And now, two decades (and two dozen solo LPs) later, Jay-Z has become one of music’s all-time most important voices. Def Jam, impressed with Roc-A-Fella’s early independent success, agreed to sign a joint venture with the young imprint on one condition: They needed seven albums from Jay. The skinny kid from Brooklyn’s Marcy Projects intended to drop just one album - a musical I was here statement - before partnering with a major label and falling back into a comfy executive role, becoming a vessel to launch hopeful Roc-A-Fella acts like Memphis Bleek and Christión into orbit.īut the industry had different plans. It is a global institution that for 20 years has been committed to fostering creativity in music by collaborating with those who are shaping our musical landscape and creating spaces for music makers to learn and immerse themselves.If Jay-Z had his way back in 1996, this list would be too brief to warrant compiling. Red Bull Music Academy is the educational pillar of the Red Bull Music program. remains one of the best producers in the game, responsible for shaping the sound of albums as diverse as Vince Staples’ Summertime 06, Vic Mensa’s The Autobiography and Jay-Z’s 4:44. Since then he has become one of the top A&R men at Def Jam, founded ARTium Recordings and worked as the executive vice president at Capitol Music Group. Music, adding boardroom expertise to his impecable production credits.

helped Kanye fashion the sound of 808s & Heartbreaks before taking on the position of president at G.O.O.D. to expand his horizons by managing a young Kanye West and working with Jermaine Dupry, Jay-Z and more. cut his teeth in the city’s house music scene before turning his ears to hip-hop and producing the bulk of Common’s early output, including the classic “I Used to Love H.E.R.” The two childhood friends first parted ways after three albums leaving No I.D. discuss his early years with Common, managing Kanye West, becoming friends with Jay-Z and why humility and focus are key to success.Ī pivotal figure in the ’90s Chicago rap scene, producer No I.D. recalls how Jay-Z’s 4:44 album came to be from conversations about work over art to flooding the rapper’s inbox with beats.

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