Dominick J. Lamb, (born February 21, 1977) better known by his stage name Nottz (or Nottz Raw), is an American
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- ...
producer and rapper from
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 ...
.
Life and career
Some of Nottz's earliest production work was on the
Rawkus Records compilation ''
Lyricist Lounge, Volume One'', in 1998. From there he landed three tracks on Busta Rhymes' ''
Extinction level Event'' LP, after Rhymes stumbled across one of his beat tapes.
Like many other hip hop producers to emerge before the 2000s, Nottz samples from old (primarily soul) records and film soundtracks to reconstruct new beats. West Coast hip hop icon,
Dr. Dre, has named Nottz as one of his favorite producers, and has selected him as one of the few guest producers on his much delayed, yet anticipated ''
Detox'' album that never was released.
Nottz assisted in the production of the singer
Bilal's second album, ''
Love for Sale''.
Nottz has a group called D.M.P., which stands for "Durte Muzik Prahdukshun". They released an EP in 2004, a full-length album on
Koch Records, titled ''Nottz Presents D.M.P.'', in 2005 and an album titled ''God Made Durt'' in 2013, under Raw Koncept.
In 2010, Nottz released his first solo album, ''You Need This Music'', under Raw Koncept. The album features Nottz as an MC, as well as a producer. Nottz also worked with rapper
Asher Roth on the collaborative ''Rawth EP'', released as a free download, on December 27, 2010, under Raw Koncept and School Boy.
In 2011, Nottz worked with The Game on his fourth album ''
The R.E.D. Album
''The R.E.D. Album'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper The Game (rapper), Game. It was released on August 23, 2011, by DGC Records and Interscope Records, which serves as Game's first release under DGC and his first album for Intersc ...
'', after having three of his beats on The Game's two previous albums ''
Doctor's Advocate
''Doctor's Advocate'' is the second studio album by American hip hop recording artist the Game, released on November 14, 2006, through Geffen Records. The album is his second major-label release, following 2005's ''The Documentary'', which was ...
'' and ''
LAX''. On June 15, 2012, Nottz and Kardinal Offishall released the collaborative mixtape ''
A.M.T.R.I.M.'', which was offered as a free download.
In 2013,
Blu and Nottz Raw released their collaborative EP, ''
Gods in the Spirit''. That same year, Nottz worked with
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
to produce Pusha T's
Nosetalgia, which features fellow rapper
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...
.
On August 9, 2014, 9th Wonder announced that Nottz became a part of The Soul Council production team. A longtime admirer of his production work, 9th Wonder has spoken very highly of Nottz in the past. In 2010, he referred to Nottz as "the best beat maker on Earth right now" and claiming him as "the best producer in the game".
Discography
* ''You Need This Music'' (2010)
* ''Sounds of Meadowbrook'' (2023)
References
External links
Nottzat
Discogs
Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...
Raw KonceptProducer's Corner: Nottz
{{Authority control
1977 births
African-American male rappers
20th-century American male rappers
African-American record producers
American hip-hop record producers
Southern hip-hop musicians
Living people
Musicians from Norfolk, Virginia
Rappers from Virginia
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American people
Record_producers_from_Virginia