Who are the best engineers in the Rap/Hip-Hop game?

[Fox1994]

There's a lot of quality engineers. A lot of them have become decent to good rappers. Swizz Beats and David Banner are decent. I consider Kanye one of the top guys right now.

But looking purely at their beat-making and production skills, who would you say are the best engineers in hip-hop music right now?

Swizz Beats is up there, I'd think. Also, Will.I.Am, because of the fact that, no matter how hard the Black Eyed Peas suck, he's giving them good music to suck on. I don't think he's much of a rapper, but he seems like a quality engineer...

This discussion also includes production groups like The Neptunes and J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League.

So what do y'all think?

[NAHSTE]

Organized Noize
Kanye
Just Blaze
DJ Premiere
DJ Toomp

[Splugeon]

There's a difference between producing/beatmaking and engineering.

Please don't confuse the two.

Love,

An Audio Engineer

[hoodyallen]

There's a difference between producing/beatmaking and engineering.

Please don't confuse the two.

Love,

An Audio Engineer

This.

As of my understanding...an engineer does something like play the Saxophone or lay down the piano notes, and then the producer puts that and the whole beat together. Please correct me if I'm wrong cause I'm not an expert.

[NAHSTE]

There's a difference between producing/beatmaking and engineering.

Please don't confuse the two.

Love,

An Audio Engineer

Well he listed producers so I listed producers. I don't think anybody's even heard of enough audio engineers to make a list.

[JTRaines92]

Dre...?

[hoodyallen]

Anyways...on to the thread. Best Hip-Hop producers:


Pete Rock
Premo
Kanye
Swizz Beats
Madlibb
Jay Dilla
Organized Noize
Metal Fingers

[Bear Pand]

Just Blaze
Kanye
Heatmakerz

I can't stand Swizz Beats though.

[hoodyallen]

Just Blaze
Kanye
Heatmakerz

I can't stand Swizz Beats though.

Heatmakerz! Werent they the dudes who produced all of the early diplomats shit? Also old Swizz Beats was horrible 8 years ago but his newer shit is actually pretty damn good.

[Splugeon]

This.

As of my understanding...an engineer does something like play the Saxophone or lay down the piano notes, and then the producer puts that and the whole beat together. Please correct me if I'm wrong cause I'm not an expert.

Playing instruments, you're thinking of musicians.

Audio engineering is a part of audio science dealing with the recording and reproduction of sound through mechanical and electronic means. The field draws on many disciplines, including electrical engineering, acoustics, psychoacoustics, and music.

An audio engineer is someone with experience and training in the production and manipulation of sound through mechanical (analog) or digital means. As a professional title, this person is sometimes designated as a sound engineer or recording engineer instead.

We record, figure out the acoustics in the room the artist is recording in, decipher and analyze the acoustic space and respond accordingly in placement of microphones/musicians/etc., in order to get the desired sound out of whatever it is we are recording.

Now this isn't to say that engineers don't play music, most are musically inclined in some way, shape or form. But 'engineer' isn't a term for a beat maker. It's annoying to hear, hence my response. Haha. Borderline insulting, but this isn't really common knowledge, producers, engineers, hell even a lot of musicians, are just thrown into one pot as if they're all synonyms.

So yeah, engineers are not the same as someone who makes a beat. We're nerds who know more about what you hear (and why you hear it that way) than you could even imagine.

And for producers:

Today, the recording industries have two kinds of producers: executive producer and music producer; they have different roles. While the executive producer has the financial role of the project, the music producer is responsible for the music of an album.

The music producer could, in some cases, be compared to the film director in that the producer's job is to create, shape and mold a piece of music in accordance with their vision for the album.

I only posted this part because a LOT of people confuse everyone labeled as a 'producer' (in the music industry) as someone responsible for the music. When in MANY, MANY instances, it's not the truth at all.

The Producer, has many roles that include, but are not limited to, coaching the musicians, controlling the recording sessions, gathering the ideas of the product, and supervising the final production through mixing and mastering. (while not necessarily doing the mixing and mastering...maybe, maybe not)

I'd say a majority of producers deal solely with the bolded aspects as opposed to the musical side. Maybe not by a whole lot, but from my experience (I could be mistaken, I'm only 22) in the industry, that's more often than not been the case.

Whereas our producer also tracked and mixed our album. Just happened that way. He actually won't be doing a whole lot in terms of overseeing any sort of executive producer (as opposed to a 'music' producer) roles. Just depends on the person/situation.

Hope that rant helped clear up at least a few curious minds on the subject haha.

Sorry for the long post.

[hoodyallen]

Playing instruments, you're thinking of musicians.

Yeah, of course musicians play instruments, thats not what I meant though. Lets say youre making a hip hop beat, and the producer doesn't know how to play the Piano. Wouldn't the engineer lay down the Piano notes? This isn't a band so the keyboard player wouldnt lay them down.

[Bear Pand]

Heatmakerz! Werent they the dudes who produced all of the early diplomats shit?

Yeah they are. They aren't the best but they're one of my personal favs.

[hoodyallen]

Yeah they are. They aren't the best but they're one of my personal favs.

Completely agreed. They were great in the early diplomat and Camron mixtapes. He hasn't been the same since he stopped working with them.

[Splugeon]

Yeah, of course musicians play instruments, thats not what I meant though. Lets say youre making a hip hop beat, and the producer doesn't know how to play the Piano. Wouldn't the engineer lay down the Piano notes? This isn't a band so the keyboard player wouldnt lay them down.

Well first, if the producer is considered a music producer and doesn't know how, there's one problem right there.

Sure, if the engineer can & is willing to lay down the piano part, I'm sure he could. But A: He might not, and more importantly B: that's not what he is there to do at all.

Artist + Maybe Producer are the ones responsible for any composition/performance on a record.

Doesn't mean the engineer CAN'T in any given situation (like the one you said), but the engineer isn't just the 'one who will/is there to do that' if the 'artist' can't pull it off, or what have you.

Knowuddisayin?

EDIT: For example, I can play piano and guitar. Lil' Wayne (hereon known as dumbass) is recording an album at my studio. I'm the house engineer (or the engineer dumbass hired to record him), and I set up for the session, along with my assistants/interns/whoever. Dumbass realizes he sucks at guitar and piano, so dumbass is S.O.L. when he asks me to play his parts for him.* I'm hired to record what HE brings to me. Dumbass is incredibly already signed to a label, and is releasing said album through that label. I am not included under any part of the record contract, I have a separate agreement with dumbass (or a separate agreement with the label) to record it, and that's what I'll be compensated for.

*Now I can be nice, and help his talentless ass go platinum again and play it for him. But I won't, not without a session musician credit and some small form of compensation stemming from album sales, because I am an engineer who is completely non-associated with the composition part of the record. If I agree to play the music for dumbass, I am a session musician, not an engineer in that facet in the process of recording the song/album/whatever it may be.

[Fox1994]

I feel enlightened.