Hitmaka
Christian J. Ward (born September 9, 1985), known professionally as
Hitmaka, is an American record producer and former rapper. Born and raised in
Chicago,
Illinois, Ward was the first artist to sign with American rapper
DMX's vanity label
Bloodline Records (under the
stage name Iceberg) in 2001, at the age of 14. Six years later, he signed with
Epic Records and adopted the stage name
Yung Berg. His 2007 debut single, "
Sexy Lady" peaked at number 18 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, while his guest appearance on
Ray J's single, "
Sexy Can I" and Ward's own follow-up single, "
The Business" peaked at numbers three and 33 on the chart, respectively, the following year; all three of which preceded the release of his debut studio album, ''
Look What You Made Me'' (2008). Despite generally unfavorable critical reception, it peaked at number 20 on the
''Billboard'' 200. After releasing a number of follow-up mixtapes and singles that failed to chart, he shifted focus away from recording in favor of a career in
music production by 2014.
Ward's production and songwriting work has proved commercially successful. Since the 2010s, he has been credited on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100-top 40 singles "
Bounce Back" by
Big Sean, "
John" by
Lil Wayne, "
Party" by
Chris Brown, "
Look Back at It" by
A Boogie wit da Hoodie, "
Dangerous" by
Meek Mill, and "
Plan B" by
Megan Thee Stallion. In 2020, he was appointed the Vice President of
A&R at
Atlantic Records.
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