Often vocalists are given quite a bit of credit for their projects but anyone even remotely involved in music knows that often quite a bit of the legwork is placed upon the producers with probably half as much credit reciprocated (with exceptions of course). This article is about putting some shine on 5 projects released in the last decade or so with varying degrees of popularity that initially were either failures or successes due to the critical reactions to the performing artists while all but ignoring the producers who spent months toiling away making those albums sound as good as possible. If you come away from reading this learning only one thing, it should be that producers are almost always under appreciated.
Curtis – 50 Cent
(Gangster/Mafioso Rap, Never Leaving The Hood Raps)
I always had a soft spot for the album “Curtis” by 50 Cent, there’s something to be said about a guy who absolutely refuses to change what he does and how he does it; since his beginnings in the game 50 Cent has always wanted to be known as the worst kid in the class, he’s the bully smacking around the backpackers, fucking the cheerleaders, and keeping the jocks in check. The way he mocks Jay Z, Diddy, & Nas on “Fully Loaded Clip” is hilarious! You guys want to go fall in love? Perfect I’ll keep selling firearms and cocaine and fucking high class prostitutes. Seriously this album will make you realize how in love with guns 50 Cent is if you didn’t realize before. The Intro is just two guys talking about buying guns, the second song is “My Gun Go Off”, the third is entirely about murdering police officers, and the cleanup track is “I Will Kill”. That is definitely the weakest stretch of the whole album though, if you want to see why this thing is worth listening to start off at “I Get Money” the track samples Rap classic “Top Billin” and was one of the lead singles, the synth is menacing, and the drums knock, the instrumentals almost as extravagant as 50s lifestyle. Then the Dr. Dre produced banger “Come & Go” comes on in which 50 gives fans a little bit of that Aftermath they had been sorely missing in between Eminems drug hiatus and Dre’s secret lab that he hides away in for 11 months of the year. Then there’s the Timbaland produced futuristic strip club anthem that is “AYO Technology”, followed by the all too smooth piano led “Follow My Lead” featuring Robin Thicke which is one of the best songs 50’s ever made. The best part though is this isn’t even the best produced stretch of the album yet! Jake One gave 50 an absolutely FIRE track in “Movin’ On Up” with the Russell Simmons flip at the beginning and The Miracles “Do It Baby” horn sample; 50 murders the beat with a bravado that’s all his own, that same bravado is carried over to the Citar strings of “Straight To The Bank” where 50 tracks all the peoples lives he’s both put on and crushed due to his amazing rise to the top. “All Of Me” is a duet with Mary J. Blige that is a hidden gem buried at the fifteenth track spot, the horn section is quite frankly one of the best ones I’ve ever heard on a Hip Hop cut. This was the first album of 50’s that wasn’t produced with a huge helping hand from Dr. Dre, commercially that hurt him a little, but I honestly like this album way more than “The Massacre” which sold over 10 million copies and went Diamond, so you be the judge.
Born To Die – Lana Del Ray
(Sadgirl Pop, Hollywood Sadcore)
Remember Kid Cudi’s amazing debut mixtape “A Kid Named Cudi”? Remember “Plain Pat What Up!“? Well the other half of the producing team responsible for that tape, Emile is also mostly responsible for the production on Lana Del Rays great (although somewhat repetitive) breakthrough album. While Del Ray delivers sugar sweet lines while trying to be the object of a mob bosses desire, Emile Haynie creates an album that sounds like pop music produced for performance in a cathedral, perfectly suiting Del Rays naughty girl switches between high pitched girl who needs saving and devilish woman who’ll send you to your death. The strings heard throughout are cinematic as they make the whole project glitter; this album to me has always been a master class in producing for a pop star, it is sparse in parts where Del Ray needs the spotlight for her beautiful vocals but it is overwhelmingly extravagant in its crescendos and builds. The album sounds like a million bucks, perfect for the girl who probably can’t be had for anything under that.
You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having – Atmosphere
(Regretful Alchohlic Hip Hop, Everymans Rap)
Slug The lead man of Atmosphere is know for his everyman’s raps, he relates to people because he has all the problems of a regular guy just trying to share his art, he isn’t flaunting giant mink coats and Phantoms, all the more shocking given the time period that Atmosphere reached peak popularity (2002-2006), as a result Ant is the perfect compliment to Slug due to his flips on classic samples that influenced him through the years and stripped production that is both contemporary while rooted in the old school. Ants production hits you in the face with drunken reminiscing even more so than Slugs barfly rhymes. The complex chopping of orchestras, pianos, and drums that will get you knocking your head in no time. “Musical Chairs” has an undeniable energy thanks to the chopped up vocal and drums working in conjunction that feels like a circle of people gathering around all freestyling their respective demons, this idea magnified at the end of the track when the beat goes out for some live beat boxing. The way he introudcues the sample in “Hockey Hair” is Freaking beautiful, letting us know that this is going to be a jaded track about times as a kid even before one rhyme is said. “Pour Me Another” has that longing piano and those powerful drums which tell the story of a lost drunk all too insignificant in this large universe we live in. “Angelface” has a manic energy that is a good snapshot for the whole album, the intricate chops feel like good cuts in a movie, taking left turn after right turn, and so on, keeping the listener on the edge of their seat if only just to enjoy the ride. “Little Man” is one of the more honest Hip Hop songs that one will ever here; Ants sample of The O’Jays “Who Am I” and use of the melancholic piano and chipmunk vocal sample set the backdrop for Slug to write a letter to his dead father, younger self, and present self. “You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having” is a fine example of Ant’s producer chops setting the tone for a cohesive project with a consistently manic, torn tone.
Stillmatic – Nas
(Chip On Your Shoulder Hip Hop, Reminiscing On Your Throne Rap)
Look, I agree with the notion that Nas has had subpar beat selection throughout his career on a consistent basis especially compared to the man who he’s always compared to, Jay Z. Now the reason that discussion is and should still be a discussion is that Nas somehow managed to pick a bunch of wack beats throughout the years and still created multiple classics and dominated the rap game and charts for the good part of two decades. With all that said nothing takes away from the fact that whether Nas had someone picking beats for him or he just finally grew some ears he got the beat selection just about perfect on 2002s “Stillmatic”. The intro is a timeless just blaze sounding beat (actually produced by Hangmen 3) that tastefully encapsulates that chipmunk soul of the early 2000s. The legendary DJ Premier laces a track with a smooth baseline and relaxed drum pattern perfectly constructing the memory lane in which Nas strolls down recreating his “2nd Childhood” Large Professors sample on “You’re Da Man” is as haunting as it is beautiful. The beats are triumphant, they symbolize a return to the throne. The album was Nas’s greatest since Illmatic and it’s definitely because it was his most consistent project in terms of quality beats since his debut masterpiece.
10 Day – Chance
(Cooling with your guys Hip Hop, Juke Jam Music)
This was Chances breakout effort, The momentum from this led him to Midwest fame, which eventually turned to national fame once “Acid Rap” dropped, causing a lot of people to forget about the production in hindsight. DONT. While Chance does a great job on “10 Day” it would not be crazy to argue that he succeeded on the mixtape almost equally because of his beat selection as well as his rapping. Without the completely mixed bags of different subgenres of Hip Hop that Chance covered no one would have applauded the MC for his versatility or left field demeanor; it’s hard to be really eccentric as a writer when your beat selection is just the usual played out hip hop aesthetics such as Gangster Rap or Boom Bap. Whether it’s the juke jam influenced beats or the left field twists on boom bap from Chuck Inglish or the almost Zen calmness of “Brain Cells” instrumental that allows Chance to spaz out in the comforts of his own smoke session the common denominator that makes the album so dope is that with all these different beats and producers it still sounded cohesive, Chance brought all these things together under the name of Hip Hop and Chicago and created a beautiful melting pot.
