Full Article How Internet Producers Took Over Mainstream Hip-Hop
On August 4, 2017, Chris Brown’s single “Pills & Automobiles” was certified platinum by the RIAA. This in itself is not remarkable, since the R&B singer has amassed more than 40 platinum plaques over the course of his career. But the single’s success was noteworthy for a different reason. For decades, a star at Brown’s level would solicit ideas for a new single from a small group of established producers with a long history of hits and deep connections in the music industry. But for “Pills & Automobiles,” Brown crafted the track using an instrumental from two relatively unheralded beat-makers — Jordan Hutchins and Felix Rodriguez, known as the Martianz — who came up by selling beats online to aspiring rappers all over the world.
Producers like the Martianz used to be internet curios, far removed from commercial juggernauts like Brown. Occasionally the two worlds merged together, as when Kanye West included a lengthy snippet of Desiigner’s “Panda” — made from a beat purchased online for $200 — on The Life of Pablo in 2016. But now the Martianz and other producers relying on a similar business model are frequently creating some of the most popular songs in the country. In September, Tay-K’s “The Race” peaked just outside of the Top 40; producer S. Diesel sells his beats online. Similar recent hits include Lil Pump’s “Gucci Gang” (No. 3 on the Hot 100, co-produced by BigHead on the Beat), YBN Nahmir’s “Rubbin Off the Paint” (No. 46, produced by Izak) and Lil Skies’s “Nowadays” (No. 55, produced by CashMoneyAP). Those are all young acts, but other established artists besides Brown called on internet producers as well — see Future and Rihanna’s “Selfish” (No. 37, co-produced by Mantra) and 2 Chainz’s “Blue Cheese” (from Pretty Girls Like Trap Music, which sold over 500,000 album-equivalent units, co-produced by K Swisha).
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