
The Neptunes had a stretch at dominating music charts with their winning sound throughout the early 2000s, so it’s no wonder that producers have sought to capture that same magic on wax.
Mustard is just one example of the hitmakers who drew from Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo’s genius. The Faith of a Mustard Seed artist had a massive year in 2024 with the release of his fourth studio project, the aforementioned album, and the wild success he charted with Kendrick Lamar.
The Compton rapper’s lyrical war with Drake spawned the anthem “Not Like Us” produced by Mustard in May, and then he dropped the LP GNX in November, which features the popular track “Hey Now,” also crafted by the California sound architect.
The “Boo’d Up” mastermind spoke with People about his and Lamar’s collaborative efforts, where he revealed the catalyst behind the hits. “When I made that beat [‘Not Like Us’], that was the last beat I made before I left the studio. And I wasn't as excited,” he said.
“Some beats I make and I'm like, ‘Man, this s**t’s going to be crazy.’ And those are the beats that nobody likes for whatever reason. I don't know why, but ‘Hey Now,’ I had the beat since 2019 or maybe a little bit earlier than that,” the Grammy nominee explained. He noted, “I was trying to make a West Coast version of ‘Grindin.’ That's why it's so empty like that. That's why it's just weird sounds.”
“Grindin’” is famously the mainstream introduction of Clipse, Hip Hop duo Pusha T and his brother No Malice. The record appeared on their freshman album, 2002’s Lord Willin’. The Los Angeles native gave each YG, Quavo and Ty Dolla Sign a go at making a hit out of the track before he pressed play for the Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers artist.
“I was talking to Kendrick one day, and I was just like, ‘Man, I got this really weird-a** beat, but I really love it. Like, I know that I love this beat.’ And I sent it to him, and right away he said, ‘Oh yeah, I got it,’” recalled Mustard. His first time hearing a snippet of the completed track was in June when he, Lamar and several others gathered to film the “Not Like Us” music video in Compton. Admittedly, despite the latter song being the summer’s biggest hit, the producer told the outlet that he did not share the same thrill on the first listen as fans.
“I wasn't as excited about ‘Not Like Us’ as I was about ‘Hey Now’ for whatever reason. I don't know why, but Kendrick was more excited about ‘Not Like Us.’ He was like, ‘Man, this s**t is crazy.’ And I was like, ‘Alright, cool.’ That was just one of the five that I had made for him. So now I just send him everything that I do, out of the five beats a day,” he said.
Mustard is up for multiple Grammys in the Record of the Year category as well as Producer of The Year, Non-Classical, for his solo album and work with Lamar and Travis Scott.