You know one of the things I like to check for after picking up a new CD? Production credits. Those folks behind the boards are just as instrumental to the composition of a gem as their more prominent, rapping colleagues. In fact, many of the 50 producers on our list are so unique that you don't need to consult the pages of a CD booklet to spot their signature sound. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you our Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers of All Time.
Image © Stones Throw
Comments
great list…only i dont know half of them
Dr. Dre should be Number 1. Ask industry guys like Diddy and jimmy Iovine etc. Everybody will say when it comes to mixing art and money, no one can do it better than Dr. Dre. I like DJ Premier but the rappers (yes even including the Guru) have not come through as strongly as the beats he has provided them. Part of being a producer is that you are responsible for the whole song; including all of its elements. Dr. Dre: NWA, 2Pac, Snoop, Eminem, 50 Cent, Game, Busta Rhymes and himself. The guy literally is an empire. Dr. Dre No. 1!!!!!!!!!!
***You have to add Eric B to this list…PLEASE***
Wrong.
If u knew hiphop youd know why.
the best is scott storch an dre
It’s DJ Premier man, f— Dre or any other n—a, Primo is the best. Period.
Errr… you know that Rakim actually did all those beats eh? Eric B. was the businessman, Rakim produced the songs– Rakim’s confirmed it himself. Hence why Eric B. is not on this list.
Dear Henry,
I’m sorry that you apparently fell and hit your head. because that’s the only excuse you could possibly have for placing Dr. Dre at No. 3 on your list instead of at No. 1, where he rightfully belongs.
Get well soon,
Your Pal,
Nero
I am so glad you put premo at #1 where he belongs. The dude has been around so long and has produced some of the best songs of all time. If I see that he’s producing a song I always check it out. Way to not give into who may be more popular but picking a producer who has the better body of work.
@Nero…Lmao!!!!
Dr. Dre hit me over the head with a gat, that’s the only reason I fell and bucked my head.
Now that I’m feeling better, I have a feeling we ranked him too high up.
Pete Rock!!!! c’mon Nero–PR did some illogical things with horns and drums.
Thanks, BK! We appreciate your kind words.
Eric B did tooonnns of production with a lot of different people.. Freddie Foxxx, even work with Dre.. he also helped pioneer Jazzy production which he did not Rakim.. seriously
Yo Rizoh…you don’t like Just Blaze that much, huh? Hehe…
Ivan, I’m cool with Just. I just like those other guys better. Besides, Just and Kanye haven’t been doing it for too long, so it remains to be seen if they’ll churn out a consistent stream of bangers over the years.
Hen-Dawg,
You hit the nail right on the head re: Pete Rock. He did some ill thangz. But he fell the hell off eventually, like most of the cats on your list. Like so many others, the Chocolate Boy Wonder let his production style become dated, instead of a) evolving with the times b) redefining his sound and c) blazing new creative trails.
Dre on the other hand, has consistently done all three of the above. (Even though he only releases new material every leap year or so.) He’s by far the most groundbreaking, creative producer ever. Ever, ever? Ever, ever.
gangstarr all the way …
and NERO … stick to R&B … HAHAHAHAHA …. primo is the man …
^^Actually, Nero also covers hip-hop and his opinions are well-informed.
Gotta agree with Nero, Emmanuel and anyone else who said Dre should be #1. Premo is great but Dre’s on another level.
gangstarr has got to be the sure shot
I agree…. when it comes to sound production/mixing Dr. Dre is number 1.
i think alot of you guys dont really understand the difference between a producer and a beat maker.
Once again Henry you’ve brung a tear to my eye with your great lists (still waiting for the ”100 Greatest Rappers Of All Time” list however). To of made it better you could’ve put a popular song next to their names so people are more familiar with who they actually are/or what they have achieved.
Yeh Tom I agree with you…Im still waiting for the List of the Greatest Rapper of all time!!In the list of Producer I think that Primo is the beast but to me Dr.Dre should be in Second…!
Premo was ahead of the game then and alot of his stuff is timeless. Hes worked with everybody and put out their best songs as well. My man Premo from gangstarr…
Premo is number 1 because how many 5 mic albums haas Dre produced? Remember, Premo collaborated with BIG, Nas and Jay-Z!
Premo is number 1 because how many 5 mic albums has Dre produced? Remember, Premo collaborated with BIG, Nas and Jay-Z!
let’s see a top 100 MC list now
# AZ says:
January 25, 2007 at 6:57 pm
let’s see a top 100 MC list now
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# Tom says:
January 24, 2007 at 2:12 pm
Once again Henry you’ve brung a tear to my eye with your great lists (still waiting for the ‘’100 Greatest Rappers Of All Time’’ list however). To of made it better you could’ve put a popular song next to their names so people are more familiar with who they actually are/or what they have achieved.
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Godsoon says:
January 24, 2007 at 6:40 pm
Yeh Tom I agree with you…Im still waiting for the List of the Greatest Rapper of all time!!
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I hear y’all, but, is this even a feasible idea? The top emcees rankings change every six months, in my opinion.
Premo is a safe bet at number 1. All round great producer. As a Wu-Tang fan I want rza up at number 1. As for Dre i heard he has a crew of guys he works with and he makes the final cut and stamps his name on it. Not 100% on that rumor.
As the 100 illest Mc’s, love to see that. 1 is a toss up between KRS and Rakim. 3 could be Nas or Pac. Gza at 5
Henry you could do a list of the top 20 or maybe 15. ONe album isnt enough to break some1 in there with the list of accompishments the cats in the top 15 or 20 would have. This is an all time list not best of the year so it could be done
^Nah, it can’t be less than 100. Otherwise I’ll risk leaving out a bunch of people that really should be on that list…eg. Kanye West. (pause)
No 9th Wonder?
“The Minstrel Show” is great.
“great list but i only know half” ?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!… u shouldnt even be alowed on this site!!!.. oh yeah and about 9th wonder… shouldnt he b on?.. only cat that sells “frutyloop” beats to multiplatinim artist… isnt that noteworthy????
Henry: “The top emcees rankings change every six months, in my opinion” You right ,but in life everything is the same..now could appear another great producer and maybe he will apear in another list of 50 Producers of all time!!
Re: 9th Wonder.
He didn’t receive enough votes to make the list. See the individual lists to see what I mean.
listen to me everybody, i`m latino but i know who are the really king, the numeber one produccer. and you know who is; is Sean “Puffy” Combs. the King of Hip Hop & Pionery of RapPhonemeon… ja ja ja. And If Don`t Know Now You Know Nigga. as we proced to give what you need. is bad boy b*
Super Key have the reason. the best is Diddy, because is the real king and is the creator of Mary J Blige, Notorious B.I.G., Usher & and many more peoples on the bad boy.
RZA IS THE NUMBER ONE PRODUCER NO DOUBT.
RZA IS THE NUMBER ONE PRODUCER NO DOUBT!!
agreed ^^ rza is number one.
But if he is going to lose out to anyone Premo is the man for it!!!
what the hell….the list is wrong, Dilla,Madlib and Hi-Tek should be in the top 5 in my opinion.
hey s up??best producers for me preemo is the illest for me dj babu 9th wonder dj honda pete rock dj scratch and many more…
Dr. Dre is #1. Plain & Simple
50 is a reach. 25 is better. But at the end of the day it’s hard to say, because a lot of these producers buy beats from others (e.g. RZA) or have teams of producers. Dre has his team. Puff had his (aka the Hitmen).
Preem has a unique touch and he has maintained consistency. PR well what can you say about PR back in the early 90’s he was the best on the east coast even better than Preem. Dre was and still is known for Chronic, and Doggystyle. His newer beats aren’t that great. Rza definitely the grimmiest beat maker and the Wu-Elements probably the best production team out there. Rza’s style is completely unique and his mark has been felt on 36 chambers, tical, liquid swords, cuban linx, ironman, wu tang forever it goes on.
yo emmanuel, i love dre but hes not comparable to primo man. rza, dre, pete rock are definetly tha elite producers but primo is on an other level mang. and hes produced for tha best: nas, jayz, jeru tha damaja, mc lyte, common, mos def,rakim, KRS, and on and on..not to mention GangStarr one of the illest rap duos ever.. primo definetly deserves that top spot..
9th Wonder, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, Dan the Automator, J Dilla, Prince Paul, Madlib
DJ Premier is placed rightfully where he belongs.
dr dre should be at number one, without a doubt, ask anyone in hip hop and they’ll tell ya
Premier creates timeless works of art using existing sounds crafted perfectly. But Dre- he creates a new sound that sets the tone for how music is produced in general for the next 4-8 years after his album is dropped. “Music In General” not just hip hop. Both Chronic albums effected the whole rap game, the R&B sound, pop production, radio, ect. You couldn’t go to an NBA, NFL, or Baseball game without hearing at least 3 instrumentals from Chronic 2001 for a couple years in southern Cali. Premier creates worlds but Dre. creates galaxies.
DJ Premeir should be #1.. just wish u put MF Doom alittle higher
@all haterz: why dont u make ur own list and put ur favourite artist on top???? its not about who u like(love) or not. its about work and money!!! okay and fame
you forgot ali shaheed muhammed. he WAS tribe’s jazzy, laid back vibe. he deserves to be up there.
Everybody has said dre is #1 is 100% right, im not hatin on DJ Premier and Rock, there both great but Dre is the all time greates, if anybody doubts that go listen to “What’s the difference” off of the chronic 01. only dre could use a tuba and make it into one of the greatest songs ever
does everybody here know that dre doesnt even “produce” his own beats, he has a team of beat-makers that make beats for him, they cannot claim their beat because of their contract they signed, if they do, they lose their money, all dre does is add his little signature sounds and takes all the credit, im sorry but you cant call yourself a producer unless you actually have created something
What has dre done lately? I love the chronic and doggystyle, but the chronic 01 wasnt a classic imo…it was a great album but not near the hype. It was too overproduced. If you stack up Dre’s best work to Preemo’s its not even close…Preemo, Rza, Prock, Dre in that order.
Dr.Dre is number ONE! NO DOUBT!
Timbaland – 09????? You kidding right?
he is number 2 or maybe 3 (after dj premier)
And where is Mark Holiday??
These list’s suck!!!
Where r the following…
Cool & Dre, Denaun Porter, DJ Toomp, DJ Quick, Eminem & Luis Restro, The Heatmakerz, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Jazze Pha, Jonathan “J.R” Rotem, Lil’ Jon, Mr. Collipark, Org. Noize, Needlz, Buckwild, Nitti, Nottz, Polow Da Don, Rich Harrison, Rick Rock, Rockwilder, ext…
Half of these names were not included, or were ranked terribly!!!
The top 3 should have been – Dr. Dre, Timbaland, & The Neptunes!!!
Hello Yes!! Why Pharrell Wiliams so deep in list? Why Timbo isn’t 2-nd? or 1-st?
Where is that new-wave masters like Danja and Martk Holiday???
to Tech Trust – “Mark Holiday”
Pretty good but too young
The Dre not producing his own beats argument is old and played out. At his level he delegates hard tedious production work to interns (ei. warren G, daz, mel man, scott storch, ect.) Ask any of the big 4 rappers- Ice Cube, snoop, Jay-Z, and Nas which producer they’d choose to produce their WHOLE album-its the D.R.E., but Primo has kept that traditional hip hop sound consistently- Hard to argue with anyone saying his #1.
Anyone saying Timbaland should be #1 on a HIP-HOP PRODUCER LIST should get their f—ing ears busted. Seriously. My lord.
Dre is da Numba one,and///Scott storch is better than Timbo
HOW DID J DILLA NOT MAKE TOP TEN YOU BETTER CHECK YOSELF
RZA should be #2 on this list right behind premo. No one has produced as many classics as those 2 have and RZA changed the industry forever.
Where’s 9th Wonder?!
wow. you got em all there just in the wrong order.
1. Stoupe, hands down untouched. if you disagree your listening wrong. #46 is a slap in the face to hiphop.
2. RZA
3. Preemo
4. Dr. Dre
5. Blue Sky Black Death
6. Muggs
7. 7L
8. The Alchemist
9. Just Blaze
10. Kanye West
HeroinSam, Just Blaze & Kanye better than Pete Rock? You best be kiddin’
This list is very decent, I agree with almost everything, but I would put J Dilla AT LEAST in the top 10. Premier is, will and forever will be #1.
why is Marley Marl so low,,, he should be ahead of dre and rza, at least ,apart from thats its perfect,,,, im loving,,, group home, livin proof, by permo,,, best production on an lp
Dr dre #1 ya right Ok if you like producers that do it fo the money ok then.but for the art love of hiphop primo rza pete rock for sure.
good to see Q tip gets a shout, gotta agree with majic when he mentions doin for the cash, Dre is purely a money man, I wouldn’t even have him on 3rd spot, have a good listen to Midnight Marauders, love movement and The solo Qtip again, no one moves my monitors like tribe and tip. serious clarity!
great thread Henry
cant believ the alchemist isnt in the top ten,dre shud definately be top 3,kanye west i fink shud be in the top ten azwel,hes a much better producer than he is a rap artist.
whoever made this list must be mentally retarded. this is an abomination not only to hiphop but to the world. timbaland and just blaze steal beats yet they rank higher on the list than some much better producers. should rename this list to “50 american people whose names appear next to “producer” on songs the radio plays in no particular order”.
I think Dre’s early work with NWA was more pure and hands on.
As he grew name wise his sound became more polished and commerical not to take anything away from his talent he ’s is one of the dopest ever. as far as the Rza he created a sound with the albums he produced….look at Only built for cuban linx that was one of the best HIPHOP albums ever. the album flowed consisently nothing sound out of place that’s why i woud give it to the Rza. PURE HIPHOP
Dr.Dre gots to be number one. Reason is cus hes been there and done that compared to the rest of these producers. He has perfected samples when he used them in his older songs like in the NWA days, and even today when he re-works old samples through instruments so they sound crisp. At times he has musicians do it for him, but how many of these producers u know play every damn instrument. Not to mention he came before premo,rza,and PR in 1984 sampling records and using them in music that gives him 25 years in the game! Apart from that no one can mix music like he can hands down. And any of these producers will tell you he produces the best drum kits to the point Burt Bacharach got him to produce songs on one of his albums. He’s done movie score’s, soundtracks, and arrangements. And dr.dre has 6 5 mic albums same as premier only difference is dre produced almost the whole thing on those albums when premo only produced maybe one or two. Anyway This isnt about awards its about the best producers not about money or records sold. Its about the music itself, and the music dre makes is hard to duplicate. Dre has made music back in the day that can sound like a premo track or a PR track, he knows how to do that already cus he’s been there but what isolates him from any of these producers is that none can duplicate the quality of his work or work ethic and his resume of continuous music revolution keeps on he did it with NWA, The Chronic, The Chronic 2001, and no doubt he’ll do it with DETOX.(aka-the most anticipated hip hop album in history)
I think Timbaland is the best!
Just look at his songs “Give It To Me”,”Release”,”The Way I Are”,”Scream” and “Apoligize”
THEY ARE ON THE SAME ALBUM, OMG!!
If this ever changes to top 100, let’s make sure that we add Howie Tee.
J DILLA IS THE BEST PRODUSER IN THE WORLD. R.I.P :*
not a bad list, some things should be changed. In hip-hop, more so than rock, its all about hitz, you gotta have hit singles. After that you consider underground and street cred. Pete Rock is a legend but he’s too high, not enough hitz. DJ premier yeah he was dope in the 90’s but where’s he been? too high
the real top 5
5) Timbaland – one of the best ever. Most of the credit he deserves comes from producing basically all of Missy Elliot (with help from missy of course). this by itself is quite an accomplishment. wrote a bunch of big hits for jay-z (hola hovito, big pimpin, jigga what, jigga who) roll out for ludacris, and some of justin timberlakes hits like sexy back. Also produced a lot for mid 90’s stars like aaliya, ginuwine and many many others such as nelly furtado and even chris cornell. guys been great for a long long time. deserves to be in the top 5.
4)DJ premier – had his hand in many of the classics by mob deep, big daddy kane, KRS- one. deserves to be in the top 10 just by virtue of having written “NY state of mind” “kick in the door” and “10 crack commandments”. also wrote “nas is like” nas’s most underrated song. fell off the face of the earth after the 90’s not enough hitz to be in top 3
3). neptunes – nobody has produced more hit singles its just amazing. “rump shaker” “got your money” “I just wanna love you” all the big hits from mystikal, “girl freind” “milkshake”, “I’m a slave 4 U” “hella good” hot in herre”, “nothin (personal fave)” “drop it like its hot” “holla back girl”. are you kidding me? nobody cept’ for maybe dre can match this resume as far as hit making. Just way to many hitz to be left out of the top 3
2) RZA – produced just about all of the wu-tang empire. “36 chambers” is one of the best albums of all time, “return to 36 chambers” “Liquid Swords” “only built cuban lynx” “tical” “iron man” “supreme clientele” all considered among the best rap albums ever by those in the know. Rza exclusively produced about 5 of the top 30 rap albums of all time, just can’t keep him out of the top 2
1) Dr. Dre – quit playing around. Everyone knows Dre is number one so it doesn’t make you “different” or “against the grain” if you don’t have dre at #1. Just by virtue of having produced “straight outta compton”, “the chronic” and “doggystyle”, he belongs in the top three. Throw in a large chunk of eminem’s hits, 50 cents biggest hit (in da club) blackstreet’s “no diggity” two smash hits for gwen stefani, “the chronic 2001″ “california love”, most of the game’s hits and many others, its dre without a doubt.
notes:
Manny Fresh needs to be higher. Southern rap except for outkast gets looked down on by NY elitists but Fresh produced too many dope tracks to be out of the top 20 or maybe 15. “back dat azz up” “bling bling” “tha block is hot” “still fly” “numba one stunna” “project bitch” “hot girl”, common now, top 20 at least.
staying on the topic of southern rap. Lil’ john should be in the top 50. He basically engineered the southern rap revolution. produced a number of hits like “get low” usher’s “yeah” and “salt shaker.
swizz beats should be a little higher, maybe around 22-20. Basically produced all of DMX biggest hits plus some of Jay-z biggest songs.
DJ Muggs and Easy Moe Bee should be a tad higher although this is just nit picking. Muggs produced “insane in the brain” “jump around” “check yo self” and several other classics. Easy moe bee produced most of the classics on “ready to die” and some hits off “me against the world”.
other than that the list is good, just feel you give too much credit to underground producers (prince paul, pete rock) who are lacking in hits.
your whole argument is based on reputation, and on how good the artist is that they are producing for, if im not mistaken this isn’t best album or song, this is best producer, and its all about the sound.
J dilla is number 1 no question
pete rock/ premo/ madlib/ nujabes/ rj2d/ kanye west/ 9th wonder/ kno/
Are you guys serious?
Dilla, PR, Madlib all destroy Dre.
Dre takes a sample, doesn’t change anything and loops it.
Want proof?
Just look at Still Dre.
Where as the the three above
completely change the sample, chop it up differently,
and play it differently.
Until you actually produce music of your own your can’t really have an honest opinion.
You can have an opinion but you really don’t know what goes into music production.
Anyway, just me ranting,
Slum Village for life!
uuuhhhhh… i dont know if this is a list of the most ’successful’ producers… but if this is a list of the BEST… this is all wrong. ask any of the producers on this list… the best of all time is J Dilla. even DJ Premier said it. Busta rhymes said it. the neptunes said it. nobody on this list is on dilla’s level of genius. dre is good. but not the best. Madlib is better as well. Primo too. Dre might be no.7 at the MOST. his beats are too identifiable. but as far as success… yeah thats dre.
Man, I never thought Pete Rock was that good until I went through and heard all the beats that dude produced, he’s ice freakin cold! He belongs that high on the list to me.
It’s well documented that Dre had a ton of help to make what he’s made. He has a great ear for it, but that’s also come after someone played it for him then he says “yeah, I like it.” He can’t take full credit for that. I’m glad they at least rightfully put Daz on here too, cause he was a contributor for Dre, and his other work with Pac and on tha Dogg Pound was amazingly good.
Premier definitely is top 5, just not sure if he’s tops. J Dilla should’ve been higher on the list and it was good to see Alchemist on here
how does the first dude’s list not even have j dilla on it….are you serious?
the chronic 1992 and the chronic 2001 had great beats, but these beats were rivaled by the beats on illmatic. both great producers
Dre deserves plenty of credit… because he truly put the west coast on the map, and gave them a style to roll with. You have to put him in the top 5 because of that. Primo and PR are both so good at their respective styles, you can’t even separate or compare them. Every month I think I like one over the other, than it changes again. But, both PR and Primo have said Marley Marl is the most innovative DJ ever… a true trend setter. Marley changed everything in hip-hop, and for that he should be in the top 5. Also…. no mention of Nick Wiz in the top 50? should be top 20 or 25. If no one knows about him, it’s incredible the amount of work he put out from 93-98 for all sorts of artists (notably Cella Dwellas). Nick Wiz!!! one of the best ever!
i don’t understand why they don’t have the greatest producer Johny J on there
Dr. Dre IS the best producer of all time. There isnt much else to say that hasnt been said by everyone else here, dre had the born right to be top of that list all the others are great but dre is, was and will always be the best and greatest most groundbreaking producer that the world has ever and will ever know.
Disgraceful.
No I.D. and Eric B?
Come on, dude.
Those two are EASILY top 20.
Just Blaze is may over guys like Timbaland.
If you’re going off quality, those guys are all top 10.
Swizz is higher.
Shameful.
Eminem is a hell of a producer and actually brought the guitar twangs and the mosh-funk back.
As far as I know, Eric B. only mixed the songs, while Rakim produced them.
But 9th Wonder should be there, in top 10 instead of, TIMBALAND?? That dude aint that good. Shouldnt be on the list.
1st people dont even agree on hip hop definition.psss
bot in my book dre dint contributed to hip hop at all.
Just saw that Nujabes is not on the list. If you dont know him don’t sleep, check his songs. Japan’s gift to hiphop.
erick sermon should be way higher in the list
das efx
redman
epmd
solo work
k-solo
half of hip hop
#1 on Def Jam
probally top 5 of all time
Quality over Quantity
you guys need to stop paying attention to reputation and pay attention to the sound of the beats
10. everyone else
9. kno
8. 9th wonder
7. kanye west
6. rjd2
5. nujabes
4. madlib
3. dj premier
2. pete rock
1. j dilla
1.SCOTT STORCH all day an dre there on the same page
I can’t believe the first thing people want to do when they see this list is argue about Dr Dre?! The really obvious problem with this list is the obvious lack of appreciation for west coast and southern rap. I don’t think the people who’ve made this list have heard enough hip hop, but then it’s all subjective. In my opinion the best producers are those make original uncompromisingly funky beats and don’t rely on samples. No Mike Dean, T-mix, Bosko,Studio Tone?
I stumbled upon this list, and subsequently contracted aids. Jay Dee aka Jay Dilla is the greatest hip-hop producer there ever was, or ever will be. He’s your favorite producers favorite producer. I hate you. Have a blessed day. And thanks for the aids.
You cant really compare dre and premier. Even though i like premier more i understand why someone could like dre more. So dont tell this guy dre should be no1 . I think havoc should be no5 but im not complaining .This guy has the right to his own opinion.