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Billboard’s Producer Spotlight series highlights creatives currently charting on Billboard’s producer rankings. Whether they are new to the industry or have been churning out hit after hit, the intention is to showcase where they are now, and their work that’s having a chart impact.
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Michael Uzowuru and J. White Did It are seasoned hitmakers on Billboard’s producer charts. The pair share the top spot on Billboard’s latest R&B Producers ranking (dated April 26, 2025) thanks to their work on SZA and Kendrick Lamar’s “30 for 30.” Uzowuru spends a 10th total week at No. 1, while J. White Did It (real name: Anthony Jermaine White) spends a 13th week on top.
“30 for 30” ranks at No. 2 on the Hot R&B Songs chart, after spending six weeks at No. 1, via 29 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 2% week-over-week) and 9.3 million official U.S. streams, according to Luminate. The song also ranks at No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100, after hitting No. 10 to become Uzowuru’s first top 10 as a producer and J. White Did It’s fourth. It was released in January on the Lana deluxe reissue of SZA’s 2022 album SOS.
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Uzowuru began producing in the early 2010s with west coast rappers Vince Staples, Earl Sweatshirt and Domo Genesis. Since then, he’s worked with Frank Ocean (Blonde), Childish Gambino (Bando Stone & The New World), Rosalía (Motomami), Kevin Abstract (American Boyfriend), Beyoncé (The Lion King: The Gift) and Halsey (The Great Impersonator), among others.
Michael Uzowuru’s Production History on the Hot 100SZA with Kendrick Lamar, “30 for 30,” No. 10, 2025 (J. White Did It)SZA, “Scorsese Baby Daddy,” No. 41, 2025 (Tyler Johnson, Tyler Page, Owen Stout)SZA, “Notice Me,” No. 44, 2022 (Teo Halm, Carter Lang, thankgod4cody)SZA feat. Travis Scott, “Open Arms,” No. 54, 2022 (Teo Halm, Rob Bisel)SZA, “Diamond Boy (DTM),” No. 60, 2025 (Carter Lang, Declan Miers, The Antydote, Solomonophonic)SZA,” Another Life,” No. 63, 2025 (Rob Bisel, Sir Dylan)Childish Gambino, “Lithonia,” No. 69, 2024 (Childish Gambino, Ludwig Göransson, Max Martin)SZA, “Crybaby,” No. 70, 2025 (Carter Lang, thankgod4cody, Declan Miers)Halsey, “Lucky,” No. 88, 2024 (RAHM, Sir Dylan)Frank Ocean, “Nights,” No. 98, 2016 (Frank Ocean, Vegyn, Buddy Ross)
As for J. White, the producer/songwriter first broke through in 2017 thanks to his work with Cardi B. He produced three tracks from her debut album, Invasion of Privacy, including its Hot 100 No. 1s “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)” and “I Like It.” He subsequently produced a third No. 1, via Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage,” featuring Beyoncé, in 2020, and later, tracks with 21 Savage, Doechii, Flo Milli and Latto.
J. White Did It’s Production History on the Hot 100Cardi B, “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves),” No. 1, three weeks, 2017 (Laquan Green)Megan Thee Stallion feat. Beyoncé, “Savage,” No. 1, one week, 2020Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin, “I Like It,” No. 1, one week, 2018 (Craig Kallman, Tainy, Invincible)SZA with Kendrick Lamar, “30 for 30,” No. 10, 2025 (Michael Uzowuru)Cardi B, “Money,” No. 13, 2018Doechii ft. Kodak Black, “What It Is (Block Boy),” No. 29, 2023Polo G, “Bad Man (Smooth Criminal),” No. 49, 2021Cardi B, “Money Bag,” No. 58, 2018 (Laquan Green)Iggy Azalea, “Sally Walker,” No. 62, 2019
Billboard launched the Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers charts, as well as genre-specific rankings for country, rock & alternative, R&B/hip-hop, R&B, rap, Latin, Christian, gospel and dance/electronic, in June 2019, while alternative and hard rock joined in 2020, along with seasonal holiday rankings in 2022. The charts are based on total points accrued by a songwriter and producer, respectively, for each attributed song that appears on the Billboard Hot 100. The genre-based songwriter and producer charts follow the same methodology based on corresponding “Hot”-named genre charts. As with Billboard’s yearly recaps, multiple writers or producers split points for each song equally (and the dividing of points will lead to occasional ties on rankings).
The full Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers charts and full genre rankings can be found on Billboard’s charts page.
Dem Babies are not happy with dem Easter photos. After Mariah Carey shared a carousel of sweet snaps from her family celebrations this year, the superstar’s 13-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe — whom she shares with ex Nick Cannon — both hilariously voiced their dismay in the comments. In the pictures posted on Instagram Monday […]
When you gotta go, you gotta go. Shaquille O’Neal couldn’t wait until the next commercial break while filming Inside the NBA live, so he got up and headed to the bathroom mid-show on Monday night (April 21).
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While co-hosts Charles Barkley and Kenny “The Jet” Smith were recapping the thrilling game two finish between the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets, Shaq — aka DJ Diesel — made a mad dash for the Studio J exit, which took everyone by surprise.
“You all right, big fella?” Smith asked. “You catching a cramp? It’s that olive oil you been drinking. Hey, listen, he couldn’t hold it. Can’t hold it no more after 40.”
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DJ Diesel implored them to continue the show, while anchor Ernie Johnson wondered if this was some planned skit. “I didn’t like his gait as he left, that was not a typical walk right there,” Johnson said.
Smith took a jab at Shaq as he quipped: “He’s been drinking olive oil to clean his gut, he’s cleaning his gut all right.”
A few minutes later, O’Neal returned to the set and blamed drinking too much water along with Barkley’s loud mouth. “I’m sitting here like shut the hell up and hurry up,” he said to Barkley.
Add this to the many memorable moments of Inside the NBA as the TNT show will be exiting Turner Sports at the end of the NBA’s 2025 Conference Finals.
However, it’s not the end for Shaq, Chuck, Ernie and Kenny. The crew will be heading to the ABC/ESPN family starting next season.
On the music side, let’s hope DJ Diesel uses the restroom before his gig on Friday night (April 25) when he takes over the Silo for a set in Dallas.
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Tina Knowles loves being a grandmother to Beyoncé‘s three kids — but she’s not so much a fan of how the world turned on her daughter when the superstar was first expecting.
In an interview with People published Tuesday (April 22) — the same day the businesswoman’s new memoir, Matriarch, hit shelves — Knowles opened up about how widespread rumors Bey faked her pregnancy with firstborn Blue Ivy in 2011 marred the experience for the entire family. “Babies and children are so precious and so sacred,” the designer began.
“To hear people say the most horrendous things and to call my whole family a lie — because we would all have to be part of that conspiracy and lie about something so sacred — it was one of the worst times of my life, because I couldn’t say anything,” Knowles continued. “My daughter was saying, ‘No, you’re just going to make the story bigger.’ But it didn’t go away for a long time.”
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“It’s one of the most painful things for me, to know that people could be that disgusting,” she added, noting that the incessant pop-culture rumor mill has remained an ever-present challenge for her as a mom. “I deal with lies all the time. I’m dealing with lies now, that I’m having, like, an invisible zipper at my mouth. There’s always these crazy rumors that are out there and, people just get to lie, and they don’t have to suffer any consequences.”
Rumors that the “Texas Hold ‘Em” musician was pretending to be pregnant originally took off after she appeared on an Australian talk show in the fall of 2011. As she sat down for the interview, her dress folded in such a way that some viewers thought it looked like a fake baby bump caving in on itself, leading to inescapable chatter and frame-by-frame analyses from people who were convinced that Bey was lying. Even after Blue was born in January 2012, some haters still theorized that the vocalist and Jay-Z had welcomed her via surrogate.
At the time, Bey’s publicist shot down the rumors as “stupid, ridiculous and false,” while the 35-time Grammy winner added to People months later, “That was crazy. It wasn’t hurtful, it was just crazy.” The musician and Roc Nation founder are now also parents to 7-year-old twins Rumi and Sir — but more than a decade after the fact, Ms. Knowles — who was honored as Mother of the Year at 2025 Billboard Women in Music — says that the 2011 controversy still angers her, especially knowing that her daughter suffered multiple pregnancy losses before Blue came along.
“The worst thing is that people had no idea how hard it was for Beyoncé to go through multiple miscarriages, and then when finally blessed to carry a baby to term, the world starts heckling you as you both try to make it to the finish line,” she writes in Matriarch, according to snippets published by The Independent. “This child was prayed for and prayed over — a wanted, cherished, real baby, and people were making a living off saying she was a lie.”
“I wanted to curse some people out and scream at these losers to set the record straight,” Knowles adds in the book. “They had no idea what she and Jay, and our whole family, had been through.”
Actor/singer Teyana Taylor will join producer/actor La La Anthony and SNL star Ego Nwodim on the 2025 Met Gala red carpet livestream on May 5. The three women will be joined by podcaster/influencer Emma Chamberlain, who is marking her return as Vogue‘s special correspondent, interviewing some of the biggest stars walking the carpet at the […]
It’s been a full decade since Poot Lovato had her last taste of freedom — and according to Demi Lovato, the hilarious, fictitious alter ego is staying locked up for many decades more. In a TikTok video posted Monday (April 21), the singer-songwriter poked fun at the mega-viral meme from 2015 by lip-synching to an […]
Miguel is a firm believer in divine timing. Though he wrote his song “Sure Thing” at 18 and waited nearly seven years for its initial release, the precocious songwriter wasn’t flummoxed. At 25, he watched the song bloom and catapult his career as one of the premier R&B artists. At 40, the song, glittering in TikTok gold, reemerged and became a top 15 record nearly a decade and a half later, solidifying his pen and status as a songwriting marksman.
“I believe in signs, and for whatever reason, all of those variables didn’t come together for ‘Sure Thing’ at the time,” says Miguel in his new Billboard News In-Conversation interview. “I wrote that song at 18, 19, and years before Mark [Pitts] heard it. And then it took years for the song to be released. So there were a good six-plus years before writing the song and before anyone actually heard it. The game was so different.”
He continues: “‘Sure Thing’ went No. 1 on R&B and never went anywhere else. So it was really my core fans — the ones who were with me, gave me my flowers and gave the music a place to be and exist. I’m so grateful for that. Fast-forward two years, and new fans, younger fans, discovering the music is a testament to why I do this.”
Peaking at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2023, “Sure Thing” resided on his debut album, All I Want You Is You, which turns 15 later this year and marked Miguel’s entry into the R&B game at a time where Usher, Chris Brown and Ne-Yo reigned supreme.
“It’s a journey,” he reflects. “You think about how much time it took to get that album out and what it took to get there in terms of cycles, growth, challenges, failures and learning experiences. To have all of the blessings between that point and this point in my career is beautiful. It’s a trip.”
Along with “Sure Thing,” Miguel also had his debut record, “All I Want Is You,” featuring a young and flashy J. Cole. The chemistry between the two then-rookies was palpable and sparked two more instant classics later on in their careers, including Cole’s “Power Trip” and the singer’s “Come Through and Chill.”
“I come from underground hip-hop, which is a big part of my development and career,” says Miguel. “A lot of that started with my education, love for hip-hop and deep, true lyricism. Those things, I think, informed how easy it was for Cole and me to make music, and I think with the grace of everything, I look forward to many, many more because he’s not going anymore, and I’m not going anywhere.”
“We’ve definitely talked about going back and forth on production and fun concepts. That just feels like timing,” adds Miguel about a possible EP with Cole.
While Miguel enjoys reminiscing about his past successes, he’s moving forward and in a new direction, especially on his upcoming album. Earlier this year, he released “Always Time,” a sharp contrast from “Sure Thing,” where his relationship turmoil drowns him in regret.
“I am the most reliable, most unpredictable homie. I am deep into a lot of conspiracy theories. I listen to metal music. I grew up in a punk city. Punk is a huge part of my upbringing. My father is Mexican, so I love all of the traditional things that I heard growing up. He also loved Black women. So I got to listen to all the great soul music in his car when we took rides. Where I take my fans will be about the truths I’m finally comfortable sharing with you.”
Watch Miguel’s Billboard News In-Conversation interview, in which he speaks about also working with j-hope on “Sweet Dreams” and diving more into his Mexican roots musically.
Sara Bareilles is heading back to her alma mater to deliver this year’s commencement address. UCLA announced on Tuesday (April 22) that the Grammy-winning “Brave” singer will deliver the keynote address at the 2025 UCLA commencement ceremonies on June 13 in Pauley Pavilion. “My time at UCLA held some of the most treasured years of […]
Tina Knowles has revealed that she recently battled breast cancer — but with Beyoncé and Solange by her side, she had all the support she needed until she finished her treatment.
On the day of her memoir Matriarch‘s launch Tuesday (April 22), Billboard‘s 2025 Mother of the Year exclusively revealed to People that she was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer last July. She received the news after missing a scheduled mammogram two years prior, which could have helped her catch the tumor sooner.
“I forgot that I didn’t go to get my test two years before I thought I had, because COVID came, and they called me and canceled me, and they said, ‘We’ll call you when we start testing again,’” she told the publication. “And I just thought I had done it. So you cannot play around with that.”
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“It’s important not to slack on your mammograms,” she added. “I think as women, sometimes we get so busy, and we get so wrapped up and running around, but you must go get your test. Because if I had not gotten my test early, I mean, I shudder to think what could have happened to me.”
To treat the cancer, Knowles underwent surgery late last year to remove a tumor in her left breast. Throughout her treatment, the designer says that her two daughters — plus bonus daughter Kelly Rowland — were unified as her support system, writing in Matriarch, “My girls became my team.”
Knowles also shared in the book how her daughters reacted when she first received her diagnosis. While the “Texas Hold ‘Em” singer “took it well, staying positive … I could already feel her mind racing, focusing on this as a task to tackle with precision,” Knowles says Solange told her, “We are going to take care of this.”
Now, the Cécred co-owner tells People she’s “doing great” — “cancer-free and incredibly blessed that God allowed me to find it early” — and enjoying everything that’s happening this month, from the memoir’s launch to the April 28 kickoff of Bey’s highly anticipated Cowboy Carter Tour. She also revealed that she’s currently dating, sharing coyly, “Uh, I … I am spending time with a friend, yes.”
“A very nice gentleman,” added Knowles, who was previously married to Bey and Solange’s father, Mathew Knowles, and Richard Lawson, from whom she split in 2023. “We’ll see what happens.”
Nearly three decades into his Hall of Fame career, Lil Wayne is set to headline NYC’s Madison Square Garden for the first time on June 6. It’s going to be a celebratory night at one of the world’s most famous arenas, as Weezy will be releasing his anticipated Tha Carter VI album the same day. […]
