Southside (record producer) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Southside
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Southside in 2018
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Joshua Howard Luellen |
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| Born | February 2, 1989 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
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| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 2003–present |
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Joshua Howard Luellen (born February 2, 1989), who is known by his stage name Southside or Sizzle, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. A record producer helps artists create their music by making the beats and sounds for their songs.
Based in Atlanta, Southside is famous in the music industry for his powerful beats in a style called trap. He met the rapper Waka Flocka Flame and soon joined his record label. In 2010, Southside and another producer, Lex Luger, started a production team called 808 Mafia. This group became very successful and worked on many hit songs.
As a lead artist, Southside released a popular album with G Herbo called Swervo in 2018. It reached number 15 on the Billboard 200 music chart. In 2022, his song "Hold That Heat" with Future and Travis Scott was his first to make it onto the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Contents
Early Life
Southside grew up in the Southeast part of Atlanta, Georgia. When he was a kid, he played Little League Baseball. He had to stop playing after he got a concussion from being hit in the head with a ball. He started making his own music beats at age 14 after his uncle gave him his first computer.
Music Career
Getting Started
When Southside was a teenager, he decided to focus on making music his career. At 17, he was discovered by the rapper Waka Flocka Flame. Through Waka Flocka, Southside met Gucci Mane and was signed to his record label, 1017 Records.
At the label, Southside met Lex Luger, another producer. Together, they created the sound for Waka Flocka's first album, Flockaveli (2010). Southside's first big song credit was for "... the Club Up" on that album.
Becoming Famous
In 2011, Southside helped produce the track "Illest ... Alive" for Kanye West and Jay-Z's album Watch the Throne. This song helped him become well-known in the hip hop world. After that, he worked with famous artists like Rick Ross, Jeezy, and Meek Mill.
Southside was the main producer for the album Ferrari Boyz (2011) by Gucci Mane and Waka Flocka. He also produced most of Waka Flocka's second album, Triple F Life: Friends, Fans & Family (2012).
Big Hits in the 2010s
In 2013, Southside produced the song "Millions" for Pusha T's mixtape Wrath of Caine. That same year, he and producer TM88 made the song "Tapout" for the group Rich Gang. "Tapout" was a big hit, reaching number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Southside's beats were featured on many mixtapes in the early 2010s. In 2014, he produced Young Thug's breakout hit "Danny Glover." Later that year, he worked on Future's popular mixtape Monster. The song "... Up Some Commas" from that mixtape became a commercial single and was a big success.
In 2015, Southside's trap sound was everywhere. He produced a large part of Future's album DS2. He also made all the beats for Future's mixtape 56 Nights in just one night. He even worked on three tracks for the album What a Time to Be Alive by Future and Drake.
Continued Success
From 2016 to today, Southside has continued to work with top artists. He produced songs for Kanye West's album The Life of Pablo and for Playboi Carti's first mixtape. He also worked on albums for 21 Savage, Drake, and Future. He contributed to Lil Durk's 2025 album, Deep Thoughts.
How He Makes Music
Southside uses a computer program called FL Studio to create his beats. He adds special sound tools called VST plugins to make his music unique. His style of trap music is known for being gritty and powerful, with heavy bass sounds from an instrument called a 808 drum machine.
His sound is often described as dark and intense. He uses hard-hitting drum kicks, fast hi-hats, and unique synthesizer sounds. Like many producers, Southside has a "tag," which is a short sound clip he puts in his songs. His main tag is a high-pitched voice saying "Southside." He also uses the tag for his group, "808 Mafia."
He has said that his favorite producer is Lil Jon. He is also inspired by famous producers like Kanye West, Dr. Dre, and Pharrell.
Discography
Collaborative albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||
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| US |
US R&B /HH |
US Rap |
US IND |
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| Swervo (with G Herbo) |
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15 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
Mixtapes
| Title | Mixtape details |
|---|---|
| Free Agent |
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| Young Extravagant ... |
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| Free Agent 2 |
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| Free Agent 3 |
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| Hardcore N Hi-Tech |
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| Lebron Flocka James 4 (with Waka Flocka Flame) |
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| I.O.U. |
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| Trap Ye |
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| 808 Day |
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| Trap Ye: Season 2 |
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| Blood on the Hills (with Pyrex and 808 Mafia) |
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| Demons R Us (with Doe Boy) |
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| BREAK THE SILENCE |
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Singles
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US |
US R&B /HH |
US Rap |
CAN |
NZ Hot |
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| "Who Run It" (with G Herbo) |
2018 | — | — | — | — | — | Swervo |
| "Focused" (with G Herbo) |
— | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Swervo" (with G Herbo) |
— | — | — | — | — | ||
| "That's How I Grew Up" (with G Herbo) |
— | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Some Nights" (with G Herbo) |
— | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Big Ol' ... " (with Wolfeworks and Craft) |
— | — | — | — | — | non-album single | |
| "Order" (with TM88 and Gunna) |
— | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Hmmm" (featuring Lil Yachty and Valee) |
— | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Can't Control" (with Bass Frequency) |
2019 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Been Thru This Before" (with Marshmello featuring Giggs and Saint Jhn) |
2020 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Blood on the Hills" (with Pyrex and 808 Mafia) |
— | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Blue Jean Bandit" (with TM88 and Moneybagg Yo featuring Young Thug and Future) |
— | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Yessirski" (with Doe Boy) |
— | — | — | — | — | Demons R Us | |
| "Tweakin" (with Doe Boy featuring Future) |
— | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Don" | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | non-album single |
| "No Keys" (featuring JessLøcc) |
— | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Lost Remix" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Empty Space" (with 10MilliVision) |
2022 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Stay with Me" (with 18iker and 808 Mafia) |
— | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Hold That Heat" (with Future featuring Travis Scott) |
57 | 16 | 13 | 43 | 9 | ||
| "Gimme da Lite" (with Lil Yachty) |
2023 | — | — | — | — | 29 | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||
As featured artist
| Title | Year | Album |
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| "Breakin' U Off" (TM88 and Rich the Kid featuring Ty Dolla Sign, 2 Chainz, and Southside) |
2020 |
