You may choose more than one if you can't decide between two or three equally amazing guys. Sorry if I left off your favourite - I forgot the great Dangermouse - but that's as many big ones as I could think of!

It started off being organized roughly chronologically then I thought of really good older ones at the end

Edited May 25, 200916 yr by JarkInTheWater

I don't know most of them, but from the ones I know Will.I.Am is my fave one, so he gets my vote.

 

Timbaland is also great, and some of the Eminem stuff is nice aswell, but I prefer will.I.am :D

I say Timbaland, I'm probably being a little biased because he produced a number of Aaliyah's tracks :heart: . You can't deny that his beats are hot.

I plumped for Rick Rubin, because he probably did more than anyone to bring Rap/Hip Hop into the public consciousness in the 1980s, producing albums by Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Run DMC and Beastie Boys.... The sheer scope of what he's produced though is quite startling, he produces acts from many genres ... in 25 years he's produced about 100 albums, and his label, Def Jam/Def American/American gets special kudos for having the guts to initiate the whole Rap/Rock crossover idea in the first place, there was really no other label who was giving home to acts as diverse as PE, the Beasties and Slayer back in the 80s....

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Rubin_pr...ion_discography

A total no brainer: Rick Rubin.

The Dust brothers, DJ Shadow and Dr Dre (in a technical sense, I really dont like much of what he's produced) are also good.... Timbaland is over-rated, imo.....

El-P and DJ Shadow, Timbaland back in the day was crazy good, especially his 90's stuff with Missy. Absolutely quirky, original, and fabulous. Usually awful now.

 

Get Ur Freak On remains one of my favorite singles ever. :wub: Still sounds fresh and weird years on. An absolutely fabulous release. In fact, three of her singles (Get Ur Freak On, Work It, Pass That Dutch) would all probably make my list of best songs of all time, all produced by Timbaland...

 

Flying Lotus and Kanye West are up there as well. If you need proof of Kanye's production skillz, listen to 'Get By' by Talib Kweli. Amazing. Rick Rubin's prettty good, though I'm not a huge fan.

 

Can't believe will.i.am is getting votes LOL. :/ Really?

I plumped for Rick Rubin, because he probably did more than anyone to bring Rap/Hip Hop into the public consciousness in the 1980s, producing albums by Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Run DMC and Beastie Boys.... The sheer scope of what he's produced though is quite startling, he produces acts from many genres ... in 25 years he's produced about 100 albums, and his label, Def Jam/Def American/American gets special kudos for having the guts to initiate the whole Rap/Rock crossover idea in the first place, there was really no other label who was giving home to acts as diverse as PE, the Beasties and Slayer back in the 80s....

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Rubin_pr...ion_discography

Defiantly Rick Rubin [+ his "parter" Russell Simmons to], Raising Hell is by far one of my most favourite Rap/Hip-Hop albums of all time. And as pointed out, he's worked with artists like Slayer, RHCP, AC/DC, Johnny Cash, Shakira, Audioslave, etc.

 

I agree a lot with Medicated Soap, his quirky productions where brilliant. Then after a while he just got pretty generic & bland [Way I Are was pretty good though], but I'll still be interested in his next Shock Wave album, even though he probably has jumped on the auto tune bandwaggon.

 

Other honourable mentions areDr. Dre, who without him Eminem + Snoop Dog wouldn't be here, and plus for the fact that he produced by favourite 2Pac song, 'California Love' :wub: Also [not so much 'hip-hop'] but Quincy Jones.

El-P and DJ Shadow, Timbaland back in the day was crazy good, especially his 90's stuff with Missy. Absolutely quirky, original, and fabulous. Usually awful now.

 

Fair enough, I was objecting more to Timbaland's whole "hired gun", sort of "will this do" attitude, insofar that he'll just produce if anyone gives him a big enough paycheck as opposed to being genuinely interested in the artist themselves.... Just about everything Rubin's ever done is stuff that he's been into doing, which makes me respect him a lot more...

 

Rick Rubin by miles.

 

Dre isnt too bad either, he did Straight Outta Compton for a start!

Fair enough, I was objecting more to Timbaland's whole "hired gun", sort of "will this do" attitude, insofar that he'll just produce if anyone gives him a big enough paycheck as opposed to being genuinely interested in the artist themselves.... Just about everything Rubin's ever done is stuff that he's been into doing, which makes me respect him a lot more...

 

That's generally him now, but back in the 90's his stuff was completely ahead of its time, really original. Missy Elliott's 'Get Ur Freak On' still sounds like it could have been released this year and still be completely fresh, and it came out 9 years ago. Then he started working with Justin and Nelly (which was arguably not that bad to be fair), but soon he just became the new flavor. His solo album was particularly awful.

 

It's fairly easy to tell when he's inspired by something and when he isn't though.

 

I only prefer Timbaland to Rick Rubin because his older producing appeals to me more. It was pretty unconventional for its time (especially for mainstream rap). Just personal appeal, really.

That's generally him now, but back in the 90's his stuff was completely ahead of its time, really original. Missy Elliott's 'Get Ur Freak On' still sounds like it could have been released this year and still be completely fresh, and it came out 9 years ago. Then he started working with Justin and Nelly (which was arguably not that bad to be fair), but soon he just became the new flavor. His solo album was particularly awful.

 

It's fairly easy to tell when he's inspired by something and when he isn't though.

 

I only prefer Timbaland to Rick Rubin because his older producing appeals to me more. It was pretty unconventional for its time (especially for mainstream rap). Just personal appeal, really.

Futuresex/Lovesounds & Loose are brilliant pop/hip-hop albums, probably the last good productions Timbaland made..

Yeah, Timbaland's sound was still strong at the time of producing for Justin & Nelly back in 2006. "Shock Value" showed some life, but was painful at times. His sound dominated U.S. radio for such a long time. I would rate his work w/ Justin & Nelly as high as his production for Aalyiah, Missy etc. It's only his more recent work that has started to sound tired and uninspired.

With regards to the best, an obvious choice is Rick Rubin or Dr. Dre, and their body of work definitely stacks up. I would say my favourite producers, however, are The Neptunes. A lot of great hits, and I love the "futuristic" sound that they re-introduced in the late 90's/early 00's.

His Nelly and Justin stuff was high quality stuff (especially Nelly, Maneater is stunning), but it was his work with those two that made him the new flavor. His work with Missy is far superior imo...maybe that's Missy's influence though, as she's incredibly talented as a rapper. Nelly and Justin are good singers, but lyrically could use work.

 

Shock Value was $h!t bar Give It To Me. Really highlighted the beginning of his quick decline and the loss of anything that once made him unique. It was such a...typical album. :/ He let the success get to his head.

Rick Rubin is definitely the best producer overall because of great reinvention of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Johnny Cash and work with Run DMC, Beasties, LL Cool J, Jay-z (99 Problems) but if you're looking exclusively at hip-hop influence then Dr. Dre. He pioneered early electro, early gangsta rap, 90s G-Funk and introduced Timbaland (who worked under him to begin with), Eminem and many others.

 

El-P is amazing and totally different to anything else right now. Anyone else who has heard his work would agree. His style is like being kicked in the stomach by an angry mule.

 

DJ Shadow's Entroducing is one of the best albums ever. The production is just all-encompassing. He creates a whole world of sound just by using a sampler. Genius.

 

I love the Roots production by ?uestlove as it feels very much like a rock band with great drumming. Check him out on Jay-Z unplugged, completely duplicated the fast drum machines on the studio versions. The guy is a legend.

Edited May 28, 200916 yr by musicbox4249

How come Stoupe the Enemy Of Mankind isn't on the list...