One of the few who has worked with both superstar
50 Cent and underground hero
MF Doom, Seattle-based producer
Jake One spans the hip-hop spectrum. Born Jacob Dutton, he got his break while attending the University of Washington. After dropping off a tape of beats to his favorite record store, his productions landed in the hands of fellow producer Mr. Supreme. When Supreme began his Conception label,
Jake was hired to produce Eclipse's "World Premier," a
Pete Rock-influenced cut that would land on
J-Rocc's 1998 mix Walkman Rotation. A steady stream of work followed, with 2003 being a monumental year with a track on
DJ Babu's Duck Season, Vol. 2 and another on
Beg for Mercy, the debut album from
50 Cent's
G-Unit crew. His relationship with
MF Doom would begin a year later via
De La Soul and their track "Rock Co. Kane Flow." Work for everyone from
Planet Asia to
Lil Scrappy would follow, and then in 2007 he produced the high-profile track "All of Me" for
50 Cent and
Mary J. Blige. In 2008 he helmed his own debut album,
White Van Music, released by the Rhymesayers label.
Alchemist,
Busta Rhymes,
Slug, and
Young Buck were just some of the guest artists appearing on this diverse full-length. 2010 would prove to be a prolific year for
Jake as he released two collaborative albums,
The Stimulus Package with Philly-based rapper
Freeway and Patience with California's
Truthlive. He spent the next several years establishing himself as a producer before forming the synth-funk duo
Tuxedo with neo-soul artist
Mayer Hawthorne.
Tuxedo released their self-titled debut in early 2015. ~ David Jeffries