Super Producers of the '90s and the Top of the Millennium

Beatmakers who rocked hip hop's second golden era.

Mannie Fresh - DJ Mannie Fresh solidified Cash Money as an unstoppable force when the New Orleans crew hopped from the indies to the majors with Juvenile's "Ha." Handling 99 percent of the production in C.M.'s self-contained camp, Mannie ushered in the "Bling Bling" era with more heat that included "Back That Azz Up," "I Need a Hot Girl," "Get Your Roll On" and "Go DJ." The former Big Tymer has also branched out and produced for Yasin Bey, T.I., Gucci Mane and Rick Ross. (Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images)
The Neptunes - The Neptunes literally grinded their way to the top as studio rats studying under Teddy Riley, but became their own force in 1998 when Nore's "Super Thug" took off. Chad and Pharrell had no breaks as they went on a platinum run producing hits for Jay Z ("I Just Wanna Love U (Give It to Me)", Mystikal ("Shake Ya A**"), and Ol' Dirty Bastard ("Got Your Money").  While locking down hip hop, they also showed their reach on the pop and R&B side by making noise with Babyface, Kelis, Ray J, Brandy, Beyonce and Britney Spears.  (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images) 
RZA - RZA assembled the Wu-Tang Clan together like Voltron with their classic debut, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), in 1991 and has been on a mission ever since. Besides producing the entire project, RZA steered the production on solo projects from Meth, Raekwon, Dirty, GZA and Ghostface, which solidified him as a super-producing guru and cemented their reign as the #1 antagonists to the shiny suit era. (Photo: WENN.com)
Timbaland - Timbaland beasted the game with a gang of hits for Missy Elliott, Aaliyah, Jay Z, Snoop, Justin Timberlake and more as he built his empire. Holding down the charts for over 20 years now, some of the VA 's beatsmith's shining productions include "Big Pimpin,'" "Dirt Off Your Shoulder," "One in a Million," "4 Page Letter,"Hot Boyz," "Get Ur Freak On" and "Cry Me a River."(Photo: Ian Gavan/Getty Images for Gucci)Jermaine Dupri - J.D. had everybody "Jumping" to Kriss Kross in 1992 and quickly made his name as a go-to producer throughout his career. First laying the foundation with his So So Def talent like Bow Wow, Da Brat, Jagged Edge and Xscape, he also made Usher a superstar with "You Make Me Wanna" and "Confessions," and had Jay Z declaring "Money Ain't a Thang." Oh yeah, he also scored a few No. 1's with Mariah Carey, too.(Photo: Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)

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The Neptunes - The Neptunes literally grinded their way to the top as studio rats studying under Teddy Riley, but became their own force in 1998 when Nore's "Super Thug" took off. Chad and Pharrell had no breaks as they went on a platinum run producing hits for Jay Z ("I Just Wanna Love U (Give It to Me)", Mystikal ("Shake Ya A**"), and Ol' Dirty Bastard ("Got Your Money").  While locking down hip hop, they also showed their reach on the pop and R&B side by making noise with Babyface, Kelis, Ray J, Brandy, Beyonce and Britney Spears.  (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images) 

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