Hi, Hip Hop History Month community-we’re one week in already! There have been some phenomenal songs shared and a lot of great fun/enthusiasm/hype thus far- I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard so many new things. I love that we’re going to have an archive of songs and artists and moments that we associate with this culture and art form that we can hopefully look back on with fondness.

So yesterday, we posted beats we liked, and today, it’s time to big up/shout out the people who made those beats; the creative minds who might often be behind the famous rappers or songs we know and love, but who are caretakers of the culture and genre. That’s right- producers! Whether they wield digital samples, vinyl, drum machines, turntables, keyboards, synths, or anything else that can be used musically, producers are often no small part of the genius of hip hop.

As fascinating as it is, I don’t know much about the technical side of producing, but this Wikipedia entry breaks down not only the various tools hip hop producers use, but charts their development!

Whether we admire a producer because they’ve come up with the goods again and again, or because we recognize the depth and significance of their influence, or we just appreciate their signature on a song, let’s post some songs by producers we like! I came across this helpful article that reminded me of some producers that I’d kind of forgotten about-so many songs and beats and artists! There are 20 producers mentioned here. You can also check here for song credits if you’ve got something in mind but don’t know how/to whom it’s credited.

I’m going with a slightly obvious choice here- El-P:

I really like El P partly because his work is so recognizable (and that’s true of many producers we can think of!), but largely because of the unpredictability of his work. His beats and productions always seem to put me on the edge of my seat, and I love the texture of his work. It strikes me that being an MC has informed his work behind the scenes in really interesting ways as well.

So let’s have it! Give your favorite producers some love!

1.) The tricky/fun thing about this 30 day ‘challenge’ is that you get one choice (see, it’s a challenge!). Even if you’ve already posted a song by a particular rapper or producer (and/or if you also like El P!), feel free to choose a different song by the same artist/producer for today!

2.) In order to keep the thread from borking, please limit yourself to one YouTube/media link per post. If someone ‘beats you to it’ and posts a song you would’ve posted, reply under their post saying why you like this song/why it was your pick as well, etc. Let’s not give Disqus a reason to make the thread hard to navigate for those of us listening to the songs! If you want to mention some others, of course that’s fine!

3.) Let’s keep this as positive as we can. Don’t yuck anyone’s yum, don’t snark on someone who may not be as familiar as others, don’t ‘Um, actually’ people, etc. Ain’t nobody earning any Internet Points out here.