When trap music’s elder statesman Gucci Mane released his debut single “Icy” in 2005, it was the song’s producer Xavier “Zaytoven” Dotson who convinced the unapologetic Atlanta rapper to concentrate on a career in music. Eight years later, an unknown trio-turned-chart-toppers named Migos introduced their staccato rhyme scheme on their intergalactic-flavored debut single “Versace,” another Zaytoven-produced banger filled with his signature MPC drum machine tip-taps and warped keyboard chords.

Needless to say, Zaytoven, 37, is arguably trap music’s de facto talent scout and big brother. It pleases the Grammy Award winner to witness the Southern hip-hop subgenre and its roster of artists (i.e., Future, Young Thug, Young Dolph and 2 Chainz) ascend to massive digital followings and platinum-certified streams. Despite criticism from some hip-hop purists about trap music’s minimal production courtesy of computer software and its sometimes gibberish-sounding lyrical cadences, Zaytoven praises the new class of hip-hop for turning the musical tide.

“It’s wonderful to see these young guys come in ‘cause they bring something new to the table,” Zaytoven said prior to this year’s BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards. “They bring new flavors. They take what’s already been given, and they make me part of what they got going on.”

That sense of camaraderie is actually how Zaytoven earned his glory. Born in Frankfurt, Germany on an army base to a minister father and choir director mother, Zaytoven grew up in San Francisco, starting out as a drummer before taking up organs and keyboards. “I was in church every day almost, so I had to find something to do,” Zaytoven said. “That wasn’t me making beats yet. It was just me playing music.”

By the time Zaytoven, then an aspiring rapper, got to high school, Bay Area hip-hop legend JT The Bigga Figga ran across the young, wavy-haired keyboard prodigy performing during a football game. The high school Zaytoven attended didn’t have a marching band, so he and a classmate played songs they heard on the radio.

JT The Bigga Figga extended an invitation to the prolific beatmaker who could play by ear to try his hands at working in a fully functioning recording studio. “He saw me and said ‘You fresh on them keyboards. Let me take you to the studio and show you how to press the buttons. I’ll leave you here, and you can make beats all day,’” Zaytoven recalls.

Wearing hats as a licensed barber, DJ, author behind A to Zay: The Indie Guide to Music Production and a resident musician at his church in Conyers, Georgia, Zaytoven relocated to Atlanta from the Bay Area in 1999. His music is typically introduced by a distorted drop announcing his mononym over a piano arpeggio. The diligent console king makes tracks daily in his home basement studio and posts videos of his creative process to Instagram, vowing to not take more than 10 minutes to assemble his tracks.

“People don’t believe that I make beats in 5 minutes,” Zaytoven proclaims weeks later during Atlanta’s installment of the Remy Martin Producer Series, where he judged and hosted the competition for up-and-coming producers. “That’s just my process. I ain’t trying to put pressure on nobody else. That’s just how I do my work.”

Zaytoven continues: “What I’m trying to bring more than anything is character, so you’ll know about the music and who I am. When you look at my Instagram or see me do interviews, you’ll see good character.”

Zaytoven’s fast-paced work ethic and entrepreneurial aspirations are keeping his schedule in full swing. The spontaneous hands behind the Gap commercial featuring Cher and Future covering Sly and the Family Stone’s “Everyday People” and street classics like OJ Da Juiceman’s “Make The Trap Say Aye,” DJ Esco, Future and Lil Uzi Vert’s “Too Much Sauce,” Usher’s “Papers” and Gucci Mane and Yo Gotti’s “Bricks” inked a partnership with Motown Records last September for his recording imprint, Familiar Territory Records. Even JAY-Z reached out to Zaytoven about collaborating on some music.

Last October, Zaytoven dropped a mixtape, Where Would the Game Be Without Me 2. Trapping Made it Happen, a subsequent mixtape, was just released on December 15th. A sequel to the happily married father of two’s semi-autobiographical feature film, Birds of a Feather, is eyeing an early 2018 release, too.

Even with several irons in the fire, Zaytoven says he most appreciates those moments when he can assist or work alongside the current wave of sought-after young producers like Metro Boomin (sharing credit on Travis Scott, Future and 2 Chainz’s “3500”), Sonny Digital, 808 Mafia and Mike WiLL Made-It (2 Chainz and Lil Wayne’s “MF Right”).

“It’s keeping me motivated and excited to be amongst my peers in this music,” Zaytoven said. “A lot of times, we collab with each other on a lot of these projects. I’m excited for what these boys are doing for the game.”

EXPLORE Zaytoven’s discography via Amazon | iTunes

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