THE TOP FIVE MAINSTREAM PRODUCERS OF THE YEAR 1. Kanye West There's really no arguing with Kanye as producer of the year, producing arguably three classic records this year with his own "Late Registration", Common's "Be", and John Legend's "Get Lifted", as each record was given at least one perfect rating by virtually all of the mainstream and underground press. Kanye helped bring sampling back to the forefront when he made his debut under Jay-Z's wing a few years back, and has shown steady improvement as his career has progressed. He helped reinvent Common, introduced the world to John Legend, and released one of the best albums this year. He is the best, and he knows it. 2. 9th Wonder 9th Wonder officially put his foot in 2005 with a number of releases. From delivering the acclaimed major label debut from Little Brother, ("The Minstrel Show"), to lending a hand to one of Destiny Child's biggest hits ("Girl"), 9th let it be known that he's got what it takes to hang around in this business for a long time. Add that to reviving the career of the BDI Thug ("Chemistry"), dropping by to aid the flailing Memphis Bleek, and making sure his Justus League cohorts continue to get the finest (LEGACY and Big Pooh), 9th best work has possibly yet to be seen. 3. Just Blaze While Kanye is busier and more productive, Just Blaze's catalog this year is inferior to no one. The strength of cuts such as Jay-Z's "Dear Summer" cannot be denied and to boot, he may have even produced the best track ("Touch The Sky") on the artist's LP we gave best producer to (Kanye West). One of Just's main strengths lays in his ability to mesh the past with the present, as the Chuck D vocal sample on Fat Joe's "The Incredible" and his EPMD lift on Game's "No More Fun And Games" validates. And from the material we've already heard, we're betting that the work Just puts in on Saigon's official solo-debut ("The Greatest Story Never Told") will keep him firmly entrenched on this list in 2006. 4. Scott Storch The self-proclaimed "tuff jew" kept his stride this year, with his "so seductive" sounds that helped propel 50's "Candy Shop" and "Just A Little Bit" into two of the biggest club songs of the year. This of course kept Storch as the "go-to-guy" in '05, lending his signature style to several other huge dancefloor packers such as R. Kelly's "Playas Only", Lil' Kim's "Lighters Up", Chamillionaire's "Turn It Up", and Chris Brown's "Run It". 5. Mr. Collipark Fashioning his new brand of "intimate club music", Collipark (aka DJ Smurf, aka Beat-N-Azz) helped reinvent both Ying Yang Twins ("Wait") and David Banner ("Play"), with a pair of breathy ballads that never failed for deejays in '05. To top it off, he flipped the script by creating wild, unapologetic club-bangers such as Ying Yang's "Shake (Remix)" and Twista's "Hit The Floor", both featuring Pitbull. If Collipark could make Ying Yang and David Banner sound good, imagine what he could have done for O.D.B. THE TOP FIVE UNDERGROUND PRODUCERS OF THE YEAR 1. DJ Danger Mouse Not only did Danger Mouse produce the top indy album of the year in Danger Doom, but he showed amazing versatility by picking up Automator's slack on the Gorillaz follow-up, "Demon Days". There's much more the DM than just "The Grey Album", and he showed and proved in 2005. On another note, anyone find it ironic that Capitol, the company the cease-and-desisted him for "The Grey Album", was the same company cutting him checks for Gorillaz. Oh, Irony, you savage beast! 2. El-P El was quiet during much of 2005, as he was hard at work on Cage's magnum opus, "Hell's Winter". But when the time came for its release, El showed that his production has become even iller, taking it in totally new directions, as he, along with Central Services co-producer Camu-Tao, helped animate Chris Palko's life story. (Much respect to the other producers on that record as well). 3. Blueprint While Blueprint was oft stuck in the shadow of his collaborators (RJD2, Illogic), as one of the hardest working men in indy hip-hop, he finally defined himself as a "whole" artist with "1988", entirely rhymed and produced by Print himself. On this excellent tribute record to one of hip-hop's classic eras, Print showed his full range, without sounding dated or retro. 4. Edan Misunderstood by clueless internet critics when his first album, "Primitive Plus" dropped, Edan was a Bronx throwback who looked to legendary producers such as Lord Finesse and Diamond D for inspiration. With "Beauty and The Beat", he did more than recreate the sound of yesterday, and composed a psychedelic musical masterpiece, fusing hardcore boom bap with 60's folk rock. Words can't do it justice, only listening to the record in its entirety can. 5. Ant Ant's always been a solid producer, but he's never quite made it into the top tier. That all changed this year with the release of both Felt's "Tribute To Lisa Bonet" and Atmosphere's "You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having". Ant stepped up his production style immensely, showing definite consistency through honest, hardcore boom-bap and classic, yet obscure samples. --

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