Best Producer Ever?

Edit: The voting has ended and Dr. Dre was announced as the best producer in hip-hop. Guess there really were no wrong choices.

Vibe Magazine is having an online contest in a bracket format similar to March Madness to determine who is the best hip-hop producer in history. They have split the field into four distinct categories: Homegrown Sound, Soul Sample, Mass Appeal, and Boom Bap. The top seeds are fairly obvious and clearly deserving in my opinion of the top seed. Dr. Dre is the 1 seed for the homegrown sound division, Kanye leads the soul sample division, The Neptunes for the mass appeal, and DJ Premier heads off the boom-bap category.

I was familiar with DJ Premier's work, but not with DJ Premier. Though his discography is rather inspiring, and it can clearly be seen how his work transformed New York City rap during the 90's. Starting with his work with Gang Starr, and further with the production on Biggie's "Ready to Die", Nas's "Illmatic" and Jay-Z's "Reasonable Doubt" he cemented his status as a legend. However, I am not sure about his relevance today as compared to the other top seeds, as well as some of the dark horses.

The most shocking seed to me is giving J Dilla a 6 seed. A producer who died of lupus much before his time, but without his work current west coast back pack rap would not be at the level it is today. His producing style has stuck with the proficient rap label "Stone's Throw." I have a feeling that Doom and Madlib would not be at the level they are wtithout his influence. Not to mention some of the carry over to some of today's pioneers in the category, namely rappers like Atmosphere, Aesop Rock, and Murs. Throw this on top of his production for groups like the Pharcyde and Slum Village. Considering the classic instrumental album "Donuts" as well, it is incredibly shocking to me that they do not rate him as one of the top 10 producers of all time.

The other seeding controversy that grinds my gears is that they Mannie Fresh a 2 seed. Sure, Mannie has been around a long time, and has made some banging hits. Stuff like "Back that azz up" will always get the crowd going. But the barrage of tacky ill produced beats he has recently been throwing out there has really diminished his image. If it was not for Lil' Wayne's tremendous popularity, I think Mannie Fresh would be forgotten about today. I suppose the only reason he is ranked as high as he is, is because he is in the home grown sound category, where there are few other big name producers.

The other two grievances I have with this bracket is the exclusion of both "The Dungeon Family" and Quest Love. The Dungeon Family is the producing team behind all of Outkast's albums, as well as having worked on Cee-Lo's solo stuff and his work with Gnarls Barkley. I don't think a group had a better sound to define the vibes of their town in the late 90's/early '00's as well as Outkast did. The slow funky bass lines and the excellent horn samples really make for the excellent kicked back sound. So it puzzles that the producers behind such an acclaimed group like Outkast are left off. Quest Love, who is the drummer and the producer for The Roots is another one that puzzles me. The Roots have consitently been putting out very good to borderline great albums, and much of it is owed to the pacing and eccentricity of the production.

For my final four, I would have Dr. Dre, Kanye West, RZA, and Timbaland.

I think the first two would have to be a given for the final four. No one can think of West Coast g-funk without mentioning Dr. Dre's name. Still waiting for detox though. Any day now Doc.

Kanye has revolutionized modern rap in a way that I believe is unprecendented. His production work especially has given way to singles from all different types of styles. His trademark soul samples are genuinely his own and he is in clear control of how he manipulaes and plays with the soul samples.

The RZA was in a world of his own with his production style. Not many other producers would include sampling of samurai swords clanging into his beats, all to match the flow of some of the premier MC's to grace the world with their prescence. As much as DJ Premier did, I think the RZA was just as influential on as many classic albums ad Premier was.

Lastly, in an upset over the Neptunes, I would choose Timbaland. Though I am not much of a fan of his rapping style, or his overall personality, but his production style is undeniable. The Neptunes did produce some classics, and this was a very tough choice, but the beats on old Aaliyah and Missy Elliot's albums are so bold and different, but banging nonetheless. Just listen to Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me A River" and you can tell how well picked out the samples are and how well it is sequenced together. His beats are so infectious and rewarding on mupltiple levels.

In the end though, I have to give the award to Kanye. I can admit to listening to "Overnight Celebrity" over and over, mainly for the production. The sped-up soul samples define his sound, but he does not rely solely on the samples to define his sound. He makes the samples his own. He manipulates them into different molds, until they become hooks to his otherwise competent beat. Can't wait until "Good Ass Job" comes out as it is supposed to be the successor to "Graduation" which I think in due time will be regarded as one of the classic hip-hop albums.