Comments (0) Best Producer - 2005
Kenautis Smith
Forget the larger-than-life rhythms of the TrackBoyz. In St. Louis rap and hip-hop circles, the man producing the hottest beats is Kenautis Smith. The list of local artists the gifted producer has worked with is staggering: Tucker Booth, Marko-V, Coultrain, Black Spade and Jia Davis -- to name just a few. But being prolific hasn't hurt the quality of his output; if anything his ability to chop and rearrange segments of jazz and soul albums from the late '60s and early '70s into banging tracks reveals a singular focus on excellence and a knack for creating irresistible -- but not played-out -- earworms.
