Hitmaka

Chicago native Christian Ward logged years as a rapper under the moniker Yung Berg before redirecting his energies toward studio work under the Hitmaka banner. By that point he had already supplied uncredited beats for Nicki Minaj and Sean Paul; his first public-facing release arrived in 2019 with the single “Thot Box,” which carried guest verses from Meek Mill, 2 Chainz, Tyga and additional contributors.

Born in Chicago in 1985, Ward began recording as Iceberg in the early 2000s and secured an initial deal with DMX’s Bloodline Records, only for his parents to interrupt those plans by enrolling him in boarding school. Upon his 2003 release he relocated to Los Angeles, and within a few years he issued his first music as Yung Berg. By the late 2000s Ward was balancing rap releases with behind-the-board duties; his productions appeared on multiple tracks from Nicki Minaj’s 2012 debut studio album The Pinkprint as well as singles by French Montana, Lil Wayne, Meek Mill, Yo Gotti and numerous others. His attention gradually turned toward production and A&R responsibilities at Atlantic. Sometime in the early to mid-2000s he adopted the Hitmaka alias and began affixing the corresponding production tag to his tracks. Further placements with major rappers and R&B acts followed, culminating in the 2019 release of “Thotbox.” The original cut contained rhymes from 2 Chainz, Meek Mill, YBN Nahmir, A Boogie wit Da Hoodie and Tyga, while a subsequent remix introduced new contributions from Young Ma, Dreezy, Mulatto, DreamDoll and Chinese Kitty.