WLPWR
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

William Washington, known professionally as WLPWR (pronounced ''Willpower'') is a musician and
music 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 ...
who founded SupaHotBeats in 2002, as well as BNDWTH, a record label and
production studio A production company, production house or production studio 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, and video. These groups ...
based out of
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
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 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 ...
, and
audio engineers An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduc ...
, WLPWR worked with producer
K-Def K-Def (full name Kevin Hansford) (born June 17, 1970) is an American, New Jersey–based, hip hop producer/ DJ who has been actively involved in the music industry since the early 1990s. He has recently produced music for artists such as Ghostfa ...
who mentored Will and taught him how to produce
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- ...
on
Logic Pro Logic Pro is a proprietary digital audio workstation (DAW) and MIDI sequencer software application for the macOS platform developed by Apple Inc. It was originally created in the early 1990s as Notator Logic, or Logic, by German software devel ...
. 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 Vanterpool; May 29, 1935 – September 29, 2011), known mononymously as Sylvia, was an American singer and record producer. Robinson achieved success as a performer on two R&B chart toppers: as half of Mickey & Sylv ...
. 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 Gadsden, Alabama, and raised in Antioch, Tennessee, he embarked on his recording career in 2005, releasing four mixtapes to pos ...
in the lobby of Sugar Hill Records, and they formed an instant connection. During this time, his label SupaHotBeats was established in
Columbia, SC Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...
. 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 Gadsden, Alabama, and raised in Antioch, Tennessee, he embarked on his recording career in 2005, releasing four mixtapes to pos ...
to work on his studio album ''Fearin' and Loathin' in Smalltown, U.S.A.'' for
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...
.


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 Gadsden, Alabama, and raised in Antioch, Tennessee, he embarked on his recording career in 2005, releasing four mixtapes to pos ...
's mixtape " Trunk Muzik" which was later re-released by
Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, 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 ...
as
Trunk Muzik 0-60 ''Trunk Muzik'' is a mixtape by American rapper Yelawolf, released on January 1, 2010. It features ten all new songs and two remixes. It is hosted by DJ Burn One and contains production from WLPWR, Malay & KP and Kane Beatz and features gues ...
''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 "sc ...
. 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 Gadsden, Alabama, and raised in Antioch, Tennessee, he embarked on his recording career in 2005, releasing four mixtapes to pos ...
on his debut for
Shady Records Shady Records is an American record label founded by rapper Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg in 1999, following the commercially successful release of '' The Slim Shady LP'' that same year. The label's name comes from the last name of Eminem ...
, Will and
Yelawolf Michael Wayne Atha (born December 30, 1979), better known by his stage name Yelawolf, is an American rapper. Born in Gadsden, Alabama, and raised in Antioch, Tennessee, he embarked on his recording career in 2005, releasing four mixtapes to pos ...
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 Gadsden, Alabama, and raised in Antioch, Tennessee, he embarked on his recording career in 2005, releasing four mixtapes to pos ...
returned to the studio and released ''
Trunk Muzik Returns ''Trunk Muzik Returns'' is the sixth official mixtape by American rapper Yelawolf. The mixtape was released as a free digital download on March 14, 2013 on his Slumerican website and other mixtape hosting websites. It features production solel ...
'', which was another success. Building on this momentum, Building on this momentum, his most recent work is 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 Gadsden, Alabama, and raised in Antioch, Tennessee, he embarked on his recording career in 2005, releasing four mixtapes to pos ...
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 number 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'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...
and peaked 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. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he signed with the local independent label Rostrum Records to re ...
,
Tech N9ne Aaron Dontez Yates (born November 8, 1971), better known by his stage name Tech N9ne (pronounced "tech nine"), is an American rapper and singer. In 1999, he and business partner Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music. He has sold ...
and
Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...
. 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 the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...
, 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 the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...
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. Justin Lewis Scott (born August 26, 1986), known professionally as Big K.R.I.T. (a backronym for King Remembered in Time), is an American rapper and record producer. Born in Meridian, Mississippi, he began his musical career in 2005. He was sign ...
,
!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, known professionally as Jazze Pha ( ), is an American record producer, rapper, singer and songwriter. He founded the record label Sho'nuff Records in 1995, through which he signed R&B singer Ciara in 2003. He produced h ...
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 Musicians from Atlanta Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American hip-hop record producers Record producers from South Carolina American hip-hop musicians