Kendrick Lamar's sophomore LP To Pimp A Butterfly has made hip-hop as a whole stop and take notice, with many—us included—dissecting the album track by track in order to try and uncover the magic that makes the album work so well. But one question kept coming up with repeated listens to the LP and readings of each song's credits: Who is LoveDragon, the mysterious producer behind "How Much A Dollar Cost" and "You Ain't Gotta Lie (Momma Said)?"

Both tracks are more laid back grooves, more similar to each other than to any other on the album. But LoveDragon has remained a mystery despite many attempts to uncover the truth. The only other mention of the producer on the internet comes as one part of a production crew credited for SZA's "Sobriety" track, which came out in November, suggesting that it's someone either within or close to the TDE camp. Early speculation centered on the idea that it was Dr. Dre's new alias, which was denied by Terrace Martin. Others thought it was the name of Kendrick's backing band, composed of Thundercat, Bilal and Robert Glasper, but in an interview with XXL TDE producer Sounwave—while skirting around the question—indicated that it was just one person.

Speculation then turned to Kendrick himself as the producer; he's got writing credits on every track, obviously, and with few other clues it seemed possible. But when asked recently by Power 106 in L.A. who it was, Kendrick also was evasive. "It's a talented producer," he said with a smile, before denying that it was Dre. "They wanna remain anonymous... They don't care about the accolades, they just wanna do music," he finished, before denying point-blank that it was himself.


So the mystery, at this point, continues, though strong indications point to Top himself. Either way, LoveDragon seems determined to keep their real identity under wraps. But whoever it is has some serious production skills up their sleeve. Yo LoveDragon, get in touch!

Related: Marc Lamont Hill Calls Kendrick Lamar the Gold Standard of Rap
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