How T.I. Helped David Banner Become a Million-Dollar Producer

Before David Banner became a household name in music production, he struggled in the shadows—his signature sound often going uncredited and unheard by the masses. That all changed, thanks in large part to rapper T.I., who insisted that Banner get the recognition he deserved on the 2003 hit “Rubberband Man.”

Speaking on a recent episode of Club Shay Shay, Banner shared his journey from overlooked beatmaker to “million-dollar producer.” Early in his career, Banner was inspired by Jay-Z, who famously called out his producers—like Kanye West and Just Blaze—on tracks, raising both their profiles and their paychecks.

“I noticed Jay-Z would say ‘Kanye, you a fool fool fool. Just Blaze, you did it again,’ and every time he would say their name, they could charge $10,000 extra,” Banner recalled.

Determined to bring that same recognition to Southern producers, Banner began adding his own vocal tag—“DAVID BANNER”—to the start of tracks he produced.

But his efforts met resistance: radio DJs often edited out the producer tag, and his work on major hits like Trick Daddy’s “Thug Holiday” went largely unacknowledged. “Nobody knew who David Banner was at the time. So I wasn’t able to take advantage. I wasn’t even in the video,” he said.

The turning point came with T.I.’s “Rubberband Man.” T.I. personally intervened, instructing radio stations not to cut Banner’s tag from the track. “‘Don’t touch my music, that boy worked hard,’” Banner recalled T.I. telling the DJs.

“He’s the reason why producers can put their tags on their beat on the radio. My tag was on my beats way before ‘Rubberband Man,’ but the radio stations would shave it off.”

The move proved transformative—not just for Banner, but for hip-hop as a whole. Producers across the industry began adopting their own audible tags, making it standard practice for their work to be recognized in clubs, on the radio, and beyond.

Reflecting on the lack of credit given to Southern producers in particular, Banner noted: “Southern rappers hid their producers. It hurts me to this day… I really think Beats By The Pound is as big as Timbaland and Pharrell, because they changed music in the same way, but we don’t know who they are.”

Rather than feel discouraged, Banner says he was motivated to change the status quo. “I said, ‘I’m not going to let them look over me. I’mma put my own name before my beat.’ It got so hot at one time, and people don’t even give me credit for that… I think I was one of the first people to put my name before a beat, but nobody made it hot in contemporary America like I did.”

Thanks to his persistence—and T.I.’s support—David Banner’s name is now firmly cemented in hip-hop history, with a legacy that continues to influence how producers get their due.