You know a song is about to go crazy when you hear that producer tag. Sometimes it’s a voice, sometimes it’s a sound effect, and sometimes it’s just a few words that have somehow become just as recognizable as the artist on the track. But have you ever wondered where some of Hip-Hop’s most iconic and popular producer tags actually came from? Turns out, a few of them have some pretty hilarious origin stories, and some producers weren’t even planning to create something legendary.
From accidental studio recordings to sitcom samples and subway emergencies, here’s how some of your favorite producers came up with the tags that have become part of Hip-Hop history.
8 Of The Most Popular Producer Tags.
1. Metro Boomin — “If young Metro don’t trust you, I’ma shoot you”
Arguably one of the most recognizable producer tags in modern Hip-Hop, Metro Boomin’s signature phrase has an interesting origin. During a studio session with Future, rapper Uncle Murda was recording a verse for a 2015 track titled “Right Now.” While in the studio, Future casually delivered the now-famous line as an ad-lib. Metro loved the way it sounded so much that he isolated the audio, adjusted the tone, and transformed it into his signature producer tag. The phrase eventually exploded in popularity when it appeared on Drake and Future’s hit “Jumpman.” Not bad for a random studio moment
Metro went into detail about his famous producer tag during a 2016 interview with Vibe. The hitmaker revealed that he started using it in August of that year.
“Jumpman, before the song was recorded, that beat, it already said that. Me and Future did this song with Uncle Murda and one of the lines he had said in there was, ‘If young Metro don’t trust you, I’m gon’ shoot you.’ When he said that it had a different tone, but I remember when we were in the studio he had another tone, which is the one that’s the tag that was just like muted. I just made sure to go back on the session and just get it and just go HAM with it,” he added.
