Hit-Boy is having — forgive the expression — one hell of a year. The Fontana, California producer seemingly fell off a lot of fans’ radars in the years since crafting “N****s In Paris” for Kanye and Jay-Z but in 2020 he returned with a vengeance to remind them that he never actually left. Now, he’s got a relatively short list of demands on his new single; simply “Salute” when you see him, paying proper respect to the beatmaker who has contributed smashes to Jay Electronica, Nas, and Big Sean this year. The latter appears as a guest rapper along with breakout Brooklyn drill star Fivio Foreign, while Hit-Boy does double duty, contributing a triumphant beat and a fiery verse.
I got home from a 14hr session last night and turned on @SportsCenter first thing I saw was them playing my new single “Salute” Seeing Kobe walk out to this beat does sumn to me
@espn pic.twitter.com/mViBammn2e
— Hit-Boy (@Hit_Boy) November 18, 2020
In the past few years, Hit-Boy has continued to be an in-demand beat maestro despite a lack of attention compared to his GOOD Music “heyday” — something he commented on recently on Instagram. His recent accomplishments include the Grammy Award-winning “Racks In The Middle” by Nipsey Hussle and Roddy Ricch, several songs on Juice WRLD’s 2019 album Death Race For Love, executive production duties on Benny The Butcher, Big Sean, and Nas’ albums Burden Of Proof, Detroit 2, and King’s Disease earlier this year, and his own Half-A-Mil group projects with Dom Kennedy, the most recent of which landed in July. He plans to follow up with full albums for Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar if possible, while his HS87 label continues to pump out underground faves from the likes of SOB X RBE and Audio Push’s Price.
Listen to Hit-Boy’s “Salute” featuring Big Sean and Fivio Foreign above.