The only reason Metro Boomin’ said he wanted to be a producer: “It just sounded better”
Metro Boomin’ was undoubtedly one of the most integral figures of 2024 concerning beats. Alongside DJ Mustard, his instrumentals featured heavily in what would become the epic battle between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. Last year, the St Louis beatmaker released a collaborative album alongside Future, We Don’t Trust You, which boasted the iconic track ‘Like That’. One of the most consequential tracks of the last 15 years.
Still, the Metro boomin’-produced song wouldn’t have been the same if the Missouri native pursued his original passion. In an interview, the musician revealed that he initially intended to be an emcee who stood front and centre. Still, hip-hop knows him as a producer.
Opening up about his journey, Boomin’ admitted that the most successful St Louis rapper ever, Nelly, made him want to rap. In particular, his 2000 album, Country Grammar. Speaking about the project the ‘Like That’ creator unveiled, “That was one of my first real CDs. It was my first explicit CD. Country Grammar came out, and it just made me want to rap. That simple.”
Although Metro Boomin’ ferociously wrote lyrics and did acapella freestyles, he quickly realised he couldn’t find any local producers who wanted to help him. He then realised that he couldn’t afford to buy beats.
As such, he just took a different route. Speaking about how he got over the obstacle that was no beats, Metro Boomin’ explained, “I really couldn’t buy any beats, so I just started trying to make my own. I just figured so many people wanted to rap, so I had to choose some other shit.”
Metro Boomin’ even cited Soulja Boy as an inspiration in an interview with Billboard, admitting, “At that time I was 13, like even seeing the success of, like, Soulja Boy and making his own beats, it was like [I knew] it was possible!” Of course, Soulja Boy made his hits ‘Crank Dat’ and ‘Donk’.
Becoming a famous rapper has always been considered a pipe dream that most parents reject, so when he realised that he wanted to be a producer, Metro Boomin’ wasn’t scared to tell his family, unveiling, “I was always telling my aunties, my grandma, and everybody I want to be a producer. It just sounded better. Sounded like it had more business. It just sounded better than being a rapper. Especially rap from back then, I think is well… you know.”
Metro Boomin’ didn’t become a name in hip-hop until he began to gain a foothold in Atlanta with local artists who liked his beats. His buzz began to enter another stratosphere after enrolling in the prestigious Atlanta HBCU, Morehouse, in 2012. He went from OJ Da Juiceman to Future to Gucci Mane.
It was in the early 2010s that Metro Boomin’ started acquiring valuable production credits working with the likes of Doe B, Ludacris and even Ty Dolla $ign. On the Million Dollaz Worth Of Game podcast, Metro Boomin spoke about wanting to be a rapper as a kid.