Desiigner hit the jackpot -- Mike Dean is executive producing his debut album. Dean's gothic synths are recognizable on a couple songs on Desiigner's debut mixtape New English -- "Da Day" and "Overnight" -- but for the most part, his tape was produced by relative unknowns, many of whom hail from his native Brooklyn, many of whom are not yet of legal drinking age, and thus borne of the same generational zeitgeist.
Click through the gallery to check out five of the lesser-known (but no less talented) producers who contributed to New English.
The Shell God
Produced: "Zombie Walk"
Twitter: @THESHELLGOD
The Shell God is a 20-year-old producer from the southside of Charlotte who was inspired to pursue production by a conversation with the late South Carolina rapper Speaker Knockerz.
"I chose 'TheShellGod' because where i’m from 'shell' means high and everyone knows I’m always high," he told HypeFreshMag. "It just kinda stuck."
"Zombie Walk" is the only other song besides "Panda" on Desiigner's SoundCloud, and as such The Shell God's beat sales have "skyrocketed." Business is booming! To date, his biggest productions include Team 600's Jus Blow's "Gang Members" and Capo's "Let Him Have It." Collaborations with Kodak Black, Young Thug, Glo Gang, OTF, and G.O.O.D. Check out Shell's beattape Xanax The EP below.
NickFRSH
Produced: "Caliber"
Twitter: @NickFRSH
Prior to producing "Caliber" (a veritable banger), 19-year-old Brooklyn producer NickFRSH most notably finessed a collab with Kodak Black. He is positioning himself in the inner sanctum of hip hop's new youth movement. He promises "more to come." With a SEO-friendly producer nom de plume and a memorable producer tag, there's no way NickFRSH can fail.
Rico Beats
Produced: "Roll Wit Me"
Twitter: @RICOBEATS
Brooklyn producer Rico Beats is the most successful producer to contribute to New English outside of Mike Dean. Through his production deal with Sony/ATV he's collaborated with the likes of Pusha T, 50 Cent, Jadakiss, Pusha T, Fabolous, Lil Wayne, The-Dream, & Wale. He's probably best known for his production on Nicki Minaj's "Roman Reloaded." It looks like he'll have some beats on King Push... stay tuned.
EManOnTheTrack
Produced: "Made It Out"
Twitter: @EManOnTheTrack
The most mysterious of the producers featured in this article, EManOnTheTrack advertises his beats as the "cleanest on the net." "Made It Out" is by far his biggest credit to date. It's a a cataclysmic drill banger that makes Desiigner appear more Chief Keefian than Future Hendrixious and belies the prevailing quality of the rest of his beats, which is an appealing Zaytoven-like simplicity. Check out his online store here.
Ignorvnce
Produced: "Jet" feat. Pusha T
Twitter: @Ignorvnce_
Similar to the case of EManOnTheTrack, Ignorvnce's presence on New English is not representative of his general style. Best known for his collaborations with The Underachievers, the Brooklyn producer tends to makes beats that sound like a modern version of the Superfly soundtrack - breezy, soulful joints with Elysian strings and flutes.
