you can be a producer without ever touching a piece of equipment
A music producer is like a director of a film
making beats doesn't make you produer, but you should be paid for your work
And for the record JR Rotem and Scott Storch are not producers
they are beat makers
They have zero artists they've created a sound for
Scott Storch layed the piano part of Still Dre, but Dre made it sound with his production skills those same notes can sound stale and wack, guys like storch are glorified studio musicians