When thinking of your favorite or top producers?

When thinking of my favorite producers...my head explodes -_-

Edit: I'll give it a shot hmm

- Madlib - Lot's of hits and misses but mostly hits :D

- El-P - Cold Vein/Funcrusher Plus

- Dj Premier - Gang Starr duh!

- Pete Rock really good horn samples

- J Dilla - Produced LWFC (One of my favorite albums of all time!)

@ The Humble Capnificent: How would you rate Dj Shadow's discography?

@ The Humble Capnificent: The Private Repress was sort of dull to me...but it had it's gems same with The Outsider.

The albums they produced. When I think of Rza, I hear of 36 Chambers, Tical, Liquid Swords, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., Wu-Tang Forever, etc. When I think of Kanye West, I hear half The Blueprint, The College Dropout, Be, Finding Forever, Don't Quit Your Day Job!, Late Registration, Graduation, etc.

edit:

My top 5:

Rza

Kanye West

Dr. Dre

Dj Premier

J Dilla

I don't feel like explaining why as most y'all already know the countless classics they produced.

A Producer needs to be able to keep my attention. I don't like overly repetitive beats..So I like they're to be sh*t going on constantly. (Drum change ups, random vocal samples, crescendos, layers,) all kinds'a sh*t. But on the flip, I like loops that are so good, they don't need add-ons. That's why I cited Pete Rock amongst my favourites,

I think the Musician in me leans more to Stoupe, EL-P, Emancipator, Shadodw, Wax Tailor, Kno etc. But the hip hop fan in me leans more to Pete Rock, RZA, Muggs, Marley Marl etc.

EL-P - Sh*tted all over what "Conventional Hip Hop" sounds are. EL-P is like the anti-hip hop producer. In a period where everyone was using SP-1200s and unlimited wax, He was using synthesizers and chopping to the point whereby you couldn't' even tell a sample was present.

Stoupe - I think if you listen to Stoupe straight up, You'll hear a more gothic and dark version of RZA which in itself is a dope find. But If you check out some of the records Stoupe has sampled and what they become, He's a genius. I think overall, he's got a lot in common with Kno (Who I won't mention because I bracket him in with Stoupe for the same reasn) in that he always tries to keep the beat complex (in a good, non cluttered way) either by change ups or layers. And as much as the average listener can't hear/doesn't care about that stuff, As a musician, it makes the genre worth listening to.

Pete Rock - lol. Pete Rock is self explanitory. I don't think there's anyone better IMO at listening to a record and identifying what makes that record and turning that into a beat that isn't neccesarily a "banger" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpr6nysoAGg

DJ Shadow - Everything about the dude is just inspiring. When I first got my MPC and I couldn't find a certain sound...I'd just hop on my laptop and find a pre-loaded drum kit or onto my keyboard for bass...but he just embodies the idea that if you dig hard enough in the crates, you'll always find the sound you need.

RZA - I can't repeat enough how important RZA is to sampling. I think it's amazing to this day the quality of the beats he's created using simple sh*t like snippets from Kung-Fu movies. And I love the way that he can create a certain atmosphere for each Wu-member he laces beats for. He might come out with soul, he might come out with distorted ambient noise, yet no matter what the building blocks are, he can always turn it into that grimey sound without being repetitive.

Rose - 4/5 - It's a bit "..Ehh" after Entroducing, but it's still quality material.

Well my favourite and pretty well the universal GOAT is DJ Premier. What I liked best about him was his ability to work with a wide variety of artists. Superstars - Nas, Biggie, Rakim to lesser knowns - Pitch Black, Afru-Ra, Shyheim.

But for me what really stands out about Premo is his ability to create beats that complement the style of the emcee and their message. No where is this more apparent than on Nas' NY State of Mind. The eerie piano riff perfectly meshes with Nas' description of a grimy, dark NY scene. Producing is not just about creating beats using intricate samples and complex layering techniques, its about being one with the emcee and helping them create a mood to deliver their message. Premo was brilliant at doing this.

The rest of my top 5

Marley Marl (Premo's main influence. His extensive use of drum machines the reliance on the snap of snare drum samples created a sound that hasn't been paralleled in hip hop)

Pete Rock (Jazz+Hip Hop = Eargasms. Originator of the extensive use of horn samples)

RZA (Unique, raw, grimy beats that told a story)

Rick Rubin (You gotta give it up for merging rap with rock samples. It gave legitimacy to the genre)

As you can tell I'm an old school junkie.

J Dilla: Crustation - Purple (Jay Dee Remix) Slum Village - Conant Gardens Busta Rhymes - You Can't Hold the Torch

Dr. Dre, He has developed his very own styles of music that just flow over perfect, Not to mention his production abilities completely jump started many hip hop superstars like Eminem, Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent...

i would say their ability to experiment and their ability to use great samples.

1) Madlib - Great samples. Great experimental ability.

2) Prince Paul - Very versatile. Everything from Gravediggaz to De La Soul

3) El-P - Great samples also. Not as experimental, but great nonetheless

4) Pete Rock - Great samples. Great producer overall

5) DJ Premier - Good samples. Dope beats.

They are my top producers because I like their style. Yeah it has something to do with consistency. But mainly it's all about how they produce it. I love soul beats and I like more complicated beats that aren't too sloppy. Not only that but the beat has to do well both instrumentally and over a flow

Exile-His sampling is complicated but it's not all over the place. He pulls it all together perfectly

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4OQU8qlSgo

Hi-Tek-he makes the most random things sound good

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkcFMuttU5o&feature...

Sabazi-I like the effects he uses to give a powerful vibe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qR4_lFmxEY

Kanye West-I'm not even that big of a fan of Twista and Kanye made me like this song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w8R4VnOROY

RJD2-Well I heard he's producing hyphy music now but back when he produced for blueprint it was pretty dope. His beats are full of soul

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXT_RSAR54Y

The ability to make my head nod consistently

DJ Premier

Black Milk

Kno

Kanye

Madlib

They're my favorite because of what I said before. They always got my head nodding

make my head nod to the dopeness, good drums, samples, scrathes, pianao usage, sampling

My top 6:

DJ Premier

Black Milk

The Alchemist

J Dilla

Marco Polo\

Madlib