10 Greatest Hip Hop Producers Of All Time

6. Timbaland

One of the biggest problems with hip-hop producers is that often times they think the harder the bass and the drums sound, the better it will be. Although we all love that aspect of hip hop, it can sometimes get a bit too much, which is why Timbaland is such a genius. Although he's very capable of creating the stereotypical sounds we all love and has done so plenty of times during his career, his best work has often times been the songs where he's subtly used a number of rarely used instruments.

Songs like Missy Elliot's Sock It To Me feature ridiculously infectious horns, but while most producers would have them play second fiddle to the drums, Timbaland keeps them front and centre, making them one of the most memorable parts of the song. Doing little things like that has set him apart from other producers who came up at the same time as him and has enabled him to continue to stay one step ahead of everyone else.

Even with R 'n' B artists like Justin Timberlake and the late Aaliyah, Timbaland used the same sort of sound with them but moulded around their style of singing. Along with Dr Dre, he'll go down as one of the biggest producing perfectionists in hip hop history.

Best Work: Missy Elliot - Sock It To Me