(Photo: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department via Getty Images)

If Dr. Dre and Kanye West are the Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant (respectively) of hip hop producers, then Scott Storch is Tim Duncan: Less hype, but definitely just as good.

With a string of well documented substance abuse problems in recent years, including an arrest last month for cocaine possession, Storch now finds himself in danger of becoming more like Len Bias, relegated to the “what if” section of the history books.

His face may not be as recognizable as some of his cohorts, as he mostly remains behind the scenes, but his body of work is undeniable.

After a stint as the keyboardist for The Roots, Storch rose to stardom under the tutelage of the aforementioned Dr. Dre and Timbaland.

In addition to crafting a slew of hit songs for hip hop artists like 50 Cent, Fat Joe and Lil Wayne, Storch has also laced tracks for some of the biggest names in pop, including Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera and Pink. That’s just naming a few, there’s tons more.

In June of 2009, Storch spoke to MTV News in detail about how he spent over $30 million on cars and partying in less than six months, noting that after 17 years of work with no vacation time, he fell victim to the allure of excess.

Since then Storch claimed that he regained control of his habits and his spending and has even gotten back to making music, producing songs for Big Boi, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.

Still, just as we were under the impression that the enormously talented track master had his dark past behind him, that alarming arrest happened. Not to mention the world is still reeling from the death of music icon Whitney Houston, who herself had a troubling history of drug abuse. Musicians using cocaine is no new development, but in the case of Storch it raises a red flag, particularly given his aversion to moderation.

When the arrest happened it was not big news. Perez Hilton and TMZ were the primary media outlets to break the story. But fans of hip hop and pop music should be paying attention to this one like a teenage girl does to Kim Kardashian’s sex life.

Scott Storch may not get the same level of attention as his peers, but he is without a doubt one of the single most important producers in music. His body of work could go toe-to-toe with just about anyone, past or present.

On behalf of hip hop and its fans, this is a call for Scott Storch to please, for his own sake and for the fans, get clean and get back to making clubs bang (and also PLEASE no more Paris Hilton albums).

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