10 Greatest Hip Hop Producers Of All Time

2. DJ Premier

There are a number of producers who can try and lay claim to creating a signature New York sound, but for many fans of hip hop €“ especially east coast hip hop €“ DJ Premier is the crème de la crème.

Not only has Premier been the sole producer on some of the genre's finest albums, including Group Home's very underrated debut album Livin' Proof, his records with legendary rapper Guru in the group Gang Starr and his latest collaborative effort, PRhyme, with Slaughterhouses' Royce Da 5'9, he's also shared his unique sound with some of the greatest artists to ever rhyme in a booth. Rappers like Nas, Kool G Rap, Ludacris and Jay Z have all brought in 'Preemo' so they could rhyme over one of his classic instrumentals

However, what truly separates Premier from many other producers in hip hop is the distinctive way he utilises samples. While using samples in hip hop is far from revolutionary, Premier will take a sample from any record he can if he think it's going to help make a track even a tiny bit better than it already is, even if it's something from the artist's old work.

Let's not forget that he's also one of the best and only producers out there who can still scratch on a record and make it sound awesome. There really isn't much he can't do.

Best Work: Kick In Tha Door (The Notorious B.I.G - Life After Death), Ten Crack Commandments (The Notorious B.I.G - Life After Death) and N.Y State of Mind (Nas - Illmatic)