Metro Boomin

Leland Tyler Wayne (born September 16, 1993), professionally known as Metro Boomin (also known as Young Metro or simply Metro), is an American record producer, record executive, songwriter and DJ managed by SAL&CO.  Raised in St. Louis, Wayne began a production career while in high school and became known for his successful recordings with Atlanta hip hop and trap artists such as Future, 21 Savage, Gucci Mane and Migos in the mid-2010s.  In 2017, Forbes called him “easily one of the most in-demand hitmakers in the world”,  while Stereogum described him as “one of the most original, vivid, important voices in rap right now.” 

Early production success for Wayne came with tracks such as ILoveMakonnen‘s 2014 hit “Tuesday” and Drake and Future‘s 2015 single “Jumpman“. Since then, he has amassed over a dozen top 20 hits, including “Bad and Boujee” by Migos, “Mask Off” by Future, “Bank Account” by 21 Savage, “Congratulations” by Post Malone, “Tunnel Vision” by Kodak Black, and “Heartless” by The Weeknd.  He has also released full-length collaborations, including Savage Mode (2016) and Savage Mode II (2020) with 21 Savage, Perfect Timing(2017), with Nav, Double or Nothing (2017) with Big Sean, and DropTopWop (2017) with Gucci Mane. His debut solo album Not All Heroes Wear Capes was released in November 2018, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. “Congratulations” by Post Malone featuring Quavo was his first diamond certification (10x platinum), being certified in 2019.

Early life 

Leland Tyler Wayne was born on September 16, 1993, in St. Louis, Missouri, where he attended Parkway North High School. He has four siblings. After a brief stint playing bass guitar in his middle school band, he turned to making beats in the seventh grade at age 13. This happened when his mother bought him a laptop and he got a copy of the music production software FruityLoops. In high school, Metro churned out five beats a day.  Initially, Metro wanted to rap, and started making beats so that he could have music to rap over. However, he eventually turned his full attention toward hip hop production.  As he continued to hone his production skills, while still in high school, he began to utilize online social media platforms, such as Twitter, to network with more established rap artists as well as beat submissions for potential music placements. 

Career 

2009–2013: Career beginnings 

During high school, Metro’s mother would often drive him for over eight hours from St. Louis to Atlanta to collaborate with artists he met online. One of the first artists with whom he worked was Bricksquad Monopoly rapper Tay Don which then led him to collaborate with Bricksquad label artists such as OJ Da Juiceman, Gucci Mane, and eventually his frequent collaborator Future, an artist that he continues to collaborate with to this day. 

Metro Boomin first started traveling to Atlanta in the 11th grade to pursue a career in music.  In an interview with XXL, Metro says that Atlanta rapper OJ Da Juiceman was the first popular artist to rap on his beats, a string of collaborations that ultimately led to Metro meeting and working with Gucci Mane during the summer between his junior and senior years of high school.  Upon graduating high school, Metro Boomin moved to Atlanta to attend Morehouse College, studying Business Management. Ultimately however, he chose to take a hiatus from school after a semester, because the schedule demands of a full-time music career became too much to balance.  Since, Metro has collaborated with artists including Nicki Minaj, Ludacris, Juicy J, Yo Gotti, 21 Savage, Wiz Khalifa, Chief Keef, The Weeknd, YG, Young Jeezy, Meek Mill, Travis Scott, Ace Hood, Young Scooter, Young Thug, Rich Homie Quan, Trinidad James, Drake, Lana Del Rey, Lil Uzi Vert, Migos, DJ Khaled, Schoolboy Q, Post Malone, Nav, Swae Lee, Gunna, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West. Metro also regularly collaborates with other modern hip hop producers, including Sonny Digital, TM88, Southside, Zaytoven, Young Chop, DJ Spinz and most recently Tay Keith on Not All Heroes Wear Capes. 

Metro Boomin has also worked extensively with popular rapper Future. The two first worked together on a song called “Hard”, included on DJ Esco‘s Welcome 2 Mollyworld mixtape, and have collaborated on numerous songs since, including two singles from Future’s second album, Honest, the album’s lead single, “Karate Chop“, and title track, “Honest“, co-produced by DJ Spinz. 

2013–2016: Rise to fame 

In May 2013, Metro formally announced his debut mixtape, 19 & Boomin.  Following warm-up singles, featuring artists like Trinidad James, Gucci Mane, and others, Metro released the mixtape, hosted by popular mixtape website LiveMixtapes, on October 7, 2013.  The mixtape, all original songs, included “Maison Margiela”, featuring Future, and “Some More”, featuring Young Thug, both of which were subsequently released as music videos. 

In March 2014, Metro and Young Thug announced that they would release a collaborative album, performed and released under the moniker “Metro Thuggin”. The album was to be self-titled and was planned to be released sometime in 2015. Along with the announcement, Metro Thuggin released the collaborative track, “The Blanguage”.  The ‘Metro Thuggin’ project was ultimately scrapped, however photographer Cam Kirk claims to have a copy of the complete, finished album. A few leaked tracks from the project were found circulating the internet in late 2015, yet an official mixtape has never surfaced. 

In October 2014, Metro executive produced Future‘s Monster mixtape. This spawned the first appearance of the hit single, “Fuck Up Some Commas“. Metro also produced the sixth single from Future’s Honest, “I Won“, which features Kanye West.^[24] The song became a single a month after the album was released.

Metro served as executive producer for Drake and Future’s collaborative mixtape What a Time to Be Alive, released on September 20, 2015. In addition, he produced or co-produced seven of the 11 tracks on the mixtape. 

Metro also served alongside DJ Esco as executive producer for Future’s 2016 mixtape, Purple Reign. In 2016, he won Producer of the Year at the BET Hip Hop Awards. 

In 2016, Metro Boomin was credited with produced charting hits such as “Jumpman” by Future and Drake, “Bad and Boujee” by Migos, “Low Life” by Future and The Weeknd, and the 21 Savage collaboration “X“. That year, he also contributed to Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo, and he and 21 Savage released the EP Savage Mode. In 2017, he produced charting singles such as “Tunnel Vision” by Kodak Black, “Bounce Back” by Big Sean, “Mask Off” by Future, and “Bank Account” by 21 Savage. 

2017: Perfect Timing, Without Warning, Double or Nothing 

On July 14, 2017, Metro and Canadian rapper and fellow record producer Nav released two singles, “Perfect Timing (Intro)” and “Call Me“, the dual lead singles from their collaborative mixtape, Perfect Timing. The mixtape was released by Boominati Worldwide, XO, and Republic Records, exactly one week later, on July 21. It features guest appearances from Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, Offset, 21 Savage, Belly, and Gucci Mane. 

On October 31, 2017 (Halloween), Metro and American rappers 21 Savage and Offset released their collaborative studio album, Without Warning, as a surprise release. On the same day, “Ric Flair Drip“, performed by Metro and Offset was released as the lead single. The album features guest appearances from Travis Scott and Quavo. 

On November 3, 2017, Metro and American rapper Big Sean released a single titled “Pull Up n Wreck”, featuring American rapper 21 Savage, the lead single from their collaborative studio album, Double or Nothing. The mixtape was released on December 8, 2017. It features guest appearances from Travis Scott, 2 Chainz, 21 Savage, Kash Doll, Young Thug, and Swae Lee. On February 13, 2018, “So Good”, featuring American rapper Kash Doll became the lead single. 

2018–present: “Retirement”, Not All Heroes Wear Capes and Savage Mode II 

In January 2018, Metro Boomin was featured in a Gap campaign with American singer SZA, alongside a self-produced remix of “Hold Me Now“.  The remix was released to digital platforms on the same day as the campaign.  In an interview with XXL, explaining the campaign with Gap and the remix, he stated;

In April 2018, Metro Boomin announced his “retirement” from rap on his Instagram page, changing his bio to “Retired record producer/DJ”.  However, he since garnered production credits on American rapper Nicki Minaj‘s fourth studio album Queen, as well as Minaj’s labelmate Lil Wayne, on his twelfth studio album, Tha Carter V, which both debuted in the top 5 of the Billboard 200.

On October 26, 2018, multiple billboards appeared in Atlanta and New York depicting Metro Boomin as a “missing person”.  It was later revealed to be a teaser for his debut studio album, Not All Heroes Wear Capes, for his comeback, which he had been working on since 2015. The album was released on November 2, 2018, and features guest appearances from Gucci Mane, Travis Scott, 21 Savage, Swae Lee, Gunna, Young Thug, Wizkid, J. Balvin, Offset, Kodak Black, and Drake.  Not All Heroes Wear Capes debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and number 16 on the UK Top 40 Albums. 

On November 27, 2019, he co-produced Canadian singer The Weeknd‘s fourth Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, “Heartless“, with Illangelo and Dre Moon. The song was released as the lead single from the singer’s fourth studio album, After Hours (2020). Metro also helped produce three other tracks on the album, “Escape from LA“, “Faith” and “Until I Bleed Out“. 

On September 29, 2020, Metro and American rapper 21 Savage announced their fourth collaborative project, Savage Mode II, a sequel to their EP, Savage Mode (2016). It features guest appearances from Drake, Young Thug, and Young Nudy. On October 13, 2020, the dual lead singles became “Runnin” and “Mr. Right Now“, the latter of which features Drake.^[39]The album was released on October 2, 2020, and debuted atop on the Billboard 200 chart, earning both artists their second number-one albums, that too, back-to-back. 

Musical style 

Specializing in the trap sub-genre of hip hop, Metro Boomin utilizes a distinctive mix of heavy bass, rattling synthetic percussion and dark, gothic melodies.  Metro Boomin hardly strays from hip hop, although he has produced 4 tracks from The Weeknd’s R&B album After Hours;  in addition, he has also remixed pop songs such as “Hold Me Now” (produced as a Gap marketing collaboration).^[31]

Producer tags 

in 2014 Metro Boomin got the tag called “Metro Boomin wants some more “, Then In early 2016, Metro Boomin received widespread attention for his producer tag. Metro’s most prominent and iconic tag “If Young Metro don’t trust you I’m gon’ shoot you” is performed by Future. The origin of the tag comes from the song “Right Now” by Uncle Murda, also produced by Metro Boomin. The tag was first noticeably recognized by fans in Drake‘s song, “Jumpman” from the collaborative mixtape What a Time to Be Alive. 

Boominati Worldwide 

Boominati Worldwide is a label owned by Metro Boomin. It was launched in June 2017 in partnership with Republic Records and Universal Music Group. Metro stated: “Launching Boominati Worldwide is the next step in my career as a producer, an artist and a businessman. I created the label to represent a collective of highly gifted individuals who have the shared gift of being able to influence the world through culture and art”. 

Discography 

Main articles: Metro Boomin discography and Metro Boomin production discography

Studio album

• Not All Heroes Wear Capes (2018)

Collaborative albums

• Without Warning (with 21 Savage and Offset) (2017)
• Double or Nothing (with Big Sean) (2017)
• Savage Mode II (with 21 Savage) (2020)

Mixtapes

• 19 & Boomin (2013)
• Perfect Timing (with Nav) (2017)

Extended plays

• Savage Mode (with 21 Savage) (2016)

Awards and nominations

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