Leshan Lewis (born December 7, 1966), professionally known by his

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

L.E.S., is an American DJ and

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 ...

commonly associated with New York rapper

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...

, with whom he grew up in the Queensbridge housing project. His first production credit landed on Nas' popular song " Life's a Bitch" from ''

Illmatic ''Illmatic'' (stylized in lowercase) is the debut studio album by the American rapper Nas, released on April 19, 1994, by Columbia Records. After signing with the label with the help of MC Serch, Nas recorded the album in 1992 and 1993 at Chung ...

'' album in 1994. The following year saw him producing his first charted single, AZ's " Sugar Hill" from ''

Doe or Die ''Doe or Die'' is the debut studio album by rapper AZ, released October 10, 1995, by EMI Records. The album features guest appearances by artists such as Nas and Miss Jones, and production from N.O. Joe, Pete Rock, L.E.S., and Buckwild, amon ...

''. Since the mid-90's, Lewis has produced songs for hip hop acts such as

Shyheim Shyheim Dionel Franklin (born November 14, 1979) is an American rapper from New York better known simply as Shyheim. He initially gained fame as a teenager, releasing his debut album ''AKA the Rugged Child'' at the age of 14 in 1994. He has sp ...

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American Hip-hop, hip hop duo formed in Queens, New York (state), New York in 1990. Consisting of rappers/songwriters/record producers Prodigy (rapper), Prodigy and Havoc (musician), Havoc, they are considered to be among the pr ...

, Royal Flush,

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

Big Pun Christopher Lee Rios (November 10, 1971 – February 7, 2000), better known by his stage name Big Pun (short for Big Punisher), was an American rapper. Emerging from the underground hip hop scene in the Bronx, he came to prominence upon discover ...

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 ...

MC Lyte Lana Michele Moorer (born October 11, 1970), better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rapper. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, MC Lyte first gained fame in the late 1980s, becoming the first female rapper to release a ...

Flipmode Squad Flipmode Squad is an American hip hop collective formed and fronted by Busta Rhymes. History In 1993, Busta Rhymes first introduced the Flipmode Squad when he still was a part of former group Leaders of the New School, with the members bei ...

Rahzel Rozell Manely Brown (born October 6, 1964) is an American beatboxer and rapper, formerly a member of the Roots. Rahzel is known for an ability to sing or rap while simultaneously beatboxing, as evidenced in his performances of "Iron Man" and h ...

Benzino Raymond Scott (born July 18, 1965), better known by his stage name Benzino or Ray Benzino, is an American urban media proprietor, television personality, rapper and record producer. Benzino produced records (as part of the production team Hang ...

, Cassidy and

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 ...

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper. He began recording as a member of Hip-hop, hip hop group D.I.T.C., Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992, and pursued a sol ...

, as well as R&B singer Joe, and German rappers

Kool Savas Savaş Yurderi (born 10 February 1975), known by his stage name Kool Savas, is a German rapper of Turkish Origin. Along with Taktlo$$, he formed the highly influential German rap duo Westberlin Maskulin (1997–2000). He was also a founding me ...

and Azad. Lewis first teamed up with

hip hop production Hip hop production is the creation of hip hop music in a recording studio. While the term encompasses all aspects of hip hop music creation, including recording the rapping of an MC, a turntablist or DJ providing a beat, playing samples and " ...

duo

Poke & Tone The Trackmasters, also known as Poke & Tone, is an American hip hop production outfit composed of Poke (Jean-Claude Olivier born January 21, 1970; Brooklyn, New York ) and Tone (Samuel Barnes born January 20, 1969; Brooklyn, New York). Active fro ...

for the song "Black Girl Lost" from Nas' second studio album ''

It Was Written ''It Was Written'' is the second studio album by American rapper Nas, released on July 2, 1996, by Columbia Records. After the modest commercial success of his debut album '' Illmatic'' (1994), Nas pursued a more polished, mainstream sound for '' ...

'' in 1996. Collaboratively, they went on to produce several songs for

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...

's 1997 album ''

Big Willie Style ''Big Willie Style'' is the debut solo album by American rapper and actor Will Smith. It was released on November 25, 1997, by Columbia Records. The album was primarily produced by Poke & Tone, with other contributors including L.E.S. and Smith' ...

'', including number-one single "

Gettin' Jiggy wit It "Gettin' Jiggy wit It" is a song by American rapper and actor Will Smith, released as the third single from his debut solo album, ''Big Willie Style'' (1997). The verse is based around a sample of "He's the Greatest Dancer" by Sister Sledge, an ...

" and "

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

", as well as

Amil Amil Kahala Whitehead (born September 19, 1973) is an American former rapper and singer. Based in New York City, she signed with Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records, in a joint venture with Columbia Records in 1997. The following year, she appeared al ...

's 2000 single "

I Got That "I Got That" is a hip-hop song by American rapper Amil from her album ''All Money Is Legal'' (2000). She wrote the track with its producers, L.E.S. and Poke & Tone, along with Jay-Z, Makeda Davis, and Tamy Lestor Smith. In the lyrics, Amil ...

" from ''

All Money Is Legal ''All Money Is Legal'', also known as ''A.M.I.L.: (All Money Is Legal)'', is the only studio album by American rapper Amil. It was released on August 29, 2000, through Roc-A-Fella Records, Roc-A-Fella, Columbia Records, Columbia, and Sony Music ...

''. He joined forces with record producer

Cory Rooney Mark Cory Rooney (born 1968) is an American record producer. He has been credited on releases for high-profile music industry artists including Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Thalia, Michael Jackson ...

twice, working on R&B hits " Bring It All to Me" by

Blaque Blaque ( ) is an American girl group; they had songs chart from 1999 to 2004. Outside of the United States and Canada, they are known as Blaque Ivory. Their self-titled debut album ''Blaque'' sold more than 1 million copies and was certified ...

and "

I'm Real "I'm Real" is the name of two songs recorded by American actress and singer Jennifer Lopez, both primarily for her second studio album, ''J.Lo (album), J.Lo'' (2001). The original song was released as the album's third single; Ja Rule of Murder ...

" by J.Lo, with the latter has also been produced by

Troy Oliver Troy Oliver is an American multi-instrumentalist, record producer and songwriter born in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. He wrote and produced "Jenny from the Block" and " I’m Real" for Jennifer Lopez, and " Differences" for Ginuwine ...

. Until mid-2008, Lewis took part in almost all the musical projects of Nas and his affiliates, including

The Firm The FIRM is a brand of exercise videos and equipment currently owned by Gaiam. First released in 1986, the video series is best known for popularizing a hybrid of aerobic exercise and weight training. History In 1979, Anna Benson founded th ...

Bravehearts Bravehearts were an American hip hop group from New York City. The group's roster originally included Jungle (born Jabari Jones, son of jazz trumpeter Olu Dara, and younger brother of hip hop star Nas), Wiz (born Mike Epps), and Horse (born E. ...

and ''

Nas & Ill Will Records Presents QB's Finest ''Nas & Ill Will Records Presents QB's Finest'', commonly known as simply ''QB's Finest'', is a compilation album released on November 21, 2000 and the second release from rapper Nas' new Ill Will Records imprint, distributed by Columbia Record ...

'', handling production of the singles "

Firm Biz "Firm Biz" is the first and only single by the hip hop supergroup The Firm from their singular collaborative LP '' The Album''. The song was produced by L.E.S, who based the song's track on a sample of Teena Marie's 1981 hit " Square Biz". "Firm B ...

", "

Nastradamus ''Nastradamus'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper Nas, released on November 23, 1999, by Ill Will and Columbia Records. It was originally intended to be composed entirely of material from sessions for '' I Am...'' and released Oct ...

" and " Just a Moment". In the 2010s, Lewis and

Wyldfyer Wyatt Coleman, also known as Wyldfyer is an American music producer. He produced a promo album (from Jay-Z), The Black Album: Classik. He produced tracks for Nas's ''Hip Hop Is Dead'', and the collaboration between Nas and Jay-Z, "Black Republi ...

, with whom he previously collaborated on Nas' ''

Hip Hop Is Dead ''Hip Hop Is Dead'' is the eighth studio album by American rapper Nas, released December 19, 2006, on Def Jam Recordings. His first album for the label, it was co-financed by Nas's previous label, Columbia Records, which once distributed for Def ...

'', produced

Jay Rock Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr. (born March 31, 1985), better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper from Los Angeles, California. Rock signed with local independent label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2005. He secured a major lab ...

's song "Trapped in the Hood" from '' Black Friday'' mixtape. Together with

Chucky Thompson Carl Edward Thompson Jr. (July 12, 1968 – August 9, 2021) was an American record producer, best known for his work with Sean Combs' Bad Boy Records. Biography Thompson was born in Washington, D.C., in 1968. He was a member of Bad Boy Entertai ...

, with whom he united working on Nas' ''

Street's Disciple ''Street's Disciple'' is the seventh studio album by American rapper Nas, released as a double album by Columbia Records. Originally scheduled for a September 14, 2004 release, the album was ultimately released on November 30, 2004. Named after ...

'', Lewis produced a song "Your Loss" from

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after National Football League, NFL and Canadian Football Lea ...

' ''The Return of the Dragon (The Abstract Went on Vacation)'' mixtape. Lewis and record producer Chemist produced

Freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

's song "Kane & Abel" for the rapper's fifth solo studio album ''

Free Will Free will is generally understood as the capacity or ability of people to (a) choice, choose between different possible courses of Action (philosophy), action, (b) exercise control over their actions in a way that is necessary for moral respon ...

''. In 2014 he starred in

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

'' Nas: Time Is Illmatic''. L.E.S. along with DJ Rick Flare co-founded a recording studio named 45th Street Studios located in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

Notable productions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:L.E.S. 1966 births Living people African-American record producers American hip-hop record producers Record producers from New York (state)