Southern Plug Magazine: Leaders of the New School ft Remy Ma Volume 2 Issue 1 C | Page 57

Mixing hip-hop, R&B, and pop, producer and recording artist Mike WiLL Made-It is
known for delivering hits spanning multiple genres, ranging from the chart-topping Rae
Sremmurd hit "Black Beatles" to the Miley Cyrus staple "We Can't Stop." Born Michael
Len Williams II in Marietta, Georgia, WiLL enrolled at Georgia State but dropped out to
focus on music production. He started his own production company, Ear Drummers
Records, in 2006. His earliest work involved rapper Gucci Mane -- whom he would
continue to collaborate with on over a dozen projects -- and snowballed into
relationships with other Atlanta figures like Shawty Lo, Future, 2 Chainz, and Waka
Flocka Flame. He landed his first Hot 100 single with Meek Mill and Rick Ross' 2011 track
"Tupac Back." The year 2012 saw his work on Kanye West's "Mercy" and 2 Chainz's "No
Lie" helping both tracks get to the top of the U.S. rap charts, while Juicy J's "Bandz a
Make Her Dance" went platinum. In 2013 he produced multiple tracks on Miley Cyrus'
album Bangerz, including the album's lead single, "We Can't Stop" (Cyrus would go on to
appear alongside Juicy J and Wiz Khalifa on WiLL's debut single, "23"). That same year,
WiLL produced platinum hits for Rihanna, Lil Wayne, and Ace Hood (as well as
contributing to efforts by Kelly Rowland, Jay-Z, Ciara, and Juicy J), before focusing his
efforts on the young duo Rae Sremmurd. Their 2015 debut, SremmLife, peaked at
number five on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum. The year 2016 helped
garner the producer even higher-profile collaborations with Beyoncé ("Formation"), Kid
Cudi (Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin'), Nicki Minaj ("Black Barbies"), and Rae Sremmurd
and Gucci Mane, whose "Black Beatles" topped the Hot 100, R&B/hip-hop, and rap
charts. The young creative also put out a number of his own releases, his sound and
production techniques most notably encapsulated on his 2014 Ransom mixtape and its
album sequel, 2017's Ransom 2.