A producer tag (sometimes simply called a tag) is the element of a song, typically at the beginning of it, inserted there by the song's producer – a short sound meant to familiarize the listener with who is responsible for the production of the song. Most notably prevalent in hip hop music, producer tags became popular during the 2000s,[1] and were first used as a way for producers to identify themselves on songs,[2] or "sign" the instrumental (commonly known as a "beat") they made as protection against someone stealing the beat.[3] They experienced a massive rise in popularity during the late 2000s and early 2010s with the rise of the trap subgenre of hip hop.
A producer tag usually includes someone saying a short, memorable phrase announcing their presence on the track; an example of this might be Young Chop's producer tag, the phrase "Young Chop on the beat", which was said by Chop's nephew and recorded.[4]
It is not always necessarily an audible phrase, though; for example, The Neptunes' signature "four-count start" and Lex Luger's "synth crescendo" may also be considered producer tags.[5][6] Some contemporary hip hop music producers who are famous for their tags include Metro Boomin, DJ Khaled, Mike WiLL Made-It, Harry Fraud, Tay Keith, Take a Daytrip, J.R. Rotem, Murda Beatz, JetsonMade, and Wheezy, among others.[1][5][7][8] Typically, producers' tags are unique to them, acting as one of the elements of a producer's signature style.