This women’s history month, theGrio highlights the achievements of four Black women who have been producers for their own music as well as fellow artists
In Genius: Aretha, the National Geographic mini-series about the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin (played by Cynthia Erivo) explained to her future road manager and boyfriend Ken Cunningham that while Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin were her producers, she contributed to the arrangements of most of her recordings, selection of the material as well as booking musicians for the sessions.
Cunningham, portrayed by Tip “T.I.” Harris, said that sounds like what a producer does.
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Franklin would go on to request — then demand, and eventually receive — producer credits on a string of albums produced by Wexler and Mardin, as well as the great Quincy Jones, throughout the 1970s. For a Black woman to have the position as a producer of her own music was a remarkable achievement then, and it still is today.
Had it not been for Franklin, artists like Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill may not be producing their own material today.
The role of the producer in the creation of music is a crucial one. The definition of what a producer is, particularly for Black musicians, has been more blurred than ever. However, whether you’re in charge of making beats and hooks for rappers, coaching vocals and selecting musicians and engineers, or involved with selecting material for an artist to perform, a producer is a valuable commodity.
When you think of who are the best producers, the following names usually come to mind: Quincy Jones, Babyface, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Pete Rock, Dr. Dre, The Neptunes, Timbaland and Swizz Beatz. Notice something? Not one of them is a woman.
Source: Celebrating four influential Black women music producers
