Good work Charlie! Kanye recently signed a Jersey-based producer to his GOOD Music label, one who you might not have heard of yet. Ernest Brown, or known professionally as Charlie Heat, has been working behind the scenes in many popular records recently, including Young Savage and Lil Uzi, and may have finally struck fame with his newest deal. With his first big global breakthrough on Kanye West’s recent album Life of Pablo, Charlie is branding himself as a producer to be reckoned with. You probably have already heard his released Charlie Heat Version of “Facts” by Kanye.
Over the course of the past few years, Charlie has been making an honest name for himself with multiple successes in the hip-hop industry. He is mostly recognized for having worked with Young Savage and Lil Uzi and other artists from similar genres. In a recent interview with Complex, he says he is always looking to push on and “grow his sound”, and you can tell with his producing techniques that borderline the edges of creativity and innovation. It only makes sense that he would join part of one of the highest acclaimed labels in the game.
In the hip-hop scene, the biggest front-man names are usually the ones attracting the public eye, but for real fans, it’s the producer who garners the attention. So many massive names started off producing for others, working their way up. Kanye himself started this way, along with Pharrell & much more. It’s not often someone lands at the top from the start, it has to be built. Charlie has hit consecutive obstacles in his career, even once returning to a 9 to 5 job after he struck his first bit of success. “I thought I made it” states Charlie in a recent interview with Wooder Ice, “and then I went back to working at a welfare office in Delaware and was living at my grandparents’ house.”
Charlie says that he has been able to really learn the ins and outs of the industry from his friends in GOOD Music. Just being around that many successful artists would be enough to impact anyone. Since joining, Charlie has gone on to produce many more records, one being “All Day” for Kanye West, which received a Grammy nomination for best rap song in 2016. Others include:
“WDYW” with Carnage, A$AP Ferg, Lil Uzi, and Rich the Kid
“Illuminati” for Madonna,
“Piss On Your Grave” for Travis Scott, with Noah Goldstein and Kanye West
“Cute” for Big Baby D.R.A.M.
This past month, Charlie dropped a 5-track EP titled Till August, including “Pretty Boy Swag,” and Petey Pablo’s “Freek A Leek”, all Charlie Heat Versions.