Cardo

Cardo's productions draw primary inspiration from the sunlit grooves of '90s West Coast gangsta rap and its G-funk offshoot. Since the early 2010s the Minnesota-born beatmaker, also known as Cardo on the Beat and Cardo Got Wings, has climbed steadily through elite placements and his ongoing partnership with Detroit rapper Payroll Giovanni. Initial recognition arrived via Wiz Khalifa, after which Cardo supplied charting singles for Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, Drake, and numerous others. The pair's debut joint project, Big Bossin, Vol. 1, surfaced in 2016. Additional releases include team-ups with Pi'erre Bourne and Wiz Khalifa, plus multiple albums with Larry June, the most recent being 2023's The Night Shift.

Born Ronald LaTour in St. Paul, Minnesota, Cardo relocated to Fort Worth, Texas, in 2006 and began circulating mixtapes that soon attracted attention. His earliest high-profile link formed with Wiz Khalifa, whose 2010 mixtape Kush & Orange Juice featured two of his beats and effectively ended the producer's need for day jobs. In the ensuing prolific stretch, notable commercial successes encompassed Meek Mill's "Levels," Jeezy's "Seen It All," the Game's "100," Kendrick Lamar's "untitled 07 | levitate," ScHoolboy Q's "That Part," and Travis Scott's "Goosebumps," Cardo's first certified-platinum collaboration. He also co-produced Stalley's "Spaceships & Woodgrain" alongside DJ Quik, one of his chief influences.

A creative alliance with Payroll Giovanni allowed Cardo to deepen his engagement with the G-funk style pioneered by Quik. Their initial mixtape, Big Bossin, Vol. 1, arrived in 2016. Further 2017 work encompassed Kendrick Lamar's "GOD.," Migos' "Deadz," and multiple tracks on Dizzee Rascal's Raskit, which reached number ten on the U.K. albums chart, while Big Bossin, Vol. 1.5, a revised version of the earlier tape, marked the duo's entry on major-label Def Jam. Early 2018 brought Drake's Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper "God's Plan" alongside Migos' Culture II and Black Panther: The Album, both Cardo-assisted releases that debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Cardo and Payroll continued with Big Bossin, Vol. 2, and the producer joined Pi'erre Bourne for Pi'erre & Cardo's Wild Adventure.

Game Related launched Cardo's first of several projects with Larry June in 2020 and was quickly followed by Cruise USA. Another Day Another Dollar, again with Giovanni, and Into the Late Night, with June, both appeared in 2021. Cardo rejoined Wiz Khalifa for the mixtape Wiz Got Wings, while Raised by Wolves, a collaboration with YoDogg, emerged in 2022. The Night Shift, his fourth joint effort with June, arrived the following year.