“Acid Rap” & Beyond: The Best Jake One Beats Posted by Lucas Garrison on 11/12/13 | Filed under Opinion, Jake One, Production, Chance The Rapper

As a blogger for two sites, I’m expected to know everything about anything, but sometimes some shit falls through he cracks. I am, after all, only one man. So it’s time to confess that up until today, I had no idea who produced Chance The Rapper’s “Acid Rap”. If you knew it, you get a million RefinedHype points (worth enough to buy 4.7 copies of "Detox"). If you don’t then, like me, you get the pleasure of not only finding out it was the one and only Jake One (gasps), but you get to see a behind the scenes look at the creation of a beat from easily the biggest mixtape free album of the year.

I was genuinely shocked to find out this was Jake, because it sounds like nothing he has ever really done before…at least nothing I thought he had done. I had this vision of Jake in my head as this gritty, boom-bap producer who was strictly for the underground.  Being a fan of the shit he has done with Freeway and Brother Ali, and many others (White Van Music is basically a who’s-who of the underground), it was surprising to hear something this soft when his normal repertoire is more crashing-drum, sample-driven stuff. He caught me off guard, and so I took a look at his resume to see who else he has worked with. I was blown away by his impressive, diverse credits. I don’t want to get into a top 10 producer debate because that is nearly impossible to define and argue here, but...you know what? Fuck it.  I'll go on record and say he is in the top 10; at least he definitely passes the ear test. There isn't a producer in the game that has his range. Sure every beat has that distinct, almost dusty vibe, but he can create totally different landscapes and really stretch the limits of his sound for the lucky artist.

Bottom line, there isn't a producer in the game with the range in sound and collaborations.  I’m sure you are aware he produced  “The Truth” —at least I hope you are— but did you know he also has a production credit on "Nothing Was The Same" for “Furthest Thing”  and has worked with the likes of  Pusha, Wale and J. Cole? And that’s just in 2013. Shit, he even put his spin on Portugal. The Man and produced for the band Fun. How many producers could handle something as different as those two bands? It’s crazy to me that this “underground” beatmaker has also produced for some of the biggest names in the mainstream and hasn’t sacrificed anything content-wise. From Drake to Ghostface, he can do it all and below is a playlist with some of his classic cuts. Enjoy!

So, RefinedHype Nation, you are all smart, rational thinking hip-hop heads, where do you think Jake One ranks in terms of best producers? Can he be considered one of the best? Does his versatility impress you as much as it did us? Sound off!

See Also:  Is Rick Rubin the Most Under-Rated Producer of All-Time?
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