Swizz Beatz

In 2000, when Swizz Beatz first emerged as a major producer, a hip-hop magazine compared him to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Though that comparison is overblown, to say the least, Kasseem Dean has proven himself a reliably consistent hitmaker. More impressively, he has evolved with the genre, changing his sound to appeal to current trends. When his uncles Darrin "Dee" and Joaquin "Waah" Dean recruited the teenage producer to make tracks for their client Ruff Ryders, he responded with stark and percussive keyboard beats reminiscent of the RZA and Dame Grease. He produced DMX's definitive hit "Ruff Ryders' Anthem," and the bulk of his platinum smash Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood, as well as much of Eve's No. 1 debut, Ruff Ryders' First Lady. By 2003, Swizz Beatz earned a chance to record a debut album, 2003's poorly sold G.H.E.T.T.O. Stories. As the popularity of New York street hop waned, he began working with a wider array of R&B and hip-hop stars, including Beyonce ("Upgrade U" and "Check On It") and Drake ("Fancy"). In 2007, he released a second album, One Man Band Man, with plans to release a third, Haute Living, in 2011.