J. White Did It

J. White Did It
Birth name	Anthony Jermaine White
Also known as	J. White
Born	(1984-12-17) December 17, 1984 Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop trap
Occupation(s)	Record producer songwriter DJ
Instruments	Keyboard sampler
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Kobalt Music Group
Associated acts	Cardi B Iggy Azalea Stevie Stone Krizz Kaliko

Anthony Jermaine White (born December 17, 1984), known professionally as J. White Did It or simply J. White, is an American record producer, songwriter, and DJ from Dallas, Texas. He is best known for producing Cardi B's chart-topping singles, "Bodak Yellow" (2017) and "I Like It" (2018).

Early life and career

White was born on December 17, 1984, in Dallas, Texas. He grew up in the cities of Kansas City and Leavenworth in Kansas. His father was a church singer and played guitar, his mother was also a church singer, his grandmother and uncle played drums. "At 15, I knew I couldn't play football. I was like, 'Oh, I'm not that good. I'm not that tall. I'm fast, but I'm not that fast. Really skinny,'" he said. He started making beats at the age of 16. At age 17, his uncle brought him his first keyboard, "Honestly, I thought when I got that keyboard that I was gonna be rich the next year. It's fixing to be a breeze. Literally, it wasn't." He graduated from Leavenworth High School.

Similar to Mike Will Made It, White makes it known with his full moniker "J. White Did It" that he's responsible for the beat. "I was like 'Oh, OK. My name is, like, everybody's name.' So I put the 'Did It' on to just be... If I didn't do it, I don't know who did." His producer tagline, "J. White, I need a beat, I can go off, on (Ooh)," drops at the beginning of his songs.

In 2005, White moved to New York City where he started learning how to produce records. There, he met Klenord "Shaft" Raphael, a producer who later went on to become his mentor and manager, who taught him how to sample songs. That summer, he moved back home to Kansas City, and, for the next ten years, worked as a janitor, a DJ, and a producer around the cities of Kansas, Dallas, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. During this period of time, he produced beats for several artists including Stevie Stone, Krizz Kaliko, Eric Bellinger, and Lyrica Anderson, but his music career wasn't taking off. He told The Kansas City Star that he wasn't getting credit on a lot of records he produced at the time.

In 2016, his manager Shaft invited him to his house in New York to ask him for beats. There, he met with Bronx rapper Cardi B, one of Shaft’s other clients. "I began to work with her and I believed in what she believed in. We just all became one big happy family, and marched on to the promised land," he said. Their first collaboration was for 2016 promotional single "What a Girl Likes", followed by a number of songs from Cardi B's second mixtape, Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol. 2 (2017), including the Offset-assisted single "Lick".

In 2017, White produced Cardi B's major-label debut single "Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)". The song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for three consecutive weeks, becoming the first song produced by him to achieve this spot. It also won Single of the Year at the 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards and Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Song at the 2018 American Music Awards. In September of that year, he signed a deal with rights management and publishing company Kobalt Music Group.

In 2018, he produced "I Like It, another single by Cardi B, Bad Bunny and J Balvin. The song also topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming his second number one. Billboard staff, Los Angeles Times, and Apple Music's editorial selection ranked it as the best song of the year. It was nominated for Record of the Year at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.

White executive produced Iggy Azalea's second studio album In My Defense (2019), including its lead single "Sally Walker". The song has peaked at number 62 on the Billboard Hot 100. He also produced the tracks "Started" and "Freak of the Weak".

Personal life

White's mother was murdered on January 28, 2015, due to domestic violence, leading to what he recalls as "one of the lowest years of [his] life." He told The Kansas City Star that in 2016, "I was in a bad place. Everything felt like it was falling down on me. [...] My relationship with the mother of my kids was bad, I was broke. [...] The industry wasn't giving me any chances. I was just wanting to give up on everything: producing, life, all of that." He had attempted suicide twice that year.

Artistry

White claimed that he lets his beats and melodies come to him naturally: "I just let the spirit guide me, I just go with the flow, man. So if I feel like playing piano first or lighting some candles or doing jumping jacks, I do that. There can be no set rule for me making music.” He believes hip hop records should come naturally and quickly: "I don't really believe in spending a lot of time [on hip hop records]," he told DJ Booth, adding, "If the energy is there and it hits you, it will hit you automatically. It doesn't take long to create great energy." He admitted to the DJ that he created the beat for Cardi B's "Bodak Yellow" in 15 minutes only.

Production discography

Adapted from White's official SoundCloud page and Genius.com.

Artist(s)	Year	Album	Song(s)
Gena	2011	Non-album song	00. "My Dip in the Club" (featuring Yo Gotti and Yung Joc)
Ron Artest		Go Loco	00. "Go Loco" (featuring George Lopez, Taz, Lenny Santos, Max Santos, Fat Joe, and B-Real)
Six D	2012	Non-album song	00. "2 Seconds"
T'Melle		Non-album song	00. "Go to War" (featuring Waka Flocka Flame)
B-Hamp		Non-album song	00. "Go to Work"
Assata Jones	2013	Non-album song	00. "Dance on Me (Dirty)" (featuring Tink)
T'Melle		The Interview	09. "Baby"
Stevie Stone		2 Birds 1 Stone	03. "Get Out My Face" (featuring Krizz Kaliko) 11. "Boomerang" (featuring Krizz Kaliko) 13. "She Go" 14. "Let It Beat"
Krizz Kaliko		Son of Sam	06. "Girls Like That" (featuring Bizzy) 12. "Night Time"
Lyrica Anderson	2014	King Me 2	06. Feenin (featuring Kevin Gates)
Eric Bellinger		Choose Up Season	02. "Valet" (featuring TeeFlii and Pleasure P)
Troy Nōka		Gotta Rep the Town	03. "Let It All Workout" 05. "Slow It Down"
Bobby V	2015	Non-album song	00. "Bad Habit" (with Pleasure P and Ray J)
Stevie Stone		Malta Bend	11. "Get Fucked Up"
Plies		Ain't No Mixtape Bih	12. "Fuck Me"
Fat Pimp		Non-album song	00. "Uh Oh" (featuring J. White Did It)
Tre Ward		TooManyNights	05. "Anymore"
Lyrica Anderson		Hello	01. "Hello"
Eric Bellinger		Cuffing Season, Pt. 2	02. "Valet" (featuring 2 Chainz and Fetty Wap)
Krizz Kaliko	2016	GO	17. "You See It (Buss It)"
Cardi B		Underestimated: The Album	06. "What a Girl Likes"
Cardi B	2017	Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol. 2	01. "Bronx Season" 02. "Lick" (featuring Offset) 05. "Leave That Bitch Alone"
Troy Nōka		Gotta Rep the Town 2	02. "Be Dat" 04. "Flow Crime" 08. "Do It Like Me" 14. "Bars for Dee"
LeToya Luckett		Back 2 Life	04. "Used To"
Notty Taylor		Non-album song	00. "Died Last Year"
HoodCelebrityy		Trap vs. Reggae	05. "Sit Down"
Cardi B	2018	Invasion of Privacy	04. "Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)" 07. "I Like It" (with Bad Bunny and J Balvin) 09. "Money Bag"
Tinashe		Joyride	05. "Ooh La La"
Stefflon Don		Secure	10. "Crunch Time"
Messiah El Artista		Non-album song	00. "Never Let You Go"
Cardi B		Non-album song	00. "Money"
21 Savage		I Am > I Was	01. "A Lot" (featuring J Cole)
Iggy Azalea	2019	In My Defense	00. "Sally Walker" 00. "Started" 00. "Freak of the Week"

External links

• J. White Did It on Twitter