Today, Feb. 2, is the 29th birthday producer Southside.
Born in 1989, before he was Southside, Joshua Howard Luellen was a star athlete, eventually giving up baseball after suffering a concussion. At 14, the lauded producer began making beats. He began taking his craft seriously three years later at 17.
Eventually, his work caught the ear a young Waka Flocka Flame; his ties to Waka eventually got him a deal with Gucci Mane's 1017 BrickSquad label. This is also when Southside met Lex Luger, with whom he would become partners in their producer collective, 808 Mafia.
After his work on Waka's Flockaveli in 2010, the next milestone Southside's career came in 2011, when he co-produced Kanye West's and Jay-Z's "Illest Motherfucker Alive." From that point on, he became a sought-after name in rap. He received a gold plaque due to his work on Rich Gang's 2013 single "Tapout," and helped launch Young Thug's career with his production on "Danny Glover."
The following year, 2014, was life-changing for Southside. His beats on Future's Monster mixtape took him to another level, specifically "Commas," which went gold and became a hit. Southside was now working heavily with the Freebandz boss, doing a majority the production on 56 Nights, and contributing to DS2, the album that made Future a star.
By 2017, Southside worked with a who's who rap, from Migos, Lil Uzi Vert, DJ Khaled, Travis Scott, Big Sean and more. He continued to find success, producing both Kodak Black's "Tunnel Vision" and Gucci Mane and Migos "I Get the Bag," with both songs being certified multi-platinum by the RIAA.
This year, he co-produced Lil Uzi Vert's "Mood" and confirmed the existence a collaborative project between himself, Young Thug, and fellow 808 Mafia member TM88.
Happy birthday Southside, keep winning!