While fans found humor in the planets aligning to dole out superpowers to the masses on December 21st, nobody used their superpowers more than in 2020 than Hit-Boy, HipHopDx’s 2020 Producer Of The Year.
The 33 year old humble superproducer delivered a long list of 2020 credits that included full albums with Nas, Benny The Butcher and Big Sean (the latter which topped the Billboard 200) and singles with Jay Electronica + JAY-Z, Freddie Gibbs, Polo G and Juice WRLD — just to name a few.
Sonically few can compare to the beat kits and sounds that Hit-Boy pulled together, experimenting with rare audible templates that brought out the very best in artists he connected within the studio. The world may have felt like it was falling apart around us for much of the year but Hit-Boy held it together; humbly giving fans music to keep pushing on during these trying times.
Speaking with HipHopDX, the Cali native runs back his 2020 and looks forward to a highly anticipated 2021 as he preps work with H.E.R., a new solo album and more.
HipHopDX: What does it feel like to have had such an amazing run with all of these releases? From Big Sean, Nas and Benny The Butcher albums alone, you had quite a run.
Hit-Boy: It’s definitely something that was … I can say like, premeditated, just because of the focus that I’ve been putting in to get better. You know, I just was seeing this before it happened. I was like damn, you know once I started.
Big Sean’s stuff was supposed to drop in like March and it didn’t drop and it got pushed back. I was like damn, this is really lining up for like three projects just to drop month after month from Nas to Benny to Sean. I was like this is going to be a crazy stretch. For it all to have panned out like this, I couldn’t have planned it any better.
While Hit-Boy took home the 2020 Producer of the Year honors, the full list of winners and nominees can be found here.
HipHopDX: What are your thoughts going forward rolling into 2021, what are your plans and what are your goals to continue this kind of success?
Hit-Boy: Level up and get better! Just don’t stop now, you know what I’m saying? Do it even more, do even more quality work, even better songs and better music. That’s really where I’m at with it. I ain’t even slowed down not a little bit. I’m already building out new albums for artists and I’m already working on my own shit. I just got a bunch of stuff in the pipeline.
HipHopDX: The “Salute” track is hard, do you have your own solo album in the works?
Hit-Boy: I’m definitely coming with a solo album and I can’t say when, but I’m just letting it take shape. I already got other joints that’s in the tuck and I just be recording whenever it comes to me. I just record when I feel it. As I stack the songs I’m gonna formulate the plot.
HipHopDX: Any collaborations that you are looking forward to or anything in the works you can speak on?
Hit-Boy: I have plenty stuff in the works, but lemme see, I got some stuff with H.E.R. that’s fire, some stuff with… (Laughs) I got so many I can’t even call it, just some exciting stuff in the works.
Follow @hitboy on Instagram for more 2021 updates!