Lamont Dorrell, better known as
Ayatollah is a
Hip-Hop producer from Queens, New York who has produced for predominantly New York-based rappers including
Mos Def,
R.A. The Rugged Man,
Tragedy Khadafi,
Wordsworth,
Vast Aire,
Afu-Ra,
Guru,
M.O.P.,
Inspectah Deck,
Cormega,
Ghostface Killah as well as many others. R.A. the Rugged Man had said in an interview that he was the first person to ever buy a beat from Ayatollah. Broadly speaking Ayatollah's production encompasses a soulful, authentic east coast hip-hop sound which has brought him steady success and acclaim since the late 1990s.
Biography
Ayatollah first received main-stream recognition after producing
Rawkus rapper
Mos Def's hit
Ms. Fat Booty, the first single off his
Black on Both Sides album;Strock, Owen (2005) "",
CMJ New Music Monthly, Issue 137, 2005, p. 40, retrieved 2010-02-05 whilst subsequently receiving a gold plaque for probably his most well-known track to date,
Styles P's hit "The Life" featuring
Organized Konfusion legend
Pharoahe Monch, which appeared on the
Rawkus Records compilation
Soundbombing III.
Ayatollah is a favoured producer of many Queensbridge MCs in particular, and after working with
Cormega on
Rap's a Hustle on his debut
The Realness, the latter spoke of working on a subsequent album produced solely by Ayatollah, an eagerly awaited project which has since failed to transpire.
He has released nine instrumental albums, 2003's...
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