We’re doing something a little diffferent for this Friday Mixtape. We typically feature the work of pop and hip-hop music producers in this column, but Ester Dean isn’t a record producer by trade. She’s an artist, songwriter, occasional producer, but primarily, she’s a top-liner songwriter. In a highly recommended article by The New Yorker, writer John Seabrook breaks down the role of the top-liner in pop music perfectly: “top-liners come up with primary melodies, lyrics, and the all-important hooks, the ear-friendly musical phrases that lock you into the song.”

So once the producer has the core of the song ready to go, they bring a top-liner like Ester Dean into the studio to write hooks. Born in Oklahoma, 26-year-old Ester Dean was discovered by producer Tricky Stewart (T.I., The-Dream, Katy Perry) while singing background vocals at a live concert. Stewart was so impressed by her voice and her musical creativity, that he offered her a publishing contract with his company. Her big break came when another producer, Polow da Don (Usher, Chris Brown, Nelly) introduced her to Interscope label boss Jimmy Iovine. Soon after, Dean was writing songs for Ciara, Christina Aguilera, and Mary J. Blige.

Ester Dean is pursuing a career as a solo artist, but she still writes songs for some of the biggest pop artists today. Let’s check out some of her top-liner writing work, as well as her breakthrough solo hit “Drop It Low” for this week’s Friday Mixtape.