Samuel Lindley (born July 14, 1973), better known by his stage name The Legendary Traxster , is an American songwriter , rapper and record producer . He is best known as a producer for hip hop artist Twista and group Do or Die . He is the owner of Traxster Inc. and co-CEO of CWAL Records. In 2017, he launched Nothing But Dope, an imprint distributed through Priority Records . He is also one half of the hip hop duo House Lindley , which is composed of him and his wife Latia "Tia London" Lindley.
20-716: A native of Chicago, The Legendary Traxster rose to prominence for his production work for fellow Chicago artists Twista and famed rap trio Do or Die, for whom he produced several albums, including their 1996 debut Picture This , which was certified gold. In 1997, Traxster produced the entirety of Twista's certified platinum album, Adrenaline Rush . He has also produced for Kanye West , Ty Dolla Sign , Big Sean , Mystikal , E-40 , Cam'ron , Tech N9ne , and The Outlawz , with songs featuring notable artists, including Chris Brown , Waka Flocka Flame , Yo Gotti , Ray J , R. Kelly , T.I. , Lil Boosie , Scarface , Bun B , WC , C-Bo , Static Major , Raekwon , and Shawnna . He earned
40-533: A Grammy nomination for Album of the Year in 2006 for his work with Mariah Carey , co-writing and producing the track "One and Only" on her 2005 album, The Emancipation of Mimi . In 2009, he reunited with Twista for Category F5 , including the single, "Wetter" , which was certified gold and went on to win two ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards in the Rap and R&B/Hip Hop category. The duo also collaborated on " Make
60-539: A Movie ", which featured Chris Brown. The song was the lead single for Twista's 2010 album, The Perfect Storm , which featured eight songs produced by Traxster. Traxster participated in the ASCAP SCORES program, leading a songwriting class with kids at Chalmers Elementary School in Chicago on December 1 and 8, 2010. Traxster and the students recorded the song at Chicago Recording Company studios on December 14, 2010, with
80-442: A lot of new artists." When asked the meaning of M.W.A, Dean answered: "That's just what I call myself when I DJ . Mexican Wrestling Association. It's something that I've done with the merch , so I just figured I'd keep the name going." He also revealed Dice Soho the first artist he signed to M.W.A: "One of my homies Gustavo Guerra brought [Dice Soho] to me. I think he's gonna be the next wave out of Houston. I picked him up. Dice has
100-473: A nice swag." He released an instrumental mixtape, 4:20 , on April 20, 2020. On May 20, 2021, Lana Del Rey 's single "Wildflower Wildfire" was released, which was produced by Dean. In an interview with Anthony Fantano before the song's release, Dean said that he was "planning on working with [Del Rey] a lot". Since 2022, Dean has had several further collaborations with the Weeknd , who Dean has worked with on
120-539: A non-performing lead artist, Dean has released five solo studio albums: 4:20 (2020), 4:22 (2021), Smoke State 42222 (2022), 4:23 (2023), and 424 (2024). Dean started doing collaborations with numerous Texan artists, including Selena , for whom Dean served as musical director and producer. He began his career in hip hop while producing two albums as a part of the Houston -based group, Def Squad, along with group member Norris Burse (Champ) and Kenny Bomer (KB) under
140-552: Is an American record producer, audio engineer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for his synthesizer -heavy instrumentation and audio mixing for high-profile music industry artists. Beginning his career in 1992, he was first credited on releases for Texas-based rappers such as Scarface , Willie D , and Geto Boys , although he has since worked with artists including The Weeknd , Beyoncé , Kanye West , Kid Cudi , Travis Scott , Jay-Z , Drake , Madonna , Selena Gomez , Playboi Carti , and Lana Del Rey , among others. As
160-399: Is credited on most tracks. Despite a fallout in 2022 with West, Dean is credited to have worked on at least the first of West's expected 3 studio albums with the song " Back To Me " on Vultures 1 featuring Freddie Gibbs . In recent years, Mike Dean has served as a regular guitarist and keyboardist for West and Travis Scott at their live performances, headlining numerous music festivals,
180-524: Is owned by the Universal Music Group. In 2015, he married singer-songwriter Tia London . They have one child together, who was born in July 2015. "One and Only" Featuring Twista "Chi (Skit)/Adrenaline/Phone (Skit)" Featuring Twista & Yung Buk of Psycho Drama "Searchin" Picture This (Do or Die album) Picture This is the debut studio album by American hip hop group Do or Die . It
200-502: The Billboard Hot 100 , and was nominated for a 2011 Grammy Award in the category Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group . On November 30, 2022, the single was certified triple platinum in the US. In January 2017, Traxster signed a deal with Priority Records for his label Nothing But Dope. The new Priority Records launched in 2013. The label's re-launch was a venture by Capitol Records, which
220-529: The Top R&;B/Hip-Hop Albums . The album featured the hit single, " Po Pimp ", which peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Hot Rap Singles . Shipments figures based on certification alone. This 1990s hip hop album–related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Mike Dean (record producer) Michael George Dean (born March 1, 1965)
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#1733085250235240-705: The Watch the Throne Tour , the Yeezus Tour , and Scott's Birds Eye View Tour as well as the Astroworld – Wish You Were Here Tour . Dean has also been a frequent collaborator with Scott. Dean's production has appeared on every one of Scott's musical bodies of work since 2013. In 2016, Dean mastered Frank Ocean 's visual album Endless , wrote and produced tracks on Desiigner 's mixtape New English , and produced Desiigner's single " Tiimmy Turner ". In May 2017, Dean announced he
260-807: The Mr. Henry/ Ichiban labels. Dean first became widely known for pioneering the Dirty South sound in the 1990s, particularly in work for artists from Rap-A-Lot Records . Dean has most notably worked alongside Scarface of the Geto Boys , Do or Die , Tha Dogg Pound , Yukmouth of the Luniz , C-Bo , Nate Dogg , Tech N9ne , UGK , Z-Ro , Devin the Dude , Outlawz , and 2Pac . Dean went on to mix, produce, and master widely throughout American hip hop. He has become known for producing work with Kanye West . After initially contributing to
280-420: The Weeknd appeared as a special guest; Dean also appeared as a guest musician during 070 Shake 's performance during the second weekend of the festival. He co-wrote and produced the Weeknd's single " Double Fantasy " (featuring Future ) for the soundtrack of the Weeknd's HBO series The Idol , which Dean is part of the starring cast of, and premiered on June 4. Dean released his fourth mixtape, 4:23 , which
300-516: The Weeknd's 2015 album Beauty Behind the Madness , as well as his single "Where You Belong" for the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack . Dean contributed live arrangements to the Weeknd's co-headlining performances with Swedish House Mafia at the 2022 Coachella festival. Dean has since been an opening act on the Weeknd's After Hours til Dawn Tour , during which his arrangements have been included in
320-708: The Weeknd's shows. Dean also created a remix for the Weeknd's song "Starry Eyes" from his album Dawn FM , which Dean has performed live in his opening sets on the tour; he later filled in for LJ Jones, The Weeknd's bass and keyboards player during the European and Latin American legs of the tour. He played synthesizers and saxophone. Dean contributed the musical arrangements for the "After Hours Nightmare" Halloween Horror Nights haunted houses at Universal Studios Florida and Hollywood . In 2023, Dean contributed live arrangements to Metro Boomin 's performances at Coachella, during which
340-461: The finished track included on a compilation CD produced by ASCAP, and distributed to music industry decision makers and each of the schools involved. The following year, he produced the single " My Chick Bad " by Ludacris featuring Nicki Minaj , from his chart-topping album, Battle of the Sexes , as well as the official remix, which featured Eve , Trina , and Diamond . The song peaked at number 11 on
360-570: The mixing of West's albums The College Dropout and Late Registration , Dean contributed as producer on West's albums Graduation , My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy , Yeezus , The Life of Pablo , Ye , and Donda . He also co-produced with West on his collaboration album with Jay-Z , Watch the Throne . Dean was an additional producer on " Mercy " and "Higher" on GOOD Music 's 2012 compilation album Cruel Summer . Dean has made particularly heavy contributions on West's last albums and
380-499: Was launching a record label by the name of M.W.A. When asked what made him decide that now would be the best time to unveil his new record label, Dean responded: "Just a lot of new young artists that's been asking to get down with me and have me work on their projects and help them get deals. I figured I'd start a label and sign some new acts. Seems like a good time to start it. I got a studio out here [in Los Angeles] and I'm able to meet
400-585: Was released on September 3, 1996, via Rap-A-Lot Records . The recording sessions took place at Creator's Way Studios in Chicago and at Lil J Studio in Houston . The album was produced by the Legendary Traxster , Mike Dean and Crazy C, with J. Prince serving as executive producer. It features guest appearances from Twista and Johnny P. The album peaked at number 27 on the Billboard 200 and number 3 on
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