RICK RUBEN
Rick Ruben was attracted to music since an early age. Legend has it that his first music production experience was when he was in high school and befriended the school’s audiovisual director who taught him the basics, including playing the guitar. Soon, he formed the band The Pricks, and during their stage performance, the band “heckled” with the audience, who were actually Rick’s friends instructed to cause a commotion so that the band would get publicity. The Pricks were kicked out of the gig, but the story still has a certain epicness to it among punk-rockers. Soon the young man formed Def Jam Records and was introduced to hip-hop. Their first and major artist turned out to be LL Cool J for his single “I Need A Beat”. Other major bands that Def Jam produced were the Beastie Boys and Run-DMC. Not only has Ruben been the co-founder of Def Jam, but was also involved with Columbia Records that helped with Linkin Park and produced most of their albums from Minutes To Midnight to Living Things. Rick Ruben has produced some of the greatest artists of our time including Metallica, Black Sabbath, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Slipknot, etc. Though he has been frequently criticized by those within and without the industry, he still continues to remain a dark shadow to the music production industry.
JIMMY JAM
This duo has been on the hip-hop scene for quite some time and have a large number of No. 1 singles to their credit. They met at a music camp and soon started producing music for their own band known as The Time. Their talent took them places and soon they were the opening act for a Prince concert, though they were soon fired. A major feat that this duo have managed to conquer is being the only music producers with the most number of hits on the charts. They have been part of the musical production team of such artists like Janet Jackson, Usher, Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, George Michael, etc. They have also won 5 Grammy Awards and continue to be a massive pair in the R&B and Hip-Hop scene.
BERRY GORDY
Berry Gordy Jr. began songwriting at an early age and has a number of historic greats to his credit. He is the founder of Motown Record Corporation that has been responsible for acts such as The Supremes, Gladys Knight And The Pips, The Commodores, Stevie Wonder and Jackson 5. Gordy has already been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame (1988) as well as Songwriters’ Hall Of Fame (2o13, the first living individual to receive this honor! His personal life has been just as colorful and he has children from multiple partners, including ex-wives and mistresses. There is no denying that this man has solely contributed to Jazz and R&B to an extent that can never be competed with.
DR. DRE
There probably is no need for this man to be introduced. His most famous claim to fame has been his discovery of EMINEM and the creation of Beats By Dre. As a child, he didn’t have a very stable life, as the legend goes, and regularly changed schools either due to local gang violence or because his grades were low. After being rejected from attending an internship at Northrop Aviation Company, he began concentrating on his social life and completed school as an average student. He has been part of the production heading team for Ice Cube (Straight Outta Compton and Fuck Tha Police) and Ice-T. He has been a part of Aftermath Records since his first foray into the music industry. He continue to dominate the scene and has in fact been crowned the richest person in the hip-hop industry as of date.
MAX MARTIN
Max Martin is probably one of the most loved producers in the pop music genre because he produced hits that are still aired on radio and loved by audiences to this day. He is responsible for creating such pop cult hits like the Backstreet Boys’ I Want It That Way and Britney Spears’ Baby One More Time. Though he has been initially associated with dance-beat pop, he showed his more serious side by producing tracks such as Behind These Hazel Eyes and Since U Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson. Since 1999, Max Martin has been responsible for 21 Billboard Hits and has dethroned artists such as Madonna, Elvis Presley and the Beatles with the most number of number one hits, totaled at 54. He is truly one of the most prolific music producers to ever be part of the pop scene and has continued to make hits with some of the best artists who are the helm of their respective generations.
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