XXL celebrates 50 years of hip-hop with this function.
The checklist of formidable producers who’ve contributed to hip-hop tradition is stacked. Starting with Sugar Hill Data cofounder Sylvia Robinson, who produced Grandmaster Flash and The Livid 5’s “The Message” and The Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” within the Eighties, there are dozens of legendary beat magicians who’ve saved the celebration rocking and MCs rhyming. By way of totally different eras, Marley Marl, Rick Rubin, Prince Paul, DJ Premier, Pete Rock and RZA are only a handful of producers who’ve made an indelible mark on the tradition.
The instruments have solely turn out to be sharper, too. Earlier than Serato, Abelton Dwell and different recording software program, Straightforward Mo Bee manually chopped up samples and Marley Marl resorted to sampling kicks and snares from utterly totally different information whereas different aspiring producers would use cassette boomboxes and their native radio stations to make loops. The appearance of the web modified the sport totally and it’s now simpler than ever to discover a pattern that’s legally cleared to make use of. With that in thoughts, it’s a miracle that Prince Paul was even capable of make De La Soul’s 1989 debut, 3 Ft Excessive & Rising, as a result of sheer quantity of flips on the groundbreaking venture. Identical with Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique, which was launched that very same yr with insanely layered beats from The Mud Brothers and Scrumptious Vinyl cofounder Matt Dike.
Evidently, manufacturing in 2023 isn’t the identical because it was in 1973. Nevertheless, there are nonetheless respected abilities akin to Metro Boomin and Hit-Boy who’ve additionally discovered success within the new period. Because the fiftieth anniversary of rap inches nearer, XXL is celebrating 25 producers who’ve propelled the tradition ahead and concurrently saved everybody’s trunks rattling through the years. Wanting into the imprint of different musicians akin to Dr. Dre, Kanye West and Timbaland, amongst others, take a look at the total checklist under.—Kyle Eustice
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RZA
RZA of the almighty Wu-Tang Clan has emerged as not solely a vicious MC, but additionally a beat-making king. With a lot of credit below his belt, RZA has produced most of Wu-Tang’s albums, together with the Staten Island group’s 1993 debut Wu-Tang: Enter The 36 Chambers and 1997’s Wu-Tang Without end. Splicing audio clips from previous kung-fu films with hard-hitting growth bap beats, RZA (often known as Bobby Digital) shortly established his signature sound. He’s gone on to each direct and rating movies in addition to seek the advice of on the favored Hulu collection, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, alongside Ghostface Killa, Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa and GZA. On a business stage, the legendary producer has acquired Grammy Award and Emmy nominations for his contributions to the tradition.
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Kanye West
Love him or hate him, Kanye West’s manufacturing discography speaks for itself. Kicking off in 1999 with “It’s Greater Than Hip Hop” by Lifeless Prez and “Joanne” by Trina & Tamara, Kanye has amassed an extended checklist of manufacturing credit over the course of his profession. From Beanie Sigel and Jay-Z to Scarface and Ludacris, the Chi-City native shortly blossomed as Roc-A-Fella Data’ standout producer. After launching his solo profession in 2004 with The Faculty Dropout and establishing his personal label, G.O.O.D. Music, Kanye explored an enormous array of sounds, together with symphonic preparations, synthesizers and Auto-Tune. With greater than 160 million information bought, 20 prime 10 hits on the Billboard Sizzling 100 (over 140 entries all collectively) and 22 Grammys, he’s among the many most profitable artists of all time—he additionally occurs to be some of the controversial.
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Dr. Dre
Earlier than Dr. Dre grew to become a billionaire Beats mogul, the Aftermath Leisure trailblazer was within the lab cooking up the World Class Wreckin’ Cru’s electro funk album World Class (1985), N.W.A’s pioneering gangster rap album Straight Outta Compton (1988) and, after all, his seminal solo debut, The Power (1992). Constructed on a basis of George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic samples, The Power ushered within the G-Funk period and paved the way in which for a slew of rappers to comply with. He additionally earned a Grammy within the Finest Rap Solo efficiency class for “Let Me Trip,” which depends closely on Parliament’s 1976 single “Mothership Connection (Star Youngster).” A bona fide architect of West Coast G-Funk, he’s avidly working within the studio to this present day (hopefully on that just about legendary Detox venture). With regards to accolades, Dre has six Grammys, an Emmy and 6 prime 10 hits on the Billboard Sizzling 100 to his title.
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Pete Rock
Pete Rock—one half of Pete Rock & CL Clean—created arguably some of the acknowledged samples in hip-hop historical past with “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)” from 1992’s Mecca and the Soul Brother. With an affinity for jazz samples and the SP-1200, Rock has crafted masterpieces for Stetsasonic, Gang Starr, A Tribe Referred to as Quest and The Roots, amongst many others. Extra just lately, he’s collaborated with the likes of Smoke DZA and Skyzoo, in addition to put out a number of solo albums, culminating with 2022’s Return of the SP-1200 2. He hasn’t acquired many nods on a business stage, however his influence won’t ever be misplaced throughout the style and on the streets.
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Marley Marl
From RZA and DJ Premier to Madlib and Pete Rock, Chilly Chillin’ Data in-house producer/DJ Marley Marl has influenced the careers of a big selection of hip-hop artists. The New York Metropolis native was found by native radio DJ Mr. Magic and the 2 went on to type the legendary Juice Crew. Marley Marl caught his large break in 1984 when he produced “Roxanne’s Revenge” for Roxanne Shanté. He went on to craft the whole lot of Craig G’s The Kingpin, Massive Daddy Kane’s Lengthy Dwell The Kane, Biz Markie’s Goin’ Off, Kool G Rap & DJ Polo’s Street to the Riches, MC Shan’s Down By Legislation and Born to Be Wild and Roxanne Shante’s Unhealthy Sister. The platinum-selling producer is maybe greatest identified for producing “The Symphony,” a posse lower boasting verses from Juice Crew members Masta Ace, Kool G Rap, Craig G and Massive Daddy Kane.
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J Dilla
J Dilla is certainly one of rap’s most lauded producers. Regardless of his untimely loss of life in 2006, Dilla’s in depth catalog has confirmed to be an affect on numerous others. Starting with Slum Village and Soulquarians, the Detroit native established his distinct sound with a personalized Akai MPC3000. Along with solo albums akin to 2006’s Donuts, he went on to supply for The Pharcyde, A Tribe Referred to as Quest, MF DOOM, Frequent and Erykah Badu (the latter two of which he earned Grammy nominations and Billboard entries with). A number of posthumous initiatives began arriving shortly after his loss of life, together with The Shining, Jay Love Japan and Jay Keep Paid. Dilla’s mom, Maureen “Ma Dukes” Yancey, has labored tirelessly to maintain his legacy alive, exceeding any and all expectations.
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DJ Premier
As a founding member of Gang Starr, DJ Premier is the manufacturing genius behind classics akin to “Above The Clouds” and “You Know My Steez.” For the previous three many years, he’s continued pushing the envelope, working with a big selection of artists; from J. Cole and Bishop Nehru to Oasis’ Liam Gallagher and Torii Wolf. When producing Christina Aguilera’s 2006 album Again To Fundamentals, he admitted folks had been skeptical. However as he told Life + Instances journal, “I by no means wish to be simply connected to hip-hop. I wish to be connected to music—nation, rap, soul, jazz, blues, it does not matter, gospel music—I come from all of that.” And he’s saved his phrase. Moreover, Premier has taken house a number of Grammy Awards for his genre-crossing productions.
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Timbaland
At all times on the forefront of innovation, Timbaland made a reputation for himself producing for the likes of Ginuwine, Jodeci, Aaliyah and Missy Elliott all through the Nineties. The aughts discovered him within the studio with Justin Timberlake, Brandy, LL Cool J, Xzibit, Snoop Dogg and dozens extra. Evidently, Timbaland’s versatility was like a secret weapon for any artist who stepped within the sales space. From R&B to rap, the 4x Grammy Award-winner continues to flex his inventive muscle. In 2022, he crafted two tracks for Jack Harlow’s Grammy-nominated album, Come House The Children Miss You, and adopted up with contributions to The Sport’s Drillmatic—Coronary heart Vs. Thoughts venture. So far as charts go, Timbaland has two No. 1 hits on the Sizzling 100, with 5 which have gone prime 10.
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Mannie Contemporary
With out Mannie Contemporary, it’s unlikely Lil Wayne can be the celebrity rapper he’s now. The New Orleans producer is behind practically a lot of the songs on 17 multi-platinum, platinum or gold albums for Money Cash between 1998 and 2004. His first High 100 hit, “Ha” by Juvenile, put him on the map, however the group’s follow-up single “Again That Azz Up” made him a sizzling commodity. Credit embrace The Infamous B.I.G.’s “Hope You N-ggas Sleep,” Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter and Massive Tymers’ “Nonetheless Fly.” Today, he has the liberty to choose initiatives based mostly on curiosity. He’s presently engaged on a collaborative album with The Cool Children and touring the world enjoying DJ units. Yep, nonetheless fly.
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The Bomb Squad
Because the powerhouse behind Public Enemy’s frenetic and infrequently disruptive sound, The Bomb Squad sewed collectively swatches of samples like surgeons in an ER. Comprised of brothers Hank and Keith Shocklee, Eric Sadler, Gary “G-Wiz” Rinaldo, Invoice Stephney and Chuck D himself, the manufacturing crew was behind Public Enemy’s most celebrated albums, together with It Takes A Nation of Thousands and thousands to Maintain Us Again and Worry of a Black Planet. The Bomb Squad was additionally behind albums akin to Ice Dice’s AmeriKKKa’s Most Needed, Bell Biv Devoe’s Poison and Slick Rick’s The Nice Adventures of Slick Rick. With all of that in thoughts, they’re after all no strangers to plaques and chart placements.
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Hit-Boy
Hit-Boy was already a Grammy Award-winning producer, having crafted the Hov and Kanye West traditional “N-ggaz In Paris” in 2004, Kendrick Lamar’s “Backseat Freestyle” from Good Child, M.A.A.D. Metropolis and Beyoncé’s “Sorry” from Lemonade, however his work with Nas over the previous few years have heightened his notoriety. In 2021, Hit-Boy gained a Finest Rap Album Grammy for his contributions to Nas’ King’s Illness. Its sequel, King’s Illness II, was nominated in the identical class the next yr. Final month, he added one other gilded trophy to his assortment after Beyoncé’s Renaissance took house the Finest Dance/Digital Album honor. With 5 Grammy wins altogether and a slew of Sizzling 100 entires, Hit-Boy continues to pump out classics to this present day.
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No I.D.
Chi-City native No I.D. garnered nationwide acclaim first alongside fellow Chicagoan Frequent, pumping out a number of songs on 1994’s Resurrection—together with the memorable ode to rap, “I Used To Love H.E.R”—after which as a co-producer with Jermaine Dupri. He additionally launched Kanye West to each hip-hop manufacturing and Roc-A-Fella Data A&R Kyambo “Hip Hop” Joshua, who finally signed West to Hip Hop Since 1978, inadvertently propelling the younger rapper to superstardom.
No I.D.’s résumé boasts a stint as G.O.O.D. Music president and extra credit with JAY-Z, Nas, Drake, Rick Ross, Massive Sean, Rihanna and, after all, West. In 2008, he produced West’s 808 & Heartbreaks single “Heartless,” which bought greater than 4 million copies. His newest work consists of Beyonce’s Renaissance single “Church Woman” and two songs for Brent Faiyaz from the album Wasteland. Elsewhere, I.D. additionally gained a number of Grammys for his contributions to Hov’s “Run This City,” a document that after all landed on the Sizzling 100, out of the various, as nicely.
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Mike Dean
If there was no Mike Dean, Kanye West’s discography mainly wouldn’t exist—at the least not in its ultimate iteration. Along with mixing each The Faculty Dropout and Late Registration, the Houston native—who made his preliminary mark with Rap-A-Lot Data artists—sprinkled his manufacturing magic on Commencement, My Lovely Darkish Twisted Fantasy, Yeezus, The Lifetime of Pablo, Ye and the 2 Donda albums. His penchant for synthesizers and brooding, ethereal soundscapes largely outline his physique of labor and simply units him other than different producers. Dean is the co-founder of Apex Sound together with fellow producer Apex Martin and a 7x-Grammy winner. Simply give him a bong hit and watch him go.
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Madlib
A longtime Stones Throw Data affiliate, Madlib acquired an early style of success with Tha Alkaholiks’ 1993 debut, 21 & Over. Credited as Lootpack—his manufacturing crew with Wildchild and DJ Romes—Madlib’s love of jazz, soul and funk weaved its approach into his beats. He quickly discovered himself clicked up with MF DOOM (as Madvillain), J Dilla (as Jaylib) and, finally, Freddie Gibbs (as MadGibbs). His rumored venture with Mac Miller, MacLib, was thwarted by Miller’s 2018 loss of life. Madlib has produced for Erykah Badu, De La Soul, Dwelling Legends, Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Anderson .Paak, Mos Def, Westside Gunn and Open Mike Eagle in addition to his personal alter ego, Quasimoto. Although he is by no means gained a Grammy, business success has in reality been achieved, in cases like his work on Gibb’s Bandana, which debuted within the prime 25 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
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The Mud Brothers
The Mud Brothers (E.Z Mike and King Gizmo) are answerable for some of the sample-heavy albums of all time—Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique (1989). With greater than 100 snippets of songs from artists akin to James Brown, Bob Marley, Afrika Bambaataa, The Eagles and ZZ High, the bold venture highlighted The Mud Brothers’ innate skill to make sense out of chaos. The Los Angeles-based duo later left their imprint on Beck’s Odelay, Midnite Vultures and Guero, the soundtrack for Battle Membership and “MMMBop” by Hanson. Their work with the Beastie Boys has additionally earned them a stack of platinum plaques and Billboard chart nods.
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Swizz Beatz
When DMX died in April 2021, Swizz Beatz vowed to complete X’s comeback album, Exodus—and he did. Loyal till the top, Swizz Beatz was instrumental in DMX’s profession, producing the notorious “Ruff Ryders Anthem” from his 1998 debut, It’s Darkish and Hell is Sizzling, a number of tracks on Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood and “Social gathering Up (Up In Right here)” from 2000’s …And Then There Was X. Swizz Beatz, who’s additionally the co-founder of the favored Versuz collection, has produced for his spouse Alicia Keys, Eve, Cassidy, Hov, Beanie Sigel, Busta Rhymes, The Lox, Damian Marley and dozens of others. More moderen work consists of Mary J. Blige’s “Runnin’” off the Grammy-nominated Good Morning Attractive and Westside Gunn’s “Science Class” that includes Range God Cooks, Bus-A-Bus, Raekwon and Ghostface Killah. The Grammy Award-winning producer can be no stranger to cracking Billboard’s Sizzling 100 throughout many years.
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DJ Quik
DJ Quik is a pillar of early West Coast rap, broadly identified for the solo singles “Tonite,” “Born & Raised in Compton” and “Dollaz & Sense.” However his moniker is a huge clue as to what his past love is—DJing and producing. As soon as he’s behind the board, Quik is sort of a scientist, mixing little doses of funk with hip-hop to place his G-Funk signature on all the pieces he touches. From Snoop Dogg and Tupac to The Sport and Eazy-E, DJ Quik’s manufacturing discography reads like a who’s who of rap. Stints at Profile and Dying Row Data solely solidified his legacy. Quik is known for utilizing a vocoder, which was launched to him by Zapp & Rogers’ Roger Troutman. As indicated by certainly one of Quik’s newest Instagram posts, the platinum-selling beat architect nonetheless speaking about his affect 30 years later.
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Prince Paul
With a penchant for weaving colourful sonic tapestries out of a plethora of numerous samples, Grammy Award winner Prince Paul stitched collectively De La Soul’s kaleidoscopic debut, 1989’s 3 Ft Excessive & Rising. Whereas he’d already established himself as a founding member of the Lengthy Island hip-hop group Stetsasonic, his work with De La Soul put him on one other stage. He went on to type Gravediggaz with RZA, Too Poetic and Frukwan in addition to Good-looking Boy Modeling Faculty with Dan The Automator. Subsequent collaborations embrace Gorillaz, Souls of Mischief and George Clinton, amongst many others. He is additionally scored Billboard 200 entries off of his personal solo work, so shoutout to that.
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Q-Tip
As A Tribe Referred to as Quest’s de facto chief, Q-Tip was among the many catalysts of the jazz-infused hip-hop motion that dominated the ‘90s Golden Period. A member of the Native Tongues, Tribe was all about “beats, rhymes and life.” Behind the board, Q-Tip was an innovator, influencing future legends Pharrell, Kanye West, 9 Marvel and J Dilla. His manufacturing on Tribe’s The Low Finish Idea and Midnight Marauders stays timeless. Exterior of hip-hop, the Grammy Award-winner has smashed songs akin to Mariah Carey’s “Honey,” which landed at No. 1 on the Billboard Sizzling 100 in 1997. He’s gone on to work with Nas, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Santigold, John Legend and Kendrick Lamar, amongst others. The “vivrant factor” is presently engaged on LL Cool J’s first album since 2013’s Genuine.
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Metro Boomin
Metro Boomin kicked off his profession at simply 16 years previous whereas nonetheless dwelling in St. Louis. After transferring to Atlanta in 2011, he linked with a small military of ATL rappers, together with Younger Thug, Future, 21 Savage, Gucci Mane and Migos. He discovered mainstream success with 2014’s “Tuesday” by iLoveMakonnen and Drake, which reached No. 12 on the Billboard Sizzling 100. He landed his first chart-topper with Migos’ “Unhealthy & Boujee” two quick years later and hasn’t appeared again. In 2017, he would produce what would turn out to be his first diamond-certified single, Submit Malone’s “Congratulations” that includes Quavo. The versatile beat magician earned a Grammy nomination within the Album of the Yr class for his work on Coldplay’s 2022 album Music of the Spheres on the sixty fifth Annual Grammy Awards, has laced 4 prime 10 hits on the Sizzling 100 and topped the charts together with his personal album Heroes & Villains final yr. Increase certainly.
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Simply Blaze
Simply Blaze served as Roc-A-Fella Data’ in-house producer all through the early 2000s, producing for the likes of Beanie Sigel, Jay-Z, Freeway and Cam’ron. Amongst his greatest hits are T.I.’s “Dwell Your Life” that includes Rihanna, which landed at No. 1 on the Billboard Sizzling 100. Simply Blaze is the CEO of Fort Knocks Leisure, has composed soundtracks for video video games and was a personality in NBA Road Vol. 2. The 8x-Grammy nominee even acquired a nod within the Finest Up to date Christian Music Efficiency/Track on the sixty fourth Annual Grammy Awards for Lil Child and Kirk Franklin’s “We Win (Area Jam: A New Legacy).” Different nominations embrace Album of the Yr for Beyoncé’s Lemonade and Kanye West’s Late Registration.
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The Neptunes
Grammy Award-winning manufacturing duo Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo—collectively often known as The Neptunes—are primarily successful manufacturing facility. With a discography that features Nelly’s “Sizzling In Herre,” Ol’ Soiled Bastard’s “Obtained Your Cash” that includes Kelis and the gold-certified “Lookin’ At Me” from Ma$e and Diddy, the proud Virginians haven’t let off the fuel since producing Wreckx-n-Impact’s 1992 smash “Rump Shaker” whereas nonetheless in highschool. In 2001, they catapulted to worldwide recognition with Brittney Spears’ “I’m A Slave 4 U” and continued churning out tracks for Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg, Beyoncé and Hov, amongst others, along with their very own group N.E.R.D and Pharrell’s solo work. In 2020, they had been inducted into the Songwriters Corridor of Fame and honored with Honorary Doctorates from Berklee Faculty of Music the next yr. Altogether, they’ve gained 4 Grammy Awards and stacked up loads of platinum plaques to match their recurring Sizzling 100 entries.
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Organized Noize
Down South, Dungeon Household trio Organized Noize was making, nicely, noise. All through the Nineties, Sleepy Brown, Rico Wade and Ray Murray orchestrated culture-defining albums akin to Outkast’s Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, ATLiens and Aquemini and Goodie Mob’s Soul Meals. However additionally they branched out into different genres, crafting a number of hit singles, together with TLC’s “Waterfalls,” En Vogue’s “Do not Let Go (Love)” and Ludacris’ “Saturday (Oooh! Ooooh!).”
Outkast credit Organized Noize for his or her success. As Massive Boi mentioned in a 2017 interview with Billboard, “They had been our large brothers, they usually did a manufacturing take care of LaFace Data. They had been those that gave us our first shot and we been doing music with them because the starting.” Furthermore, on a business stage, they appear to have each related accolade below their belts, from Grammys to chart-topping hits.
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Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin is usually exalted to deity standing for his non-traditional method to manufacturing. Utilizing extra feeling and power than technical prowess lately, the Def Jam Recordings co-mastermind can often be discovered holed up at his Shangri-La studio in Malibu guiding the inventive path of artists such because the Crimson Sizzling Chili Peppers, Blossom and Run The Jewels. Early in his profession, he was the driving pressure behind Beastie Boys’ Licensed To Unwell, Public Enemy’s Yo! Bum Rush The Present and LL’s Radio. Following Larry Smith and Russell Simmons’ work on Run-DMC’s albums Run-D.M.C. and King of Rock, Rubin took the reins on the trio’s third album, Elevating Hell, which included the primary large crossover Hip-Hop/rock hit,“Stroll This Approach” with Aerosmith.
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The Alchemist
An early member of Cypress Hill’s Soul Assassins, The Alchemist initially rapped below the moniker “Mudfoot” however in the end discovered his calling as a producer due to steerage from DJ Muggs. After honing his abilities as Dilated Folks’s main producer, he branched out into producing for Mobb Deep, Nas, Fats Joe, Jadakiss, Ghostface Killah and Snoop Dogg. He additionally landed a gig as Eminem’s tour DJ following Inexperienced Lantern’s departure from Shady Data in 2005. The Alchemist earned his first Grammy Award nomination in 2020 for Alfredo with Freddie Gibbs. That late nod does not inform the complete story although, as he is been racking up chart entries and RIAA certifications for years now.
