Mike WiLL Made It Compares His ‘Ransom’ Mixtape To ‘The Chronic’

Many hip-hop heads are rightly referring to 2014 as the year DJ Mustard took over. But for 2013's top producer, Mike WiLL Made It, less visibility doesn't make for a lost year. The Atlanta-based beatmaker took a step back from the limelight of what had been a breakneck year for him in order to focus on some of the other projects occupying his mind, namely his new label, Ear Drummer Records, his new acts, the duo that is Rae Sremmurd and multi-faceted five-person group Two-9, and his own followup to his previous mixtape, this one to be called Ransom, out Dec. 15.

In that capacity, Mike WiLL has kept up the promise he made last March to set himself up as more of a CEO in 2014. Rae Sremmurd enjoyed two major smashes—"No Flex Zone" and "No Type"—both produced by Mike, while a publishing deal with iLoveMakonnen kept him in the mix for huge songs such as "Tuesday," which was re-released with Drake and nominated for a Grammy Award next year.

With Ransom out next week, Mike WiLL stopped by the XXL offices to talk about the tape, his work on new albums from Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne, and what he's got in store for 2015. —Dan Rys