How My Album Launched the Trackmasters

The music business runs on moments where someone gives you a shot before the world knows your name. I want to tell you about one of those moments — because it led to a production legacy that shaped the sound of hip hop for the next decade.

When we were recording I Gotta Get Mine Yo in 1992, Tone and Poke — the duo who would go on to become the Trackmasters — came in to handle production duties on the album. They were hungry. They were precise. They had a sound that was sophisticated in a way that felt genuinely different from everything else being made at the time.

"Tone and Poke walked in with talent that was undeniable. You could hear it in thirty seconds. Sometimes giving someone the room to work is the most important decision you'll ever make."

What came out of those sessions helped set them on their path. Within a few years the Trackmasters were producing some of the biggest records in the genre — Nas's "Street Dreams," Will Smith, Jennifer Lopez, Jay-Z. They became one of the most sought-after production teams in the entire music industry.

I'm not saying I made the Trackmasters. Their talent made the Trackmasters. But I gave them a platform at a moment when platforms were everything — and they walked through that door and built something extraordinary.

That's what people need to understand about this era. It wasn't just individual brilliance. It was a community of artists who opened doors for each other. And I'm grateful to have played my part in that story.

— Chubb Rock  |  The Chubbster