Renowned record producer, Justin Smith, known to the public as Just Blaze, has stamped his own imprint on the hip-hop music scene through his masterful production of several tracks on Jay Z’s Blueprint albums and Black Album. With a knack for making beats using unique samples from soul tracks, Just Blaze used this as a springboard for his record producing career. Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Just Blaze was able to connect with other talented artists from the NYC area who influenced the hip-hop scene in the early 2000s, including Fabulous, Cam’ron, Juelz Santana, and Busta Rhymes by working as an in-house producer for the famed Roc-A-Fella Records.
During his time at Roc-A-Fella, Just Blaze was responsible for making hits such as “Oh Boy,” by Cam’ron and “Girls, Girls, Girls,” by Jay Z. He is also the producer behind the classic, energetic song “Pump It Up,” by Joe Budden. Just Blaze met Kanye West while working at Roc-A-Fella, the mercurial talent who began his career also producing beats of similar style for Jay Z. Just Blaze eventually produced “Touch the Sky,” for Kanye’s second studio album in 2005. As a result of his production quality, Just Blaze has been enlisted to produce songs for several Grammy Award winners, including Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Diddy, and Kendrick Lamar.
Just Blaze’s talent as a DJ and record producer is undeniable as he has worked stellar artists, and has subsequently accumulated a collection of instantly recognisable hits spanning his 20 year career. Most recently, Just Blaze produced the single “Big Tyme,” on Rick Ross’s 2019 album Port of Miami 2, featuring Swizz Beatz.
