James "Nard" Bernard Rosser, Jr. and Brandon "B" Rackley have been steadily establishing themselves as Atlanta's premier hip hop production duo since they met at audio engineering school ten years ago. They were best known for their work with Future until recently, when Migos' released the fur trapper's anthem "T-Shirt," which they produced. Given Migos' current cache, "T-Shirt" elevated Nard & B's profile and instantly made them one of the most intriguing production outfits across the current hip hop landscape.
Click through the gallery to get to know the music of Nard & B.
Maino - "All Of The Above" feat. T-Pain
Nard & B made a big splash early when then co-produced the 2009 radio smash "All of The Above" with Just Blaze. Unless you are counting Migos' "T-Shirt," it is the biggest production credit of their career. It is certainly the biggest song of Maino's career.
T.I. - "That's What I Thought"
Nard & B got their foot in the music industry door in 2007 by way of an internship at T.I.'s Grand Hustle. "I had a little studio in downtown Atlanta," Nard told The Fader. "B and I would go to that studio every day, and I would also be at Tip’s house recording him all night. We didn’t want to hound Grand Hustle about using our production, but got to the point where they just didn’t have any beats one night. When that opportunity presented itself, we were right there waiting."
Future - "Straight Up"
In a 2012 interview with HNHH, Nard & B explained how they initially linked up with Future:
"We were working with this group called F.L.Y., one of the artists in the group told us Future wanted to do a verse. So he did a verse and I hit Future trying to get in contact with him because I didn’t know who he was forreal. So we called him up and was like, we need to go in. We finally got in and come to find out, he’s the same Future we used to see when we used to go to the studio with Rocko all the time. So it’s a blessing that we got a chance to get back in with him."
Future - "Feeling I Get"
"When we first met Future, we set up our equipment and made a beat on the spot," Nard told Fader. "Future was mumbling the hook as we were making the beat, and that ended up being 'Feeling I Get.' If I go anywhere in the city, really anywhere in America, people are always like 'I still watch that video all the time.' That was our first official collaboration, and the vibe was so crazy that we just kept going. We both put our all into that session."
Future - "2Pac"
Nard & B instantly proved themselves to Future in the "Feeling I Get" session and continued to feed him beats. They scored two placements on his seminal 2014 mixtape Monster. "2Pac" comprises of a synth swirling like a howling wind, winding piano arpeggios, and throbbing 808s. There's no doubt that the stakes are high.
Future - "Throw Away"
A year ago, HNHH senior contributor Patrick Lyons argued that Nard & B-produced "Throw Away" is the defining song of Monster. Here's what he wrote:
"Monster is Future's most deplorable tape, the one where he let his emotions overwhelm him and carry him down a rabbit hole of depravity and depression. Nothing better encapsulates his mental state at the time better than 'Throw Away,' which begins as misogynistic takedown of one night stands but morphs into something much deeper and arresting in its second half. Amid a mess of violence, sex, and drugs, Future boils down his post-breakup view towards women (“I want no relations, I just want your facial/Girl you know you like a pistol, you a throw away”), but then can't escape the memory of Ciara, seeing a bit of her in one of his so-called 'throwaways.'"
Future - "Inside the Mattress"
One hallmark of Nard & B beats is that the more you listen, the more the nuance becomes apparent. On "Inside The Mattress," N&B place a jagged synth vamp front and center, but use subtle harmonic movement to propel the beat forward.
K. Camp - "Out the Loop" feat. Trouble
In 2016, Nard & B scored production credit on songs by Lil Uzi Vert, Future, Trouble, Jose Guapo, Sosamann, Young Dolph, K Camp, among others.
"A lot of people like to call us 'studio rats,'" Nard told Fader. "I understand where they’re coming from because we’re more focused on the craft as opposed to marketing yourself and those other things. We’ve always focused on the musicianship of producing more than anything. I’m not gonna say that we shouldn’t do more promoting. But, since we’re independent, we’d rather do that from the ground level than to try to latch onto someone else’s momentum."
Lil Uzi Vert - "Seven Million" feat. Future
The emergence of "Do What I Want" as the star of The Perfect LUV Tape has somewhat obscured the equally swaggadocious "Seven Million." Once again, N&B conjure a beat with strong atmospheric elements. "Seven Million" feels like an electrical storm.
Migos - "T-Shirt"
The popularity of "T-Shirt" has given Nard & B a ton of well-deserved exposure. The elastic bass line is heightened by rich supporting textures: reversed piano riffs, swooping 808s, and the throaty reverb'd background vocals of the Migos, which cast depth as if they were singing in a Scandanavian mead hall.