(Photo: Courtesy of Def Jam Records)

Double Duty: Notable Rapper-Producers

After crafting beats for hits by The Throne, Nicki Minaj and others, Hit-Boy is one of the most in-demand producers in the rap world. But prospective customers are going to be competing for the SoCal producer’s beats with a new rapper: Hit-Boy himself. Tracing the footsteps of his mentor, Kanye West, HB recently released a free album, HITstory, online. But Hit-Boy is just following a long tradition of beatmaking MCs that started way before Yeezy. Click on to see more notable rapper-producers.

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Pharrell Williams

Skateboard P made his name as a falsettoed crooner and one half of hitmaking duo the Neptunes, but he eventually took to the mic as well, spitting alongside beat clients like Snoop (“Drop Like It’s Hot”) and the Clipse (“Mr. Me Too”) when he wasn’t releasing solo material (In My Mind).

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Dr. Dre

Who’s the better rapper-producer—Kanye of Dr. Dre? It’s a tough question, but first remember that Dre produced and rapped for gangsta-rap trailblazers N.W.A. and his own game-changing album The Chronic. That’s not counting his classic work behind the boards for Snoop, Eminem, 50 Cent, Tupac and others. We may have answered our own question here.

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