stringtranslate.com

Cardiak

Carl McCormick (born June 26, 1988), professionally known as Cardiak, is an American record producer. He began producing music in 2008.

He has produced music for numerous artists, including Eminem, 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Ryan Leslie, Rick Ross, Wale, Jeezy, Meek Mill, J. Cole, Dr. Dre, Fabolous, Ace Hood, Chris Brown and Trey Songz.[2] He has been nominated for two Grammys, both for his credit as a co-songwriter on the H.E.R. song "Damage".[3]

Early life

Carl "Cardiak" McCormick was born on June 26, 1988 in Willingboro Township,[4] a township in Burlington County within the South Jersey region of New Jersey.

In 2006, McCormick graduated from Rancocas Valley Regional High School.[2]

Career

McCormick initially began his music career in 2008 as a rapper, but wanted to produce his own music, when a close friend introduced to a digital audio workstation computer software called FL Studio.[5] After a train of thought, he decided to produce music full-time rather than rap.[6] The first track he produced landed in the hands of then-rapper Joe Budden, who released a studio album called Halfway House, with the track being titled "The Soul".[7]

Throughout 2009, he later produced tracks for former G-Unit rapper Lloyd Banks, as well as Lil Twist, LoLa Monroe, Ace Hood and Freeway. McCormick received notoriety for his first major placement in late 2010, when he produced Lloyd Banks' single, "Start It Up", featuring Kanye West, Ryan Leslie, Swizz Beatz and Fabolous, featured on Banks' third studio album, H.F.M. 2 (The Hunger for More 2), which released that November. The single was accompanied by McCormick's two following contributions as a producer, "Take Em to War" (featuring fellow G-Unit cohort Tony Yayo) and "Unexplainable" (featuring The Lox member Styles P). "Start It Up" peaked at number 52 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[8] In 2011, he produced for Fabolous ("Y'all Don't Really Hear Me Tho'"), Wale ("600 Benz"), Meek Mill ("Sparkle") and Kid Ink ("My City", "Here We Go" and "Sick 'Em"). He produced 50 Cent's comeback single, "Outlaw". The track was released through 50 Cent's website.[9] Rapper Young Chris released a mixtape, The Revival, which was entirely produced by McCormick.[10]

In 2012, McCormick produced Meek Mill's "Lean Wit It", "Polo & Shell Tops", Lloyd Banks' "Show and Prove", Ryan Leslie's "Black Flag", Joe Budden's "Cut from a Different Cloth", and Trae tha Truth's "Tell Me That I Can't". He also produced two tracks ("Amsterdam" and "Diced Pineapples") on Rick Ross' fifth studio album, God Forgives, I Don't, which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 2013.[11][12] In 2013, McCormick's notoriety continued to soar. He later produced for Vado ("God Hour"), Ace Hood ("The Trailer" and "Have Mercy"), French Montana ("Ballin' Out"), Wale ("Bricks") and Ryan Leslie ("Black Mozart").[13][14] Leslie's behind-the-scene process of the making of "Black Mozart" was later detailed in a YouTube mini-documentary, which featured McCormick discussing how he produced the title track and "History" with Leslie.[14]

That November, McCormick and Frank Dukes produced the track "Groundhog Day" for rapper Eminem. The track was later included on a deluxe edition bonus disc of Eminem's eighth studio album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, which was released on November 5, 2013. The album won a Grammy Award in 2015 for Best Rap Album.[15][16]

Throughout 2014, McCormick only produced four tracks: Kid Ink's "I Don't Care", Slaughterhouse's "Party", Rick Ross' "Family Ties" and J. Cole's "Love Yourz" (the latter third he co-produced with CritaCal and Illmind, another New Jersey native).[17] He also participated in a YouTube challenge called "Rhythm Roulette", maintained by webizine Mass Appeal (co-owned by rapper Nas), which a record producer has to select three records blindfolded to sample while producing an instrumental using it; he created a beat using a sample from Allure's 2001 single, "Cool With Me".[18]

In 2015, McCormick was involved in the production of two tracks: "Deep Water" and "For the Love of Money" for rapper-producer Dr. Dre. The latter beat, which developed in early 2014, was solely produced by McCormick and later sent to Dre by his A&R manager, Tyheim Cannon, and Interscope Records vice chairman, Steve Berman, for the musician's third studio album, Compton, which was released on August 7, 2015.[2][6][19][20] He continued producing for Fabolous ("Doin' It Well"), Scarface ("Exit Plan"), Trey Songz ("Do It Now") and Jeremih ("Worthy").

In early 2016, J. Cole's 2014 Forest Hills Drive (2014) and Dr. Dre's Compton (2016) were nominated for the Best Rap Album Grammy; McCormick contributed tracks as a producer on both.[21] McCormick later received a co-composer credit after contributing to work for Drake's fourth studio album, Views, released on April 29 that year. He was credited as composer, but uncredited as co-producer on the album's eighth track, "With You", which featured PartyNextDoor and instead credits Murda Beatz and Nineteen85 as co-producers. Murda Beatz later confirmed that he used a sample pack given to him by McCormick for the production of "With You".[22][23] The album would end up being the most-streamed Spotify album of the year with 2.45 billion streams and debuting at number one on the Billboard 200, despite lukewarm critical reviews.[24][25][26] He and affiliating producer Calvin "CritaCal" Price co-produced Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' "Need to Know" for their album, This Unruly Mess I've Made. Later in December, J. Cole released his fourth studio album, 4 Your Eyez Only, featuring the track "Immortal", which credits McCormick and Frank Dukes as its co-producers.[27][28][29][30][31]

His success helped him collaborate with other record producers such as Hitmaka,[32] Focus..., Symbolyc One and others.[31] Within 2017, he expanded outside of hip hop production, working with R&B artists including Chris Brown ("Confidence"), Tank ("When We")[33][34] and PartyNextDoor ("Never Played Me"). However, he still produced for rappers G-Eazy ("Crash & Burn"), Meek Mill ("Issues"), Gucci Mane ("Tone It Down"; co-produced with Hitmaka),[35] Dave East and ASAP Ferg ("Paper Chasin'"). He also produced a bulk of singer Asiahn's extended play, Love Train, which was released earlier that year.[36][37] For the 2018-19 period, McCormick continued his success at music production, producing for RL Grime ("Undo"), Cozz ("Demons N Distractions"), Dave East ("Corey"), T.I. ("Laugh at 'Em"), Zoey Dollaz ("Find a Way"), 6lack ("Loaded Gun"), YoungBoy Never Broke Again ("Permanent Scars"), Yuna ("Likes"), 2 Chainz ("Rule the World"),[38] Cordae ("Wintertime"), Chris Brown ("Come Together"), Rick Ross ("Rich N***a Lifestyle"), Teyana Taylor ("How You Want It?")[39] and co-produced (alongside Hitmaka) the Quality Control Music single, "Leave 'Em Alone", featuring Layton Greene, Lil Baby, City Girls and PnB Rock, which itself was a remake of singer Ciara's 2006 single, "Can't Leave 'em Alone".[citation needed]

In mid-2020, he, Hitmaka and Paul Cabbin produced Trey Songz and Summer Walker's "Back Home", a title track from the former's eighth studio album, Back Home, which charted at number twelve on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart.[40] He also produced two tracks for PartyNextDoor's third studio album, Partymobile ("Nothing Less" and "Believe It"). On the deluxe edition of Conway the Machine's debut album, From King to a God, McCormick and Hitmaka co-produced the bonus track, "Ameenah's Van". A successful placement that year was McCormick's production of the H.E.R. single, "Damage", which was the former's idea after listening to a freestyle, recorded by Lox members Jadakiss and Styles P, for a 2008 DJ Clue mixtape, which they were rapping over the instrumental to Herb Alpert, Lisa Keith and Janet Jackson's 1987 single, "Making Love in the Rain" (which itself was previously sampled by Queen Latifah's 1993 single, "Just Another Day..." and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's 1996 ballad, "Days of Our Livez"). Using the same sample and having co-produced it with Jeff "Gitty" Gitelman, "Damage" debuted at number five on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart in late 2020, number one on R&B radio in June 2021[41] and was certified two-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on March 4, 2022.[42][43][44] "Damage" was also nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B Song in February 2022.[3]

Throughout 2021, he continued producing tracks for Conway the Machine ("Spoon's House" and "Blood Roses"), Anthony Hamilton ("Love is the New Black"), JoJo ("Worst (I Assume)"), H.E.R. ("Come Through")[45] and Rick Ross ("Revelations"). McCormick continued into 2022 with Tank's "No Limit", Ari Lennox's "Leak It" and 2023 with Tink's "Goofy", Chloe Bailey's "How Does It Feel" and Kiana Ledé's "Too Far". He, Elite, Pluss and Mario Luciano produced "Culture", a track performed by Mez, Reason, Symba and 8AE, which was included on the soundtrack for the boxing drama sequel film, Creed III.

On April 26, 2024, PartyNextDoor released his fourth studio album, PartyNextDoor 4, which included the track, "Control", produced by McCormick and Drake's engineer, 40.[46]

Production equipment and style

McCormick uses third-party music plugins and MIDI keyboards by M-Audio and Native Instruments to create and produce music through FL Studio through a laptop,[5] currently optimized by Windows 11.

His production style consists of trap music, sample-based hip hop laced with live instrumentation, contemporary R&B and hip hop soul.[47][48]

He currently sells drum kits and sample packs through a Shopify site called "Flatline Kits", which he has launched in 2014.[citation needed]

Production discography

2008

Joe BuddenHalfway House

FreewayMonth of Madness

2009

Lloyd BanksThe Cold Corner

HavocFrom Now On

Lil TwistThe Yearbook

Lola Monroe – Art Of Motivation

Ace HoodStreet Certified

Ace HoodRuthless

Lil Twist – Class President

Lola Monroe – The Untouchables

2010

Mike Knox – Money Machine

Meek Mill – Mr. Philadelphia

Lloyd Banks – The Hunger for More 2

2011

USDA – CTE Or Nothing

Red CafeAbove The Clouds

Maybach Music GroupSelf Made Vol. 1

Fabolous – 'The S.O.U.L. Tape (Mixtape)

Ace HoodBody Bag Vol.1

Tory LanezSwavey (Mixtape)

Kid Ink – Daydreamer

Cory GunzSon Of A Gun (Mixtape)

Ace HoodBlood, Sweat & Tears

Triple C'sMoney Burning Mother****er (Mixtape)

P.L. – The Turning Lane

Meek MillDreamchasers (Mixtape)

DJ DramaThird Power

Young Chris & Cardiak – The Revival (Mixtape)

Ace HoodThe Statement 2 (Mixtape)

2012

French Montana & Coke Boys – Coke Boys 3 (Mixtape)

Meek MillDreamchasers 2 (Mixtape)

Maybach Music GroupSelf Made Vol. 2

Bow WowUnderrated

Lloyd BanksV.6: The Gift

Rick RossGod Forgives, I Don't

DJ DramaQuality Street Music

Ryan LeslieLes Is More

Meek MillDreams & Nightmares

T.I – Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head

Joe BuddenA Loose Quarter

2013

Casey VeggiesLife Changes

Wale – The Gifted

Ace HoodTrials & Tribulations

Ryan LeslieBlack Mozart

Joe BuddenNo Love Lost

The GameOKE: Operation Kill Everything

EminemThe Marshall Mathers LP 2

2014

Kid InkMy Own Lane

Rick RossHood Billionaire

J. Cole2014 Forest Hills Drive

2015

Trey SongzIntermission I & II

Dr. DreCompton

ScarfaceDeeply Rooted

FabolousSummertime Shootout

JeremihLate Nights

2016

Macklemore & Ryan LewisThis Unruly Mess I've Made

DrakeViews

J. Cole – 4 Your Eyez Only

2017

Trey Songz – Tremaine: The Album

Phora – Yours Truly Forever

2020

T.I. – The L.I.B.R.A.

2021

Jazmine SullivanHeaux Tales

Unsorted

Mike Knox (2009)

Audio Push (2010)

Havoc (2010)

Lola Monroe (2010)

Reed Dollaz (2010)

Meek Mill (2010)

Mistah F.A.B. (2010)

50 Cent (2011)

"Outlaw"

Kid Ink (2011)

Young Jeezy (2011)

Young Chris (2011)

Mike Knox (2011)

Ace Hood (2012)

Slaughterhouse (2013)

Dave East (2017)

Chris Brown (2019)

H.E.R. (2021)

Singles

Lloyd Banks – The Hunger for More 2 (2010)

Maybach Music Group – Self Made Vol. 1 (2011)

Lloyd Banks – TBA (2011)

P.L. – The Turning Lane (2011)

Paypa – Feel Good Music (Unreleased)

External links

References

  1. ^ "september-14-2022-billboard-bulletin.pdf" (PDF). Billboard. September 14, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Whittaker, Celeste E. "Willingboro native Cardiak makes hearts beat faster". Courier-Post. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Cardiak". grammy.com. Recording Academy. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  4. ^ Ryan, Lisa. "Willingboro native shares his musical talents with hip-hop artists -- and the world". Burlington County Times. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Famous Producers who use FL Studio". Producer Sources. May 24, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "H Network: In The Studio - Cardiak". HypeFresh Inc. February 22, 2017. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  7. ^ cardiak producer of the soul by Joe budden (Video). November 30, 2008. Archived from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2024 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ^ Mitchell, Randy (April 14, 2023). "Lloyd Banks Reveals He Nearly Signed With G.O.O.D Music". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  9. ^ "50 Cent's First Single 'Outlaw' Produced by Cardiak ?". HipHop-N-More. May 17, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  10. ^ "Young Chris & Cardiak, The Revival - XXL". XXL Mag. November 2, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  11. ^ "Behind the Beats: Cardiak Breaks Down His Six Most Crucial Records - XXL". XXL Mag. May 29, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  12. ^ Bristout, Ralph (December 28, 2012). "Cardiak Breaks Down Eight More Crucial Records He Produced (Part II) - XXL". XXL Mag. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  13. ^ Pastuk, Slava (July 11, 2013). "Behind the Boards... With Cardiak". Vice. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Ryan Leslie Previews Upcoming Album in New Documentary "Black Mozart"". Complex. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  15. ^ music, Guardian (February 8, 2015). "Grammys 2015: The Marshall Mathers LP2 by Eminem wins rap album of the year". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  16. ^ "Eminem Won the Grammy for Best Rap Album — Here's Why He Was a Terrible Choice". Mic. February 8, 2015. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  17. ^ The Making Of J. Cole's "Love Yourz" With !llmind | Deconstructed. June 25, 2019. Archived from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2024 – via www.youtube.com.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  18. ^ Rhythm Roulette: Cardiak. Mass Appeal. September 28, 2014. Archived from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2024 – via www.youtube.com.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  19. ^ In The Studio - Cardiak x Hypefresh (Video). February 22, 2017. Archived from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2024 – via www.youtube.com.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  20. ^ Inside Tracks: Producer Cardiak (Video). Universal Music Publishing Group. September 4, 2018. Archived from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2024 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  21. ^ "Kendrick Lamar wins Best Rap Album: 'To Pimp A Butterfly' | GRAMMY.com". grammy.com. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  22. ^ Garrison, Lucas (July 3, 2018). "All 71 People Credited on Drake's 'VIEWS' Album". DJBooth. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  23. ^ "Drake Shares VIEWS Production Credits Featuring Kanye West, Teases Album Guests". Pitchfork. April 28, 2016. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  24. ^ "Drake tops Spotify's 2016 list with 4.7 billion streams". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  25. ^ Ryan, Patrick. "Drake's 'Views' is 2016's top album as streaming overtakes digital sales". USA TODAY. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  26. ^ "Drake's VIEWS Has Over 3 Billion Streams On Spotify". The FADER. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  27. ^ "Here Are The Full Album Credits For J. Cole's 4 Your Eyez Only". The FADER. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  28. ^ "Here Are the Full Credits for J. Cole's '4 Your Eyez Only' Album". Complex. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  29. ^ Weinstein, Max (December 9, 2016). "Here Are the Full Production Credits for J. Cole's '4 Your Eyez Only' Album - XXL". XXL Mag. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  30. ^ Cardiak x The Making of Immortal (Video). December 16, 2016. Archived from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2024 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  31. ^ a b James, Andy (February 12, 2018). "Beat Break: Cardiak Shares the Story Behind His 5 Biggest Songs". DJBooth. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  32. ^ Setaro, Shawn. "Hitmaka Plots His 'World Domination,' Shares Kanye West, DMX, Jeremih, and Nicki Minaj Stories". Complex. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  33. ^ Leight, Elias (March 6, 2018). "How a Veteran R&B Singer Scored the Biggest Hit of His Career". Vulture. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  34. ^ Penrose, Nerisha (February 14, 2018). "Tank Nabs Trey Songz & Ty Dolla $ign for His Steamy 'When We (Remix)': Listen". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  35. ^ Emmanuel, C.M. (June 20, 2017). "Gucci Mane and Chris Brown Drop New Song 'Tone It Down' - XXL". XXL Mag. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
  36. ^ "Asiahn, "Love Train 2"". erasing clouds. February 7, 2019. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  37. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Asiahn Talks Music, Heartbreak, Anime and Authenticity (Interview) - YouKnowIGotSoul.com". YouKnowIGotSoul.com | New R&B Music, Songs, Podcast, Interviews. November 21, 2018. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  38. ^ "Hip Hop Awards 2022: See Hitmaka's Musical Journey to 'Producer of the Year'". BET. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  39. ^ "Teyana Taylor Debuts "How You Want It?" Video Feat. King Combs". VIBE.com. August 2, 2019. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  40. ^ Anderson, Trevor (October 23, 2020). "Trey Songz Scores Third No. 1 on Top R&B Albums With 'Back Home'". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  41. ^ Folk, Antwane (June 17, 2021). "H.E.R.'s 'Damage' Hits No. 1 on R&B Radio". Rated R&B. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  42. ^ Shaffer, Claire (October 21, 2020). "H.E.R. Performs at Los Angeles' Roxie Theatre in 'Damage' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  43. ^ Samuels, Keithan (October 21, 2020). "H.E.R. Gets Vulnerable on New Song 'Damage'". Rated R&B. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  44. ^ Samuels, Keithan (March 5, 2022). "H.E.R.'s 'Damage' Certified 2X Multi-Platinum by RIAA". Rated R&B. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  45. ^ "H.E.R. and Chris Brown Team Up on 'Come Through'". Rap-Up. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  46. ^ Castro, Danilo (April 26, 2024). "PARTYNEXTDOOR Strikes Again With Moody Sequel Album "P4"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  47. ^ "Photos: Willingboro native shares his musical talents with hip-hop artists -- and the world". Burlington County Times. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  48. ^ Romalino, Carly Q. "South Jersey's best 2017 moments in music". Courier-Post. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  49. ^ "4YEO Credits – Dreamville". Dreamville. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  50. ^ "Dave East – Paper Chasing Feat. A$AP Ferg". HotNewHipHop. March 3, 2017.