The Producers Of The Year, To My Ears

The Producers Whose Credits In 2024 Most Align With My Taste

I’m not ashamed to say, I LIKE LISTS! Yet, I deeply prefer end of the year music lists that are admittedly and overtly subjective. It’s always most intriguing to see individual journalists, curators, and music obsessed people’s favorites. Then I can see who’s tastes most align with mine and find projects and songs from their batches that I haven’t yet heard. Usually, this is where I find the most gems that stay with me.

Due to this preference, on my personal platform I have built this year, I present the fifty producers of the year, to my ears. These are the producers that have been a part of the new music that has moved me the most in 2024. Some of them I have profiled through their credits on this platform and a few of them I’ve been fortunate enough to interview. All of their work has enlivened my listening experience in the past twelve months in a significant way. I’ve heard their synths and they’ve soothed my melancholy, I’ve heard their sequenced transitions and they’ve enlivened my self-esteem, and I’ve heard their pulsing drums and they’ve induced a release from my anxiety. 

This list was formed solely by selecting the producers who I discovered were credited on the music that shook my psyche and soul. However, I’d be remiss to not point out an unfortunate omission. There are only two women or non-binary producers on this list, and they are both on here because of their production on their own solo music. Plainly, that sucks. Before we get into the ranking, I’d like to use this opportunity to write about my personal experience with the lack of women and non-binary producers I’ve discovered in the credits from my searches. So, here we go.. 

This is not a new 2024 discovery for me. In 2021, two things happened: I wrote a column for GUAP Magazine that lasted 24 weeks where I interviewed a producer a week and I also wrote a list of the Best Producers of the Year for Okayplayer. During the column, as I was scouring credits looking for the next producer to contact for an interview, I first noticed how few women and non-binary people were producing, or being credited for producing, on the songs and albums that grabbed me. After the first few weeks of searching, I took it upon myself to prioritize finding women or non-binary people who had solid production credits and speaking to them. I’m sorry to say I found less than 20 to even contact and I only ended up being able to speak to one as the rest never responded to my reach outs. Then when it came to writing the Producers of the Year list, the first list I sent to my editor for review featured no women or non-binary people. This was because what I viewed as the best and the most important music in the Okayplayer sphere just wasn’t being produced by them. My editor correctly asked me to include some women and/or non-binary people on the list and I ended up picking two women. But if I’m honest, I left off other male producers whose work was much more substantial, particularly crediting-wise, in order to make space for these women. Don’t get it twisted, the work these two women created was fire, it just wasn’t actually qualifying from a purely impact purview of a place on the list. The question lingered, “Where the hell were all the women and non-binary people behind the boards?”

Funny enough, in 2022, by chance, I think I found them. Early in the year, I finally gave in and downloaded TikTok for the first time. Naturally, one of the first sets of videos that captivated me were made by producers who were flexing their craft via short form content. I constantly saved their videos and found enough to reach back out to that same Okayplayer editor with a pitch—- I wanted to create a list of the best producers and instrumentalists to follow on TikTok right now. He accepted the pitch and asked me to feature ten. When I went back through my favorites, out of pure preference, eight of the ten producers I chose to feature were women or non-binary. They were all on TikTok! That got me thinking and a new lingering question emerged, “Why aren’t these women making their way to the credits of my favorite music?” 

There are, of course, a few hypothetical answers to that question and they are all rooted in misogyny. The most likely, if I had to guess, is not enough women or non-binary producers were being invited to or felt comfortable in studios with my favorite artists, even if those favorite artists were also not men. Thus, they form their own platforms on social media instead, in order to present their art to the world. 

Unfortunately, in 2024, that seems to still be the case. So, even though they didn’t make my top 50, I am below going to list every woman or non-binary person who produced on my favorite 25 albums, songs, and eps this year in hopes that you will check them out, follow them on socials, and support them as I continue to. Then, of course, I will get to ranking 50 and blurbing about a dozen of the greatest producers of the year to my ears. Enjoy :)

Dope women & non-binary producers: Roselilah (Kendrick Lamar, Glorilla), Livvy Bennett (Lucky Daye), Sara Kawai (Asha Imuno, Ravyn Lenae), Mai Anna (Asha Imuno), Sylvie Grace (Asha Imuno), Temilade Openiyi (Tems), Yimeeka (Odeal), Tanerélle (Tanerélle), Marianna De Miguel (Girl Ultra), Amber Mark (Amber Mark), Alemeda (Alemeda), & Hannah Kim (Luna Li)

50. M-Tech I 49. Johnny Juliano I 48. Nicholas Craven I 47. Kxmel I

46. Rich Turvey I 45. Aidan Carroll I 44. Cardo I 43. Kaelin Ellis I 42. Gordo I

41. Teo Halm I 40. Esta I 39. Louie Lastic I 38. Jack Rochon I 37. P2J I

36. Tyler, The Creator I 35. Ozedikus I 34. LeKen Taylor I

33. Tendai I 32. Jakwob I 31. Spencer Ludwig I 30. Jack Antonoff I

29. Inflo I 28. The Alchemist I 27. Charlie J Perry I 26. Maggie Rogers I 

25. Blk Odyssey I 24. The Imports I 23. Bandplay I 22. Dahi I 21. Johan Lenox I

20. Chris Greatti I 19. Metro Boomin I 18. GuiltyBeatz I 17. Rodiadh McDonald I

16. Zach Ezzy I 15. Mk.gee I 14. Jay Mooncie I 13. Dilip …

 

12. Coupe

The line between Coupe and number 13 on this list Dilip is crazy thin. It got even closer when Dilip produced the dynamic “Viking” by SahBabii at the end of the year. I wrote an Inside The Credits piece in April highlighting the two producers in tandem which explored the path’s they both took to get to Kenny Mason’s 9—an impeccable project which was equally produced by both of them. There are a few things though that give Coupe the slight edge. First, he produced both a slick r&b track and brooding slap on 21 Savage’s American Dream showing a deft hand at providing versatile pockets. Second, he produced two smash hits for Latto and the best songs on her album—”Big Mama” (both halves) and “Brokey.” Third, he produced a slightly superior assortment of songs on Kenny Mason’s followup mixtape Angel Eyes. But lastly, and most importantly, he was the main producer of the best song from 9, “US.” There is no track this year that I played more in the car when I needed to release some steam. There is no song in Mason’s catalog that exemplifies his superpower of rock/rap fusion more.

11. Sammy Soso

“That way he stacks his harmonies on ‘Leave Me Alone,’ I can never have any words to describe that feeling when I listen. “From ‘Smooth Criminal’ to ‘Billie Jean,’ with the driving bass lines... you're just like, ‘Why is everything so clean?’”- Sammy Soso for OkayAfrica 2024 (interview by me)

This is what UK production wizard Sammy Soso essentially told me during an interview in April. It made me realize why he and Tyla were such a synchronistic match. While they both have a clear proficiency in African sounds, like Amapiano and Afrobeats due to their lineage, and r&b prowess due to their listening habits, they both have one supreme goal—-make pristine music at the tier of an international popstar. 

Soso executive produced Tyla’s self-titled debut and received production credit for all of its best songs. His signature move of silky chords opening into choral euphonia behind Tyla’s pure tone, spines the album together. He stretched himself even further this year executing two-song triumphs for both Kali Uchis and Wizkid and by crafting impressive UK rap soundscapes for the likes of Headie One and Young T & Bugsey. Yet, how Tyla’s debut marked an undeniable seismic shift for African music albums in the international landscape, is why Soso cannot be ignored.

10. Dave Hamelin

While the first half of Canadian producer Dave Hamelin’s year consisted of producing six stellar tracks on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, including “16 Carriages” and “II Hands II Heaven,” he somehow one-upped himself on the back half. Since 2020, Hamelin has been the prodigal 070 Shake’s in-house producer. However, the duo peaked in 2024 via Shake’s third official studio album Petrichor. It’s as underrated an album as exists this year, highlighted by orchestral arrangements chronicling a melancholy rage cycling through the confusion of love’s desire. It's easily Shake’s opus thus far.

The most impressive part of the album is how much storytelling the sounds on it provide. The instrumental sequencing marks the shifts in emotion and action like if Beethoven and Steven Sondheim collaborated on a rock/synth-pop/hip-hop opera. Producer Johan Lenox (ranked 21 on this list) has a history of classical composing and clearly had some influence here, but Hamelin is credited on every single song earning the top twelve official salute. 

9. Alex Lustig

Speaking of clear opus’, for Toronto late night crooner Partynextdoor, his 2024 album Partynextdoor 4 is clearly that. While his prior four albums were successful in capturing a consistent and distinct mood, PND 4 takes you on a narrative voyage through Party’s psyche. This new alignment must be credited, at least in part, to Alex Lustig. His production presence in the credits throughout the album is the most prominent and the songs he produced feel the most essential in the project’s dexterity— see “No Chill,” “Stuck In My Ways,” and “Cheers” for starters.

Where Lustig seals his list placement here though, is with two stellar credits on Rema’s HEIS. No album this year features more forward pushing production and Lustig produced songs on it that highlight that especially. “Egungun” is his crowning achievement and is arguably the most underrated track from the project. The beat sounds like a barrage of laser beams in a Star Wars space fight.

8. Conductor Williams

Boldy James released three full length albums in 2024, which has become the norm for rap’s LeRoy Foster. The clear winner, to me, for his best project this year was Boldy’ s collaboration with Conductor Williams, Across The Tracks. This project joins the ranks of two other classic Boldy James rap albums from the 2020s alongside Fair Exchange No Robbery with Nicholas Craven and The Price of Tea in China with The Alchemist. Conductor seems in such soulful alignment with Boldy on the project that his sample chops seem to only evoke portrait painted raps that belong in the MoMA.  

Conductor didn’t just stop with Boldy. He also released an impeccable compilation album that not only features his drumless wonders behind elite emcees like Elzhi and Domo Genesis, but also a foray into r&b with Leon Thomas. Speaking of Thomas, Conductor also made a contribution to his celebrated 2024 album Mutt with the track “Feelings On Silent” feat. Wale. If you don’t have Conductor in your personal top ten producers of the year, like his adlib says, we have a problem.

7. Mustard

Having your name shouted like Leonitus shouted to the Spartans in the movie 300, by the greatest rapper in the world right now, on a track you produced, means you must be doing something right. Simply, without Mustard, Kendrick Lamar doesn’t stomp out Drake in such triumphant fashion. Thus, Lamar’s resounding bellow was well deserved. “Not Like Us” is the greatest beat Mustard’s ever produced, not just because of its impact, but because that transition between samples represents hip-hop soundscapes at their most exciting. 

Mustard also dropped a solid compilation album this year with a perfect title, Faith of a Mustard Seed. His list of vocalists rivals any DJ Khaled album and his beats ring as loud as they ever have. If he never made music again, 2024 for Mustard would be like Mariano Rivera closing out game seven of the World Series in his final year. His beats for “hey now” and “tv off” were the final two strikes.

6. Ian Fitchuk

The Ian Fitchuk list of collaborators in 2024 is arguably the most impressive of any single producer: Kacey Musgraves, Beyoncé, Maggie Rogers, Rachel Chinouriri, Leon Bridges, Jelly Roll, and Joy Oladokun. He even did full albums with three of the six, marking his most impressive work. Musgraves solidified her name as the most prominent female voice in country, Leon Bridges put together his most listenable album front to back with a few undeniable singles, and Maggie Rogers made her inarguable opus thus far. 

Maggie’s Don’t Forget Me sounds like a modern fusion of Fleetwood Mac, Traci Chapman, and Carole King records. It enlivened me to a full section of my musical upbringing in a new way I could’ve never expected. Fitchuk was clearly the funnel through which Rogers was able to express this sound as it was the duo’s first project together. His year was stamped by his ability to guide the artist’s he worked with into something pure.

5. D’Mile

D’Mile is still the standard when it comes to producing r&b music. He did lean into pop this year via “Die With A Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars and rap via “Chrome” by newcomer Samara Cyn, however the crux of his production prowess still stemmed from his home genre. The trifecta of distinct singers whom he channeled his core through were Elmiene, Victoria Monét, and Lucky Daye. 

The first of the three, Elmiene, is a new voice the veteran producer has helped further develop. Their best work is the gratifying “Crystal Tears,” which shows D’Mile flexing his guitar-laden soul-canvas affinity. Monét and Daye are, of course, longtime associates of the D’Mile r&b factory. Monét’s D’Mile assisted output was small but mighty this year via the deluxe for her Grammy awarded album, Jaguar II. It proved the two can still be dynamic even with their leftovers. But D’Mile’s crowning achievement in 2024 was on Lucky Daye’s best album thus far, Algorithm. I’m dumbfounded at how many AOTY lists left this one off. Lucky and D’Mile adopt more of a soul and rock collision on the album which feels like the undertone Lucky always needed to really take his melodies to the stratosphere. It’s also arguably the best album D’Mile has ever produced because it feels like such an epic. If D’Mile was Scorsese, this would be his Gangs of New York.

4. Nascent

In the battle for best producer compilation album of the year, Nascent reigned supreme. On Don’t Grow Up Too Soon he achieved a feat all too rare for producer-led albums— arranging a collage of different vocalists on an album that sounds like it's coming from a singular voice. Nascent’s secret weapon was deriving a sound from a consistent theme, holding onto youthful exuberance. The beats all sound like variations of a daydream.

Nascent didn’t stop there. He executive produced a potent body of work for Maxo Kream in Personification and was the main producer on the album’s best track “Big Hoe Me.” Then just to top everything off he also co-produced the best song on Don Toliver’s album Hardstone Psycho, “Backstreets” feat. Teezo Touchdown. That song sounds like gliding late-night in Houston, going from the strip club to link with your main squeeze.

3. Willow Smith

Willow released her best album this year, which is crazy to say because her last two albums have been so remarkable. I’d rival her last three-album run to anyone in the modern era. She collided her absolute rock music prowess with progressive jazz on empathogen, resulting in a poignant expansion of musicality. Her most intriguing tactical production choices come on transitional moments mid-song, proving her singular voice in composition.

It must be said that all her most successful songs were co-produced with her now multi-year collaborator, and number 20 on this list, Chris Greatti (“symptom of life,” “false self,” “run,” and “big feelings”). The two of them make the most exciting rock music out there. Yet, Willow is the only producer credited on every track on her arguable top three album of the year. Thus, with how different and exciting the instrumentation is, how fluid the sequencing is, and how distinct the depth of the emotion is throughout, Willow Smith has gotta be near the top of the mountain.

2. Sounwave

Kendrick Lamar’s longtime right hand behind the boards came out swinging right there at the end of 2024. GNX, like most Kendrick albums, is album of the year, to me. While my Inside The Credits piece on Sounwave from February is heavily focused on how he propelled his work with Kendrick into just as impressive work elsewhere, this year is about his work with the God MC (sorry Kali Uchis, Blxst, Bleachers, and Beyoncé). Sounwave was credited as a producer on all the diss tracks (minus “meet the grahams” salute The Alchemist). This is the same with every song on GNX, where he was also the executive producer. Yet, he was never credited alone. His proficiency has gone beyond just being a solo master of soundscapes for the Compton prodigy. In 2024, Sounwave’s proven he has a Kanye-esque capacity to arrange a bunch of different production voices around Kendrick to achieve greatness while always using his own as potently as possible.

The hyper local west coast tracks on GNX are a particular brand of elite. They sound like this particular dish I had at a hip-hop themed dinner in Baltimore—duck fat poached pacific amberjack fish and plantain gnocchi over an oxtail brudo stew. The dish was clearly inspired by hyperlocal West Indian flavors and humble cooking styles. Yet, it was prepared with clearly elevated chef technique. Now, oftentimes these “chefly” takes on neighborhood takeout staples fall flat because the flavor isn’t as vibrant. With this dish, however, the technique bound by a full team of chefs actually reinvented the inspiration into something completely new and incredible tasting in its own right. Tracks like “hey now” and “peekaboo” in particular feel like they have this same quality. Sounwave is an executive chef.

1. P.Priime

“When I was little, actually, I didn't want to become a producer. I was gonna work in music, but I thought I was gonna make music like Mozart. I thought I was gonna be writing sheets and what not. That's always been the dream for me. So working on all of these things feels like letting out that part of myself that's been buried for so long. Working with an artist like Rema, we are on the same wavelength at this stage, so it’s allowed me to also bring a part of me that was buried before.”- P.Priime for OkayAfrica 2024 (interview by me)

P.Priime is THE premiere African music progressivist behind the boards. The movement in his soundscapes has unimaginable range. He can go from arrangements that feel like the wildebeest stampede in The Lion King all the way to one that feel like Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury first setting eyes on each other on the dance floor in Mississippi Masala. He accomplished this feat all in the span of one year, 2024.

We have to start with Rema’s HEIS album where P.Priime is the most credited producer. He said to me himself that the album was a “wake up call for everyone” and, as self-centered as that seems, I’d have to vehemently agree. His compositions particularly on “March AM,” “AZAMAN,” and “Yayo,” completely woke my ears up in a way I had never quite experienced before. He brought the future to the present. 

For most, this peak in output would be where it ended. But just after I interviewed P.Priime it was revealed that he also produced six of the best tracks on Asake’s Lungu Boy. “Suru” feat. Stormzy was my fourth most played song this year on streaming. Upon listening, I immediately sent it to my girlfriend and said it sounded like what being in love with her feels like. Priime surrounds Asake’s croons like steam from a humidifier wraps around a couple while they sleep holding each other. Priime also brought some of his Rema adjacent verve to Asake on stunningly spirited tracks like “Mood” and “Skating,” proving rage can sometimes contain some smoothness and swagger. One thing that Priime can do better than anyone else making instrumentals right now is immediately connect you to a familiar feeling or a feeling you’ve been needing to let out. 

Perhaps, on a mass scale though, the best example of the purity of Priime, is for a song that has only been released as a snippet. Rema’s short video teasing his upcoming song “Is It A Crime?” was unveiled to the world in November. The track samples Sade’s 1985 classic track “Is It A Crime?” and makes it Afrobeats. It’s the first track I’ve heard that does what sexy and sample drill have done for Priime’s home genre. So when I heard the innovation, I knew right away it had to be him.

Wizkid, Ayra Starr, Tyla, Lojay, and Victony complete the list of African artists Priime produced for in 2024. He is not only an innovator, but a centerpiece. He is the producer of the year, to my ears, because the landscape of modern music is completely lacking without him.