"THIS IS AN M16 PRODUCTION"
That’s the signature tag that you’ll be guaranteed to hear on all of his carefully crafted music because each beat built in order to call it just that – “a production”.
M16 discovered his musical ability at the age of 17 in a place that isn’t so synonymous with music producers, that being, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. By the time he reached the age of 21 he had been crowned by the infamous “my beats are the illest beats” battle as the #1 beat battle producer in the South and notably 3rd place in the nation. It seemed at this point that all the travelling back and forth to the music Mecca of Atlanta had paid off, but the best was yet to come.
This achievement only facilitated a stronger drive in M16 as he relentlessly continued his travels to network at industry gatherings en route to ensuring that the right people were hearing firsthand why he won the #1 spot at the beat battles. But it took just one “right” person at this particular record pool that was set to expedite his career.
That right person was Titty Boi of hip hop duo Playaz Circle and after hearing the beat that M16 handed him with his signature drum roll he made a promise to him of “making something really big of this”. If creating one of the biggest hip hop records of 2007 was part of that promise then that was only half of it. The other half was having the biggest name in hip hop feature on the record not for any other reason other than because megastar Lil Wayne absolutely loved the beat. So too did the radio, so too did the video programmers, the magazines (as featured in Scratch magazine November/December 2007) and so too did the thousands that made it multi-platinum.
Obviously with the enormous success of the record, came the demand for other “hits” not only by other artists but also by the corporate heads themselves. By 22 years old, M16 was tracked down by the President of EMI himself, Big Jon and signed to a significant publishing deal that opened the doors for him to work with the likes of So Icey Ent, CTE, Yung Money/Cash Money to name but a few. Soon enough his beats were on the hottest mixtapes hitting the streets and although grateful for the recognition and respect for his music by the streets, M16 knew that there was more to his creative side than only hip hop beats. Shortly, he embarked on an exploration of music genres, including pop, dance and R&B that essentially had him collaborating with songwriters such as Nate Walka, Makeba Riddick, London, Attitude and Rock City.
In late 2010, the big names continued to draw to the Tuscaloosa hit maker but when one of the most anticipated hip hop artists (Young Jeezy) and one of the most selective artists (Andre 3000) come together with the biggest name in the music business period (Jay-Z) on one of your beats you know you’ve got something distinctive on your hands. The something distinctive is the record “I Do”, which is slated to be on the new Young Jeezy album “TM 103” set to be released in 2011.
It’s a continuous journey of growth for M16, and part of this journey has recently seen him move to L.A. There is no doubt that as this voyage continues and his horizons broaden there will be the one thing that shall remain the same. Whether it is an R&B ballad, a pop song or another classic hip hop record, the instant detection of those M16 signature sounds will automatically have listeners saying with a nod of approval;
“This is an M16 Production”
Artist Discography
Young Jeezy / Andre 3000 / Jay-Z / Playaz Circle & Lil Wayne / Gucci Mane / Rick Ross / Travis Porter / Wale / Vado / Rocko / JW / Jagged Edge / Lil’ Scrappy / Pastor Troy / Rich Boy / OJ Da Juiceman / Cyphi the Prince / Alja Jackson USDA / Mo Pain / Kirko Bangs / Yianna (Greece) / Ludacris /
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