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William Washington, known professionally as WLPWR (pronounced ''Willpower'') is a musician and
music producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
who founded SupaHotBeats in 2002, as well as BNDWTH, a record label and
production studio A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, ...
based out of
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...
founded by Washington in 2018.


Early career

Will began producing music as early as 1997 in while living in Columbia, SC. It was in the Carolinas that WLPWR first began to make a name for himself while producing for nearly every urban artist on the local independent scene. While working in a compound of music producers, and audio engineers, WLPWR worked with producer K-Def who mentored Will and taught him how to produce hip hop on
Logic Pro Logic Pro is a digital audio workstation (DAW) and MIDI sequencer software application for the macOS platform. It was originally created in the early 1990s as Notator Logic, or Logic, by German software developer C-Lab which later went by Em ...
. In an era before the internet, he was selling music out of his trunk. In 2001 WLPWR worked as a producer for
Sylvia Robinson Sylvia Robinson (née Vanderpool; May 29, 1935 – September 29, 2011) was an American singer, record producer, and record label executive. Robinson achieved success as a performer on two R&B chart toppers: as half of Mickey & Sylvia with ...
. In these early years of his career he met
Yelawolf Michael Wayne Atha (born December 30, 1979), better known by his stage name Yelawolf, is an American rapper. Born in Alabama and raised in Tennessee, he embarked on his career independently in 2005, releasing one extended play (EP) and four mixt ...
in the lobby of
Sugar Hill Records Sugar Hill Records is an American bluegrass and Americana record label. It was founded in Durham, North Carolina in 1978 by Barry Poss and David Freeman, the owner of County Records and Rebel Records. Poss acquired full control of Sugar H ...
, and they formed an instant connection. During this time, his label SupaHotBeats was established in Columbia,SC. Through this label, Will started ''The Starving Artist Showcase'', a music contest which later laid the foundation for his television show ''The Independent Music Review''. The show aired on WACH Fox 57 in Columbia. In 2005 he made the decision to move his business to Atlanta, GA where the music industry was more accessible. In 2007, Will reconnected with
Yelawolf Michael Wayne Atha (born December 30, 1979), better known by his stage name Yelawolf, is an American rapper. Born in Alabama and raised in Tennessee, he embarked on his career independently in 2005, releasing one extended play (EP) and four mixt ...
to work on his studio album ''Fearin' and Loathin' in Smalltown, U.S.A.'' for
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
.


2010 to 2011

In 2009 Will produced
Yelawolf Michael Wayne Atha (born December 30, 1979), better known by his stage name Yelawolf, is an American rapper. Born in Alabama and raised in Tennessee, he embarked on his career independently in 2005, releasing one extended play (EP) and four mixt ...
s Mixtape ''Trunk Muzik'' which was later re-released by
Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mu ...
as Trunk Muzik 0-60 ''Trunk Muzik'' launched Will further into his career as a
Hip Hop Producer 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 "s ...
. Though he continued to work with
Yelawolf Michael Wayne Atha (born December 30, 1979), better known by his stage name Yelawolf, is an American rapper. Born in Alabama and raised in Tennessee, he embarked on his career independently in 2005, releasing one extended play (EP) and four mixt ...
on his debut for
Shady Records Shady Records is an American record label founded by rapper Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg, after the highly successful release of Eminem's '' The Slim Shady LP'' (1999). Shady has seen negative times when being part of the unsuccessful ...
, Will and
Yelawolf Michael Wayne Atha (born December 30, 1979), better known by his stage name Yelawolf, is an American rapper. Born in Alabama and raised in Tennessee, he embarked on his career independently in 2005, releasing one extended play (EP) and four mixt ...
never became exclusive to each other in terms of their work, despite their chemistry.


2013 to 2015

A few years after the release of the original ''Trunk Muzik'', Will and
Yelawolf Michael Wayne Atha (born December 30, 1979), better known by his stage name Yelawolf, is an American rapper. Born in Alabama and raised in Tennessee, he embarked on his career independently in 2005, releasing one extended play (EP) and four mixt ...
returned to the studio and released '' Trunk Muzik Returns'', which was another success. Building on this momentum, his most recent work is also another album he did with
Yelawolf Michael Wayne Atha (born December 30, 1979), better known by his stage name Yelawolf, is an American rapper. Born in Alabama and raised in Tennessee, he embarked on his career independently in 2005, releasing one extended play (EP) and four mixt ...
titled
Love Story Love Story or A Love Story may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres * Romance (love) ** Romance film ** Romance novel Films * ''Love Story'' (1925 film), German silent film * ''Love Story'' (1942 film), Italian drama film * ''Love ...
which debuted at No. 3 on the
Billboard Chart The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the '' ...
hit No. 1 on the Billboard Chart (Hip Hop).


Production style

Will's production style attracted many other artists, including
Rittz Jonathan Matthew McCollum (born August 16, 1980), better known by his stage name Rittz, is an American rapper. His debut album '' The Life and Times of Jonny Valiant'' was released on April 30, 2013, rising to number 8 on ''Billboard'' Hot R&B/Hi ...
,
Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006 and signed to Warner Records, Warner Bros ...
,
Tech N9ne Aaron Dontez Yates (born November 8, 1971), better known by his stage name Tech N9ne (pronounced "tech nine"), is an American rapper. In 1999, he and business partner Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music. He has sold over two ...
and
Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...
. The way he describes his production style is a unique one-on-one collaboration with each different
artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, t ...
, tailoring his beats and sounds to the artist's personal style and working off the vibe they create together in the studio. When he is not working with other
artists An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, the ...
he continues to create music for himself as a musician, and helps other producers learn the business.


FreeGame Podcast

In 2016 Wlpwr started as podcast titled "The FreeGame Producers Podcast" in which he interviews music producers and other music industry professionals about the business of making music. Some of his guests included notable musicians such as Big K.R.I.T.,
!llmind Ramon Ibanga, Jr. (born August 28, 1980), known professionally as Illmind (often stylized as !llmind), is an American record producer, songwriter, and educator. As of 2012, he lives in Brooklyn, New York. Illmind has co-written and produced hip ...
, Focus..., Dj Toomp
Jazze Pha Phalon Anton Alexander, (born April 15, 1974), professionally known as Jazze Pha ( ), is an American record producer, singer, songwriter and rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Sho'nuff Records, to wh ...
and more.
In 2019 the podcast partnered with AirBit and took the podcast to YouTube for viewers to watch the recorded interviews.


Discography


References


External links


WLPWR.comFree Game PodcastWLPWR on discogs
* BNDWTH.net {{DEFAULTSORT:WLPWR People from Atlanta Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American hip hop record producers Record producers from South Carolina American hip hop musicians