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What It’s Like To Produce a Diss Track


For producers who work on diss tracks — sometimes unknowingly — the results can be unpredictable.

But Jay’s then-A&R executive, Kyambo “Hip-Hop” Joshua, passed on the track, with no idea that it would later become the backdrop to one of rap’s most iconic diss records. 1 on the chart — and arrived three years after his most recent top 20 Hot 100 song, Roddy Ricch’s “Late at Night.” “Mustard worked like a machine, sending beats daily because he was trying to get [Kendrick] on his album. 50 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, it boosted Browz’s visibility in New York, where top-tier producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland reigned supreme at the time.

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