Top 50 Greatest Producers In Hip Hop and Rap

Top ten, pretty much unassailable, although I am not as high on J-Dilla as most. He probably would have been number 15 or so. I also would have put Easy Mo Bee higher.

Some big omissions:

Sheila Robinson (Sugar Hill house producer)
Pharoahe Monch
Afrika Bambaattaa
El-P

What, no Chris Webber???

Dilla over Dre? Thats ridonkulous.

Dilla over Dre everyday...and i'm from L.A., born & raised
Madlib should be top 5...move Timbo down

Count Bass D (so underrated it fucking kills me)
J. Rawls
?uestlove
Jneiro Jarel
Organized Konfusion
Ayatollah
Waajeed
S1 (from SFP)
Trackezoids (OneBeLo, Decompoze & Majestik Legend)
Ced-Gee
Paul C
Nujabes
Rick Rubin
DJ Shadow
Chief Xcel
RJD2
Joe Money aka Usef Dinero
Wyclef Jean
Oddissee
Kutmasta Kurt
Lyrics Born
Thes One
Amp Live
if you Ski there you have to have Clark Kent

I agree with Rob...

Dilla > Dre = RIDONKOLOUS and I say that as a Dilla fan.

Marley not in the Top 10 (if not really the top 5) = DOUBLE RIDONKOLOUS !!

Why o why is Rick Rubin not on this list??? Go find an old Def Jam record and flip it over, nuff said!!!

PS, move Timbo down a little, he is amzing but he is not that high on the list!!

sick jacken (of the psycho realm)....needs to make that list

I have to say it: Dj Premier is OVERRATED. He uses the same drums for MOST of his songs, it just gets boring. I love his stuff though, but he's not the best. All those guys like DJ Spinna/Kanye/Automator/Hi-tek behind Marley Marl? No no.

Matter of opinion really.
Marley Marl is very important IMO.
Prince Paul on 3 ft high is crazy.
Laurence Goodman produced 'Three times dope' they were pretty good beats back in 89.

Whoever made this list must be crazy or still wet behind the ears... Wheres T-ray at for a start he should be top ten and dilla shouldn't even be on there... also beatnuts unquestionably deserved a top10 position

Crazy list! Where is DJ Polo?

Yoo this list is soooooooooooooooooooo wrong... why kanye not in the top ten?

because he is a cock

Clark Kent NEEDS to be there and Warren G.

marley marl is is top 5! salaam remi is top 15!
Where's marco polo and stoupe the enemy of mankind!
Yo what about illmind!

DJ Premier is not overrated. I personally prefer Pete Rock's production style...but Primo's cuts are always wicked and he mastered the ability to adapt to any artist seamlessly and that is what makes him a cut above all challengers. So he uses the same base drums...remove his scratches and sampling of an emcee's previous work, multiple samples of differing MCs to make the 'DJ chorus' and guess what.......watered down hip-hop. Don't get me wrong Pete Rock is ill, Stoupe is ill (don't see him there and he kills Jedi Mind Tricks albums), J Dilla is dope (and he deserves his position...anyone that doesn't realise this doesn't know how much he has produced...listen The Roots- Dynamite). I could mention so many others that have made great contributions.

Regarding dilla as a great only started after he passed on.......His beats were wicked....but not enuf to hammer pete en em. Personally......my top 5 ain't tht different from yours.........in no specific order whatsover......Premo,Madlib,Pete,Rza,Dre. I'm 23 years old.

Dilla has some great work, but I must say some pretty average work. In my own opinion I strongly prefer ATCQ pre Dilla.

jd was a prolific overachiever, but much of his output was un-inspired and formulaic. ATCQ was much nicer on my ears pre diznilla toooo. THES ONE FOR PRESIDENT

WHys D.R. Period on there twice?...either u covered just about everone except Nottz.and I hope the list wasnt in any paricular order cuz quik tek and sallam remi are way up there

Timbaland, Dre (IMO), Havoc (though one of my fav producers), & Tip coulda been removed from top 10.

43. Scott Storch?????

.. incredible

:|

alchemist, 9th wonder and dan the automator would be higher on mine.
marley marl definitely would be top 5
remove q tip? definitely not. his stuff with ATCQ is ridiculous

Looks alright to me, i would have Dan the Automator top 20 for me. Timbaland is more of R&B than hiphop in my opinion, but I Dig your choices.

Madlib is deff top 5, give danger mouse some love and MF Doom's Metal Fingers shit is nasty... Special Herbs earns Doom at least a top 20

Would've had Marly Marl in the top 5.I would move J Dilla,and Q-Tip farther down.Timbaland is WAY to high!Knock him back about 20 spots at least.Storch is a joke.He should'nt even be on here imo.Eric.B didn't actually produce the beats.Rakim did and he confirmed it himself.

What is your list based on homie. The #1 spot should go to someone that has broke artist into the game, has a successful lable,that has produced classics in every era{ World class wreking cru early 80s- NWA Late 80s early 90s J.J. Fad, Above the Law- any meanful album from the death row era Mid-Late 90s-Snoop Dog- Eminem- 50cent ohhh and also himself. Nobody on this list comes closed to this guy. The One and Only DRE.

Dr dre should havn been on top,he existed frm old school till nw new school still making hits.Just gv respect him

where the hellis Juicy J/DJ Paul??!?!?!?! three 6 mafia had some of theeee COLDEST beats IMAGINABLE!!! think of all the classic project pat joints, lord infamous joints!! and u cant forget international players ANTHEM!!!

TIMBO THE KING!

Why 9th wonder 30th??
The dude brings beats ALIVE with sooo much soul in em, u can nod 2 em all daaay!

Where's Ced Gee?
Madlib will climb to the top of this
list when it's all said and done!

Move MF Doom up at least 40 places

where the fuck is K-DEF???? and timbaland is not eveen top 10...the neptunes not even top 20....beatnuts def. produced some ill classics!..no dout...marley marl is top 10!!...dj premier is god, dilla & pete toooo......u can't comparing them....they have different styles....so u cant campere BIGGIE and 2PAC...PEACE

I realize that this list is specific to hip hop but, I often wonder what it would be like to see where Timbaland, Dr Dre, Dilla or any other producers on the top ten end up on a list that included the greatest producers of the late 20th Century.

Next to influential producers like Norman Whitfield, Gamble & Huff, Giorgio Moroder, Arthur Russell, Patrick Adams, Arthur Baker, Paul Hardcastle, Larry Levan, just to name a few from a countless number of other producers. Where do they stack up next to these guys?

you crazy son...dilla should be #1 for real .....madlib, mf doom, kanye, and 9th wonder should way higher on this too

TIMBO SUCKS!!!! Premier and Dre are my personal favorites and Kanye is definitely one of the greatest hip hop producers

ATTENTION: 2-MAN PRODUCTION TEAMS NOT INCLUDED

TOP FIVE HIP-HOP PRODUCERS

1.DJ Premier
2.Pete Rock
3.Rza
4.J Dilla
5.Kanye West

Based on Creativity, Timeless Material and Work Ethic...

Yeah...No Dr.Dre...Why? Because DJ Yella and later Daz has production on alotta classics credited 2 Dr.Dre only.

Disagree...Do Ur Research.

** Producers NOT 2 Sleep on...
9th Wonder
Black Milk
Hi-Tek
Madlib
DJ Toomp
Danger Mouse

i want to buy a good professional million dollar beat

i want to buy a good professional million dollar beat,if you have any i can sample or have 1 for sell e-mail me and we can do business

@ Mista Mister

what about dres production on the chronic, chronic 2001 and after that?

i researched and your kind of wrong

@ Mista Mister

what about dre's production on the chronic, chronic 2001 and after that?

i researched and your kind of wrong

1)DJ PREMIER
2)PETE ROCK
3)J-DILLA
4)DR.DRE
5)JUST BLAZE
6)KANYE WEST
7)9TH WONDER (NORTH CAROLINA'S OWN)
8)THE ALCHEMIST
9)STATIK SELECTAH
10)TIMBALAND

AND OF COURSE YA'LL FORGOT ABOUT "SIR JINX" THE ALBUM HE
DID WITH KOOL G RAP WAS KRAZY ILL!!! PLUS YOU CAN'T 4 GET BOUT TRACKMASTERZ...

RJ has the best applicable omissions, specifically:

Count Bass D (so underrated it fucking kills me)
J. Rawls
Jneiro Jarel
Organized Konfusion
Trackezoids (OneBeLo, Decompoze & Majestik Legend)
Nujabes
RJD2
Lyrics Born
Thes One

I think we should mention Samon Kawamura, and K-Murdoch, and Flying Lotus too though, they haven't been around long enough though.

Beatnuts - #1, competition is none!

crazy lists...

From a South African born perspective here is my opinion list so far:
1. Pete Rock (EDO G, INI, CL + Hip Hop)
2. Large Professor (Main Source & The LP)
3.DJ Premo (Cut + scratch)
4. Marly Marl (LL Cool J)
5. Paul C (RIP)(Extra P files)
6. Dre Dre (NWA + Snoop + Chronic)
7. DJ Jazzy Jeff (Placid)
8. RZA (The WU)
9. J Dilla (Dope Beats)
10.Q-Tip (pre 2000)

ha dude really kanye over rza? kanye constantly praises rza...states him as probably his biggest influence as a producer. i guarantee you kanye, even with his ego, would disagree with any list that had him above rza. talkin to watkinzdageneral here. i do like that you have 9th wonder higher. mf doom is too low on here...haha he was drunk at soundset 09 (minneapolis), threw up all over the stage and fucked everything up...

ha dude really kanye and blaze over rza? kanye constantly praises rza...states him as probably his biggest influence as a producer. i guarantee you kanye, even with his ego, would disagree with any list that had him above rza. talkin to watkinzdageneral here. the roc-a-fella guys, kanye and blaze, definitely look up to rza. i do like that you have 9th wonder higher. mf doom is too low on here...haha he was drunk at soundset 09 (minneapolis), threw up all over the stage and fucked everything up...

HAHA this list is hilarious.. Timbaland and Dr. Dre are 5 and 6. That is too much, lol thats soo crazy its funny to me.

Two problems I see with this list... both Fat Jon (Five Deez) and Ant (Atmosphere/Rhymesayers) should be included somewhere in this list.

None of you mentioned Godfather Don?

the fuck?

1. J Dilla (he developed, PR, Premo's & Marley Marls style with his OWN dopeness and made a style of music better, he added something to it that gave another sound.

Premo, sorry but i cant say he is number one, same old looping every track, no real musical talent compared to Dilla, Pete Rock and even the new cat Black Milk, he just loops, and loops, nohting special to bring in a hook or a bridge like many others do it.

top 10 in no order (cept for Dilla Dog at no1)

J Dilla
Dr Dre
Pete Rock
Just Blaze
Marley Marl
Large Professor
The Alchemist
Havoc
RZA
9th Wonder

neptunes, mannie fresh, timbo, all wack, couldnt produce an entire hip hop album if they tried, jus album filler beats. but i aint gonna front, neptunes have some dope beats now and then.

Hi Tek, Madlib and Kanye (not his own stuff, like when he makes his own beats) are also honorable mention too dont sleep on them.

you don't recognise premo's contributions to this thing of ours. In the 90's his reputation for consistent dopeness was legendary. You sound young

Dj Quik top ten... ever.

...And spell his name right stupids ahaha

alchemist, dilla, doom and madlib- the only producers that really matter. "j dilla changed my life." rza is dope too.

Umm, personally, i'd put Dr. Dre in #1, cuz he basically created Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, and Eminem and turned 2pac from a good rapper to a superstar (even if 2pac hated him).

I think J.U.S.T.I.C.E league should get a shout

Lol. No Lord Finesse?

oops, he is 36. my bad

Btw. Exile is going to be on that list. Check him out.

i agree, exile is dope

They got my top 5 in the top 10 what what

RZA
Premo
Pete Rock
Havoc
Q-Tip

Dj Quik 47th, Timberland 5th something is wrong here

WTF is this bull shit timbaland over dre WTF Tim does songs with Miley Cyrus and albums with Justin timberlake while dre does songs with PAC and albums with people like snoop and em ....

yo
why is jazzy jeff so damn low

YU stupid idiots... DR Period is on the damn list twice...

Love the posts but have to agree with those who say move Marly Marl up the list...definitely.

I'd push Timbaland down the list as well.

What about Tony D? In his heyday with PRT and YZ and them, the work was solid.

And though his track record was short-lived and way back...Mantronik was nice back then. But that's my old school showing.

-Martay

Amp live from Zion I...way doper than lotta these cats

my top 5 producer|dr dre-rocwilder-alchemiks-just blaze-scotch torch

Paul C isn't on this?
50 spots and he aint here?
Blasphemy

what about Thes One?

the first 6 are cool but not in that order @ all. whom ever put the list together needs to check themselves into a basement with those producers work, then re-do the list & they'll see that Dr. Dre, Premier & Dilla are 1,2 & 3. IN THAT ORDER .Check the bodies of work.

How are you going to put Large Professor, Havoc, Diamond, Showbiz ahead of Just Blaze. Not to mention, if you really listen to their records, Pete Rock, RZA, Prince Paul - these guys don't have HARD Drums. They might be gritty, but they aren't sonically powerful. Not to mention the the samples they flipped were not taken in the most creative routes possible. This list contains a lot of over-rated names

It an abomination that the list doesn't even mention Stoupe.

No Howie Tee, are you guys crazy!

Jake One should fit somewhere on there

Ummm, yeahhhhh. DJ Battlecat anybody?

What no Crazy C. from Houston. He was one of the rap-a-lot heavy hitters. He also did some hot remixes in the 90's like the wu-tang clan method man rmx, the outkast elevators remix and naughty by nature's craziest. Speaking of Naughty K-gee isn't here. Ya'll are buggin' ..... to use an old school phrase

Your crazy how u don't got swizz beatz in this list I expected him to be atleast on top 5 and max top 10!

You better make this list again

What about Scott Storch!?!?

Needs Danger Mouse on there.

No Daz Dillinger, wtf! DJ Quik should be in the top ten to!

DJ Quik at 47 this list is a joke and no Daz. Before you make a list listen to the pioneers of the G-funk era when producing tracks was the main part of the records. Listen to any of DJ Quiks albums and its easy to see his talent the greatest musician ever in the hip hop.

I can tell this site is ran by NY niggaz. Timbo and Dre should be 1 & 2. Underground music is underground for a reason, it doesn't reach the masses. Great producers reach the masses and crosses color lines. Dre's shit is bumped by the hood niggaz and radio that's a sign of a great producer. The top 4 producers on this list is a JOKE, most people don't even know who these guys are or their music. GET real, this list is BullShit!

LOL@"reach the masses." Please, that's nonsense. Real heads couldn't care less about whether or not their fave producer reaches the masses. This is about making dope beats. As great as Dre is, he doesn't work enough. Besides, he assembles work from other producers, adds his own touches and gets the credit on a lot of his work. Daz and other producers have accused him of stealing their work. For this Detox album, he's having producers submit beats so he can rework 'em. LOL...Ever see Premo do that?

And Timbaland doesn't do enough hip hop tracks to make a fair judgment. His strength is his drum programming and crazy sounds, but hell, Pharrell is better at that than he is all day long.

Come on Tony, Pharrell better than Timbo? When was the last time you seen Pharrell on the charts? ALL producers have help putting tracks together, be it a friend, dj, engineer or hired help. There are alot of producers who buy tracks and then redo them, hell that's what sampling is all about, taking one song to make another song. Yes dre doesn't work enough I'm with you on that, but premo is only hot to niggaz who like that boom bap shit. To be a great producer you have to move forward with the times and the top 4 guys are still doing the same shit they were doing 10 yrs ago.
Tell them niggaz that it's 2010 not 1988. Timbo and Dre should be 1 & 2.

Eh bud your an absolute moron. To tell you the truth you would have sounded much more intelligent if you didn't write anything at all. Saying that beats that reach the masses are the best? That in fact is so wrong i could knock you over the head with a 2x4. Underground is underground because people like you live in this world that listen to brainwashing shit music that tells you to go get rich have 50 cars, 20 sluts by your side and million dollar chains and rings. Underground is REAL hip hop. It is the only hip hop left in this world. It is people speaking their minds about important and actual relevant things taking place in the world today, i.e. illuminati, poverty, struggles of the hood/projects, etc. You are just another ignorant asshole who probabaly thinks kanye west should be in the top 10 too. DJ Primier is by far the best producer of all time. Dre was amazing too, but should be second on every list because Primo should be first on every list. After them i'd probably throw RZA, Marley Marl, etc. Use your brain you uneducated douche bag.

what about ZAYTOVEN! this is rubbish

Man this is a haters list you got all these no names over the DOC. Who are all these no hit wonders getting more credit than Dre. Yall list is fraudulent. Lol. On the real make a true list.

starting

DR Dre
scott storch
Runners
Mike Dean
Scott Larock
battle cat
Premier
Havoc
Organized Noize
Timx (Cash Money)
Eric Sermon
tone capone
marely marl

Hit Makers

WTF PERSONALLY I THINK THIS IS BULLSHIT ...WHERE IS DJ STOUPE THE ENEMY OF MANKIND ..IN MY OPINION HE SHOULD BE IN THE TOP 5!!

wtf? Dr should be num 1!

Wth, why isn't Johnny J on the top 3, did all of y'all forget about tupacs # 1 producer ???? Dr. Dre ripped him off many times by claiming his beats and work. This is fact tupac & daz brought this info to the light. Plus a lot of these big name producers just buy some low level producers beat, and tell an engineer to change it up a bit, and then they put there name on it.

not impressed with the list, just my opinion though. you dont have mannie fresh who made cashmoney records billions of dollars. KLC who done the same for No Limit Records. What about Polow Tha Don? i mean i see Kanye West on there..which i dont claim to be that great of a producer (compared to the other ppl on the roster) but come on now..what about shawty redd? who makes banging tracks. shew!

u aint lying about cashmoney but to my opinion i do think is some BS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he made them billions of dollars. lyk what the fuck yo!!!!!!!!!!!

where's sir jinx, Oh No, Trakmasterz, True master, Swizz Beats. Rockwilder, Allah Mathematics, T-Ray, Clark Kent, LES, Khrysis, E-Swift, Larry Smith, Howie Tee, Nicolay, Nottz and Domingo? and you gotta rank Madlib much higher!

9th wonder ranked 30th? Hell no...

Yo man it seems that they only put east coast producers in the top ten. If your going producers that changed hip hop you have to put dr.dre in that along with mr. West. And quik and what about battle cat. His production is un touch when it comes to using different sounds. I just hate it when they do this type of list. Same when they did top wrappers most of the top ten was east coast. They should give respect to those who really deserve it and not basing it on where they are located.

Im new to the site!Im KontraX. Im a music producer, among other things. As a lover of music, I appreciate this list of producers.. Im from the midwest. Cincinnati, Ohio to be exact. Our music scene and history, consists of funk and r&b. We haven't really made our mark in the hip hop world of music. Our most successful hip hop artist is Hi Tek. I see he made the list so I cant complain. Its a pleasure to be amongst the likes of true hip hop heads and music lovers! Peace and blessings to all!

i think this is good so people can actually know how we got our rappers.

what about slick rick. he da truth lyk 4 real. this list is a ripe off!!!! wtf!!!!!

what about slick rick. he da truth lyk 4 real. this list is a rip off!!!! wtf!!!!!

kev brown ?

you got dr period on here twice.. 48 & 34

how the hell is 9th wonder at 30?

Stope? Jake one?

you are the dumbest out there u aint gott nottz on the list

How do you not have Russell Simmons and Diddy on this list?

The top 6 is in a good order in my opinion. Some of you commenters need to learn more about Hip Hop. 9th Wonder should be higher though. And Rockwilder, Statik Selektah and Daz Dillinger all need to be up there.

Timbaland 5?...nigga please! Dr. Dre 6??? Wtf is hip hop turnin into...and then there's dj anthony¿¿¿ You are a plain dumb ass fool...true that...what's next? 50 cent is the greatest "mc" hahaha...damn! Ya'll oughta pay the legions to premier,dilla,9th,hi tek,madlib,doom,nicolay,p.rock,marly marl, babu, billy bob, jazzy, , dj cam

WOW!!!!!! The 50 GREATEST producers in Hip Hop/Rap?!!! Really??!!
No disrespect to ANYBODY but who is Lee Stone?! I checked his credentials and he doesn't have 1 bonafide CLASSIC HIT record. O Gee?! Who is that?! Out of 50 producers in all of Hip Hop/Rap you make room for guys like Lee Stone and O Gee, but you don't have room for Johnny J???!!! I'm not even a West Coast dude, I'm a East Coast dude, but name just 5 of your favorite ORIGINAL 2Pac songs and chances are Johnny J produced it. He was rockin' with Pac since the THUGLIFE album and probably earlier all the way through All Eyez on Me. He's made a SERIOUS contribution to Hip Hop

Do any of you even lisen to music. Have you not heard of Jim Jonsin.

How about Sir Jinx, or QD3?

HOW THE HELL YOU FORGET POLOW DA DON. ALL THE GREAT BEATS HE MADE

AYYO YALLNIGZ 4GETN BOUT DAT JAPANEESE FUCK NUJABES! DA MA FAKA GOTTZA B AT LEAST HONORABLE MENTIONSAYN?

Take j dilla off dat fucking list niga..all u j dilla dickriders....rip but he is not on no hiphop classic album to date!!!!!.... And he fukked up tribe shit..boring ass producer.. so GTFOH!

Reaper, you're an idiot. You can't name one of his albums as classic because they were ALL classic. You don't understand why J Dilla is at the top because you listen to justin beiber. SMH. It's a shame some people can't appreciate Dilla because of their lack of knowledge or the fact they want to try and be different or something. Do your homework. Or just appreciate some real hip hop... Jay stay paid

I didn't read all the comments so maybe someone mentioned him already but just in case...where the hell is 45 KING??!!!!!!!!!!!!

and marley marl down at #21, list is full of fuckery.

Nujabes should really be on this list. That guy deserves way more recognition than he gets.

What about lex luger,polow da don,manie fresh,kane beatz,swizz beatz?...This must be a vintage list

JAY STAY PAID

No Swizz Beats, DJ Scratch or LES? Salaam Remi took the game back 10 years alone with "Made you Look"? Why 49th?

Where are all the ladies at? Methinks it's time for some female producers to climb that ladder. I make you a dare- in 20 years time this list will be one third females. If not you get an Icecream cone.

Love, peace & out
xx

No Beats by th e Pound> What producers has sold more than them and their
sound was the most copied. There aint no producers hotter than them. Im from the north and these n****s get the upmost respect. From 1996 - 1999 them n****s ruled the rap game, but no one on here mentioned them.

@Rollies

Umm you can just get some producer sounds at http://beatproduction.net

And as far as this list of music producers go, I think you should do some more research because it made me lol.

Made this hope you enjoy it , contact me if interested in my shit
Made in Eindhoven / The Netherlands

it's a respectable list,but i think Ayotollah should have at least made it

respectable list,but i feel Ayotolla should have made it

good list but i think pete rock should be number two.......i actually think number 1 because his production style and beat complexity is way more harder to imitate......and T.R.O.Y......primo is nasty dont get me wrong but i here 2 many carbon copies ...if your style is easily imitated then its kinda 2 easy......you should update this list with soon....you should put damu the fudgemunk and captain crook aka klaus layer

eric b? lol, you know he produced nothing (unless you enjoy rocking his one solo lp) don't you? no 45 king, marley marl at 21 (should be top 10 if not top 3 easily), this list needs a serious revising.

in my opinion rza #1 dre #2 dj premier #3. Rza beats are fuckin hard and without him the wu tang wouldn be here today his best work include the tracks camay,assasination day, duel of the iron mic, cold war, mr sandman, dirty dancin the list is endless all produced for the wu tangs solo albums and dre well hes just dre a livin legend bringing us snoop dogg, eminem,the game not to mention his reign durin de 90s wit his g funk had the whole hip hop world listen to his beatz releasing two off his own albums durin the 90s the chronic and dr dre presents the aftermath with many rememberin tracks such as shittin on the world, let me ride, dre day, lyrical gangbang and so on... in my opinion its Rza vs Dre East vs West but premo is a legend in his own way