Their names arenât always front and center when the musicâs presented, but producers are integral to hip-hop. Their title refers to their job: Helping to produce, as in create, a song or body of work. Because rappers are the ones responsible for the vocals and rhymes heard on songs, producers are often credited with the beats. Although some of the greatest producers are beat makers, their work goes beyond this element of the music.
Production entails giving creative direction to artists. In an interview with Natalie Weiner for Billboard, the legendary DJ Premier explained what this process is like. When differentiating between producers and beat makers, he said, âWe don’t just lay the beats down â we’re coaches. We tell you, ‘Your voice squeaked right there. You need to go back. Let’s fix that line,’ or ‘Can you do that again with more energy?’ or ‘Can you say this better?’ We’re about more than just putting the track down and calling it a day.â
With this in mind, itâs not hard to see why some of the best beat-makers have also been great producers. Because theyâve crafted the sounds that the MCs are building upon, the beat-makers have good insight into what the sounds call for. Some of the names that appear alongside DJ Premier as examples of this relation between beat-making and production are Marley Marl, Pete Rock, Dr. Dre, Just Blaze, J Dilla, and Timbaland.
Yet, the work of the producers mentioned here seems to have given people the impression that producers and beat-makers have to be one and the same. On the contrary, some of the most prominent producers in hip-hop never actually make beats or play instruments. Their role is to provide guidance to rappers that help them progress their music. The greatest example of this is Puff Daddy.
During the creation of Ready to Die by the Notorious B.I.G., Puff had to convince Biggie that rhyming over a sample of Mtumeâs âJuicy Fruitâ would be a hit. This advice from Puff is largely responsible for Biggieâs willingness to do songs like âBig Poppaâ and âHypnotize,â even though they differed from the sound that first earned him attention. Biggieâs skill as an MC would have led to great music whether or not Puff was the person behind him. However, the singles mentioned here added dimension to Biggieâs music and persona that attracted more fans to his music. Without Puffâs input, Biggieâs albums might have had less impact on music simply because fewer fans wouldâve listened to them. It didnât involve beat-making, but Puffâs work here was production.
Puff has produced for many hip-hop and R&B acts throughout the years. In the â90s as well as this past year, he has worked in conjunction with the Hitmen â a collective of producers that provide the instrumentation that brings Puffâs visions to life. Some of the members have been Mario Winans, Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie, Chucky Thompson and Stevie J.
Someone who has used a similar system to make music of his own is DJ Khaled. In an interview with HOT 97, Khaled explained that he made beats and programmed songs before his rise to fame, but he has since worked with a team of beat-makers to create his music. This team includes Lee on the Beats, Ben Billions and the Nasty Beatmakers. Although his team makes the beats, Khaled figures out which artists would work well together on a song, directs them so that they buy into the songâs concept, and alters the beats to get the sound he wants. It can be hard to see past his Snapchat posts and music video skits, but Khaled deserves credit for being a producer that consistently puts together hits.
Puff and Khaledâs careers prove that production extends beyond creating a beat. However, fans shouldnât lose the value in beat-making. Instrumentation allows hip-hop music to exist and take on new forms. Furthermore, the process of crafting the backdrop to a hip-hop song can be a beautiful thing to witness. Proof of this can be found in the âRhythm Rouletteâ series by Mass Appeal on YouTube. In the series, greats such as Large Professor and 9th Wonder compose beats while sampling records that theyâve chosen while blindfolded. From figuring out the parts of a sample that can be isolated to mastering the technology needed to do so, the series displays just how much skill is needed to make great instrumentals.
Beat-making and production are disciplines within hip-hop that shouldnât be taken for granted. With better understanding of them, fans can appreciate more of the people that provide them with the music they love. Creators within the genre can benefit from this understanding as well because once they know what separates the two processes, they can figure out how they relate to each. In order for people to hone their crafts, they have to be able to identify their crafts.
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