Reefa

Sharif "Reefa" Slater is a music producer who has produced for notable artists. He was raised in Brownsville, Brooklyn,[1] and currently heads a production company for emerging artists and producers.

Reefa
Background information
BornBrownsville, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
OriginBrooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.
GenresHip hop
Occupation(s)Producer
Websitewww.reefamusic.com

Production work/involvement

Sharif "Reefa" Slater has produced for Lil Wayne, Estelle, The Game, Rick Ross, Troy Ave, Maino,[2] Fabolous, Ludacris, Juelz Santana, French Montana, Gucci Mane, Omarion, Beanie Sigel, Red Cafe, Super Junior and The Notorious B.I.G. One of his most successful singles to date has been "It's Okay (One Blood)" by The Game, and he has been a producer on the two Billboard #1 albums released by Miami Rapper, Rick Ross,[3] namely "God Forgives, I Don't", and "Mastermind.[4]"

Early career

Hailing from Brownsville, Brooklyn, he became interested in music - one of his uncles lived on the same block as Biggie Smalls, and he saw first hand how producers like Diddy and The Trackmasters translated their studio skills into lucrative careers. He began discjockeying at local reggae parties, and moved on to producing rap instrumentals. His first beat placement was for rapper Shells – on a song that was included on the Coach Carter film soundtrack.

Almost two years passed after he sold that track without anything really happening in his career. Things eventually got moving again through Puffy's Biggie Duets project. He produced the "Hustler's Story" song featuring Akon and Scarface, and Diddy immediately noticed he had a prize pupil on his hands. After that, the work started rolling in, and Reefa could finally start calling himself a bona fide producer. The real breakthrough in his career came via Dr. Dre's legendary West coast outfit. During a brief visit to LA, he happened to play the "One Blood" instrumental for Aftermath A&R, Angelo Sanders. Hours later, he got a call informing him he'd scored the first single to The Game's highly anticipated sophomore album.

Recent activity: late 2000s to present

Over the last five years, Reefa has clocked heavy studio time with the new titans on the hip hop scene - French Montana, Troy Ave, Chinx Drugz, Maino and the reigning hip hop heavyweight, Rick Ross. Recently, he produced three cuts of French Montana's 2013 Excuse My French album released via Puff Daddy's Bad Boy label. He also crafted critically lauded tracks for the last two Rick Ross albums, God Forgives I Don't (released in 2012) and Mastermind (released in early 2014). Both Rick Ross albums debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 Charts. The track he produced for Rick Ross's 2012 album was a soulful, percussion-heavy banger called "Ice Cold" featuring R&B star Omarion. His contribution to Ross's most recent LP was a gritty, hard-hitting NYC-style track called "What A Shame" featuring French Montana.

In 2014, Reefa enjoyed great success on the Billboard top 200 Chart. He notched production credits on two albums that debuted in the Billboard Top 10 in the same week. The first was the aforementioned Mastermind album by Rick Ross, and the second was the comeback album Braveheart from R&B princess Ashanti. Both albums were released on March 4, 2014. Still to come in 2014, Reefa co-produced with Irv Gotti, Myles William and 12Keyz, a remake of the Notorious B.I.G. song "Mo Money Mo Problems" for "The Other Woman" soundtrack movie starring Cameron Diaz, Kate Upton and Nicki Minaj. The song features vocals by both Iggy Azalea and Keyshia Cole.[5] In addition to that, he also secured the impressive job of scoring all the music for the upcoming season of T.I.'s VH1 reality show T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle.[6]"

Reefa Past Production Company: ATM (Addicted to Money)

Similar to prolific music production houses like Berry Gordy's Motown and Puff Daddy's hugely successful Hitmen, Reefa is looking to make a lasting impact with his company ATM. The production label was founded in 2005 by super-producer Sharif "Reefa" Slater. ATM currently houses upcoming hitmakers 12Keyz, Paul Ruess, TeddyDaDon and DiosMoreno. To date, the legion of exceptional musicians has created beats for artists like Estelle and Keyshia Cole. ATM also has a secret weapon under their wings – an amazing young vocalist named Jaymond Watkins. This budding star has already appeared on The Ellen De Generes show (at the age of just 11 years), and the YouTube video of that performance has garnered more than 4 million views [7]". Her album, executive produced by ATM, will drop this May. In the coming years, ATM is looking to become a household name in the music industry.

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

Year Nominee / Work Award Result
2012 "God Forgives I Don't" - (Rick Ross) Best Rap Album Nominated
2015 Estelle ft. Jussie Smollett - "Conqueror" Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media Nominated

Production Discography

References
  1. HipHopDX - Records with Nas, Puff Daddy
  2. Rap Radar - Reefa Track for Maino and Mack Wilds
  3. SOHH - Record with Rick Ross
  4. XXL Magazine - Mastermind Producers
  5. The YBF Iggy Azalea - Keyshia Cole - Reefa
  6. AllHipHop.com - Producer Feature
  7. Maddi Jane - The Ellen Show
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