When you think of the music industry, most people immediately think of such places as New York, California, and Atlanta. And rightfully so with top artists being from those places. However Virginia is rarely if ever mentioned. This is strange because Virginia artists have dominated the music industry for some time now in every aspect of it. On the producing side Virginia has Pharrell and the Neptunes and Timbaland. In the rapping genre Virginia has the Clipse and in R&B we have Trey Songz and Chris Brown. What more does Virginia need to do to get respect?

Billboard released their list of the top producers of the decade. Spots number 1 and 2 were taken by Virginia producers. Pharrell and the Neptunes took the number one spot and Timbaland took the number two spot. Rightfully so. In this past decade Timbaland and the Neptunes have probably produced most of the hit tracks in the rap and R&B genre and even huge pop hits.

The Neptunes have produced far too many hits to name but just a few are listed below. Not only do they usually produce the song but Pharrell is often featured on the track as a singer or a rapper.

Jay-Z’s “I Just Wanna Luv U” and “Excuse Me Miss”, Fabolous’ “Young’n (Holla Back)”, Usher’s “U Don’t Have To Call”, Beyonce’s “Work It Out”, Clipse’s Lord Willin CD, and most of Til the Casket Drops, Snoop Dogg’s “Beautiful”, Kelis’ “Milkshake”, Sean Paul’s “Gimme Da Light”, Wale’s “Let It Loose”, a lot of others and of course all N*E*R*D songs.

Timbaland has also far too many hits to name. Most people know him as the main producer for Aaliyah, Missy Elliot, Magoo, and Ginuwine but he has produced for a lot of other acts as well. He is responsible for Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin’” and “Dirt Off Your Shoulders”, Bubba Sparxxx “Ugly”, Petey Pablo “Raise Up” Ludacris “Roll Out”, Tweet “Oops (Oh My)”, Justin Timberlake “Cry Me a River” LL Cool J “Headsprung”, Omarion “Ice Box” and so much more.

So on the producing side of the music industry, The Neptunes and Timbaland have more than earned their respect. On the artist side, The Clipse, Chris Brown, and Trey Songz have done their part as well.

The Clipse may not be number one on your list but they should be.  Their second album Lord Willin’ (2002) opened at number 1.  It produced such hits as “Grindin’” and “When The Last Time”.  They don’t usually see as much mainstream success as most of their fans think they deserve, though. Their third studio album Hell Hath No Fury (2006) sold 78,000 the first week and was only the sixth album to be awarded the five star XXL rating in XXL. Their newest album Til The Casket Drops didn’t receive anywhere near the acclaim that it should have. It featured such hits as “Popular Demand (Popeyes)” ft Cam’ron and Pharrell, “Kinda Like A Big Deal” ft. Kanye West, “I’m Good” ft. Pharrell, and “All Eyes On Me” ft Keri Hilson. The point is the Clipse have always brought heat but nobody gives them enough credit.

That leads us to Chris Brown and Trey Songz. There’s not too much that needs to be said because they are definitely running the charts right now. With Chris Brown’s recent drama he’s not where he used to be but his debut CD went double platinum and his second went platinum.  Trey Songz is definitely on top right now. Trey Songz has two songs in the top twenty right now, “Invented Sex” and “Say Aah”.

All in all, Virginia has done a lot for the music industry. Without such heavy hitters as Timbaland and the Neptunes producing beats for your favorite artists, the Clipse making that quality rap music, and Chris Brown and Trey Songz making all the ladies happy, the music industry would really be lacking.

Do you agree? Has Virginia had a huge impact on the music industry?

Image Source Image Source Image Source Image Source Image Source

Bookmark to: