Elite (record producer)
Anthony Parrino (born January 4, 1983), better known by his stage name Elite, is an American hip hop record producer and recording artist best known for his work with J. Cole, Dreamville Records, and the Ruff Ryders recording label in the early 2000s.[1] Elite is from Byram, Connecticut and resides in Brooklyn, New York.
Elite | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Anthony Parrino |
| Born | January 4, 1983 |
| Genres | Hip-Hop, Indie |
| Occupation(s) | Record producer, artist |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Labels | Dreamville Records |
| Associated acts | J. Cole, Omen, Bas, Ari Lennox, EarthGang, JID, Sean McVerry |
| Website | www.elitethatsme.com |
Career
In mid 2000, Elite started working as an intern for Ruff Ryders Entertainment[2] and eventually caught the ear of rapper Drag-On, placing his first produced song on the Cradle 2 the Grave soundtrack in 2002. Working as an in-house producer for Ruff Ryders, Elite went on to produce "Shoot Outs" for Jadakiss featuring Styles P from Kiss of Death as well as the "Why Remix" featuring Anthony Hamilton, Styles P, Common, and Nas. In 2004 Elite graduated cum laude from SUNY Purchase music conservatory studying Studio Production. In 2006 Elite produced "Wrong or Right (I'm Tired)" for DMX from the album Year of the Dog... Again.
In 2009, Elite began working with longtime friend and Roc Nation recording artist J. Cole on his mixtape The Warm Up. Elite produced "Heartache"[3] and a good portion of the mixtape was recorded at his home studio in New York. In 2010, Elite released his first mixtape entitled "The Groundwork"[4] which was a collection of all of his production work up to that point. The mixtape featured an unreleased J. Cole song titled "Playground".[5] Elite also produced "See World"[6] for J. Cole off of his third mixtape, Friday Night Lights. Elite co-produced J. Cole's first single "Who Dat"[7] which was featured as an iTunes bonus on Cole World: The Sideline Story.
In 2011, Elite released his first project as an artist entitled "Awaken"[8] which featured J. Cole, Omen, Voli and Sean McVerry.
Elite worked on multiple songs on J. Cole's second album Born Sinner,[9] co-producing the title track "Born Sinner", and adding additional production to "Run Away". Cole sampled the song "Do She Got a Friend Tho?" from Elite's mixtape "Level Up" on the standout "Let Nas Down".[10] In June 2013, J. Cole released his second single from Born Sinner titled "Crooked Smile" which was co-produced by Elite and features TLC.
Elite worked together with J. Cole once more on the song "Folgers Crystals" from the 2015 work Revenge Of The Dreamers II, he also produced the song "48 Laws" by Omen feat. Donnie Trumpet from the same album.
In December 2016, J. Cole released his fourth studio album 4 Your Eyez Only, which was co-executive produced by Elite.
In April 2018, J. Cole released his fifth studio album KOD, which featured co-production from Elite on a majority of the album.
In May 2019, Ari Lennox released her debut studio album Shea Butter Baby, executive produced by Elite. Two of the album's lead singles (released in 2018) were produced by Elite; Whipped Cream and the title track Shea Butter Baby (feat. J. Cole), first appearing on the Creed II Soundtrack.
Discography
Mixtapes
- 2010: The Groundwork
- 2011: Awaken
- 2013: Level Up
Production discography
List of songs as producer or co-producer, with performing artists and other credited producers, showing year released and album name.
| Title | Year | Performing artist(s) | Other producer(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fireman | 2003 | Drag-On | Cradle 2 the Grave OST | |
| Peel Off | Jin | 2 Fast 2 Furious OST | ||
| Let's Ride | Diplomats (feat. Juelz Santana & Jim Jones) | AND 1 Mixtape | ||
| The Race | Drag-On | B-Side Single | ||
| Shoot Outs | 2004 | Jadakiss (feat. Styles P) | Kiss of Death | |
| Why Remix | Jadakiss (feat. Nas, Common, Styles P, Anthony Hamilton) | Single | ||
| Fight Muzik | 2005 | Joe Budden | Mood Muzik 1 | |
| Gun Ho City | Kool G Rap (feat. Canibus) | DJ Whoo Kid & Kool G Rap: Dead or Alive Mixtape | ||
| Penitentiary Chances | Jim Jones (feat. Hell Rell) | Harlem: Diary of a Summer | ||
| Wrong or Right | 2006 | DMX (feat. Bazaar Royale) | Year of the Dog... Again | |
| Shots Fired | 2007 | Styles P (feat. Jadakiss) | ||
| Heartache | 2009 | J. Cole | The Warm Up Mixtape | |
| Playground | 2010 | J. Cole | The Groundwork Mixtape | |
| Who Dat | 2011 | J. Cole | J. Cole | Cole World: The Sideline Story (iTunes Bonus) |
| See World | J. Cole | J. Cole | Friday Night Lights Mixtape | |
| Return of Simba | J. Cole | J. Cole | ||
| Visionz of Home | 2012 | J. Cole | ||
| Let Nas Down (Sampled) | 2013 | J. Cole | J. Cole | Born Sinner |
| Runaway * | J. Cole | J. Cole, Ron Gilmore | Born Sinner | |
| Born Sinner | J. Cole (feat. James Fauntleroy) | J. Cole | Born Sinner | |
| Crooked Smile | J. Cole (feat. TLC) | J. Cole | Born Sinner | |
| The Coming | 2014 | King Mez | ||
| 48 Laws | 2015 | Omen (feat. Donnie Trumpet) | Revenge of the Dreamers II | |
| Folgers Crystals | J. Cole | J. Cole | Revenge of the Dreamers II | |
| Natalie | 2016 | Sean McVerry | Sean McVerry | Hourglass Switchboard 1 |
| Kerosene | Sean McVerry | Sean McVerry | Hourglass Switchboard 1 | |
| Marcy and the Apparition | Sean McVerry | Sean McVerry | Hourglass Switchboard 1 | |
| Christina | Sean McVerry | Sean McVerry | Hourglass Switchboard 1 | |
| Strangers | Sean McVerry | Sean McVerry | Hourglass Switchboard 2 | |
| Tiger Lily | Sean McVerry | Sean McVerry | Hourglass Switchboard 2 | |
| Motion Picture Films | Sean McVerry | Sean McVerry | Hourglass Switchboard 2 | |
| Christina's Ringtone | Sean McVerry | Sean McVerry | Hourglass Switchboard 2 | |
| Willow Tree | Spillage Village (feat. JID, Jordxn Bryant, EarthGang) | Ron Gilmore, J. Cole | Bears Like Too Much | |
| 4 Your Eyez Only (Album) + | J. Cole | J. Cole | 4 Your Eyez Only | |
| Ville Mentality | J. Cole | Ron Gilmore, J. Cole | 4 Your Eyez Only | |
| She's Mine Pt. 1 * | J. Cole | J. Cole, Deputy, Ron Gilmore, Chargaux | 4 Your Eyez Only | |
| Change * | J. Cole | J. Cole, Ron Gilmore | 4 Your Eyez Only | |
| Neighbors * | J. Cole | J. Cole | 4 Your Eyez Only | |
| Foldin Clothes * | J. Cole | J. Cole, Ron Gilmore | 4 Your Eyez Only | |
| She's Mine Pt. 2 * | J. Cole | J. Cole, Deputy, Ron Gilmore, Chargaux | 4 Your Eyez Only | |
| 4 Your Eyez Only | J. Cole | BLVK, J. Cole, Childish Major | 4 Your Eyez Only | |
| High For Hours | 2017 | J. Cole | Cam O'bi, Ron Gilmore | |
| Meditate | EarthGang (feat. JID) | Childish Major | Rags - EP | |
| Ambitions | Lute | Sean McVerry | West 1996 Pt. 2 | |
| Freaky 45 | 2018 | Cozz | Ron Gilmore | Effected |
| The Cut Off * | J. Cole feat. Kill Edward | J. Cole, BLVK | KOD | |
| Kevin's Heart * | J. Cole | T-Minus, Mark Pellizzer | KOD | |
| Brackets * | J. Cole | J. Cole | KOD | |
| Once An Addict (Interlude) * | J. Cole | J. Cole, Ron Gilmore | KOD | |
| Friends * | J. Cole feat. Kill Edward | J. Cole | KOD | |
| Window Pain (Outro) * | J. Cole | J. Cole | KOD | |
| Whipped Cream | Ari Lennox | Ron Gilmore | Single | |
| Stuck | EarthGang (feat. Arin Ray) | Malik, Ron Gilmore | Mirrorland | |
| Grampa | Ari Lennox | Single | ||
| Shea Butter Baby | Ari Lennox & J. Cole | Shroom | Creed II: The Album | |
| Tiiied | JID feat. 6lack & Ella Mai | Ron Gilmore | DiCaprio 2 | |
| Shea Butter Baby (Album) + | 2019 | Ari Lennox | Shea Butter Baby | |
| Chicago Boy | Ari Lennox | Ron Gilmore | Shea Butter Baby | |
| BMO * | Ari Lennox | Omen | Shea Butter Baby | |
| Broke * | Ari Lennox | Christo, Ron Gilmore, Deputy | Shea Butter Baby | |
| Speak To Me | Ari Lennox | Ron Gilmore | Shea Butter Baby | |
| New Apartment * | Ari Lennox | DJ Grumble | Shea Butter Baby | |
| Static | Ari Lennox | Shea Butter Baby | ||
| 1993 | Dreamville, J. Cole, JID, Cozz, EARTHGANG, Smino, Buddy | Revenge of the Dreamers III | ||
| BUSSIT | Ari Lennox | Brilliant Mack, Dijon Stylez | Revenge of the Dreamers III: Director's Cut | |
| Tequila | EarthGang (featuring T-Pain) | Mirrorland | ||
| End of Daze (feat. EARTHGANG, JID, Jurdan Bryant, Mereba, and Hollywood JB) | 2020 | Spillage Village | Christo, Mike Dean, Jay Card, Nicerec, Olu | Spilligion |
| Might Not Make It | Reason | Single | ||
| Chocolate Pomegranate | Ari Lennox | Single | ||
* Indicates "Additional Production" credit
+ Indicates "Executive Production" credit
TV Scoring
| Network | Year | Segment |
|---|---|---|
| CBS | 2003 | CSI: Miami, "The Best Defense" |
| ESPN | 2006 | NBA On ESPN |
| ABC | 2006 | NBA Finals |
References
- "KillerHipHop Exclusive – Elite Interview : KillerHipHop.com". killerhiphop.com.
- "On the Come Up - August Edition". Ascap.com.
- J. Cole and Producer Elite Working on "The Warm Up". YouTube. February 16, 2009.
- "Elite – The Groundwork (Mixtape) - 2DOPEBOYZ". 2DOPEBOYZ.
- "J. Cole – Playground (prod. Elite) - 2DOPEBOYZ". 2DOPEBOYZ.
- "Thewellversed.com". Thewellversed.com.
- Complex Mag. "Mixtape: Elite "Awaken"". Complex.
- Edwin Ortiz. "Interview: J. Cole's Producer Elite Discusses "Born Sinner" and Meeting L.A. Reid". Complex.
