When Georgia-native Mike Will chose “Mike WiLL Made It” as his producer tag, he was only 17 years old; it was just so people could identify the newcomer’s productions. After impressing the likes of Gucci Mane, Rick Ross, and Ludacris over the next few years, it was clear that “Mike WiLL Made It” would take on another meaning.

Mike Will, a 22-year-old from Marietta Georgia, was first introduced to the creation of music by his Uncle Al, the musician in the family. Mike got his first sequencer at the age of 14, after being urged to start making beats by his Uncle and his group of childhood friends. Aspiring rappers in Will’s neighbourhood appeared on these early beats, and gave Mike Will a taste for creative collaboration.

At 17, Mike WiLL Made It placed his first beat with a major artist, after meeting Gucci Mane at Patchwerk Recording Studios in Atlanta. This would be the beginning of a prolific creative relationship between the two–Will would produce half of the beats on Gucci’s No Pad, No Pencil–and, it gave him feet to stand on in the hip-hop world. Despite soon receiving an invitation to work closely with Lex Luger, Southside, and the Maybach Music Group, Mike Will elected to develop his sound independently, and form his own production company called Ear Drummers Entertainment.

In 2011, Mike WiLL Made It got the nod from the Untouchable Maybach Music Empire once again. One of his beats was selected for Self Made Vol. 1, and it became the collaborative album’s first single. “Tupac Back” by Meek Mill (featuring Rick Ross) became a massive hit for Maybach and Mike Will, peaking at #22 on the Rap Songs Billboard chart. That level of exposure solidified Mike Will’s arrival as a rising star in hip-hop production, and he’s been working hard to expand his resume ever since.

2012 has been Mike WiLL Made It’s year. His work with 2 Chainz, Future, Rick Ross, and Young Jeezy (and the arrival of his mixtape Established In 1989 Pt.2: Leaders Of The New School) has brought him to the forefront of hip-hop production. Let’s check out some of his best beats for this edition of the Friday Mixtape.