Mannie Fresh

Everybody likes Lil Wayne. His lyrics are unpredictably brilliant, his mic presence is dynamic and always surprising, and he's also completely batshit insane. Basically, dude is like the DSM IV on top of kick drum and snare.

But most people don't remember that ten years ago (even five years ago), nobody bought The Greatest Rapper Alive's albums to hear him rap. At least, not in my idealized hip-hop past, nobody did. Ten years ago Lil Wayne was actually little, and he was good for one reason: Mannie Fresh.

Ladies and gentlemen, people with jobs, people without jobs, middle class, upper class, high class, all that, cats, snacks, chickens, ducks, elderly people, and twerkers, I present to you: DJ Mannie Fresh, greatest hip-hop producer of all time and a Person that DeWolfePeople Like. Nobody else has as strong a mastery over the stuttering snare, the hyperactive hi-hat, and the self-repping intro as Mannie does. Nobody else has turned out as many brilliant party tracks that sound exactly the same as Mannie has. And that's totally a good thing.

Mannie Fresh, all I ever want to do is sound like you. For years, you defined a label - and a region - serving as in-house producer for Cash Money Records. In their late-90s heyday, you managed to take the New Orleans "churn shit out and rake in the money" philosophy and achieve some degree of consistency. Yes, that's because most of your productions were pretty much the same song, but it was a damn good song. You helped define my suburban middle school dance experience by producing "Back That Azz Up." You released a solo album with 30 fucking tracks. Hell, you even started Big Tymers with Birdman and put up with that talentless "rap-talker" for five albums. You've done it all. Here's some of the best of the best producer ever:


Mannie's solo album, "The Mind of Mannie Fresh," featured the single "Real Big." The song never charted and the album never sold, which makes absolutely no sense. Mannie raps over his own beat about having a fish tank in the dashboard of his car and then stops the beat for "the part where I give my phoe number to all the girls that's hot." Fire.

Real Big - Mannie Fresh

Hot Boys: a group name that could have only existed in the pre-Google age. Here, Mannie, Birdman, B.G., Young Turk, and Lil Wayne wax misogynistic over a beat that's half hand-claps and half harpsichord or something. Also, on the hook, B.G. sounds like a pedophile.

I Need A Hot Girl - Hot Boys

Trina featuring Lil Wayne, back when he was good enough to sound crazy but not too good to rap fast over what may be the most Mannie Fresh-like Mannie Fresh beat ever. The snare drums slip all over the place, the synths bang, and the whistles keep everything high energy. Trina tries to rap about how dirty she is, like usual, but it doesn't work: this beat makes everything good, clean fun.

Dont Trip - Trina

And of course, Lil Wayne, off Tha Carter. Mannie does good intros about old people and animals. He also does good hooks. Don't you just love him by now???

Bring It Back - Lil Wayne