Who Is Rockwilder? The Grammy-Winning Producer Behind RocBattle

If you've battled on RocBattle, you've seen the name on the homepage, on Rock Live and on the battle pages: Rockwilder. Some producers here know every record he's made. Plenty of newer ones don't. Here's who he is, what he's made, and what he actually does on RocBattle.

The short answer

Rockwilder, born Dana Stinson in New York City, is a Grammy-winning hip-hop and R&B producer. He has made records for Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Christina Aguilera, Janet Jackson, Destiny's Child, Mary J. Blige, Busta Rhymes, and Method Man & Redman. He also co-founded RocBattle in 2006.

By the numbers on his discography page:

• 88 million+ albums sold across the albums he produced on
• 21 Platinum-or-better albums
• 109 releases and 152 songs produced
• 1 Grammy, for "Lady Marmalade"

Where he came from

Rock started out in the early '90s making beats for New York's underground: Organized Konfusion, the Artifacts, the Flatlinerz. Through Erick Sermon's Def Squad he connected with Redman, and he's produced on Redman's albums since Dare Iz a Darkside in 1994.

The records

"Da Rockwilder" (1999). The Method Man & Redman single that carries his name. It's been placed in 11 films, shows and games, including Gone in 60 Seconds and How High, which he also scored.

Jay-Z, "Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up)" (1999). Same year, on the triple-platinum Vol. 3.

Janet Jackson, All for You. Janet heard "Da Rockwilder" and brought him in. It was his first pop project, and it opened the door to everything after.

"Lady Marmalade" (2001). Co-produced with Missy Elliott for the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack. Five weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

Christina Aguilera, "Dirrty" (2002). Built from the beat of Redman's "Let's Get Dirty." It was a UK #1, a Grammy nominee, and the lead single from the 5× Platinum Stripped.

50 Cent, "Like My Style." On Get Rich or Die Tryin', one of the best-selling rap albums ever made.

Why a Grammy winner started a beat battle site

In 2006, when hardly any major producer would put their work online, Rock did. He co-founded RocBattle.com with Allen "Fat Fingers" Brown so he could battle any producer who said he couldn't hang.

Twenty years later, RocBattle is on version 5.0, and he's still in the ring.

What Rock actually does on RocBattle

He doesn't decide every battle. The community does: producers and listeners vote, and those votes set the winner, the ratings and the rankings. Rock shows up in a few specific places:

• Rock Live. Live sessions where he plays and judges beats on air, with VIP guests.
• VIP Sessions interviews. Full sit-downs with producers and industry names, like his interview with Ty Fyffe.
• Purgatory. When a closed battle's result is disputed, it can be sent to Purgatory. Only Rock can score it, on mix, arrangement and creativity. His ruling is final, whether it upholds the result or reverses it, and a reversal corrects both producers' ratings and records.
• Leagues (coming). Production leagues with Rock as commissioner, opening once producers reach Legend.

Get your beats in front of him

The fastest way onto Rock's radar is to battle, win, and climb. Join RocBattle free, enter a battle, and check Rock Live for when he's on next.