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Energy, excitement, triumph, thumping bass, pounding drums, street level grit set against soaring melodies with a touch of soul. These are just a few of the elements that you are bound to experience in a Just Blaze production. One of the few producers in hip-hop to remain relatively behind the scenes yet have a flourishing career, Just has been keeping heads nodding, dancefloors rocking, and providing soundscapes for artists to express themselves on for over 13 years and counting.
In the late 1990s, while still learning his craft and working at the studio, a chance encounter with Mase while he was working on his “Harlem World – The Movement” compilation album led to him producing the project’s lead single “I Really Like It”, which went on to sell 500,000 copies. WIth a new inspiration instilled, Just began to push his production work forward and landed records with Killah Priest, Big Pun, Shabam Shadeeq, Mr. Cheeks, and a slew of underground New York artists. As word of “the kid from The Cutting Room with dreads” spread, his grind earned him a meeting with Roc-A-Fella records and later, a spot on Jay-Z’s The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. His production on this album, along with the work of Kanye West earned them both positions as go-to producers at Roc-A-Fella Records for the remainder of the decade. He went on to produce for many of the acts signed to the Roc-A-Fella roster, and in 2001 he was a cornerstone of Jay-Z’s groundbreaking classic album The Blueprint, which is widely regarded as his best work.
In 2002, Just Blaze became a household name for the production of Cam’ron’s summer smash “Oh Boy.” Smith went on to produce for Snoop Dogg, Notorious B.I.G., Usher, Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Christina Aguilera, Janet Jackson, Faith Evans, P. Diddy, Talib Kweli, Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss, Memphis Bleek, Cam’ron, Saigon, Young Gunz, Grafh, Shawnna, Beanie Sigel, The Game, DMX, T.I., Fat Joe, Juelz Santana, Rhymefest, Ghostface Killah, Jin, Fabolous, Freeway, Joe Budden, MF DOOM, Kool G Rap, Rah Digga and many more
In 2003, “Public Service Announcement”, Just’s last minute addition to Jay-Z’s “The Black Album” cemented him as THE man to go to for hard, in your face, classic New York hip-hop that still maintained a mainstream appeal. Sometimes referred to as “The Hip-Hop National Anthem” by Jay himself, it remains the hallmark record from that album to this day. When Jay “retired” later that year, and his run at the famed Baseline Studios was over, Just found himself with the possibility of losing the studio he’d called home for the past 5 years. So he took the lion’s share of what he’d earned over the years and did what he calls “one of the craziest, irresponsible, yet best things I’ve ever done”: he bought it.
At the close of the decade, and after nearly 15 years in the business (when most producers in the urban world have faded away), Just has actually gone on to produce some of the biggest records of his career. T.I.’s “Live Your Life” (featuring Rhianna), which he produced and co-wrote was an inescapable worldwide chart-topper throughout 2009. He immediately followed up with Maino and T-Pain’s “All the Above” (which he also co-wrote and produced) which went on to quickly sell over 1 million copies. He then returned to his underground hip-hop roots and went on to introduce the world to the budding talent of indie artist Jay Electronica, when their “Exhibit C” collaboration took the rap world by storm and quickly hit #10 on the iTunes hip-hop charts. After receiving phone calls and requests for meetings from every label executive imaginable, they’ve decided to stay the indie route and see how far they can take things on their own.
In recent years, Just has returned to his DJ roots, spinning all around the world, while continuing to be highly productive in the studio with various other projects. Amidst al of this, he still manages to hold down a weekly Friday event at Santos Party House, NYC, one of the city’s premier nightlife venues, and has recently completed construction on a new recording studio named Rebel Base, within New York’s Stadium Red Studios facility. While this dizzying workload would daunt the average person, Just shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. As he puts it,
“It’s all in a days work.. I’ll sleep later”
TOUR DATES
Friday 22nd October @ Tone, Sydney
Saturday 23rd October @ Playground, Melbourne