According to AllHipHop, “Hitman” Howie Tee, the producer behind hits like Special Ed’s “I Got It Made” and “Treat ‘Em Right” by Chubb Rock, has died at age 61. The Brooklyn native was one of hip-hop’s most prominent producers during “The Golden Age,” and helped usher in a sound that helped get rap on the R&B and pop charts.
Born Howard Thompson in London, he grew up in East Flatbush, Brooklyn and in the late 1980s, Tee became the in-house producer at Select Records. It was during his tenure at Select that he produced smash singles for his longtime friend out of Brooklyn, Chubb Rock and a teenage phenom who was also out of Flatbush and who went by the name of Special Ed.
“Howie Tee was one of the most generous and kind people that I know,” Special Ed told Black Enterprise. “He gave me a chance when I was too young to take a chance in this industry. I have always conducted myself in a way that would make him proud to be affiliated with me. When we were recording the album, he was expecting his oldest daughter, Nastasia, and that was always special to me. She is the same age as the album, Youngest in Charge. With all the personalities and egos in the music industry, it was refreshing to work with someone as humble as Howie. He taught me how to produce music and use all kinds of equipment together to make songs. He was not just a producer, but a big brother and a mentor as well as an inspiration.”
Howie Tee would go on to produce acts like UTFO, The Real Roxanne and Color Me Badd. Co-produced with Dr. Freeze, Color Me Badd’s “I Wanna Sex You Up” reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100; and the follow-up, “All 4 Love,” topped the chart.
Questlove also paid tribute to “The Hitman.”
“Second to Mark 45 King I feel like Howie was such an unsung MONSTER of a producer during hip hip’s early development,” wrote Questlove in his tribute to Hitman Howie Tee. “I know De La was a life changing moment for us but Howie was a cat who definitely crossed the aisle when it came to unusual music. I mean for Special Ed he put The Beatles & Ripple in the same box I was mind blown.”
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