REAL BIG: Celebrating Mannie Fresh’s Legacy With His Biggest Hits

Source:
Bennett
Raglin
/
Getty

When
discussing
the
greatest
producers
of
all-time
and
especially
of
this
generation,
Mannie
Fresh
is
a
name
that
must
be
mentioned.
To
celebrate
his
legacy,
we
put
together
a
gallery
that
showcases
some
of
his
biggest
hits.

Byron
Otto
Thomas
was
born
and
raised
in
the 7th
Ward
of
New
Orleans.
Following
in
the
footsteps
of
his
father
DJ
Sabu,
Thomas
became
a
DJ
for
the
New
Orleans
hip
hop
crew
New
York
Incorporated
in
1984
at
just
15
years
old.
A
few
years
later
he
began
a
partnership
with
New
Orleans
rapper
MC
Gregory
D.
The
duo
released
three
albums
together
from
1987
to
1993.
After
the
last
album,
Thomas
met
Bryan
“Baby”
Williams.
Baby
gave
him
the
opportunity
to
to
become
the
in-house
producer
of
his
record
label Cash
Money
Records.
With
Baby’s
help,
Mannie
Fresh
produced
chart-topping
albums
for
the
Hot
Boys
(a
group
comprised
of
Lil
Wayne,
B.G.,
Juvenile
and
Turk).
He
also
produced
all
of
the
tracks
on
the
members’
solo
works
as
well.

Mannie
Fresh
and
Baby
went
on
to
form
the
Big
Tymers,
a
group
consisting
of
the
two.
Mannie
and
Baby
(Baby
eventually
changed
his
stage
name
to
Birdman
after
the
group
dissolved
in
2005)
released
five
successful
albums
together.
In
2004,
Mannie
released
his
first
solo
album The
Mind
of
Mannie
Fresh. The
30-track
album
featured
the
single
“Real
Big”,
which
peaked
at
#79
on
the Billboard Hot
100.
After
splitting
with
Cash
Money
Records
in
2005
for
financial
reasons,
Mannie
signed
with
Def
Jam
South.
In
2009,
he
released
his
second
solo
album

Return
of
the
Ballin’.
The
album
was
produced
entirely
by
Mannie
Fresh
and
featured
prominent
artists
Rick
Ross
and
Lil
Jon.

Over
the
years,
Mannie
Fresh
has
remained
an
important
figure
in
hip-hop
with
an
impact
and
legacy
that
can
never
be
questioned.
He
was
one
of
the
first
producers
to
take
elements
of
bounce
music
and
combine
them
with
other
genres
of
music,
from
classical
to
reggae.
Comibine
this
with
the
intracacy
of
his
drum
patters,
the
use
of
live
instrumentation
in
his
beats
and
the
influence
of
New
Orleans
brass
bands
in
his
production
and
its
easy
to
understand
why
his
sound
is
one
of
a
kind.
To
celebrate
that
one
of
a
kind
sound
and
his
amazing
career,
enjoy
a
gallery
of
some
of
Mannie
Fresh’s
biggest
hits!
Let
us
know
which
ones
are
your
favorites
and
if
we
missed
any!