

Paak’s glossy masterpiece “Leave The Door Open,” off An Evening with Silk Sonic.Īn artist who lives up to the definition of being a switch-hitter when it comes to producing and rapping is Havoc.

And D’Mile used his ear for Rap&B to help usher in Bruno Mars and Anderson. DJ Durel laced the magnetic single “Straightenin,” from Migos’ Culture III, and continued to show and prove by shaping the definitive sound of the project. Heard on Bigger Than Life or Death, Enrgy Beats turned the heat up on “5500 Degrees” by EST Gee, Lil Baby, Rylo Rodriguez and 42 Dugg with a speaker-blowing beat reminiscent of Mannie Fresh and the famed Hot Boys era. So, it’s time to look at the talented producers that planted the seeds for those sounds to flourish. With that in mind, you can’t fully salute the fruits of something without acknowledging its inception from scratch. There are lopsided chances that your favorite artist dropped something to end the sound drought of last year due to the pandemic, whether it’s sample-sized song packs from artists like Tierra Whack and Cordae, tag-teamed efforts crafted by duos like Blxst and Bino Rideux or studded solo joints from frenemies like Kanye West and Drake. The year 2021 in hip-hop is everything that 2020 wasn’t.
