Shondrae “MR. BANG-
LADESH” Crawford, 28
REPPIN’: Atlanta
KNOWN FOR: “Bossy,” from
Kelis’ Kelis Was Here (Jive,
2006); “What’s Your Fantasy,”
from Ludacris’ Back for the
First Time (Def Jam, 2000);
and “You Don’t Want Drama,”
from 8Ball & MJG’s Living
Legends (Bad Boy, 2004)
NEXT UP: Missy Elliott, E-40,
Lil Scrappy, M.I.A., Fabolous,
and Free way
SOUND: Atari-esque key-
board bleeps and woofer-
busting 808s take crunk to
the year 3000
ON SAMPLING: “Samples
are easy. I want some kind
of challenge. I want people
to be sampling my stuff in
the future.”
Sharif “REEFA” Slater, 22 REPPIN’: Brooklyn KNOWN FOR: “It’s Okay (One Blood),” from the Game’s The Doctor’s Advocate (Geffen, 2006); “Hustler’s Story,” from the Notorious B.I.G.’s Duets: The Final Chapter (Bad Boy, 2005); and “Do the Damn Thang,” from Fabolous’ Reel Talk (Desert Storm/Atlantic, 2004) NEXT UP: Jennifer Lopez, Fabolous, Maino, and Juice SOUND: Ominous strings and hard-as-nails horns that point to his Bed-Stuy roots ON HIS FU TURE: “I don’t wanna be that dude who comes into the game, has one song, and that’s it. Even if you’ve got ten hit records out—you gotta keep going.”
Bigram “DEVELOP” Zayas, 24 REPPIN’: New York City KNOWN FOR: “Fireman,” from Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter II (Cash Money, 2005); “Make It Work for You,” from Juelz Santana’s What the Game’s Been Missing (Def Jam, 2005); and “100 Yard Dash,” from Young Dro’s Best Thang Smokin’ (Grand Hustle/Atlantic, 2006) NEXT UP: Lil Wayne and Juelz’s rumored I Can’t Feel My Face album, Joe Budden, and Jennifer Lopez SOUND: Boom-bap lunch-room-table drums and synthesizers straight outta Beverly Hills Cop—perfect for both Southern drawls and N.Y.C. growls ON HIS BACKGROUND: “When I transitioned from battle DJ to production, I wanted to make something that people could feel—and not just a handful of folks either.”
Polow-Freache Jamal-Fincher Jones, aka POLOW DA DON, 28
KNOWN FOR: “London Bridge,” from Fergie’s
The Dutchess (Interscope, 2006); “Pimpin’ All Over the World,” from Ludacris’ The Red Light District (Def Jam, 2004); “Blindfold Me,” from Kelis’ Kelis Was Here (Jive, 2006); and “DJ Play a
Love Song,” from Jamie Foxx’s Unpredictable (J Records, 2005)
NEXT UP: Ciara, Keri Hilson, and Rich Boy
SOUND: Clean melodies and funky percussion
“On the corporate side, we’re losing out. We have the talent, but we still don’t have enough people in these offices who understand Southern music thoroughly. That’s why we’re treated like one-hit wonders.”
Alex Gale
DEVELOP: © IAN O’CONNOR 2006; POLOW DA DON: ARNOLD TURNER/WIREIMAGE
NET WORK
So you’ve got FruityLoops and a dream, but do you, Sir Bedroom Producer, have an outlet? May we suggest looking into online producer communities like IllMuzik ( illmuzik.com ) and Future Producers (futureproducers.com ), which offer members invaluable tips about what to do behind the boards as well as in the boardroom (assuming you’ve got heat like that). And these forums are great places to share tracks. But it’s Dynamic Producer ( dynamicproducer.com) that gets our vote for best in the bunch—its annual Dynamic Producer Conference brings members to New York each summer for a weekend of networking and How Can I Be Down?–like panel discussions. Beat that. Damien Scott
References:
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