Trackmasters facts for kids

The Trackmasters are an American hip hop production team. It was first a duo made up of music producers Poke (Jean-Claude Olivier) and Tone (Samuel Barnes). They are famous for making many hit songs in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Frank "Nitty" Pimentel also helped the duo become successful.

Over the years, Trackmasters have worked with many popular hip-hop and R&B artists. These include Destiny's Child, Nas, R. Kelly, LL Cool J, Mary J. Blige, Will Smith, Jay-Z, Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey, and 50 Cent. They have earned more than seven gold and twenty platinum awards for their hit songs and remixes. Vibe magazine even ranked them as one of the "Greatest Hip-Hop Producers of All Time."

The Trackmasters' Journey to Success

Starting Out: 1989-1995

In 1989, Poke met his friend Frank "Nitty" Pimentel at a recording studio in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Frank helped Poke and Tone (who was then known as Red Hot Lover Tone) learn how to use music equipment. Alex Richbourg also joined the team that year as a musician. Later, Alex Richbourg left to work with another famous duo, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Alex "Spanador" Mosely then added live instruments like the acoustic guitar to their sound.

The name "Trackmasters" came from their first manager, Andre S. Brownne. It was first spelled "TrakMasterz" but was changed to "Trackmasters" in the mid-1990s.

Puff Daddy, who worked at Uptown Records, was very impressed with their music. Trackmasters produced songs for artists like Kool G Rap, LL Cool J, and Big Daddy Kane. Soon, they signed with Columbia Records and got their own record label called Trackmasters Entertainment.

Around this time, Poke also worked with Puff Daddy on hit songs. These included "Juicy" for The Notorious B.I.G. and "Be Happy" for Mary J. Blige. They also produced for other artists like Heavy D and Method Man.

Big Hits and Fame: 1995-2000

In 1995, Trackmasters produced two huge hits for LL Cool J from his album Mr. Smith. These songs were "Hey Lover" and "Loungin". "Hey Lover," which featured Boyz II Men, became a top 3 hit and sold over a million copies. The remix of "Loungin," featuring the R&B group Total, also reached number 3 on the charts.

In 1996, Trackmasters were the main producers for Nas's second album, It Was Written. This album was very successful and topped the Billboard 200 chart for a month. It is still Nas's best-selling album. The songs "Street Dreams" and "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" helped Trackmasters become even more famous. They also worked a lot on Foxy Brown's first album, "Ill Na Na," producing most of the songs, including "Get Me Home" and "I'll Be" with Jay-Z.

Trackmasters and Nas then formed a hip-hop supergroup called The Firm. It also included Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature. They worked with Dr. Dre on their first album. However, the group only released one album before the members went back to their solo careers.

In the late 1990s, a new sound became popular in hip-hop. It was called the "Jiggy Era" and featured upbeat music with samples from 1980s hits. Trackmasters were in high demand because they could create radio-friendly songs. During this time, they produced hits like Will Smith's "Miami" and "Men in Black". They also worked on Jay-Z's "Wishing on a Star" and a remix of Ricky Martin's "Livin' la Vida Loca".

Working with Columbia Records: 2000-2005

In 2000, Trackmasters signed a new rapper named 50 Cent to their label at Sony/Columbia Records. They produced most of his album Power of the Dollar. However, the album was not released by the record company.

In 2001, Trackmasters made a remix of Jennifer Lopez's song "I'm Gonna Be Alright" that featured 50 Cent. But the record company decided to use Nas on the song instead, so a new version was recorded.

Even though some projects faced challenges, Poke and Tone continued to produce hits for famous artists. These included LL Cool J's "Paradise", Michael Jackson's "You Rock My World [Trackmasters Remix]", and Jennifer Lopez's number 1 R&B song "Jenny from the Block".

Also in 2001, Tone produced two hit remixes for the late rapper 2Pac. His versions of "Until The End Of Time" and "Letter 2 My Unborn" helped 2Pac's album sell over three million copies.

In 2002, Trackmasters worked on The Best of Both Worlds, an album by Jay-Z and R. Kelly. They produced 10 out of 13 songs. They also worked on another album by the two artists in 2004 called Unfinished Business. However, these albums were not as successful. As music trends changed, Trackmasters' style became less popular.

Coming Back Together: 2005-Present

After 2005, Trackmasters' music was heard less often in mainstream hip-hop and R&B. Poke and Tone took on different jobs for a while. Poke became a television producer, and Tone became an Executive Vice President of A&R at Universal Music Group.

However, in 2007, they decided to work together again. They brought in more musicians and producers to make Trackmasters a full production team. Poke and Tone now oversee each project. They reportedly spent three months working on new music, creating over 230 songs.

Since reforming, they have produced songs for artists like Lil' Kim, Ray J (on his 2008 album All I Feel), and Ludacris (with the song "One More Drink" featuring T-Pain). They also worked on songs for Wiz Khalifa's 2009 album Deal or No Deal, including "This Plane."

Trackmasters' Music Style

The Trackmasters' unique music style helped them become famous. They mixed the strong "boom-bap" drum sound of older hip-hop with a modern touch. They often used samples from popular 1980s songs, which made their tracks sound polished and catchy, but still like traditional hip-hop. You can hear this style in songs like "I'll Be" by Foxy Brown and Jay-Z, and "Street Dreams" by Nas.

They also used a technique called "layering" different sounds. For example, Poke's version of "Juicy" has a layered bassline over the main sample. This made the song more rhythmic and easier to dance to.

As music trends changed, Trackmasters also added new techniques to their style. Tone believes that layering live instruments over samples makes a beat sound bigger and better. He says, "If you can layer a sample with live instruments, you're taking your track to a level that, sonically, is going to surpass what most hip-hop producers are doing." They used this technique on the song "Boyfriend" by Ray J, adding piano sounds.

Discography

Albums

• Trackmasters Remixes (2008)