still in her teens. Since she’s produced more than 100 tracks for Lil Uzi Vert, Rihanna, Kanye West, Drake, Travis Scott, Mariah Carey and more.
And this past year, it’s been no different. She’s worked on Yung Bans' "Freak Show" and Kid Cudi's "4 Da Kidz".
She’s definitely one of the goats today.
