Congrats to my brotha Mike WiLL Made It for his feature in Forbes magazine! So Dope!
If you’ve listened to a top 40 hit in the past year you have probably heard producer Michael Williams’ trademark soundbite – a female voice echoing “Mike WiLL Made-It” – at the start of the track. Styling the sounds of Miley Cyrus, Rihanna, Ciara and Kanye West among others, there is no doubt 2013 has been the year Mike Will made it, earning upwards of $1.1 million in the last 12 months, FORBES estimates.
“When I do music I don’t think about urban music, pop or country, I just think about a good song,” says Williams, 24, who has been responsible for over $9.8 million worth of singles sold this year alone.
Since producing for Southern rappers 2 Chainz, Future and Gucci Mane, Williams has stepped into the mainstream, recording eight songs on Miley Cyrus’ Bangerz, which has shifted over 500,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
“Right now, I don’t feel this generation is thinking about ‘this is too urban,’” said Williams over the phone from Atlanta. “It’s either cool or not; it’s not in a category, it’s not about any of that.”
Williams has the record sales to prove it. Though he might not have a signature production sound – the syncopated drums and heavy synths of Timbaland or the cabasa-coated beats of Pharrell – with his production team EarDrummers Entertainment, he has sold more than 8.4 million singles in 2013 releases through the success of B.O.B’s “We Still In This Bitch”; Ciara’s “Body Party”; Rihanna’s “Pour It Up”; Lil Wayne’ “Love Me”; Miley Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop” and Mike Will’s own “23.”
You can read the full article here.