J. White Did It
J. White Did It | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Anthony Jermaine White[1] |
| Also known as | J. White |
| Born | December 17, 1984 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations | |
| Instruments | |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | Kobalt |
Anthony Jermaine White (born December 17, 1984), known professionally as J. White Did It or simply J. White, is an American record producer, songwriter, and DJ from Leavenworth, Kansas. He is best known for producing Cardi B's chart-topping singles, "Bodak Yellow" (2017) and "I Like It" (2018). Additionally, J. White produced "Savage" by Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé, which also hit number-one on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as "A Lot" by 21 Savage featuring J. Cole, which reached number 12 on the Hot 100 and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Song.[3][4]
Early life
White was born on December 17, 1984, in Blytheville, Arkansas. He grew up in the cities of Kansas City and Leavenworth in Kansas.[5] His father was a church singer and played guitar, his mother was also a church singer, his grandmother and uncle played drums. "At 15, I knew I couldn't play football. I was like, 'Oh, I'm not that good. I'm not that tall. I'm fast, but I'm not that fast. Really skinny,'" he said.[1] He started making beats at the age of 16.[5] At age 17, his uncle brought him his first keyboard, "Honestly, I thought when I got that keyboard that I was gonna be rich the next year. It's fixing to be a breeze. Literally, it wasn't."[1] He graduated from Leavenworth High School.[5]
Career
In 2005, White moved to New York City where he started learning how to produce records.[5] There, he met Klenord "Shaft" Raphael, a producer who later went on to become his mentor and manager, who taught him how to sample songs.[6] That summer, he moved back home to Kansas City, and, for the next ten years, worked as a janitor, a DJ, and a producer around the cities of Kansas, Dallas, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. During this period of time, he produced beats for several artists including Stevie Stone, Krizz Kaliko, Eric Bellinger, and Lyrica Anderson, but his music career wasn't taking off.[6] He told The Kansas City Star that he wasn't getting credit on a lot of records he produced at the time.[5]
In 2016, his manager Shaft invited him to his house in New York to ask him for beats. There, he met with Bronx rapper Cardi B, one of Shaft's other clients. "I began to work with her and I believed in what she believed in. We just all became one big happy family, and marched on to the promised land," he said. Their first collaboration was for 2016 promotional single "What a Girl Likes", followed by a number of songs from Cardi B's second mixtape, Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol. 2 (2017), including the Offset-assisted single "Lick".[6][7]
In 2017, White produced Cardi B's major-label debut single "Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)".[2] The song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for three consecutive weeks, becoming the first song produced by him to achieve this spot.[8] It also won Single of the Year at the 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards[9] and Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Song at the 2018 American Music Awards.[10] In September of that year, he signed a deal with rights management and publishing company Kobalt Music Group.[5]
In 2018, he produced "I Like It", another single by Cardi B, Bad Bunny and J Balvin. The song also topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming his second number one.[11] Billboard staff, Los Angeles Times, and Apple Music's editorial selection ranked it as the best song of the year.[12] It was nominated for Record of the Year at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.[13]
White executive produced Iggy Azalea's second studio album In My Defense (2019),[14] including its lead single "Sally Walker". The song peaked at number 62 on the Billboard Hot 100.[15] He also produced the tracks "Started" and "Freak of the Weak".[16]
J White is managed by Lucas Keller, Nic Warner and Chad Wes at Milk & Honey, and published by Sony Music Publishing for the world.[17][18]
Grammy Awards
| Year | Work | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | "Bodak Yellow" (Cardi B) | Best Rap Song | Nominated | |
| 2019 | "I Like It" (Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin) | Record of the Year | Nominated | |
| 2020 | "A Lot" (21 Savage feat. J. Cole) | Best Rap Song | Won | |
| 2021 | "Savage (Remix)" (Megan Thee Stallion feat. Beyoncé) | Record of the Year | Nominated | |
| Best Rap Song | Won |
Personal life
White's mother was murdered on January 28, 2015, due to domestic violence, leading to what he recalls as "one of the lowest years of [his] life."[6][7] He told The Kansas City Star that in 2016, "I was in a bad place. Everything felt like it was falling down on me. [...] My relationship with the mother of my kids was bad, I was broke. [...] The industry wasn't giving me any chances. I was just wanting to give up on everything: producing, life, all of that."[5] He had attempted suicide twice that year.[6] Most recently seen dating gospel singer Koryn Hawthorne.
Artistry
White claimed that he lets his beats and melodies come to him naturally: "I just let the spirit guide me, I just go with the flow, man. So if I feel like playing piano first or lighting some candles or doing jumping jacks, I do that. There can be no set rule for me making music".[6] He believes hip hop records should come naturally and quickly: "I don't really believe in spending a lot of time [on hip hop records]," he told DJ Booth, adding, "If the energy is there and it hits you, it will hit you automatically. It doesn't take long to create great energy." He admitted that he created the beat for Cardi B's "Bodak Yellow" in 15 minutes only.[2] Similar to Mike Will Made It, White makes it known with his full moniker "J. White Did It" that he's responsible for the beat.[2] "I was like 'Oh, OK. My name is, like, everybody's name.' So I put the 'Did It' on to just be... If I didn't do it, I don't know who did."[1] His producer tagline, "J. White, I need a beat, I can go off on (Ooh)," drops at the beginning of his songs.[19]
Production discography
Charted songs
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B/HH |
AUS | CAN | IRE | NZ | UK | |||
| "Bodak Yellow" (Cardi B) |
2017 | 1 | 1 | 33 | 6 | 51 | 24 | 24 | Invasion of Privacy |
| "Money Bag" (Cardi B) |
2018 | 58 | 32 | — | 84 | — | — | — | |
| "I Like It" (Cardi B, Bad Bunny, and J Balvin) |
1 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 8 | ||
| "Money" (Cardi B) |
13 | 7 | 65 | 30 | 35 | 36 | 35 | Non-Album Single | |
| "A Lot" (21 Savage featuring J. Cole) |
2019 | 12 | 5 | 61 | 21 | 25 | 26 | 29 | I Am > I Was |
| "Sally Walker" (Iggy Azalea) |
62 | 30 | — | 56 | 70 | — | 82 | In My Defense | |
| "Started" (Iggy Azalea) |
120 | — | — | — | 73 | — | 76 | ||
| "Savage" (Megan Thee Stallion either solo or remix featuring Beyoncé) |
2020 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 3 | Suga |
Production credits
Adapted from White's official SoundCloud page and Genius.com.[20][21]
| Artist(s) | Year | Album | Song(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gena | 2011 | Non-album song | |
| Ron Artest | Go Loco |
| |
| Six D | 2012 | Non-album song |
|
| T'Melle | Non-album song |
| |
| B-Hamp | Non-album song |
| |
| Assata Jones | 2013 | Non-album song |
|
| T'Melle | The Interview |
| |
| Stevie Stone | 2 Birds 1 Stone |
| |
| Krizz Kaliko | Son of Sam |
| |
| Lyrica Anderson | 2014 | King Me 2 |
|
| Eric Bellinger | Choose Up Season |
| |
| Troy Nōka | Gotta Rep the Town |
| |
| Bobby V | 2015 | Non-album song |
|
| Stevie Stone | Malta Bend |
| |
| Plies | Ain't No Mixtape Bih |
| |
| Fat Pimp | Non-album song |
| |
| Tre Ward | TooManyNights |
| |
| Lyrica Anderson | Hello |
| |
| Eric Bellinger | Cuffing Season, Pt. 2 | ||
| Krizz Kaliko | 2016 | GO |
|
| Cardi B | Underestimated: The Album |
| |
| Cardi B | 2017 | Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol. 2 |
|
| Troy Nōka | Gotta Rep the Town 2 |
| |
| LeToya Luckett | Back 2 Life |
| |
| Notty Taylor | Non-album song |
| |
| HoodCelebrityy | Trap vs. Reggae |
| |
| Cardi B | 2018 | Invasion of Privacy |
|
| Tinashe | Joyride |
| |
| Stefflon Don | Secure |
| |
| Messiah El Artista | Non-album song |
| |
| Cardi B | Non-album song |
| |
| 21 Savage | I Am > I Was | ||
| Gucci Mane | 2019 | Delusions of Grandeur |
|
| Iggy Azalea | In My Defense |
| |
| Gucci Mane | Woptober II |
| |
| Iggy Azalea | Wicked Lips |
| |
| Gucci Mane | East Atlanta Santa 3 |
| |
| Megan Thee Stallion | 2020 | Suga |
|
| Flo Milli | Ho, Why Is You Here? |
| |
| Mulatto | Queen of da Souf | ||
| Iggy Azalea | 2021 | The End of an Era |
|
References
- ^ a b c d Burkes, Dawn M. (November 17, 2017). "How Mesquite producer J. White helped Cardi B's 'Bodak Yellow' top the charts". Guide Live. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
- ^ a b c d Malone, Chris (September 27, 2017). "8 Things to Know About 'Bodak Yellow' Producer J. White". Billboard. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
- ^ "The Making of 21 Savage and J. Cole's "A Lot": From a Spotify Song Camp to the Grammys". Complex Networks.
- ^ a b "J. White Did It". Grammy.com. The Recording Academy. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g Randle, Aaron (September 26, 2017). "Meet the KC guy who helped rapper Cardi B dethrone Taylor Swift, make music history". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f Malone, Chris (November 23, 2018). "White, 'Yellow,' And Green: Cardi B's Longtime Collaborator J. White On Success & Struggle". Forbes. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
- ^ a b Robertson, Darryl (January 29, 2018). "Interview: "Bodak Yellow" Producer J. White Opens Up About Suicide Attempts, Celebrates Grammy Nomination". Variety. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
- ^ Trust, Gary (September 25, 2017). "Cardi B 'Moves' to No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 With 'Bodak Yellow,' Post Malone Debuts at No. 2 With 'Rockstar'". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
- ^ "Cardi B Performs". XXL. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
- ^ Lewis, Hilary (September 12, 2018). "American Music Awards: Drake, Cardi B Lead 2018 Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
- ^ Trust, Gary (July 2, 2018). "Cardi B Becomes First Female Rapper With Two Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s, as 'I Like It', With Bad Bunny & J Balvin, Follows 'Bodak Yellow' to the Top". Billboard. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
- ^ Aswad, Jem (December 3, 2018). "Apple Music Unveils Its Top 100 Songs and Albums for 2018". Variety. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
- ^ "2019 GRAMMY Awards: Complete Nominations List". The Recording Academy. December 7, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
- ^ @IGGYAZALEA (February 27, 2019). "he executive produced the entire project!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Iggy Azalea Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
- ^ Mastrogiannis, Nicole (April 11, 2019). "Iggy Azalea Talks "Sally Walker," Teases Songs on New Album 'In My Defense'". iHeart Radio. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
- ^ "Hitmaker J White Did It Signs with Milk & Honey Management". September 9, 2020.
- ^ "Sony Music Publishing Signs J. White Did It to Global Deal".
- ^ "Iggy Azalea - Sally Walker Lyrics". Genius. March 15, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
- ^ "Jwhite DID IT". SoundCloud. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
- ^ "J. White Did It Lyrics, Songs, and Albums". Genius. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
- ^ Powell, Jon (July 10, 2020). "Flo Milli delivers new video for "Like That B***h"". Revolt. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
External links
- 1984 births
- African-American businesspeople
- African-American record producers
- American hip hop record producers
- Businesspeople from Kansas
- Businesspeople from Texas
- Grammy Award winners
- Grammy Award winners for rap music
- Living people
- Musicians from Dallas
- Musicians from Kansas City, Kansas
- Southern hip hop musicians
- 21st-century African-American people
- 20th-century African-American people