The best and worst producer-rappers of all time (part 1 of 3)

Young hooks's article about his abhorrence of Kanye's rapping got me thinking about producer-rappers. I'm not the hugest Kanye fan but he's a great producer and I'd even say I can respect him as a rapper, especially among the handful of other garbage MC's, like MIMS, that are constantly being flushed through the mainstream.

But Kanye's accomplishments are even more impressive if we consider what it entails to be, as Dre said in "Gin & Juice": "a producer who can rap and control the maestro at the same time." From a business standpoint, producer-rappers occupy the ultimate position of artist autonomy in hip-hop, and perhaps in music in general. That explains why often producer-rappers are also entrepreneurial company heads, like Master P and P Diddy. Hip-hop players like them control the output of the product from beginning to end, from market potential to song design to song creation, and ultimately to marketing the song en masse. They also get full royalty payments--copyrights belong half to the 'writer' and half to the 'producer,' meaning that a producer-rapper reaps in all the cash.

So in general a producer-rapper avoids getting done in by major labels. He also streamlines the creative process of music, avoiding the power struggle that can emerge between the lyricist and the musical mind, which arises especially as a duo becomes more popular (Dr. Dre/Eazy-E during NWA is a prime example). In essence there is no room for "creative differences" that so commonly extinguish groups before they reach their full potential.

And lastly, we have to recognize the tremendous amount of talent that producer-rappers possess. They are the singer/songwriters of rap, having the ability to both compose music and complement it with a display of lyrical mastery. Think about it. Most people can't rap. Of those who can, most rappers can't rap well. And even people who rap well oftentimes don't reach our ears because they, for some reason or another, can't penetrate the industry. When they do, how many of them can produce as well?

Conversely, making quality beats is extremely difficult, requiring intensive knowledge of music theory, hip-hop, other genres (for samples/pastiche), and technology. Few producers have time, energy, or talent for perfecting their writing and rapping skills. Most producers stick to the music because good production is in such short supply, whereas all you need is vocal chords and familiarity with a language to be a rapper (also, alcohol and weed help).

So, even if a rapper's beats can get sloppy or a producer's rapping can be subpar at times, we have to respect producer-rappers. They control their careers and artistic process more than most artists, and display immense talent and/or market savvy.

I was originally gonna list out the best and worst producer-rappers in this article, but it looks like I had a lot to say introducing the subject. So part 2 will be the Best; part 3 the Worst. You can all help me now in listing out all the producer-rappers. I brainstormed the ones I could think of, which are below. But I don't wanna forget someone and look like an idiot. So let me have 'em!

Producers who can rap and control the maestro:
Dr. Dre, DJ Quik, Daz Dillinger, J-ZONE, J-Live, El-P, Lil' Jon, Eminem, Benzino, MF DOOM, Madlib, Jermaine Dupri, P Diddy, Devin the Dude(?), Jaz-O (?), Timbaland, Havoc of Mobb Deep