The Best Beats by Your Favorite Producers

Any producer who the average hip-hop fan can name has had to labor over dozens, if not hundreds, of beats. And after they’ve made the beat, they have to convince an MC, usually someone far more famous than them, that this is the track they need to be on right now. The legends, the ones that have worked this hustle the most successfully, building a body of work that spans decades and key tracks on several classic albums, have more perfect beats than you can count. But every catalog has gems that stand out, that demonstrate exactly what made one beatmaker into a super-producer, what separates them from their peers. These are the Best Bests by Your Favorite Producers.

Written by Al Shipley (@alshipley​).

Best beat: Gang Starr “Mass Appeal” (1994)

Honorable mention(s): Jay Z “So Ghetto” (1999)

“Mass Appeal” stands alongside EPMD’s “Crossover” as a rare paradox in hip-hop: a song that sneers at the idea of catering to the mainstream that ends up being a major commercial breakthrough for the artist. The single from the 1994 classic Hard to Earn ended up being Gang Starr’s first and biggest Hot 100 hit in a career that was fueled more by respect than radio play, and they didn’t have to sell their souls to have mass appeal. Instead, it was the naggingly catchy descending keyboard bleep that proved to be the song’s killer hook.

DJ Premier is justly revered for his drums and for his ability to chop up and recontextualize samples, but “Mass Appeal” demonstrated his ability to craft an original melody that carried the track.

Best beat: Dr. Dre f/ Snoop Doggy Dogg “Nuthin But A 'G' Thang” (1993)

Honorable mention(s): N.W.A “Straight Outta Compton” (1988)

As the architect of some of the most immaculately produced (and profitable) rap albums ever made, Dr. Dre has succeeded largely by never sticking to one sound, although he helped define G-Funk with hard drums, fat synths, and P-Funk samples. “Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang” made The Chronic a pop culture juggernaut. The uncharacteristically easygoing groove made for the perfect introduction to Snoop Doggy Dogg’s conversational flow. Several elements of Leon Haywood’s “I Want’a Do Something Freaky To You” were used to craft the “‘G’ Thang” beat, although Dre’s most important decision was to grab the drums not from the hard-charging middle of the song but from the intro, where the drummer merely taps on the rim of the snare.

Best beat: J Dilla “The Official” (2003)

Honorable mention(s): Madlib “Slim’s Return” (2003)

Madlib is perhaps best described as “a producer’s producer,” which can be backed up by how often he’s linked up with other revered beatmakers for collaborations. Some of Otis Jackson Jr.’s best-known work came out of those projects, including Madvillain, with MF Doom, and Champion Sound, a 2003 album with the late J Dilla under the name Jaylib. With some jaunty brass sampled from Gap Mangione’s “Diana in the Autumn Wind,” Madlib created the playful highlight of the half of the album he produced and Dilla rapped over, with the two MC/producers switching roles for the other half of the tracks.

Best beat: Pete Rock and CL Smooth “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)” (1992)

Honorable mention(s): Run-DMC “Down With the King” (1993)

Samples are the tools that many hip-hop producers use to create their art. But in the eyes of the law, they retain a little less ownership or control over their work when it’s built on a sample. Whether that’s right or wrong, and whether certain songs should be respected beyond what those laws require, was brought into public debate in 2012 when Lupe Fiasco released the single “Around My Way (Freedom Ain’t Free).” Lupe didn’t sample Pete Rock and CL Smooth’s 1992 hit “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)” directly, but he and his producers sampled the sax and bass from Tom Scott’s “Today” in a precise imitation of Pete Rock’s classic track, which was inspired by the tragic death of his friend Trouble T-Roy. “'T.R.O.Y.' should be left alone,” wrote Pete Rock. “The beat is next to my heart and was made outta anguish and pain. When it’s like that it should not be touched by no one!”

That argument may not stand up in copyright court, but it was convincing to nearly anyone who knows how seminal and affecting the original song is.

Best beat: Jay Z “Public Service Announcement” (2003)

Honorable mention(s): Fabolous “Breathe” (2004)

Jay Z’s initial concept for The Black Album involved an array of legendary producers who would each provide one beat, some of which did or didn’t wind up on the final album. And some producers ended up getting more than one track, none more justified than Just Blaze’s last minute addition to the album. There was no hook, just short spoken interludes by Justin Smith himself, that set up the explosion of drums and wailing organ that matched the intensity of Jay’s announcement: “Allow me to reintroduce myself, my name is HOV.”

Best beat: Aaliyah “Are You That Somebody?” (1998)

Honorable mention(s): Missy Elliott “Get Ur Freak On” (2001)

Most of the sonic trends and innovations that have entered popular music via hip-hop eventually find their way into R&B. But occasionally, that transfer of ideas has run in the opposite direction, and never more memorably than when Timbaland’s twitchy, iconoclastic beats for singers like Ginuwine and Aaliyah started to catch the attention of A-list rappers. And Timbo had only started to dip his toe into the rap game when he dropped the summer jam of 1998, Aaliyah’s Dr. Dolittle soundtrack hit “Are You That Somebody?” The track’s stuttering triplet accents and pockets of empty space established some of the signatures of Timbaland’s first wave of hits. But the extra creative flourish that stole the show was a loop of a crying baby embedded deep in the mix.

The sound was sampled from the ’60s hit “Countdown at 6” by Perrey and Kingsley, but it inspired a whole series of urban legends about whether it lent a particular subtext to the lyric, or even if it was the sound of a crying baby Aaliyah herself.

Best beat: Cypress Hill “Insane in the Brain” (1993)

Honorable mention(s): Cypress Hill “How I Could Just Kill a Man” (1991)

Cypress Hill came to fame in the ’90s, when the tradition of MCs and DJs banding together as groups was breaking down into a field of solo artists and for-hire producers. But DJ Muggs and his mastery of dusty, bass-heavy tracks proved to be as essential to Cypress Hill’s identity as B-Real’s piercing voice or the group’s love of weed. Fusing the hard-hitting sound of West Coast gangsta rap with noisy, ear-catching loops reminiscent of the Bomb Squad, the producer born Lawrence Muggerud ended up creating unlikely crossover hits with House of Pain’s “Jump Around” and his own group’s “Insane in the Brain.”

That a hardcore group like Cypress Hill could diss Chubb Rock on a track and cross over to pop and even rock radio with it was a testament to the genius of DJ Muggs. And the memorable “I think I’m goin’ crazy” tag at the end of the song, sampled from the Youngbloods, is a classic cratedigger flourish.

Best beat: Jay Z “Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)” (2001)

Honorable mention(s): Jay Z “This Can't Be Life” (2000)

In the Roc-A-Fella mythology, “You a real soulful dude” are fondly remembered as the words that Jay Z supposedly said to Kanye West when the rap superstar first rapped to a beat by the young Chicago producer. "Heart of the City" was the perfect song for both 'Ye and Jay. Each artist dealt with being doubted. West was on the come-up during this period but like Hova, the doubt eventually turned to jealousy. On this particular record, the Roc's leader and undisputed King of New York (at the time) felt under-appreciated. Money and success weren't as important as respect. The goal of the entire album was about people acknowledging Jigga's place in history.

Soon, West would be dropping soulful vocal samples all over The Blueprint to cement his role in Roc-A-Fella’s signature sound and forge a very fruitful and long-lasting collaborative relationship with Hov. Nearly two decades later this duo is still the face hip-hop. Heavy lays the crown.

Best beat: De La Soul “Stakes Is High” (1996)

Honorable mention(s): Busta Rhymes “Show Me What You Got” (2000)

James Yancey, then known as Jay Dee but eventually better remembered as J Dilla, had a unique sound that transcended region. Still, he embarked on an unlikely journey in the early years of his career, bouncing from artists in his hometown of Detroit to the West Coast to work with the Pharcyde and then out East to become a key component of the mid-'90s revitalization of the Native Tongues family. In fact, hot on the heels of his first work with A Tribe Called Quest, he laced the De La Soul single in which the group announced that the Native Tongues were officially reinstated.

The sonorous bassline and woozy horn loop of “Stakes Is High” made for one of the hardest-hitting tracks from a group that was still arduously going against the grain in the gangsta rap era.

Best beat: Public Enemy “Fight the Power” (1989)

Honorable mention(s): Ice Cube “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted” (1990)

It’s rap’s most famous verbal acknowledgement of rap’s most famous drum break: “Sound of the funky drummer!” And while Chuck D gives Clyde Stubblefield’s contribution to James Brown’s “Funky Drummer” props, the Bomb Squad was never satisfied with simply a good groove. So the break is dappled with stuttering accents, while a cacophonous array of other samples surround Chuck and Flavor Flav’s voices. In short, the sound of the song mirrored its iconic video, with Public Enemy cutting through a crowded field of other voices, all shouting the same righteous message.

Best beat: Mobb Deep “Shook Ones, Pt. II” (1994)

Honorable mention(s): Mobb Deep “Quiet Storm” (1999)

Mobb Deep has a large, rewarding catalog, but the first song most fans ever heard by the group has been difficult to top. From the beginning, Havoc displayed a unique talent for digging in the same crates as other producers, but using those jazz and soul records to dramatically different effect. “Shook Ones, Pt. II” took a couple of split-second shards of old Herbie Hancock and Quincy Jones records and arranged them into a sinister track that nobody else could have thought of. And it was those musical choices, as much as Prodigy’s threats to stab your brain with your nose bone, that made the song sound like these guys had ice water in their veins.

Best beat: Nas “It Ain't Hard to Tell” (1994)

Honorable mention(s): A Tribe Called Quest “Keep It Rollin’” (1993)

On a universally acclaimed album that’s beloved in part for how little it chases crossover potential, “It Ain’t Hard To Tell” is the accessible finale to Illmatic that doesn’t diminish its magic one bit. The sample of Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature” underpinning the track made it sound more pop than the rest of the album, especially hot on the heels of SWV’s “Right Here/Human Nature” spending a year on the Billboard charts. But Large Professor packed the track with such an incredible amount of texture and detail, including a swatch of sax from Kool and the Gang and perhaps the greatest of all the hundreds of hip-hop samples of Mountain’s “Long Red,” that the song never felt watered down or obvious.

Best beat: Nas “The Message” (1997)

Honorable mention(s): Mya f/ Jay Z “Best of Me Part II” (2000)

Poke and Tone made major contributions to the sound and attitude of the jiggy era, often by going for the biggest hooks and most obvious samples. But they laced one of the brooding lyrical highlights of Nas’ platinum breakthrough, It Was Written, with a song that had the audacity to call itself “The Message,” with a delicate acoustic guitar loop from a deep cut on Sting’s Ten Summoner’s Tales, of all things. The sparse and dramatic backdrop helped Nas’ lyrics land, though, and perhaps some listened a little too closely: The song provoked responses on both Biggie’s “Who Shot Ya” and 2Pac’s “Against All Odds.”

Best beat: A Tribe Called Quest “Can I Kick It?” (1990)

Honorable mention(s): A Tribe Called Quest “Excursions” (1991)

Q-Tip always emphasized the collective, surrounding himself with talented people both within A Tribe Called Quest and the Native Tongues, and making the movement bigger than any one man. But as one of the most skilled MC/producers in hip-hop, he could act as an autonomous singer-songwriter, assembling most or all of the musical and lyrical elements of a great song. “Can I Kick It?” helped launch Tribe’s career, and gave them one of their biggest hits because it combines both a huge instrumental hook—the ironic bassline from Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side”—and a huge vocal hook in the track’s call-and-response chorus.

But Q-Tip also filled the track with unusual details that took it beyond a simple party jam, grabbing an odd organ tangent from Dr. Lonnie Smith’s “Spinning Wheel,” a song that producers usually use for its drum break, and a spacey flourish from Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band.

Best beat: Jadakiss “We Gonna Make It” (2001)

Honorable mention(s): Prodigy “Keep It Thoro” (2000)

Some of the most talented producers in hip-hop, including DJ Muggs and Havoc, took the Alchemist under their wing on his way up in the '90s. And by the dawn of the new millennium, he was ready to make a name for himself with his own massive, sample-driven bangers. Jadakiss’ solo debut, Kiss tha Game Goodbye, was headlined by a very 2001 club song produced by the Neptunes. But the album’s most enduring single sounds like it could have come out at any point in the last 20 years, and would’ve been regarded as an instant classic, with Kiss and Styles trading rhymes over a deliriously spiraling string loop and some monster drums.

Best beat: Drake “Successful” (2009)

Honorable mention(s): Drake “Marvin's Room” (2011)

In 2008, a couple of Canadian actors turned musicians were working hard in the studio, every night, late nights, developing the mixtape that would change their lives, So Far Gone. Noah “40” Shebib has been Drake’s primary partner in sound from the jump, but his other go-to producer, Boi 1da, got most of the initial attention for the breakthrough hit “Best I Ever Had.” Then, “Successful” slid in as the follow-up single that established what would become Drizzy’s signature sound and set the tone for his career.

The drums are light and crisp, but the atmosphere is as dense and heavy as a fog, with a bed of gently humming synths complementing Drake’s confessional lyrics and melodic embellishments.

Best beat: Wu-Tang Clan “C.R.E.A.M.” (1993)

Honorable mention(s): Raekwon f/ Ghostface Killah and Method Man “Ice Cream” (1995)

The rapid expansion of the Wu-Tang Clan into a many-tentacled empire in the mid-'90s changed the course of hip-hop history. But given how grimy and unapologetically obscure the group was, even compared to its closest mainstream contemporaries at the time, it’s easy to imagine them never reaching the level of mainstream exposure that enabled all those albums and solo careers over the past two decades. Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers needed the perfect single to break the group to the public, although it took nearly a year after the album’s initial release for the song to hit.

Method Man’s charismatic hook led the way, as was often the case, but “C.R.E.A.M.” was also a perfect encapsulation of the RZA aesthetic: jazzy piano and unpredictable swells of organ stumbling over a twisted noir atmosphere, Ol’ Dirty Bastard warbling along in the background.

Best beat: Juvenile “Back That Azz Up” (1998)

Honorable mention(s): Lil Wayne “Go DJ” (2004)

In 1998, Cash Money Records signed a $30 million distribution deal with Universal Records. And when the biggest single from the label’s first release through the deal, Juvenile’s 400 Degreez, hit, it became immediately evident that the Cash Money empire was built on Mannie Fresh’s billion dollar tracks. Bringing the production values of the already burgeoning Southern rap movement to a new level, “Back That Azz Up” was a symphony of violins, cellos, synth blasts, and propulsive New Orleans bounce drums that has never failed to set off a dancefloor in the 15 years since.

Best beat: LL Cool J “The Boomin' System” (1990)

Honorable mention(s): Marley Marl f/ Masta Ace, Kool G Rap, Craig G, and Big Daddy Kane “The Symphony” (1988)

The mark of a great producer is one who can thrive in multiple eras, and survive the changing tastes of the times. And when LL Cool J’s career began its celebrated second act in the early ’90s, it was another ’80s veteran, Marley Marl, who helped bring his sound into a new decade. And just as “Radio” had celebrated the boombox era of hip-hop fandom, “The Boomin’ System” was an anthem for the car stereo era that was made with the intention of playing it loud, preferably in residential areas.

With a funky foundation from James Brown’s “The Payback,” Marley Marl commanded LL at the top of the track to “just kick a little something for them cars that be bumpin’,” and that’s exactly what they created.