Who Is No ID? 'The Godfather Of Chicago Hip Hop' Produced Jay Z’s New Album

Veteran music producer No I.D. furthered his mark in the hip-hop world after producing Jay Z’s new album, 4:44.

Jay-Z released his fourteenth studio album, 4:44, Friday exclusively on Tidal and Sprint. Prior to the release, fans speculated that No I.D. and Jay-Z would reunite on the album — the two previously worked together on projects such as “Run This Town” and “D.O.A. (Death of Autotune). Earlier this month, fans learned that No I.D. would definitely be producing the entire album.

No I.D., 46, whose real name is Ernest Dion Wilson, has been behind some of the most notable names in hip-hop for over 20 years. He helped Common, a fellow Chicagoan, launch his career and mentored a young Kanye West. He has worked with Bow Wow, Nas, Drake and Rihanna among others. Because of his extensive work with hip hop artists, he previously served as president of Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music imprint, Executive Vice President of A&R and Executive Vice President and Head of Creative at Def Jam Recordings. He was appointed Executive Vice President of Capitol Music Group, a role he currently holds.

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In 2011, he formed the hip-hop collective Cocaine 80s, consisting of Common, James Fauntleroy, Kevin Randolph, Makeba and others. In his over twenty years of producing, he has been nominated for five Grammy Awards and won one.

In a BET interview with Madelyne Woods, No I.D. explained how he got his artist name: his producing partner Twilight Tone made it up. He used No I.D.'s real name, Dion, and turned it into a half palindrome. In order to better himself as a music producer, he went to Atlanta to work with artist and producer Jermaine Dupri the mid-1990s.

"I knew Jermaine socially," he said in a 2014 episode of the Juan Epstein podcast. "I was sitting at home like, 'Why is he killing me financially? Why is he killing me? I think I'm pretty good. There's something I don't know. I think I need to humble myself. I'm going to work under him.'"

No I.D. is also responsible for an illustrious rapper's music career: Kanye West's. West's mother got No I.D.'s contact information, prompting a teenage West to go visit his Chicago studio. He wore M.C. Hammer pants and had a laptop with his song "Green Eggs & Ham."

"The music wasn't good and he was only 14 or 15," No I.D. said to Billboard in 2015. "He took the advice I gave him and it multiplied with a new perspective. That's why I'm betting on the new generation — I can teach them everything I know and they can expand on it."

West went on to win 21 Grammy awards and has been successful in the music business for over 20 years.

In a 2008 interview, No I.D. told Rap-Up about the best piece of advice he ever received: "It was something my friend Killer Mike said to me one day. I was discussing some relationship issues with him and he said, 'One day you gonna wake up dead and say, I wish I was.' And I said, 'If I'm dead, I'm not saying nothing.' I realized the pun in the statement was why don't you do what you want to do. Why are you thinking about it? Just do it. I've been going by that ever since."

Read: Jay-Z Drops ‘4:44’ Album: Check Out The Hilarious Fan Reactions On Twitter

When the public realized No I.D. was part of 4:44's entire creative process, they wondered if Jay-Z would deliver — 4:44 is the rapper's first album in a while. Reactions to the album have been extensive, with many Twitter users praising No I.D.'s production and how he helped the album come to fruition.

"I've never been a mega-star. I'm more of a tastemaker of hip-hop. I try to be more of an ambassador for the era of hip-hop that I came in," No I.D. said in a 2008 interview with Complex. "I just want to work on music and make some new stars. I'm not interested in being a star."