Veteran Chi-Town Producer NO I.D. has inked a 3-album production deal with Def Jam/ Def Soul Records for his Face the Music imprint. The producer, who is best know for his early work with Common, has also landed a publishing deal with Chrysalis Music. The first artist to be released on Face the Music will be Chicago siren K-Fox, who NO I.D. said he is an artist that is a part of the Chicago sound that more people need to hear. “Chicago is an R&B city in the modern age of music, but there’s not that many
people doing it,” the producer said in a statement. “I’m just trying to bust the trap open and let people know what kind of music is here.”
Managing the label duties alongside NO I.D. is his manager Art Martin, who believes the collaborative efforts of the soul singer and the producer are timeless classics. “K-Fox is a brilliant lyricist with an incredible ability to speak to a broad audience and NO I.D.’s production style captures street soul to perfection. Together they have a sound that is today’s, tomorrow’s and yesterday’s.
The ability to make classics and the producer’s penchant for being able move between hip-hop and R&B is what lured Chrysalis Music to enter a deal with NO I.D. as Valerie Williams, Vice-President of Urban Music declared: “The fact that NO I.D. delivers a unique sound for hip hop on the one hand, and has a bold way of interpreting R&B music on the other, is amazing. He is that next person who is going to set trends for others to follow.”
NO I.D. landed his first big break when he landed a beat on the demo of Common, the rapper formerly known as Common Sense. The Chicago natives then went on to collaborate on the majority of Common’s next three albums: Can I Borrow A Dollar, Resurrection, and One Day It All Make Sense. In addition to producing, NO I.D. released his own album, Accept Your Own and Be Yourself on Relativity Records.
After Common moved to New York City to work with the SoulQuarians, NO I.D. branched out and began production work for hip-hop artists such as DMX, Scarface and Beanie Sigel, as well as soul singers Montell Jordan, Jaheim and Toni Braxton.