The Engineers Behind Your Favorite Artists

Image via Complex Original

Artist: Jay Z

Gimel “Young Guru” Keaton is one of the most famous studio engineers in music history, primarily because Jay Z has shouted him out often on tracks like “My 1st Song” and Young Jeezy’s “Put On (Remix).” Keaton linked up with Jigga early in the rapper’s career and wound up being a constant presence at Baseline Studios during the heyday of Roc-A-Fella Records. And even as many of Jay Z’s partners in music and business have come and gone, Young Guru has remained in the fold, expanding his role into label business and even DJing for the Watch the Throne tour.

Artist: Beyoncé

Perhaps inspired by her husband’s artist-engineer relationship with Young Guru, Beyoncé has built up a dedicated studio team in recent years as she’s ventured into more adventurous and ambitious musical territory. And during the recording of the 2011 album 4, she relied heavily on Jordan “DJ Swivel” Young as her full-time engineer, who helped her track vocals whenever and wherever inspiration struck as she traveled the world. A Toronto native, Young has worked on hit albums by numerous artists like T.I. and Ne-Yo, but it was his unique role in the recording of 4, and his continued work with Beyoncé more recently on “***Flawless,” that brought him wider recognition.

Artist: Prince

Prince is the kind of multi-talented artist who has frequently produced his own records while playing every instrument and singing every backing harmony. And that makes him just the kind of artist who relies heavily on a skilled recording engineer to help him lay down all those tracks and keep up with his prolific songwriting output. Susan Rogers, who Prince initially hired as a maintenance tech while working on the blockbuster Purple Rain soundtrack, quickly became his go-to engineer during an incredibly productive decade that yielded hundreds of songs. Rogers became one of the most prominent female engineers in a decidedly male-dominated field, and today, she’s an associate director of Women’s Audio Mission who also teaches at the Berklee College of Music.

Artist: Odd Future

When the L.A. hip-hop collective known as Odd Future began to rise in notoriety, they were characterized as an unruly group of teenage boys with a mischievous sense of humor. But one quiet member of the crew that stood out was the sole female, DJ, and engineer, Syd tha Kyd. She recorded much of the initial Odd Future recordings in her house, which operated as a headquarters for the collective’s early days. Since then, Sydney Loren Bennett has moved into production and even performing, writing and singing songs as one half of the duo the Internet.

Artist: Timbaland

Few producers have had more of an impact on the sound of hip-hop and R&B in the last two decades than Timbaland. And his drums might not have jumped out of the speakers so perfectly if he didn’t have a skilled engineer like Jimmy Douglass at his side. Douglass, who’s been engineering and mixing Timbaland productions from the Aaliyah days up to the Shock Value era of solo hits, built Timbaland’s Thomas Crown Headquarters studio in Virginia Beach. He even made a cameo on one of the producer’s biggest songs—that high-pitched voice asking “You ready?” in Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack” is Douglass.

Artist: Kanye West

Kanye West is famous for demanding perfection from himself and everyone he works with. Legend has it that he fired seven engineers in the process of recording his first album, 2004’s The College Dropout. The eighth engineer was Andrew Dawson, who not only kept the job but has continued working with West for over a decade. Dawson has worked outside of Ye’s circle for artists ranging from Childish Gambino to the Rolling Stones. But it’s his work on every Kanye West album that accounts for the three Grammys on his mantelpiece.

Artist: Gucci Mane

Gucci Mane has spent much of the last few years in and out of jail. And yet he remains one of the most prolific rappers in the game even from behind bars, constantly dropping mixtapes full of previously unreleased material. He even manages to add verses to songs released while locked up, like Rick Ross’ “War Ready” or iLoveMakonnen’s “I Don’t Sell Molly No More.” And all of this is made possible by his man on the outside, engineer Sean Paine. When he was a free man, Gucci put in overtime recording a massive backlog of tracks. And until Gucci gets home, Paine continues to draw from those overflowing archives, assembling new mixtapes, completing unfinished songs, or matching verses to songs with the same BPM.

Artist: Eminem

Detroit-based musician Mike Strange Jr. first crossed paths with his city’s biggest superstar in 2001 when Eminem came to his Vanguard Studios to work on D12’s debut album, Devil’s Night. Strange was soon promoted to Em’s primary engineer, working on every solo album since then. As Eminem became more deeply involved in producing his own tracks, Strange, along with co-producer Luis Resto, became an essential part of the Shady studio team. And since Em records constantly, even during the long break between 2004’s Encore and 2009’s Relapse, that’s a full-time job all year long.

Artist: Rihanna

Rihanna has made a staggering number of hits with a wide variety of producers and songwriters. But mixing engineer Phil Tan has been a constant presence in her hugely successful catalog, from the first No. 1, 2006’s “SOS,” to the latest, 2012’s “Diamonds.” Tan, a studio veteran whose work has been a regular presence on the Billboard charts since Kris Kross’ “Jump” in 1992, has had over a dozen songs on the Hot 100 at the same time. And with Rihanna, he’s proven an ability to both learn how to mix tracks from different producers in the rapidly evolving pop landscape and keep finding ways to make her unique voice sit perfectly in the mix.

Artist: 2 Chainz

Finis “KY Engineering” White has been putting in work with 2 Chainz since the Playaz Circle days. And when the artist formerly known as Tity Boi changed names and blew up in 2012, KY Engineering was there, tracking over a hundred guest verses that the ATL rapper made that year. KY helped 2 Chainz perfect his off-the-cuff style in the booth and dress it up with off-kilter vocal effects. And in recent years he’s helped other rappers—from Lil Wayne to Waka Flocka Flame—capture the same kind of spontaneous energy in the studio.