Lamont Dorrell, known as Ayatollah, is a

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

. He has mainly produced music for New York–based rappers, including

Mos Def Yasiin Bey ( ; born Dante Terrell Smith; December 11, 1973), formerly known as Mos Def ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. A prominent figure in conscious hip hop, he is recognized for his use of wordplay and commentary on social an ...

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He first earned recognition through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def (now known as Yasiin Bey) in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's music ...

, R.A. the Rugged Man,

Tragedy Khadafi Percy Lee Chapman (born August 13, 1971), known by his stage name Tragedy Khadafi (formerly Intelligent Hoodlum), is an American rapper and record producer. Hailing from the Queensbridge Housing Projects in Queens, New York City,Brown, Marisa. ...

Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication '' Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ...

, Vast Aire, Afu-Ra,

Guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

M.O.P. M.O.P. (short for Mash Out Posse) is an American hip-hop duo composed of rappers Billy Danze and Lil' Fame, best known for their song " Ante Up." The group has frequently collaborated with DJ Premier. The group is part of the Gang Starr Fou ...

Inspectah Deck Jason Hunter (born July 6, 1970), better known by his stage name Inspectah Deck, is an American rapper and hip hop producer. He is a member of the groups Wu-Tang Clan and Czarface. He has acquired critical praise for his intricate lyricism, ...

Cormega Corey McKay, better known by his stage name Cormega, is an American rapper. Early life Cormega was born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens. He was childhood friends with Nas, Havoc and Capone, who all went on to become successful rappers. A ...

, and

Ghostface Killah Dennis David Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang ...

Career

Ayatollah first received mainstream recognition after producing

Rawkus Rawkus Records (or Rawkus Entertainment) is an American hip hop record label, owned by James Murdoch, known for starting the careers of many rappers. Rawkus started in 1995 with releases in hip-hop, drum and bass and fun-dustrial (Dystopia One) ...

rapper

's 1999 single " Ms. Fat Booty", the first single off his '' Black on Both Sides'' album.Strock, Owen (2005)
Ayatollah ''Now Playing''
, ''

CMJ New Music Monthly CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

'', Issue 137, 2005, p. 40, retrieved February 5, 2010 He went on to produce

's "Rap's a Hustle", from the 2001 album ''

The Realness ''The Realness'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Cormega. It features guest appearances from Mobb Deep and Tragedy Khadafi, as well as production from Havoc of Mobb Deep, J-Love, and The Alchemist, among others. It was released vi ...

'', and

Styles P David R. Styles (born November 28, 1974), better known by his stage name Styles P (also known Mononymous person, mononymously as Styles), is an American rapper, best known as a member of East Coast hip hop group the Lox. Formed with fellow rappe ...

's "

The Life Life is the characteristic that distinguishes organisms from inorganic substances and dead objects. Life or The Life may also refer to: Human life * Human life (disambiguation) * Human condition, the characteristics, events, and situations of h ...

", featuring

Pharoahe Monch Troy Donald Jamerson (born October 31, 1972), better known by his stage name Pharoahe Monch, is an American rapper known for his complex lyrics, intricate delivery, and internal and multisyllabic rhyme schemes.Edwards, Paul, 2009, ''How to Rap: ...

(2002), among others. Ayatollah has also released numerous solo albums, starting with his 2003 debut, ''So Many Reasons to Rhyme''. In 2015, he formed the trio COLOSSUS with the hip hop production team Widowmaker. Their debut instrumental album, ''Ayatollah Presents: COLOSSUS'', was released digitally in June of that year, and a limited vinyl pressing was issued in mid-August.

Selected discography

Albums

* ''So Many Reasons to Rhyme'' (2003) * ''Personal Legend Vol. 1'' (2003) * ''Listen'' (2006) * ''Now Playing'' (2006) * ''Louder'' (2008) * ''Drum Machine'' (2008) * ''The Quixotic'' (2010) * ''The Quixotic Remix EP'' (2010) * ''Cocoon'' (2010) * ''Live from the MPC 60'' (2010) * ''Fingertips'' (2011) * ''

Bridges A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somet ...

'' with

Moka Only Daniel Denton (born November 14, 1973), better known by his stage name Moka Only, is a Canadian hip hop artist and producer . He is originally from Langford, British Columbia, where he cultivated a deep passion for hip hop. Later, moving to San ...

(2012) * ''Avant Garde'' (2013) * ''Be Real Black for Me'' (2014) * ''Who Is My Soul Brother?'' (2015) * ''Wendee'' (2015) * ''Ayatollah Presents: COLOSSUS'' (2015) (with Widowmaker) * ''The Box Cutter Brothers'' (with Drasar Monumental) (2015) * ''Box Cutter Brothers II'' (with Drasar Monumental) (2015) * ''Weapons of Mass Production: Episode 1'' (with Budget Money) * ''Blaxplotiation: A Piece of the Action'' (with Hell Razah) (2017) * ''Box Cutter Brothers – B.C.B. 4'' (with Drasar Monumental) (2017) * ''Box Cutter Brothers – 5'' (with Drasar Monumental) (2018) * ''Karmic Points'' (2018) * ''Phantom of the Chakras'' (2018) * ''The House of Trapdoors'' (with Bin Grim) (2023)

Production

– " Ms. Fat Booty"; "Know That" ('' Black on Both Sides'', 1999) * Mos Def &

– "Ms. Fat Booty 2" (''

Lyricist Lounge 2 ''Lyricist Lounge 2'' is the fourth hip hop compilation album by American record label Rawkus Records. It was released on November 28, 2000, as the second installment of ''Lyricist Lounge'' album series, based on New York's ''Lyricist Lounge'' s ...

'', 2000) *

Cella Dwellas Cella Dwellas are an underground hip hop duo from Flatbush, Brooklyn, consisting of emcees UG and Phantasm. The group is largely known for their dark beats and lyricism. In 1997, the duo shortened their name simply to The Dwellas. Recording h ...

– "Game of Death" ('' The Last Shall Be First'', 2000) *

– "Cry" ('' Baldhead Slick & Da Click'', 2001) *

– "Lift Ya Glass" ('' Against All Odds'', 2001) *

Masta Ace Duval Clear (born December 4, 1966), better known by his stage name Masta Ace, is an American rapper and record producer from New York City. A lead member of Mr. Magic's hip hop collective Juice Crew, he is best known for his guest appearance alo ...

– "Hold U" (featuring

Jean Grae Tsidi Ibrahim (born November 26, 1976), known professionally as Jean Grae, is a multidisciplinary artist and writer. She emerged in New York City's underground hip-hop scene and developed an international following. Throughout her music career, ...

) (''

Disposable Arts ''Disposable Arts'' is the second solo and fourth overall studio album by American rapper Masta Ace. It was released on October 16, 2001 via JCOR Entertainment. Production was handled by Domingo, Luis Tineo, Xplicit, Ayatollah, Deacon the Vill ...

'', 2001) *

Screwball A screwball is a baseball and fastpitch softball pitch that is thrown so as to break in the opposite direction of a slider or curveball. Depending on the pitcher's arm angle, the ball may also have a sinking action. The pitch is sometimes known ...

– five tracks (''

Loyalty Loyalty is a Fixation (psychology), devotion to a country, philosophy, group, or person. Philosophers disagree on what can be an object of loyalty, as some argue that loyalty is strictly interpersonal and only another human being can be the obj ...

'', 2001) *

– "Rap's a Hustle" (''

'', 2001) * Afu-Ra – "Think Before You..." (featuring Jahdan Blakkamoore) (''

Life Force Radio ''Life Force Radio'' is the second studio album by American rapper Afu-Ra. It was released on May 21, 2002 by Koch Records. The album's audio production was handled by Arabian Knight, Ayatollah, Curt Cazal, Domingo, Easy Mo Bee, Eric S, Kenny ...

'', 2002) *

Royce Da 5'9" Ryan Daniel Montgomery (born July 5, 1977), known professionally as Royce da 5'9" (or simply Royce 5'9"), is an American rapper. Best known for his association with fellow Detroit rapper Eminem, they became acquainted in 1997 and formed the hi ...

– "Life" (featuring

Amerie Amerie Mi Marie Rogers Nicholson (born January 12, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and writer. She has released four studio albums to date: '' All I Have'' (2002), ''Touch'' (2005), '' Because I Love It'' (2007), '' In Love & W ...

) ('' Rock City'', 2002) *

– "My Life" (''

Soundbombing III ''Soundbombing III'' is a compilation album by Rawkus Records, the third installment of their ''Soundbombing'' series. It was released on June 4, 2002, and was the first album released after Rawkus signed a distribution deal with MCA. The compil ...

'', 2002) *

– "Joy" (featuring Mos Def), "The Proud" (''

Quality Quality may refer to: Concepts *Quality (business), the ''non-inferiority'' or ''superiority'' of something *Quality (philosophy), an attribute or a property *Quality (physics), in response theory *Energy quality, used in various science discipli ...

'', 2002) *

– six tracks (''

The Movement The Movement may refer to: Politics * The Movement (Iceland), a political party in Iceland * The Movement (Israel), a political party in Israel, led by Tzipi Livni * Civil rights movement, the African-American political movement * The Movement ...

'', 2003) * R.A. the Rugged Man – "Chains" (featuring

Masta Killa Jamel Irief (born Elgin Evander Turner; August 18, 1969), better known by his stage name Masta Killa, is an American rapper and member of the Wu-Tang Clan. He was only featured on one track on their 1993 debut album '' Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chamb ...

Killah Priest Walter Reed (born August 16, 1970), better known by his stage name Killah Priest, is an American rapper, a member of Sunz of Man, and a Wu-Tang Clan affiliate who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He is known for his intensely spiritual ...

), "Make Luv Outro" ('' Die Rugged Man Die'', 2004) *

– "Right Now", "Evol" (featuring Justin Time &

) (''

Mirror Music ''Mirror Music'' is the debut solo studio album by American rapper Wordsworth. It was released by Halftooth Records in 2004. Title Regarding the album's title, Wordsworth commented: "I felt the songs reflected the emotion, time or period that eit ...

'', 2004) * Cormega – "Bring it Back" ('' Legal Hustle'', 2004) * Vast Aire – "Elixir" (featuring

Sadat X Derek W. Murphy (born December 29, 1968), better known as Sadat X, is an American rapper, best known as a member of alternative hip hop group Brand Nubian. Originally known as Derek X, Sadat takes his name from former Egyptian president Anwar ...

and Sinclair) ('' Look Mom... No Hands'', 2004) *

– "No Equivalent" ('' Thug Matrix'', 2005) *

Sean Price Sean Duval Price (March 17, 1972August 8, 2015) was an American rapper and member of the hip hop collective Boot Camp Clik. He was one half of the duo Heltah Skeltah, performing under the name Ruck, along with partner Rock. Early life and edu ...

– "Spliff N Wessun" (featuring

Ruste Juxx Victor Evans (born January 20, 1978), better known by his stage name Ruste Juxx, is an American rapper. He is originally from Crown Heights, Brooklyn. He was a protege of Sean Price, and a frequent guest rapper on Duck Down Music recordings. His ...

) (''

Monkey Barz ''Monkey Barz'' is the debut solo studio album by American Brooklyn-based rapper Sean Price of Heltah Skeltah. It was released on May 31, 2005 through Duck Down Records as a part of the label's "Triple Threat Campaign", followed by Buckshot's '' ...

'', 2005) * Cormega – "Rapture" ('' Born and Raised'', (2009) * Killah Priest – "Super God" ('' The Psychic World of Walter Reed'') (2013) *

Capone-N-Noreaga Capone-N-Noreaga (also known as C-N-N) is an American hip hop duo formed in 1995 from Queens, New York. The duo features East Coast rappers Capone and N.O.R.E. History In October 1995, Capone-N-Noreaga appeared in '' The Source'' magazine's ...

– "Future", "Not Stick You Pt. 2" (feat.

) (''

Lessons A lesson or class is a structured period of time where learning is intended to occur. It involves one or more students (also called pupils or learners in some circumstances) being taught by a teacher or instructor. A lesson may be either one ...

'', 2015)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayatollah 1971 births Living people American hip-hop record producers Musicians from New York City Wu-Tang Clan affiliates Record producers from New York (state)