Jake One

Jacob Dutton, operating under the producer alias Jake One from his Seattle base, counts among the select few who have crafted tracks for both the chart-topping 50 Cent and the cult-status MF Doom, thus bridging mainstream and indie corners of hip-hop. His initial opportunity arrived while enrolled at the University of Washington, after he submitted a beat tape to a favored local record outlet and the material reached fellow beatmaker Mr. Supreme. Once Supreme established the Conception imprint, Jake was tapped to handle Eclipse’s “World Premier,” a Pete Rock-influenced recording that surfaced on J-Rocc’s 1998 mixtape Walkman Rotation. Steady commissions accumulated thereafter, with 2003 emerging as a pivotal chapter marked by a placement on DJ Babu’s Duck Season, Vol. 2 and another on Beg for Mercy, the debut album from 50 Cent’s G-Unit roster. Contact with MF Doom began the next year through De La Soul’s “Rock Co. Kane Flow.” Assignments for acts spanning Planet Asia to Lil Scrappy continued, leading in 2007 to the high-profile “All of Me” for 50 Cent and Mary J. Blige. The following year brought Jake’s own first album, White Van Music, issued by Rhymesayers and populated by guests including Alchemist, Busta Rhymes, Slug, and Young Buck across its eclectic length. The 2010 calendar proved especially active, yielding the collaborative The Stimulus Package with Philadelphia rapper Freeway and Patience with California’s Truthlive. Subsequent seasons reinforced his production standing until he launched the synth-funk outfit Tuxedo alongside neo-soul artist Mayer Hawthorne, whose self-titled debut appeared in early 2015.