No I.D.

No I.D.
No I.D. in March 2008.
Background information
Birth name	Ernest Dion Wilson
Also known as	Immenslope[1][2]
Born	June 28, 1971 Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genres	Hip hop, R&B
Occupation(s)	A&R, DJ, music arranger, rapper, record producer, songwriter[3]
Instruments	Sampler, keyboards, bass guitar
Years active	1989–present
Labels	ARTium, Very GOOD Beats, Roc Nation, Def Jam (current) Relativity (former)
Associated acts	Cocaine 80s, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Big Sean, Common, J. Cole, Dug Infinite, Jermaine Dupri, Nas, Vince Staples, Logic, Dion & Tony

Ernest Dion Wilson, professionally known as No I.D. (also known as Immenslope, born June 28, 1971),^[4] is an American hip hop and R&B music producer from Chicago, Illinois. Wilson is also a disc jockey (DJ), music arranger and rapper, having released an album in 1997, titled Accept Your Own and Be Yourself (The Black Album), under Relativity Records. He is perhaps best known for his early work with Chicago-based rapper Common. He has since become a heavily sought-out and high-profile producer, producing hit singles such as "Smile" by G-Unit, "Outta My System" and "Let Me Hold You" by Bow Wow, "Heartless" by Kanye West, "D.O.A." by Jay Z and "My Last" by Big Sean.

Wilson, who has served as a musical mentor for several artists, such as Kanye West, is considered "The Godfather of Chicago hip hop".^[5][6] Wilson was once president of West's GOOD Music record company and although he would resign from that position, he stayed contracted as an in-house producer. In June 2011, Wilson announced he formed the supergroup Cocaine 80s, alongside Common and several other artists. In August 2011, Wilson became the Executive Vice President of A&R for Def Jam Recordings. He subsequently launched his own record label imprint, ARTium Recordings. He is currently the Executive Vice President and Head of Creative at Def Jam Recordings.

Musical career

In 1996, Wilson released an album under the pseudonym No I.D., titled Accept Your Own and Be Yourself (The Black Album).^[7] The moniker No I.D. is a half-palindrome of his birth name, Dion. He also released a beat tape, titled Invisible Beats.^[8] In Wilson's early career he was working as a co-producer (and sometimes ghost producer) for Jermaine Dupri. No I.D. went on to work on hit singles such as "My Boo" by Usher and Alicia Keys and "Let Me Hold You" by Bow Wow featuring Omarion, as well as "Resurrection" and the ode to hip hop "I Used to Love H.E.R.", which garnered Chicago-based rapper Common (formerly Common Sense) his early fame. Wilson also introduced Chicago-based rapper Kanye West to hip hop production, inviting him to his sessions with Common, when West was only beginning. He also introduced West to a long-time friend named Kyambo "Hip Hop" Joshua, who was A&R for Roc-A-Fella Records, who eventually signed West to his imprint Hip Hop Since 1978, which launched West's career as an artist and into stardom. West cites Wilson as his mentor on "Last Call," the outro to his highly acclaimed debut album The College Dropout (2004).^[9] West also referenced Wilson's mentorship on songs such as "Big Brother" and "Made in America." Wilson's second official release was with Dug Infinite, a two-album package titled The Sampler, vol. 1 (2002).

No I.D. (left) with Kanye West and former G.O.O.D Music A&R Greg "Olskool Ice-Gre" Lewis (middle) in a recording studio.

In 2007, he was the focus of perhaps the most attention of his career for producing two songs from Jay-Z's album American Gangster. At the time he worked with artists such as Jay-Z, Rhymefest, Plies, Big Sean, Killer Mike, Rick Ross, Drake (Thank Me Later), and Kanye West (808's & Heartbreak, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy), Young Jeezy, and Rihanna on their then-upcoming albums. Wilson produced "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)", the first single for Jay-Z's eleventh studio album The Blueprint 3 (2009), as well as the second single "Run This Town", which features Barbadian singer Rihanna and Kanye West. He once again teamed up with Common for the first time since 1997, when he handled the production for his ninth album The Dreamer/The Believer (2011). In June 2011, Wilson formed Cocaine 80s, a musical ensemble composed of several musicians, including Common, James Fauntleroy II, Kevin Randolph, Makeba Riddick, Rob "The Mixer" Kinelski, Steve Wyreman, Free Bass, Keys of Coke and Sam Lewis, among several others.^[10][11][12]

After resigning as President of Kanye West GOOD Music record company, in August 2011, it was announced No I.D. was appointed Executive Vice President of A&R for Def Jam Recordings. In addition, Def Jam has signed an exclusive joint venture label deal for No I.D.'s Artium Recordings. The announcements were made by Barry Weiss, Chairman and CEO of Universal Republic and Island Def Jam Motown and Karen Kwak, EVP / Head of A&R, Island Def Jam Music Group.^[13][14] In 2012, Wislon was an executive producer on New York City-based rapper Nas' critically acclaimed eleventh album Life Is Good, producing five songs, including the twice Grammy Award-nominated single "Daughters", as well as "Loco-Motive" and "Accident Murderers".In April 2013, it was revealed Wilson signed up-and-coming rapper Logic, to Def Jam.^[15][16] In 2013, Wilson served as the primary producer of GOOD Music recording artist Big Sean's second album Hall of Fame. In an August 2013 interview with Complex, Wilson said he was currently working on Jhene Aiko and Logic's upcoming respective debut albums.^[3] Since the inception of Artium, Wilson has signed Common, Los Angeles-based singer Jhené Aiko and singer Elijah Blake.

ARTium Recordings

ARTium Recordings
Founded	2011
Founder	No I.D. (CEO)
Status	Active
Distributor(s)	Def Jam Recordings
Genre	Hip hop, R&B
Country of origin	United States
Location	Chicago, Illinois
Official website	http://worldofartium.com/

ARTium Recordings is an American record label imprint, founded by No I.D.. In August 2011, it was announced No I.D. was appointed Executive Vice President of A&R for Def Jam Recordings. In addition, Def Jam has signed an exclusive joint venture label deal for No I.D.'s Artium Recordings. The announcements were made by Barry Weiss, Chairman and CEO of Universal Republic and Island Def Jam Motown and Karen Kwak, EVP / Head of A&R, Island Def Jam Music Group. No I.D. would report directly to Mr. Weiss and Ms. Kwak.^[13] In 2012, No I.D. signed American neo-soul singer Jhené Aiko. By September 2013, No I.D. had signed up-and-coming American R&B singers Elijah Blake and Snoh Aalegra^[17] On June 4, 2014, it was announced No I.D.'s longtime collaborator and Chicago-bred rapper Common, signed a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings and ARTium Records.^[18][19]

Artists

• Cocaine 80s
• Common
• Elijah Blake
• Jhené Aiko
• Snoh Aalegra^[20]
• Vince Staples
• DJ Dahi
• Mark Battles

Discography

Artist	Album	Details
Jhené Aiko	Sail Out (EP)	Released: November 12, 2013 Chart position: #8 U.S.[21] RIAA certification: Gold[22]
Common	Nobody's Smiling	Released: July 22, 2014 Chart position: #6 U.S.[23]
Jhené Aiko	Souled Out	Released: September 9, 2014 Chart position: #3 U.S.[21]
Elijah Blake	Drift (EP)	Released: September 30, 2014 Chart position: —
Vince Staples	Hell Can Wait (EP)	Released: October 7, 2014 Chart position: #90 U.S.[24]
Elijah Blake	Shadows & Diamonds	Released: June 23, 2015 Chart position: —
Vince Staples	Summertime '06	Released: June 30, 2015 Chart position: #39 U.S.[24]
TWENTY88	TWENTY88 (EP) (released with GOOD)	Released: April 1, 2016 Chart position: #5 U.S.[25]
Snoh Aalegra	Don't Explain (EP)	Released: April 8, 2016 Chart position: —
Vince Staples	Prima Donna (EP)	Released: August 26, 2016 Chart position: #50 U.S.[24]
Common	Black America Again	Released: November 4, 2016 Chart position: #25 U.S.[23]

Discography

Studio albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions and sales figures

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		US R&B/HH
Accept Your Own and Be Yourself (The Black Album)	Release: September 23, 1997 (US) Label: Relativity Formats: CD, digital download	94
The Sampler, vol. 1 (with Dug Infinite)	Released: 2002 (US) Label: All Natural Inc. Formats: CD, digital download	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Singles

List of singles as featured performer, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions			Album
		US	US R&B	US Rap
"Sky's The Limit"[26]	1997	—	—	—	Accept Your Own and Be Yourself (The Black Album)
"—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory.

Guest appearances

List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Other artist(s)	Album
"Two Scoops of Raisins"	1992	Common	Can I Borrow a Dollar?
"In My Own World (Check the Method)"	1994		Resurrection
"When You Hot You Hot"	1998	DJ Honda, Dug Infinite	h II

Production discography

Singles produced

List of singles as either producer or co-producer, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released, performing artists and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions										Certifications	Album
		US	US R&B	US Rap	CAN	GER	NLD	NZ	SWE	SWI	UK
"Take It EZ" (Common Sense)	1992	—	—	5	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Can I Borrow a Dollar?
"Breaker 1/9" (Common Sense)		—	107	10	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Soul by the Pound" (Common Sense)	1993	—	108	7	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"I Used to Love H.E.R." (Common Sense)	1994	—	91	31	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Resurrection
"Resurrection" (Common Sense)		102	88	22	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Retrospect for Life" (Common featuring Lauryn Hill)	1997	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		One Day It'll All Make Sense
"Smile" (G-Unit)	2004	—	72	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Beg for Mercy
"Let Me Hold You" (Bow Wow featuring Omarion)	2005	4	2	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	27	RIAA: Platinum	Wanted
"Ooh Wee"[27] (Majic Massey)		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		N/A
"Outta My System" (Bow Wow featuring T-Pain and Johntá Austin)	2006	22	12	2	—	—	—	2	—	—	—	RIAA: Platinum	The Price of Fame
"Put It on Ya" (Plies featuring Chris J)	2008	31	8	6	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Da REAList
"Heartless" (Kanye West)		2	4	1	8	37	31	6	17	46	10	RIAA: 4× Platinum BPI: Silver	808s & Heartbreak
"D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" (Jay-Z)	2009	24	43	15	—	—	—	—	—	—	79		The Blueprint 3
"Run This Town" (Jay-Z featuring Kanye West and Rihanna)		2	3	1	6	18	30	9	8	9	1	RIAA: 2× Platinum[28] BPI: Silver RMNZ: Gold[29]
"Find Your Love" (Drake)	2010	5	3	—	10	—	85	—	—	—	24	RIAA: Platinum	Thank Me Later
"Mr. Rager" (Kid Cudi)		77	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager
"Ready Set Go"[30] (Killer Mike featuring T.I.)		—	110	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		PL3DGE
"My Last" (featuring Chris Brown)	2011	30	4	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RIAA: Gold[28]	Finally Famous
"Ghetto Dreams" (Common featuring Nas)		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		The Dreamer/The Believer
"Blue Sky" (Common)		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Sweet" (Common)		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Celebrate" (Common)		—	95	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"This Time" (Melanie Fiona featuring J. Cole)	2012	—	89	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		The MF Life
"Daughters" (Nas)		—	78	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Life Is Good
"Accident Murderers" (Nas featuring Rick Ross)		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Pain" (Pusha T featuring Future)		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		My Name Is My Name
"Switch Up" (Big Sean featuring Common)	2013	—	50	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Hall of Fame
"Black Skinhead" (Kanye West)		69	21	15	66	—	—	—	—	—	34		Yeezus
"Holy Grail" (Jay-Z featuring Justin Timberlake)		4	2	1	13	24	83	24	15	24	7	RIAA: 3× Platinum BPI: Silver RMNZ: Gold[31]	Magna Carta Holy Grail
"Control" (Big Sean featuring Kendrick Lamar and Jay Electronica)		111	43	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		N/A
"Bound 2"		12	3	3	74	—	—	—	—	—	55		Yeezus
"Satellites"[32] (Tassho Pearce featuring Kid Cudi)	2014	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		G.O.O.D. Company[33]
"Kingdom" (Common featuring Vince Staples)		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Nobody's Smiling
"To Love & Die" (Jhené Aiko featuring Cocaine 80s)		—	46	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	72		Souled Out
"Speak My Piece" (Common)		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Nobody's Smiling
"Diamonds" (Common featuring Big Sean)		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

Year	Nominee/work	Award	Result
2010	"Run This Town"	Best Rap Song	Won
	"D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)"		Nominated
2013	"Daughters"		Nominated
2014	"Holy Grail"		Nominated

See also

• Honorific nicknames in popular music

References

1. Johnson, Fatima. "Respect Your Elders: Common — "Two Scoops of Raisins" : RESPECT". Respect-mag.com. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
2. "Immenslope | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
3. "No I.D. Control Interview". Complex. 2013-08-28. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
4. "No I.D. profile". hotnewhiphop.com. Hot New Hip Hop. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
5. "No I.D.". BET.com. 25 July 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
6. Ahmed, Insanul. "Interview: No I.D. Talks Def Jam, Kanye West, & How He Affected "Watch The Throne"". Complex. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
7. "Accept Your Own & Be Yourself (The Black Album) - No I.D. | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. 1997-09-02. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
8. "No I.D. - Invisible Beats (Vinyl, LP) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
9. "The Original Hip-Hop (Rap) Lyrics Archive". Ohhla.com. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
10. "Cocaine 80s". Hotnewhiphop.com. 2001-02-25. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
11. "News in Brief: Cocaine 80s (No I.D. and Common), Marianne Faithfull, Kaiser Chiefs, Big Business | News". Pitchfork. 2011-06-24. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
12. "No I.D. Links With Common for 'Cocaine 80s' Side Project". Complex. 2011-06-22. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
13. "GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING HIP HOP PRODUCER NO I.D. APPOINTED EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF A&R FOR DEF JAM RECORDINGS". Universalmusic.com. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
14. "No ID Appointed Vice President Of Def Jam". Hip-Hop Wired. 2011-08-29. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
15. Mlynar, Phillip. "Logic on Working with No I.D., Signing to Def Jam and Sleeping on Couches". MTV Hive. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
16. Nguyen, Michael (2013-05-17). "Logic Details Aligning With No I.D. & Def Jam While Maintaining His Lyrical Approach | Rappers Talk Hip Hop Beef & Old School Hip Hop". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
17. "Kanye West's Mentor No I.D. Stacks ARTium Recordings with 3 R&B Artists". Singersroom. 2013-09-23. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
18. "Common Signs to No I.D.'s Artium/Def Jam Label". Billboard. 2014-06-04. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
19. "Common Signs To Def Jam, Announces "Nobody's Smiling" Release Date". Slumz.boxden.com. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
20. Morris, Matt (2013-09-24). "Snoh Aalegra – The Fall (Produced by No I.D.)". Hypetrak. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
21. "Jhené Aiko – Chart history: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
22. "American certifications – Jhené Aiko". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
23. "Common – Chart history: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
24. "Vince Staples – Chart history: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
25. "Twenty88 – Chart history: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
26. "No I.D. - Sky's The Limit/Jump On It (CD) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
27. "iTunes - Music - Ooh Wee - Single by Majic Massey". Itunes.apple.com. 2005-08-02. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
28. "American certifications – Sean, Big". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
29. "Latest Gold / Platinum Singles". RadioScope. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
30. "iTunes - Music - Ready Set Go (feat. T.I.) by Killer Mike". Itunes.apple.com. 2010-12-07. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
31. "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart – 23 September 2013". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
32. "Satellites (feat. Kid Cudi) – Single by Tassho Pearce". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
33. Hardy, Jasmine (March 17, 2014). "Tassho Pearce f. Kid Cudi - "Satellites [Prod. No I.D.]"". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Retrieved March 17, 2014.

External links

• No I.D. at AllMusic
• No I.D. discography at Discogs
• No I.D. discography at MusicBrainz