Recognized by many as the Godfather of Chicago hip-hop, No I.D. has had an illustrious career that spans 20 yearsāand like fine wine, heās only gotten better with age.
Breaking into the industry in the early '90sĀ as Commonās in-house producer, No I.D. ascended from underground crate-digger to A-list hitmaker, crafting lush soundscapes for the likes of Jay-Z, Kanye West, Drake, and Rihanna. His talents have taken him in many directions, including a brief career as a rapper, and now as executive vice president of Def Jam.
Before he was known to the world as "Kanyeās mentor," No I.D. was quietly building his own extensive catalog, lacing beats for everybody from G-Unit and Ghostface Killah to Bow Wowāinlcuding many you may not know he produced.Ā
The end of 2011 finds No I.D. reuniting with Common for The Dreamer, The Believer, which he produced in its entirety. On the eve of one of the year's most anticipated releases, Complex caught up with No I.D. These are the stories behind the best beats by Dion.
As told to Andrew Barber (@fakeshoredrive)
Common "Soul By The Pound"
Common āSoul By The Poundā (1992)
Album: Can I Borrow A Dollar?
Label: Relativity
No I.D.: āI feel like that was the record that broke us out of being just some guys from Chicago. I think people heard that record and said āThose guys are dope.ā The remix actually meant more than the original to me. It was the third single from Can I Borrow A Dollar, so by the time we did the video, we had to touch it up.
āWe wanted to make the record to be more exciting, so we changed it a bit. And I think I even grew with my skill from the first version to the second version. So we did a new version for some new energy.ā
Common āTake It EZā
Common āTake It EZā (1992)
Album: Can I Borrow A Dollar?
Label: Relativity
No I.D.:Ā āTake It EZā was actually the first video I ever produced for. It was a beat that [Twilite] Tone had originally did, and I went in and changed all the music around. He did the drums and I did the music. It was crazy because it was the first time Iād seen a record Iād done on TV.
Common "Resurrection"
Common āResurrectionā (1994)
Album: Resurrection
Label: Relativity
No I.D.:Ā āWe actually started that song with another beat. This track and āNuthin To Doā both ended up with different beats. A lot of the songs would start with me just trying to come up with a scratch and a beat.
āWeād felt the pressure of [Nasā] Illmatic coming out, and we were both 'like āOkay, itās time for us to step this up three or four notches.ā I hooked the beat up and once he [Common] heard the āResurrectionā scratch he immediately started writing.
āBefore that I was just a house music DJ, so when I was working on Can I Borrow A Dollar?, it was more of me digging out of my house crates trying to find samples in there. But after we finished that album, and began work on Resurrection, Iād met the Beatnuts and they taught me how to dig for samples. This guy V.I.C. that was down with them, Buckwild and Ju Ju (of the Beatnuts)āthey were the reason I knew how to dig and make that specific style of hip-hop.
āWe recorded the whole album on Long Island at Erick Sermonās studio. Since our budget was so small, we didnāt work on songs in the studio. Weād work on the songs at home [in Chicago], and weād just record them at the studio.
āWe didnāt actually sit in the studio to listen and write to tracks, it was more like āOkay, weāre done writing, now lets go record all the songs at onceāthen weāll mix them.ā Weād go to the east coast because they had all the engineers and equipment. They were already prepped in hip-hop. In Chicago at that time there was no real hip-hop studios. The engineers in Chicago were all House music engineers or did jingles or R&B.
Common "I Used To Love H.E.R."
Common āI Used To Love H.E.R.ā (1994)
Album: Resurrection
Label: Relativity
No I.D.: āI Used To Love H.E.R.ā, from a production standpoint, was a brainchild of the style I developed on āSoul By The Pound.ā I had a bassline sound that I would play with the SP1200āit just had a certain sound and a feel to it. And I was really into the melodies of the George Benson sample [āThe Changing Worldā], but I wanted to make it harder with that bassline.
āCommon came with this incredible story, which at the time we had no idea would be so revered. Common and Twilite Tone talked about the concept before he talked to me about it. My role was refining it into a song and orchestrating the musical changes, and helping Rash structure the barsāmaking sure he rapped on beat. But once he had the rap in his head, it was just a matter of making it come across the best. I give him full credit on that one. It definitely wasnāt a thing where I said āHey, Iāve got an idea, do this.ā
āWe shot the video in Chicago. We actually shot two or three videos before it came out right. The version that the world saw was actually the third version, after we wasted a ton of money on the first two [Laughs.].
āI felt like āSoul By The Pound,ā started to get us to the next level but āI Used To Love H.E.R.ā catapulted us all the way over. It was way more revered. We were respected with āSoul By The Poundā but it was āOh my God this is something special!ā with āI Used To Love H.E.R.ā
āWhen I do music, I have a hard time experiencing it like everyone else, because thereās so much thought that goes into it. You can sometimes fool yourself into thinking itās better than what it is, which stops me from being creative on the next thing I do. So I kind of didnāt know that it was going to be so big. Because when it came out, itās not like it sold a ton of records. It didnāt happen instantly, it kind of happened over time.
āMaybe it was because I was just in Chicago, and I didnāt get a chance to experience it the way the rest of the world got to experience it. You know, Chicago got on it a little later [Laughs.]. After this record came out, I started to get calls from other artists inquiring about production. Before that I never got calls like that. Iād get a call like āBiggie wants a beatā and Iād be blown away. It was a foreign concept to me. Biggie, Pun, GhostfaceāIād never got calls like that before. Thatās the first time when I thought āMaybe Iām onto something here.āā
Common f/Lauryn Hill "Retrospect For Life"
Common f/ Lauryn Hill āRetrospect For Lifeā (1997)
Album: One Day Itāll All Make Sense
Label: Relativity
No I.D.:Ā āThe funniest thing is, the song was a true story. It was weird because when the girl (who it was about) heard it, she spazzed out about it.
āMy man James Poyser played the keys on it. There was actually another version without James, but we had him come in on the train to fix it up. Lauryn actually met James for the first time during this session, and he later went on to work with her on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hillāso that record has a lot of musical significance. Thereās a lot of stories about it.
āI always felt like Erykah [Badu] shouldāve been on that one, and Lauryn shouldāve been on the Roots record [One Day Itāll All Make Senseās āAll Night Longā]. But it worked out great.
āCommon and Lauryn had a real cool relationshipāshe loved him as a rapper. She recorded this before Miseducation dropped so it was as big of a ādealā to get her [Laughs.] The video was also Commonās first acting role. How ironic, right?ā
Common "Invocation"
Common āInvocationā (1997)
Album: One Day Itāll All Make Sense
Label: Relativity
No I.D.:Ā āThat is one of my personal favorites. I feel like thatās a classic Common/No I.D. staple right there. It has the melodies I love, and it was him just rappingānot worried about a chorus or anything. Not saying itās my best record or anything, but itās definitely one of my personal favorites. When I hear it, it makes me feel good.
No I.D. f/ Common & Dug Infinite "State to State"
No I.D. f/ Common & Dug Infinite āState To Stateā (1997)
Album: Accept Your Own And Be Yourself [The Black Album]
Label: Relativity
No I.D.:āThat was on the first Black Album [Laughs.] That whole album was a weird, weird process as Common and I were at a weird place in our relationship. The whole album [Accept Your Own And Be Yourself (The Black Album)] was supposed to feature Common and Dug [Infinite]. I wanted this project to be like the Chicago Chronic, with Shawnna, Kanye, Dug, Teefa, Common, Just Ro and me.
I wanted this project to be like the Chicago Chronic, with Shawnna, Kanye, Dug, Teefa, Common, Just Ro, and me.
āThat was my initial goal for the album. But everybody wasnāt on the same page, and everybody didnāt want to work with each other like that. So it ended up me and Dug doing the whole thing. In theory, if it wouldāve went the way I wanted, we wouldāve had a real dynasty type of team. Our goal was to sign everybody to a label that me and Common wanted to start. Relativity wanted to do it.
āCommon was working on One Day Itāll All Make Sense at the time, but I wasnāt as heavily involved with that album as I was his previous two, so I didnāt come in until the very end, because I was working on my album. I wonder what the album wouldāve sounded like had it have been half of the One Day / The Black Album beats?
āI signed my solo Relativity deal years before my album came outābefore being a producer could be a career job. I never really wanted to be a rapper, but I wanted to do what Dre did and make my own version of The Chronic. But after that album came out, and I saw the politics of the game, I realized that side wasnāt for me. Relativity had me signed for a few albums, but I retired. [Laughs.]
No I.D. f/ Dug Infinite "Sky's The Limit"
No I.D. f/ Dug Infinite āSkyās The Limitā (1997)
Album: Accept Your Own And Be Yourself [The Black Album]
Label: Relativity
No I.D.:Ā āThat song embodies my personal spiritual outlook on life. When we do music, we influence people and that record is something I really felt during that era. Hip-Hop used to have real life, positive talk. You could say anything in hip-hop and people wouldnāt call it emo or anything like thatāit was just hip-hop. I mean, even back then Dr. Dre was rapping about āI still express, yo I donāt smoke weed or sess.ā
āSomewhere along the way hip-hop lost its ability to say anything, and 'Skyās The Limit' was talking about people who only cared about money and success. We wanted to talk about the kids and the people who were getting ālost in the sauce,ā so to speak.
āThat was the only video shot for the album. It got a decent amount of play on MTV, BET and The Box. It wasnāt all over the place or heavily promoted. Biggieās 'Skyās The Limit' came out around the same time and it was just pure coincidence.ā
Beanie Sigel āManās Worldā
Beanie Sigel āManās Worldā (2001)
Album: The Reason
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
No I.D.:Ā āāManās Worldā was one of those records where I wanted to show people what time it was. It was to show people I really know how to chop samples and do this. It was really meant for Jayās Blueprint, but somehow Hop [Kyambo Joshua] gave it to Beans before he gave it to Jay.
I was probably a little ticked off by it, but it was still a perfect record. It was one of my quintessential hip-hop records.Ā āIt came out a few months before Blueprint did, and it was a really like a statement like āI do this for real.ā
Jay-Z f/ Latoiya Williams āAll Around The Worldā (2002)
Jay-Z f/ Latoiya Williams āAll Around The Worldā (2002)
Album: The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
No I.D.:Ā āThat was the first Jay-Z song that I did, and the funny part about it is I gave him that beat around the time of The Blueprint. And the record just sat there until the last few days before The Blueprint 2 had to be turned in and someone was like āYou remember this record?ā But before it went on the album, they went in and changed my beat around a little bit, so I had problems tracking it.
I was never trying to work with Jay, because I came from an era where you woked with who you worked with. To me it was just Common.
āIād been around with them since [In My Lifetime] Vol. 1 and I was even in the studio when they mixed āSunshine.ā But I was never trying to work with Jay, because I came from an era where you worked with who you worked with. To me it was just Common, so I wasnāt really trying to work with everyone like that.
āMe and Hop added Latoiya Williams to the track because we always loved her. She is one of my favorite unknown classic soul singers. That record was kind of the resurgence of No I.D. and the intro to me working with other people.ā
G-Unit āSmileā
G-Unit āSmileā (2003)
Album: Beg For Mercy
Label: G-Unit/Interscope
No I.D.:Ā āThat was around the time when I was starting to shop music to other people. Iām not sure how they got the record, but it got shopped and they got it and recorded to it. It was weird, because at the time, the last place I thought this would land would be G-Unit.
āI remember I saw them on 106 & Park or Rap City, and they said āYeah, weāre working with No I.D.ā and I was like āWord?ā I didnāt know they were going to make a single out of it. I had no relationships with them at the time, and they ended up pushing it and being the set-up for Lloyd Banksā solo album. It was totally out of the blue and unexpected.ā
Ghostface Killah f/ Styles P & Sheek Louch āMetal Lungiesā
Ghostface Killah f/ Styles P & Sheek Louch āMetal Lungiesā (2004)
Album: The Pretty Toney Album
Label: Def Jam
No I.D.:Ā āGhostface, when it comes to hip-hop, was one of my favorite rappers, and definitely one of my favorites in the Wu-Tang. Heās also a really cool dude. So we got together, and every now and again I get to work with people who arenāt just looking for singles. Theyāre just looking for hip-hopāthey want to do it for the sake of making hip-hop.
Every now and again I get to work with people who arenāt just looking for singles. Theyāre just looking for hip-hopāthey want to do it for the sake of making hip-hop.
āYou donāt always get a chance to work with the people you want to, and The Lox was always a group I respected. And the same way with the Rhianna [āWe All Want Loveā] record, organically it was great for me to do it. It was different and Iād done nothing like it and nothing was standing in my way. Itās something I can put in my folder and say āNo I.D. did that.ā
āI had two placements on that Ghosface record [The Pretty Toney LP] and at the time I had a production deal with Def Jam for the [R&B singer] Kaye Fox album. So both of us being in the Def Jam building at the time definitely led to us linking up.ā
Bow Wow f/ Omarion āLet Me Hold Youā
Bow Wow f/ Omarion āLet Me Hold Youā (2005)
Album: Wanted
Label: Columbia
No I.D.:Ā āThat was the first beat I did when I went to Atlanta to work with Jermaine Dupri. Weād always been cool, but then we were establishing a working relationship. I wanted to work with him and learn some thingsāthings that werenāt in my repertoire. I knew what I was doing, but he was winning and I couldnāt understand it. Heās just winning. So heās like, 'Dion come by and letās see whatās happening.'
I wanted to work with [J.D.] and learn some thingsāthings that werenāt in my repertoire. I knew what I was doing, but he was winning
āSo they were finishing up the Bow Wow album, and they needed one more jointāa single. Jermaine was like āBring some samples over.ā Truthfully, I was a little hesitant to bring my best samples, so I brought my samples that werenāt as ādigginā in the cratesā or important to me. Why would I pull out a Luther Vandross sample?
āSo I pulled out the sample and J.D. was like āThatās it right there!ā And I was like āWord?ā We started playing around on the CD turntables and Jermaine was telling me to do the record a certain way. In my heart of hearts, I thought it might fall in corny territory. But I decided to put my mind in the hit place, thinking like a producer who makes hits. What would I need to make this huge?
In my heart of hearts, I thought it might fall in corny territory. But I decided to put my mind in the hit place, thinking like a producer who makes hits.
āMaybe a half hour later I played it for him and he was like āThatās it.ā Then a few weeks later the record was done and Omarion was on it and I was like āOh man, Omarion is on this?ā [Laughs] And not to diss Omarion, but I didnāt like the hook, I thought it was wordy. I didnāt think it was a hit, I felt everything was going wrong with the record. Then I said to myself āDion, humble yourself. Get out of the real hip-hop world and accept the fact that you donāt know everything.' Who am I to front? And that was actually my first record that went No. 1. It was all over the place, on 106 & Park, on the radio and then it went No. 1. āIt changed my whole way of thinking and how I produce. I had been making it so hard for myself, so Iām like, 'Damnāthis isnāt that hard at all. I can do these types of records and itās okay.āā
Rhymefest f/ Mikkey Halsted & Bump J āChicagorillasā
Rhymefest f/ Mikkey Halsted & Bump J āChicagorillasā (2006)
Album: Blue Collar
Label: J Records/Allido
No I.D.:Ā āI was working with a producer by the name of Miykal Snoddy. I donāt like to be a guy who has a bunch of ghost-producers, so Iāll honestly say that he did the majority of that beat. I moreso put the direction of the record together.
āIt was the first time I worked with Bump, and of course Iād been working with Mikkey. It was something to tell the story of that time period. It was a real street record. 10 toes on the ground. It was an underground momentāa moment in time. It shouldāve been a changing of the guard with these guys for Chicago rap.ā
Jay-Z f/ Nas āSuccessā
Jay-Z f/ Nas āSuccessā (2007)
Album: American Gangster
Label: Def Jam
No I.D.:Ā āJermaine Dupri hit me and was like, āLetās go work with Jay in New York.ā Now, I really like working with people, so I was ready to go up there and record with him. J.D. and I decided to work on the beat together in the studio.ā
So weāre in the studio and Lebronās there, and Beyonceās there. And I was off to the side with my headphones on doing the beat on my laptop.
āSo weāre in the studio and Lebronās there, and Beyonceās there. And I was off to the side with my headphones on doing the beat on my laptop. Everyone kept looking at me like āWhatās this guy doing over there on his computer?ā No keyboardāI was just on my MacBook. Iām sure they thought I was just surfing the net or something.
āāJay and Jermaine looked over at me like āWhat do you got?ā So I play it and Jayās like āAwww shit thatās it. Get that laptop back out and letās do some more.ā So that was the first time we jousted like that in the studio. It was also my first Nas collaboration, and the record really put me back in motion.ā
Jay-Z āFallinā
Jay-Z āFallinā (2007)
Album: American Gangster
Label: Def Jam
No I.D.:Ā āSo āFallinā was another record I did with Jermaine [Dupri]. The chops were real choppy on that, and I was somewhat known for sample beats. It was also something weāre not used to hearing from Jermaine and his whole So So Def sound. It was a hardcore hip-hop record, not something to dance to.ā
Plies āPut It On Yaā
Plies āPut It On Yaā (2008)
Album: Da REAList
Label: Slip-N-Slide/Atlantic
No I.D.:Ā āBeing in Atlanta, I was trying to expand my palate, so to speak, and do different records. One of my guys Serge said āGive me some beats.ā So I passed along a few beats, and this was one of them. A lot of the times I have keyboard players, but this time I played it for myself.
āSo Serge came back and said Plies was taking the record and wanted to make it a single. It was another one of those records that was a departure from the traditional No I.D. hip-hop sound. It was radio-ready, so when I saw what kind of airplay it was getting, I knew it was a good look.ā
Kanye West āHeartlessā
Kanye West āHeartlessā (2008)
Album: 808s & Heartbreak
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
No I.D.:Ā āHeartlessā was actually for Blueprint 3. I remember when we got to that record, Kanye heard it and said āNope, Iām keeping this one for myself.ā And I was like, āCome on man, youāre not even working on an album.ā And he said āNow I am.ā [Laughs.] Jay was sitting there waiting on beats for the album, and here we go embarking on a whole other album. Then youāve gotta do a tour and everything.
Kanye heard it and said, āNope Iām keeping this one for myself.ā And I was like, āCome on man, youāre not even working on an album.ā Ā And he said āNow I am.ā [Laughs.]
āThatās why Timbaland did so many things on Blueprint 3 because we kept a lot of those beats for 808s. But I knew āHeartlessā was going to be a big record. It was actually between this and āLove Lockdownā for what he was gonna play on the VMAsāthose were the only two songs he had done at the time. And thatās when he premiered that whole 808s look. Thatās probably the biggest song of my career or any song Iāve been a part of.
āJay wasnāt mad that Ye got it, because thatās par for the course. You know, he just kinda looked at me like āYo, where are some more of them beats?āā
Kanye West āColdest Winterā
Kanye West āColdest Winterā (2008)
Album: 808s & Heartbreak
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
No I.D.:Ā āI was sitting at home in Atlantaāand Iām not saying 808s & Heartbreakswas my ideaābut I was practicing a branding experiment. So I grew out my beard and started wearing old sunglasses all the time and I grew my hair out. Kanye would be like āYo, what are you doing?ā and Iād say āCocaine 80s.ā This is where the group Cocaine 80s derived fromāit was a lifestyle.
I grew out my beard and started wearing old sunglasses all the time and I grew my hair out. Kanye would be like āYo, what are you doing?ā and Iād say āCocaine 80s.ā
āIād sit around listen to all of these 80s records, and one day I came across Tears For Fears āMemories Fadeā and I immediately knew āThatās it. Right here.ā So I played him the whole section, and Ye said āI would just change one word.ā I had no idea heād keep it as is. I knew it was something as soon as I heard the song. I knew it was special.
āCocaine 80s was my concept, but Kanye dove deep into it himself. It wasnāt āHey, I want to take this style,ā it was more āCan I make this work?ā It definitely had its moment though. People started growing beards and making a certain type of music during that era. And the group [Cocaine 80s] is still around now, and I have a lot planned for it.ā
Kanye West f/ Lil Wayne āSee You In My Nightmaresā
Kanye West f/ Lil Wayne āSee You In My Nightmaresā (2008)
Album: 808s & Heartbreak
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
No I.D.:Ā āI had the music this time, and it was sounding good, and then Kanye came in and added certain aspects. Kanye wanted to put Wayne on it, so it was like the battle of the Auto-Tunes. Truthfully, I was never into Auto-Tune, but I knew with Kanye, he was going to take it somewhere else from a creative standpoint.
I felt it would be different than just beats and Auto-Tuneāthere was a real purpose with the sound. It was emotional outlet for himāit was much better than just an Auto-Tune album. And itās held up really well.ā
Bump J āLetter 2 My Competitionā
Bump J āLetter 2 My Competitionā (2008)
Album: N/A
Label: N/A
No I.D.:Ā āMe and Bump had talked and we decided we needed to get in the lab. That was like the first record we did. The beat was something Iād started for 808s & Heartbreaks, but never finished it. The beat wasnāt finished when I gave it to him, but he went CRAZY on it. I gave it to Ye and he was like āThis dude really, really raps.ā
Three days before he was supposed to begin work with me in Atlanta he was arrested [for bank robbery].
āSo we were about to start doing a whole album together, and three days before he was supposed to begin work with me in Atlanta he was arrested [for bank robbery]. I was going to do his whole album and go all of the way in.
āA lot of the beats that I was going to give Bump, I ended up giving to Jay for the Blueprint 3. The whole plan was to put it all together, and then bring it to Kanye and G.O.O.D. Music. Kanye was in love with the record and the way Bump was going with things, that he may have even jumped on it. We had a big shot with Bump.ā
Twista f/ Kanye West āAlrightā
Twista f/ Kanye West āAlrightā (2009)
Album: Category F5
Label: GMG/EMI
No I.D.:Ā āKanye did a lot more on that record than I did. Twista had a deadline for his album, and Kanye couldnāt get the beat done in time. I didnāt want to keep them waiting so I grabbed the beat and finished it up. And that was my first ever Twista collaboration. Iāve gotta give most of the credit to Kanye on that record.ā
Jay-Z āD.O.A.ā
Jay-Z āD.O.A.ā (2009)
Album: The Blueprint 3
Label: Roc Nation/Atlantic
No I.D.:Ā āThatās a pretty known story. We were working in Hawaii and we got into a big argument about the direction of Jayās album. I wanted it to sound one way, and Jay another. So we started arguing back and forth, and then a Soulja Boy song came on where he was using Auto-Tune and Jayās facial expression just turned to āWhat?ā
We got into a big argument about the direction of Jayās album. I wanted it to sound one way, and Jay another. Then a Soulja Boy song came on where he was using Auto-Tune and Jayās facial expression just turned to āWhat?'
āI had that idea, and I pulled up the track. Jay liked it and knew exactly what to do, I could tell something serious was going through his head.
āSo early the next morning Young Guru calls me super early and is like āYo, get over here right now, youāve gotta hear this.ā And Iām like āCool. Iām about to go play basketball and then Iāll be through. I know itās crazy, itās Jay, but Iāll be there later.ā and Guru was like āNo, you donāt understand. Come right now.ā So I went right over there and I heard just how crazy it was. But my first reaction was āI hope Kanye donāt get mad.ā [Laughs].
āSo Jay looks at me and says āYouāre overreacting. You donāt know what this is?ā I was like āYeah, but...ā and then he says āYe told me to do it.ā Then Kanye came in and said āDamn Jay, you went too far!ā and I stopped him and said āYouāve gotta put that on the record!ā And thatās how it all came together.
āI hopped on a plane to leave Hawaii and while I was in the air, Funkmaster Flex premiered it on Hot 97āran it back, dropped bombs on it and everything. I came off the plane to so many texts and emails. That was one of my favorite hip-hop moments Iāve been involved in in my life. It was priceless.
I heard just how crazy it was. But my first reaction was āI hope Kanye donāt get mad.ā
āJay later called me to congratulate me on my Grammy. What a lot of people donāt know is that even if you win certain categories, you donāt get a physical Grammy. Only āRun This Townā won me a physical Grammy even though both records won. But Jay said this one was more important because it wasnāt a real singleāit wasnāt commercial record with a hook. It was a hard record. It was an accomplishment.ā
Jay-Z f/ Kanye West & Rihanna āRun This Townā
Jay-Z f/ Kanye West & Rihanna āRun This Townā (2009)
Album: The Blueprint 3
Label: Roc Nation/Atlantic
No I.D.:Ā āThat was initially a Rihanna record. She came down to Hawaii and we did it. We did a few records for herāand two of them became āRun This Townā and Drakeās āFind Your Love.ā She came down and cut the record and then she passed on it. We were all like āWhat? Youāre passing?ā
āJay heard it and said āThis is my record now.ā Then Kanye heard it and said āNah, donāt give Jay that recordāthatās my record.ā [Laughs] Then Jay hits me and says, āDonāt let Kanye get that record.ā So Jay got it, and Kanye ended up doing a verse. It was a memorable moment. We won a Grammy, but when you have those three on a record, youāre supposed to win a Grammy. That was a monster that didnāt sound like a commercial record. It was a pure hip-hop beat, and darker than a traditional pop record.ā
Jay-Z āThank Youā
Jay-Z āThank Youā (2009)
Album: The Blueprint 3
Label: Roc Nation/Atlantic
No I.D.:Ā āThat was the first time I saw Kanye tell Jay-Z how to rap. Ye was telling him how to approach the song. It was so weird because who wouldāve thought Kanye would be giving Jay-Z rapping tips? [Laughs] That was another one we did in Hawaii. Thatās one of my sleeper favorites from my catalog.ā
Drake āShow Me A Good Timeā
Drake āShow Me A Good Timeā (2010)
Album: Thank Me Later
Label: Young Money/Cash Money/Universal Motown
No I.D.:Ā āThat record is another Hawaii special. Matter of fact, thatās when I first met Drake. Wayne had a show in Hawaii and Gee [Roberson] brought Drake to the studio while they were down there. We were in the studio working, and we knew about Drake, but we didnāt know who he was. We didnāt know that he was actually sitting in the studio with us. We were finishing the idea for the song, and heās just sitting there, then we finally put two and two together like āOkay, thaaaaatās Drake.ā
āSo when we started working on the beat, we didnāt set out to make a Drake beatāwe were just working on music and he happened to be there. Kanye went in and added the āah ah ah ahā part. And it all came together.
āThen we went to the show later that night and it was our first time actually seeing him perform. We saw how the crowd reacted and how crazy they went. So that was our introduction to Drake.ā
Drake āFind Your Loveā
Drake āFind Your Loveā (2010)
Album: Thank Me Later
Label: Young Money/Cash Money/Universal Motown
No I.D.:Ā āThat was actually a Rihanna record. Drake came to the studio in LA for more music. I was already on the album as I cut a record with Ye for it, but I was like āWhy not do more? Letās work.ā So we were talking, as I like to talk to artists before we work. Drake heard Rihannaās version and was like, āI really want to use this record,ā and I was like, āMan, ask her!' [Laughs].
āSo he ended up with the beat and then when he recorded it he was singing, and I was like āWord? Singing. Youāre really rolling with this, huh?ā Drake took it and made his own magic record.ā
Rick Ross f/ Cee-Lo āTears Of Joyā
Rick Ross f/ Cee-Lo āTears Of Joyā (2010)
Album: Teflon Don
Label: Def Jam/Slip-n-Slide/MMG
No I.D.:Ā āThe funny thing about that beat, is that one was made for J. Cole. J. Cole is a producer, and a lot of what I was doing for him wasnāt just giving him beatsāI was helping him. When youāre O.G. status youāve gotta give back, so I was guiding Cole and helping him do his thing. So I didnāt really sweat him passing on all of these records because I knew theyād find a good home.
So we were down in Hawaii and Rick Ross was out there. He asked me to play him some things, but I told him no because I was out there with Ye. Thatās not how I rollācatch me outside of Hawaii. Then Ye said āGive Ross some beats, man!ā
āI work really good when Iām challenged. I donāt work well if Iām not. So we were down in Hawaii and Rick Ross was out there. He asked me to play him some things, but I told him no because I was out there with Ye. Thatās not how I rollācatch me outside of Hawaii. Then Ye said āGive Ross some beats, man!ā I just grabbbed some beats that I had and he picked it immediately. He called and said āIām keeping that one for sure.ā So I was like āOkay, alright, let me know.ā Iāve heard that before.
āThen the next thing I know the record had leaked to the internet. I couldnāt believe how crazy the record was when I heard it. Everybody was hitting me about the record, so I was trying to figure out what Ross did to that beat to make everyone go so crazy. But it was definitely a special song and I was happy to be on that one. It just did something for me.
āEveryone knows I do beats for Jay and Ye, but that was just so unexpected for me. It was outside of my realm.ā
Twista f/ Raekwon āThe Heatā
Twista f/ Raekwon āThe Heatā (2010)
Album: The Perfect Storm
Label: GMG/EMI
No I.D.:Ā āMe and [The Legendary] Traxster, we were always in an unspoken competition. We were two producers in Chicago doing it. I was kinda like Godfather of the Southside [of Chicago] and he was like Godfather of the Westside. So it was like two Godfathers had finally put their turf wars away and became good friends.
Me and [The Legendary] Traxster, we were always in an unspoken competition. We were two producers in Chicago doing it. I was kinda like Godfather of the Southside [of Chicago] and he was like Godfather of the Westside.
āWe started making music together, and one day we were in the studio, and he was like āLetās do something for Twistaā and I was like āCool.ā Itās always weird when you get two established producers together to work, because you donāt wanna do the whole beat, and if the other party doesnāt add much and gets creditāyou might feel a way about it.
āBut Traxster made things super easy. The track was more in my lane than Traxsterās lane, but he definitely did his thing on it. It was a great experience. It was also funny because one day I saw an interview with Raekwon and he said he wanted to work with me and I thought to myself āYou just did.ā But that started a commercial sound for both Traxster and myself. We took it to a level where it was commercially viable. But as much credit as they want to give me, I give him equal credit. He did all of that stuff: Twista, Do or Die, PsychoDrama. He needs to do one of these [Complex interviews] himself [Laughs].
Kanye West f/ Jay-Z, Pusha T, Cy-Hi Da Prynce, Swizz Beatz & The RZA āSo Appalledā
Kanye West f/ Jay-Z, Pusha T, Cy-Hi Da Prynce, Swizz Beatz & The RZA āSo Appalledā (2010)
Album: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
No I.D.:Ā āA lot of those records I would come in with the music, and Kanye would come with the drums. When it was being made in Hawaii it was just Kanye and Pusha on it; and I remember Jay coming in and saying āOh word? Youāre just not gonna put me on that record? Oh word?ā
When it was being made in Hawaii it was just Kanye and Pusha on it; and I remember Jay coming in and saying āOh word? Youāre just not gonna put me on that record?Ā
āThe record was something weād initially cut for The Blueprint 3 and the files got lost. So the record was in limbo because we couldnāt find the files. We were just searching everywhere for that beat. Jay didnāt hear it again until Pusha and Ye were on it, and then we added Cy-Hi later.
āFunny thing is, when it didnāt end up going to Jay, me and Ye were in the studio in California, and Ye started freestyling verses and he said āIām gonna give this to Puff.ā And I was like āAre you sure?ā And somehow that version that Ye did for Puff leaked on the internet. It didnāt end up making Dirty Money, but it was too good just to let be an internet leak. So it eventually became Yeās record.ā
Kanye West āDark Fantasyā
Kanye West āDark Fantasyā (2010)
Album: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
No I.D.:Ā āThat actually started out as a Blueprint 3 record. It was going to be the intro for that album. Then Jay changed his mind, so we revamped the record and gave it to Drake. That record ended up going through a lot of phases. While I was in Hawaii, RZA came down and had a beatābut before that Pete Rock had given us a beat and then he ripped the drums and made it the rap part of it. The parts that me and Ye did was the chorus and the musical parts.
āEverything was done separately and a lot of different people contributed. Then Nicki did the intro and it went crazy. Thatās one of my favorite records, just because of all the emotions that came with it.ā
Kanye West f/ Kid Cudi & Raekwon āGorgeousā
Kanye West f/ Kid Cudi & Raekwon āGorgeousā (2010)
Album: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
No I.D.:Ā āThatās another one we did in Hawaii. I had the music already, and Kanye had the drums. Thatās how we worked a lot of times, either he had the music and I had the drums or vice versa. I played the beat for him and he put it in the sampler and he did his little stutter step with it and it hit immediately.
Thatās how we worked a lot of times, either [Kanye] had the music and I had the drums or vice versa. I played the beat for him and he put it in the sampler and he did his little stutter step with it and it hit immediately.
āThat was right around the time when Jay Electronica dropped āExhibit Cā and I remember I said āJay Electronica is the new guy, heās dope,ā and Ye was real mad, like, āWhat? Iām the guy, Iām the guyā and he went in and spazzed out on it.
āWe put Cudi on there, and then Raekwon was added to it. Itās Kanyeās call who to put on there, as heāll work on a song until it comes out. Sometimes weāre not even around when changes get made. Most of the time I like the changes, and sometimes Iām like āReally?ā but you canāt go wrong with Chef Raekwon. [Laughs.]ā
Mikkey Halsted f/ Freddie Gibbs āField Nigga Bluesā
Mikkey Halsted f/ Freddie Gibbs āField Nigga Bluesā (2010)
Album: The Dark Room
Label: Uncrowned City
No I.D.:Ā āThat record had been around for a long time. That beat was actually made around the time Mikkey got his deal with Virgin, so we kinda had it just laying around. Mikkey recorded it and then said āI wanna put Gibbs on thisā and you know I fuck with Gibbs so I was like āYeah thatād be dope.ā It was one of those records that may have not hit the full radar, but a lot of times theyāre my favorite to make. People might stumble upon it and discover it and go āWord?ā
Killer Mike f/ T.I. āReady Set Goā
Killer Mike f/ T.I. āReady Set Goā (2011)
Album: Pl3dge
Label: Grind Time/SMC/Grand Hustle
No I.D.:Ā āKiller is one of my friends. I worked with him on the Pledge II album, so I made this beat for him. T.I. jumped on it, and that was me and Tipās introduction to one anotherānow Iām working with him too. I didnāt even charge for that record. The beat was made in a whole other style that Iād never put out in the world. It didnāt sound like a typical No I.D. beatā
Big Sean f/ Chris Brown āMy Lastā
Big Sean f/ Chris Brown āMy Lastā (2011)
Album: Finally Famous
Label: Def Jam
No I.D.:Ā āThat record was actually made for J. Cole during one of his sessions. I told Cole it was going to be a single and he said āNah, I donāt know about that one.ā So I passed it for Sean while he was working on his album, and told him this would be the one, and he said āI donāt know about that.ā He thought it sounded too commercial or whatever.
āI told him we needed someone to get on the chorusāmaybe get Drake or Kanye on the chorus. But then Sean had a relationship with Chris Brown, and once Chris got on it I knew it was gone. Sean always tells the story about how he fronted on the record, but then when heās performing the record in front of thousands of people with their hands up in the air, he says āDamn, No I.D. was really right about this one.ā [Laughs.]
Big Sean āI Do Itā
Big Sean āI Do Itā (2011)
Album: Finally Famous
Label: Def Jam
No I.D.: "I was working on [Commonās] The Dreamer, The Believer, so I had this old-school keyboard thatās really hard to get. It doesnāt have any presets so you have to link the sound with the knob to get it right. So one day [The Legendary] Traxster comes in the lab, and weād been working together. He heard it and was like āWhat is this?ā And I was like āMan, you donāt know nothing about that.ā Because we joust like that.
We both looked at each other like, āNow that we know how to do these type of beats, itās going to be a problem. We know how to do records in that area? Yep, thatās a problem.ā
āSo Iām laying on the couch halfway asleep, and Iād spent so much time to get the distortion the right way on the beat, and to link the sounds. But it wasnāt there yet. Then I hear Traxster messing around on the keyboard, and I hear the melody and it wakes me up and Iām like āOhhh shit.ā Then I get up and pull up the kit and start working on it with him. So this was opposite of [Twistaās] āThe Heatā where I had the music and then he did the drums. He did the melody and I did the drums, and then I had some of my players come in and do live instruments on it.
āBut yeah, we both looked at each other like, āNow that we know how to do these type of beats, itās going to be a problem. We know how to do records in that area? Yep, thatās a problem.āā
Jay-Z & Kanye West āPrimetimeā
Jay-Z & Kanye West āPrimetimeā (2011)
Album: Watch The Throne
Label: Def Jam
No I.D.:Ā āāPrimetimeā actually started out as something for Commonās The Dreamer, The Believer. Common passed, so I gave it to Nas and Nas was going to take it. I was in New York for the Big Sean listening party, and to talk to Def Jam about the [Vice President] position. I ended up in a Watch The Throne studio session, and Jay and Ye were like, āYouāre going to give us something. Youāve gotta play something,ā so I pulled out the beat and Jay looked at me crazy and said the first four lines of the song: āPrimetime, beat by Dion,ā and I was like āAhhh shit!ā
āA lot of my focus was going towards Commonās album at the time, and Watch The Throne wasnāt going where I was going creatively. They were going in a different direction. I always like to be a part of cohesive projects, and theyād already set their direction.ā
Rihanna āWe All Want Loveā
Rihanna āWe All Want Loveā (2011)
Album: Talk That Talk
Label: Def Jam
No I.D.:Ā āThat record symbolizes a part of me that does music that I really donāt get to put out in the world. Ester [Dean] came in and wrote the song to the beat after my manager Jay Brown gave it to her.
"It was never intended to be a Rihanna song, it was really just us doing what I consider to be classic music. It was a great experience coming from me, and the type of music that everyone expects me to doātraditional hip-hop stuffāto put out something like this.
āRihanna recorded this on the road, as she was traveling. I believe it was done in a studio set up in a hotel room.ā
Common f/ Nas āGhetto Dreamsā
Common f/ Nas āGhetto Dreamsā (2011)
Album: The Dreamer, The Believer
Label: Warner Bros.
No I.D.:Ā āāGhetto Dreamsā was really the first song we did for The Dreamer, The Believer. Common and I were in the lab and were just talking and catching up on life. We were just catching up at first, and then we started to talk about working and Common hit me with the āMan, you aināt got no beats, though.ā And I was like āWhat? Hold on,ā so I put the headphones on and went to work.
We wanted the mic sound to sound like something from [Big Daddy Kaneās] Long Live The Kane. We wanted to recreate that moment and do a entire hardcore hip-hop albumāno holds barred. Just indie style.
āI came back 15 minutes later and he heard it and went crazy. He recorded right there in the studio on a handheld. We wanted the mic sound to sound like something from [Big Daddy Kaneās] Long Live The Kane. We wanted to recreate that moment and do a entire hardcore hip-hop albumāno holds barred. Just indie style.
āA little while later, Nas came in to work with me and I said āYo, check this out.ā The same handheld mic was sitting in the studio, and Nas said āIām on this right now.ā He wrote his lyrics on his Blackberry and just laid it right there. No studio booth at all. Just a handheld mic.
āThen a snippet of the record just appeared on Amazon one day. Somebody we know put it up, and it was a big deal. They killed the surprise, but it did what it needed to do.ā