The New Wave

Why Hit Boy is the leader of a new wave of producers and why it’s important.

“He told me he was going to keep pulling up. I ain't believe him. I mean, this is Nas! But he kept pulling up, and we kept working.”

- Hit-Boy

Preface

This article is a continuation of a piece I published in January about the dynamic between Martin Luther King Jr. and his speechwriters. That piece was titled “The Ordeal of Jail.”

The central theme of that piece is empathy.

I didn’t deliver it through the traditional newsletter process on Substack because it is way too long to read in an email. However, it is one of my favorite pieces available in this publication.

At first glance, a piece about empathy seems far removed from why some of you may have signed up to read this publication in the first place. However, that piece on MLK Jr.—and this one—are a part of what I think will be a very long run-up to where I envision taking this publication. These kinds of pieces will be published occasionally, and I will be working on them in parallel with the typical pieces I publish here.

The central theme of this piece is also empathy, albeit in the domain of music production instead of speechwriting.

I am nowhere near finished writing about empathy and the positive effect I believe it can have on the universe. So this piece and the one on Martin Luther King Jr. will eventually become part of a series.

It will take time.

For now, they will be published on an irregular cadence.

I am already publishing articles on Entrepreneurship monthly.

I am already publishing my strong opinions about the Accounting profession monthly as well.

Right now, committing to writing articles on this topic on a regular cadence seems impossible.

What I can promise is that I will write them.

What I can promise is that I have more articles on this topic in the queue than I’ve published so far.

If you would like to see more articles like this, consider supporting this publication.

Introduction: Kindred Spirits

The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh

The other day, I came across a clip of Zane Lowe interviewing Hit-Boy on Apple Music Radio live - ahead of Super Bowl LVIII. The clip started with Zane Lowe saying this:

Every producer - if they're consistent and they stay at it - has a moment in their life where they find someone who they have an undeniable kindred spiritual connection with.

He was, of course, alluding to Hit-Boy's legendary run collaborating with Nas.

The two created 80+ songs in three years, which were released in the albums Kings Disease 1 through 3 and Magic 1 through 3. Six projects in total.

Zane may have been talking about music, but his comments are domain-agnostic. For this reason, I think Hit-Boy's run with Nas is important not only for hip-hop fans but for all human beings to understand.

In an interview on Ebro's Apple Music radio show, Nas also talked about the time he spent collaborating with Hit-Boy.

“We meet each other. If he goes there with the music,” Nas said, raising his right hand “I'm raising to that level as well…” he said, raising his left hand.

'“If you listen to the production, he fine tunes one sound by a hair, and places another sound next to it, and it's not too much.

It allows me to cut through."

Nas was saying that their productivity was, in large part, due to Hit-Boy's taste. His ability to add instrumentation in frequency ranges that supported the song - rather than held it back - created space for Nas' voice where some producers might have added instruments that crowded the frequency that Nas' voice occupied, interfering with his message and the listener’s ability to hear his words.

Credit to Ebro; he knew the dynamic…