Tay Keith

A Memphis producer who went from local records to Drake and Travis Scott inside a year.

Based	Memphis, Tennessee
Producer tag	Tay Keith, f— these n— up
Known for	Drake, Travis Scott, BlocBoy JB, Beyoncé, Megan Thee Stallion

Origins in Memphis

Brytavious Chambers came up in Memphis producing for local artists while studying at Middle Tennessee State University. The Memphis lineage — Three 6 Mafia, DJ Paul, Juicy J — is directly audible in what he makes.

Look Alive

BlocBoy JB's 2018 single with Drake was the breakthrough. It reached the top five, and having Drake on your first national record is the kind of accelerant most producers never get.

The run that followed

Drake's "Nonstop" and Travis Scott's "Sicko Mode" both arrived the same year. Producing two of the biggest rap records of 2018 within months of a debut placement is close to unprecedented.

What his production sounds like

Hard, sparse and rhythmically insistent, built on Memphis conventions — dark keys, heavy 808s, a lot of space. It travels well because the drums do the work and the melody stays minimal.

The tag

His own tag is among the most recognisable in rap, though he pointedly left himself off his own list of the best ones when Complex asked him to rank them, naming Metro Boomin, Pi'erre Bourne, Wheezy, Mustard and Don Cannon instead.

Since

He has worked with Beyoncé, Megan Thee Stallion, Pooh Shiesty and much of the current Memphis wave, and has remained closely identified with the city rather than relocating.

The Memphis lineage

Three 6 Mafia, DJ Paul, Juicy J and Drumma Boy built a Memphis production tradition of dark keys, heavy drums and a great deal of empty space. He works directly inside it, and he has named Drumma Boy specifically as an influence.

Staying in school

He was studying at Middle Tennessee State University while "Look Alive", "Nonstop" and "Sicko Mode" were charting, and finished his degree. It is an unusual detail and one he has been asked about constantly since.

Sicko Mode

His section of the Travis Scott record — the beat switch that arrives partway through — is the part most people can hum. Multi-part rap songs became considerably more common afterwards.

Beyond rap

He has worked with Beyoncé and across pop and R&B, and produced heavily for Megan Thee Stallion and Pooh Shiesty. The Memphis identity has stayed intact through all of it.

The current Memphis wave

He sits alongside Hitkidd as one of the two producers most responsible for Memphis being a national story again in the 2020s, working from opposite ends of the same tradition.